Tag Archives: TIRAP

FCC and DOL Safety Review

January 14, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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There is a great effort in its second year, put together by the FCC and DOL to align safety nationwide in the tower industry. They have collaborated to create TIRAP, an apprenticeship training program similar to what unions and utilities use in other industries. The next meeting will be Feb 11, 2016 at FCC Headquarters. I plan to be there. They are going to align the communications industry with the workforce rules, meaning that the FCC knows the tower industry and the DOL has OSHA who knows safety. The 2 departments of the US government are aligned to create a model for safety in the USA. One that we should be proud of. I believe that collaboration is the key and that OSHA doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. They are trying to align their rules with the tower work that needs to be done.

The Wireless Deployment Handbook, LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition.

It is never a good year for the tower industry when we lose even one climber, and this year we lost several, including Ernie Jones who did more for the tower industry than almost anyone.

So this was a bad year but the losses were lower, and what is the theme? Pay attention! We lost a few veterans and someone new who if the people training here would have been paying attention they would have had her on a rope grab. This was a tough year even though the losses were less than previous years. Any lost life in the industry is terrible.

So how can we help each other out? By working as partners! We give each other grief when the other screws up, so make sure that you have someone watching over you and pointing out your mistakes. Be proactive! This is why the boy scouts have the buddy system, for support and to keep each other in line. Don’t think it will happen to you? That’s what Ernie. A seasoned veteran who got distracted just for a minute because he was busy. We really should be working in pairs as partners.

We also have NATE who created the NWSA to create a standardized certification program. While there isn’t much available yet for the climber there are rigging certifications from the crane industry that are paving the way for climbing certifications. This is quite an undertaking for this group. They have been trying to get more and more out there for the climbing technician.

If an accident happens, there is support for the injured workers and their families. There is support for the families of the fallen climbers. We have the Hubble Foundation and the Tower Family Foundation who do all that they can to support the victims of these horrendous accidents. They don’t ask too many questions but they are available to support whoever it would be, the families or the injured. Once someone has a detrimental accident chances are good they will never work the same again. If they are fallen then their families will never truly recover, but they need financial aid, which both groups do, because the banks don’t really care why the families can’t pay their bills. These financial problems can snowball as families have to pay for medical bills. It’s even worse when they have to pay the funeral bill. I see the fundraisers on GoFundMe.com when families need help.

So what can you do? If you are in the industry you can do several things. First, be safe and pay attention by looking out for yourself and your workmates, don’t’ let your smartphone distract you when climbing or driving. Second, give to the charity of your choice on the websites for the TFF or Hubble. Finally, let’s support the FCC and DOL as they come together to promote safety for the wireless worker at tower sites.

And now, some notes and history, helpful and reminders.

Money is an issue in the tower climber business. Most companies are small because they have trouble keeping work, money is a very important issue in this business and when people don’t get paid it ripples down to safety. The turf model of hiring contractors needs to be better regulated, in my opinion. Everyone will talk but not if they have to go public. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/09/16/tower-climbers-real-1-problem/
I came up with an idea for end to end safety with the safety audit. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/05/29/end-to-end-safety-the-site-safety-audit/
Plan for saving lives –http://wade4wireless.com/2014/03/12/follow-my-plan-and-save-tower-climbers-lives/
Here were my OSHA RFQ http://wade4wireless.com/2015/04/22/osha-rfi-questions-for-tower-climbers/
I did a post on whether the tower industry could police itself. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/01/07/will-the-tower-industry-police-itself/
I got many comments from climber that responded to the industry policing itself.
Ideas for proving that you have the proper certifications that are not out of date – http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/05/prove-youre-certified/
Responsibility poll http://wade4wireless.com/2013/12/26/responsibility-poll-results/
I got the firsthand update on Ernie Jones. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/16/what-happened-to-ernie/
Are schedules killing the workers?http://wade4wireless.com/2014/11/18/are-work-schedules-killing-the-wireless-field-worker-yes/
Are tower injuries the price of doing business?http://wade4wireless.com/2014/11/09/tower-injuries-is-this-the-price-of-doing-business/
RF is a hazard
Let’s not forget the hazard of ticks
Drugs in the industry http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/27/drugs-morons-and-steel/
Climber’s gear http://wade4wireless.com/2013/12/01/wireless-field-worker-how-is-your-gear/
There are many unsafe towers out there so we have an unofficial unsafe towers database, but even this is causing problems because owners are angry about the list. However, let me tell you, American Tower and Crown appreciate being told about tower problems and they are very quick to address them. http://wade4wireless.com/2014/09/13/report-the-unsafe-towers-in-a-public-database/

