Specialty Waterproofing contractor, Mackintosh Corporation has launched a Window Cleaning Division specializing in the exterior of high rise buildings. It is employing the latest rope access equipment as also bosun’s chairs to access the exterior windows and the most effective and environment friendly detergents for window cleaning purposes.
The Window Cleaning Division of Mackintosh Corporation is manned by personnel trained in mountaineering skills, rope access, safety compliance and window washing/cleaning techniques. They use reinforced laminated bosun’s chairs as a work platform, mountaineering safety harnesses suspended by static Kernmantle rope with a safety lifeline as backup.
A High Rise Bosun Chair is a set of techniques in which ropes and specialized hardware are used to provide the primary means of support for workers to access and complete work. This is accomplished using a two-rope system – the main rope supports the worker and the safety/back-up rope provides fall protection.
Mackintosh has just completed its first window cleaning project at the 30 storey EMAR Suites in Mandaluyong. This was a good training ground for its expert personnel, further skills honed and practical lessons learnt. The use of bosun’s chairs makes quick set up and position change possible thus saving time. This system is much faster than the traditional window cleaning methods.
Mackintosh Corporation is licensed by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) as Waterproofing Specialty Contractor, it is a member of the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA) Metropolitan Chapter and Member of the Philippine Green Building Council.
Charles Macintosh 
winter), longer roof membrane life span, sound insulation and the ability to turn wasted roof space into various types of amenity space for building occupants. Green roofs filter particulate matter from the air, retain and cleanse storm water and provide new opportunities for biodiversity preservation and habitat creation. They generate aesthetic benefits and help to reduce the ‘urban heat island effect’ – the overheating of cities in the summer which contributes to air pollution and increased energy consumption.
Change (IPCC), the highest scientific body responsible for evaluating the risk of climate change, affirmed in its Fourth Assessment Report that the “warming of the earth’s climate system is unequivocal” and that this warming is attributed to the dramatic rise in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions since the mid 20th-century. The Philippines, an archipelagic nation of over 90 million people, now faces threats from more intense tropical cyclones, drastic changes in rainfall patterns, sea level rise, and increasing temperatures. All these factors contribute to serious impacts on our natural ecosystems—on our river basins, coastal and marine systems, and their biodiversity—then cascading to impacts on our food security, water resources, human health, public infrastructure, energy, and human settlements.” Climate Change Commission in its National Framework Strategy on Climate Change 2010-2022
