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Look Up Look Out Campaign

April 30th 2026

No job is worth putting your life at risk.

This article is about the Look Up Look Out Campaign and the important safety precautions that should be taken when using long-reach water-fed poles and any other long-reach systems near overhead power lines.

LOOK UP → check for overhead power lines before starting work

LOOK OUT → stay aware of your surroundings while moving and working

About the Campaign

The Look Up Look Out Campaign is a national safety campaign raising awareness of the serious risks faced by anyone using long-reach water-fed poles, gutter-vac poles, roof-cleaning equipment, solar-panel cleaning equipment or any other long-reach system near overhead electricity lines.

Why This Matters

When close to power lines, electricity can arc (jump) and reach a water-fed pole, even if you don’t actually touch the lines, so working near the power lines is very dangerous. Electrocution from power lines can be fatal.

The core Look Out, Look Up safety message has existed in electricity industry guidance for many years. However, the campaign has been recently promoted by father and son, John and Jason Knight, who wanted to raise awareness after a very unfortunate incident where Jason was electrocuted by power lines 2 metres away from where he was working on the 6^th of April 2024.

A 33,000-volt flashover jumped about 2 metres from an overhead line to Jason’s telescopic water-fed pole, without physical contact. Jason survived, but sustained life-changing injuries, including the loss of his left forearm, several toes, severe burns and extensive damage to his legs. He has undergone more than 20 operations.

After the incident, John and Jason Knight made it their mission to highlight the extreme risks of using long-reach water-fed poles near high-voltage power lines and to encourage safer decisions, better awareness and safer equipment design across the industry.

John is also campaigning for improved standards and clearer safety expectations around water-fed poles and other long-reach systems.

Spotless Water Support

Spotless Water met with John at the Cleaning Expo 2026 and is supporting the campaign by helping raise awareness across the window cleaning industry.

Coming soon www.lookuplookout.org

The official Look Up Look Out website is coming online in a couple of weeks at www.lookuplookout.org. It will be free to use, with no subscription and no paywall. The website will contain a variety of help and support, including: safety tips, near-miss reporting, support for requesting advice, location-based safety information, consumer guidance, industry news, and much more!

Important Tips for Window Cleaners

Know your surroundings
Know your exclusion zones
Always assume overhead power lines are live
Avoid the hazard

Necessary Steps To Plan For a Window Cleaning Job

1 Arrive and assess before you begin.

Check your work area. Look up for overhead hazards first.

2 Identify the hazard, don’t guess!

If you see overhead lines, treat them as live, unless the local electricity network operator has confirmed otherwise in writing.

If you are unsure whether a line is power or telephone, assume it is a power line and seek advice.

3 Contact the local DNO (Distribution Network Operator) where needed.

For urgent electricity safety concerns in Great Britain, call 105 to connect you with the local network operator.

For planned work, contact the DNO for advice and ask whether a site assessment, temporary shrouding or other control measures are possible.

4 Set your safe working distance and know your exclusion zones.

HSE GS6 guidance states that if you are within 10m of an overhead electricity line then you must treat this as high risk and get advice.

Minimum clearances suggested by the ENA states*:

– 230V / 400V = 1m

– 11kV / 33kV = 3m

– 132kV = 6m

These are minimum distances, not target working distances. If in doubt, stop and ask the DNO for advice.

*UK guidance only, from Look Out Look Up! A Guide to the Safe Use of Mechanical Plant in the Vicinity of Electricity Overhead Lines Energy Networks Association (ENA)

5 If you can’t achieve a safe distance, STOP.

If you feel you are at an unsafe distance, then do not proceed. Reposition, reschedule, or walk away. No job is worth your life.

6 Do not rely on PPE or insulated tools

PPE and insulated tools are last lines of defence. They do not make unsafe distances safe and they are not permission to work near overhead lines.

7. Follow this process.

Follow this process for every job. Make it your habit to do these steps for each clean and remember no tools, no deadline, and no customer pressure overrides these steps – your safety is more important.

The most important reminder

Overhead power lines are dangerous. Electricity can jump. Always look up before you start, look out while you work, contact the DNO if there is any doubt, and stop immediately if you cannot work safely. No job is worth your life.

See the sources we used for this article below for more information. Stay safe!