Tower climber risks:

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/02/20/hazardous-poop-look-out-dangerous-bird-and-bat-poop/

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/05/29/osha-rfi-response-for-hazards-and-incidents/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/20/do-or-die-are-you-in-over-your-head/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/06/trucks-ropes-heat-and-near-misses/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/05/28/my-top-11-rooftop-hazards/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/05/17/rf-awareness-are-you-aware-seriously-are-you/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/13/near-miss-stories-lessons-learned/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/09/09/feedback-3-near-miss-drugs/

Injured Tower climber Support

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/02/when-a-climber-falls-who-cries/

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/09/tff-dont-blame-dont-judge-just-help/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/07/11/interview-part-1-with-dr-bridgette-gette-hester-founder-of-the-hubble-foundation/

My IWCE presentation on YouTube about Tower Climber Safety. If you want the PowerPoint slides, just ask. I presented this in early 2015 at IWCE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFzad7zjjdQ

That’s all for this week, be smart, be safe, and pay attention.

I hope this helps, for more get the eBook! Find out where to get the eBook here.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

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Feedback from “Tower Injuries, Is this the Price of doing Business?”

February 26, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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OK, this is from my post “Tower Injuries, Is this the Price of doing Business?”

Comment: TIRAP is yet another Top/Down approach to find safety solutions. Fundamentally, few details from TIRAP have been revealed.
So far, the end game for the program is to immerse students into the industry. To send graduates into the workforce as “top hands”, “PM’s”, and “CM’s”. So, graduates are intended to become leaders for workers already in the field. Many with many years under their belts. Do you see the friction?
As you mentioned about the deadlines, contracts, screw-ups, and the usual push to get the work done. With or without proper gear to complete tasks. What are these graduates going to do, to improve safety? They will cave in to the usual push. Just like we do already. Meaning, they will roll the dice and hope they cash in.

To their credit, if they follow through with their trainings, TIRAP this is quite thorough. at least for a short-term training solution. Sadly, long-term, careful, mentored exposure to ALL. rank and file workers is what’s missing. Every worker climbing towers needs to be properly experienced, not just “trained” or “certified”
Union apprenticeships have been a traditionally proven leader in worker experience and worker safety. This approach is a bottom/up approach that IS successful at saving lives.
Maybe this industry is not ready for this discussion now. Creating more BOSSES, by virtue of TIRAP, is just another industry band-aid to try to stick to a severed limb. So the madness continues. Families will get more shocking calls. Kids will grow up without their parent. Widows and widowers will try to carry on, with the help of the tax payers an all the stigma that endures. Because OSHA fines (a slap on the wrist or not) go to the US Dept. Of Treasury. Who really pays the price? I’ll end with a quote by Kurt Vonnegut, “And so it goes”.

Response: I believe that if TIRAP can be a model for the apprenticeship program it may really help. I don’t think that they will bypass the experienced workers because as you mention there is no replacement for experience. Experience is the key to leading in this industry. however, it is not the only qualification, common sense and brains help along with integrity. If you have a good person teaching these people the right way to do things, then it will go a long way. We all need mentors to help the process along and I think that is the one thing that has been missing in so many of these companies. Leadership helps and remember that you do not need to be the boss to be a good leader!

Remember to be smart, be safe, and pay attention to what you are doing. Follow the plan but don’t be afraid to adapt, improvise so you can overcome any obstacle!

What are you thinking, let it be heard!

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Start learning with some products I created just for you! Start with the Introduction to Tower Climbing, then get The Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Site Work, then to do the work you need to look at the Scope of Work Training, and finally the Tower Worker’s Logbook to log your high time and drive time and your project responsibilities, go to Learn more about my products! for more information!

Go to the IWCE conference and see me! I will be on the “Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance” panel on March 17^th, 2015. Don’t you need an excuse to go to the Las Vegas convention center. I will share the stage with Cory Crenshaw, Charles Ryan, Dr. Denis Boulais, and Robert Johnson. Our moderator will be J. Sharpe Smith of AGL Magazine. Here is a list of exhibitors that will be there. I will be speaking and I may need some safety gear, email me at wade4wireless@gmail.com so we can talk! Make sure you sign up for this forum running 1:00PM to 4:30PM because let’s face it, these are issues you deal with on every job!If you want to talk after the conference, let me know.

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Will the Tower Industry Police Itself?

January 7, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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I recently put a post out about unionizing tower climbers. The main response from the many people who were against unions, (many using the auto industry as the standard), coming into the tower industry told me the industry should police itself. I agree, it should. Is that happening? Apparently not, 12 deaths this year and who knows how many near misses and injuries. Isn’t that what the industry is doing now, policing itself? Apparently not, OSHA is policing the industry. Shouldn’t part of the responsibility fall on the carriers and the customers? I would think so but when something happens no one really investigates the end-user or the tower/monopole/water tank owners. Maybe the tower owners who say they are going the extra mile to make sure their towers are safe, but when an accident happens they are not looked at either. Apparently it is up to the climbers to police themselves. Some tower crews do an outstanding job while others don’t. That’s the way it is. OSHA is doing all they can. The FCC is helping. PCIA is setting training standards. Vocational schools are starting classes. The FCC and DOL got together to create TIRAP, a voluntary program defining an apprenticeship program to follow. I think it’s a great idea, setting a standard for all to follow. You know, like the voluntary wearing of seatbelts. I mean, did they really need to pass a law to make people wear seatbelts? Oh, right, yes, a law was passed because no one cared about wearing a seatbelt until it was a law and the police could pull you over for that reason. Did drivers police themselves in that case, no, and it didn’t cost near the money that tower climbing safety training and gear does.

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How many people have to die before there is more intervention? Apparently more than 12 a year. Listen, no one wants anyone to die or get hurt. We really want everyone to be safe. I know that equipment fails and accidents happen and that will continue to happen. I would like to think that we are doing everything we can to be safe. However, I still hear about the horror stories of the industry where companies will initially get everyone trained until they get all the contracts from the carriers or turf vendors. Most companies start with good intentions. Then to save money they do on the job training (OJT) and skip the formal training. So is this the way we are going? Saving money by doing the minimal amount to get by? No first aid or CPR or ongoing rescue training, just the bare essentials to get approvals and then just hire whomever to make more money. This is where they should have in-house training so they can tailor the safety program, but so often this can be corrupt as well. In house programs can be great, I have seen some awesome trainers but by the same token I have seen companies pull the plug on the in-house program because of time and money. This is why TIRAP was set up, to set the standards for training, OJT, and apprenticeship as to prepare the new climbers for the career ahead of them. It costs time and money, two things that the climbing companies have a hard time getting. Look at MasTech, they trained a whole group of people only to have AT&T pull the plug and force MasTech to lay them off. Who do you hold responsible for that debacle?

Deployment and tower climbing digital products to help with your needs. If you are starting out I have an eBook or Audiobook, Tower Climbing: An Introduction and Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Site Work. Learn and understand the SOW and how it can help you get paid or at least take the customer to court go ahead and order my SOW Training files. Go ahead and share the information! Let others know.

Something to think about, the carriers are spending over $44 Billion to buy spectrum. There will be so much work coming up in the next 3 to 6 years. Much engineering work has been automated but crews are still needed to hang equipment on towers, poles, monopoles, and water tanks. Wouldn’t it be nice if we trained people properly and if they got the ongoing training they needed? Would it be great if they got paid for the work that they did? Getting paid is part of safety because safety is not cheap, training and safety gear costs money. If you don’t get paid you may have to cut back. Who is monitoring the payments to the contractors? It doesn’t appear to be the end customer.

So is the industry policing itself? In some cases, yes. There are business owners that run the company like they care. They train and they support their workers. They fire customers that don’t care about safety and put the schedule ahead of a life. They select who they wish to work with and for. They take the time to show that the business of safety and training is a culture, not an annoying practice to follow because the customer told you to.

I know many climbers and foreman and project managers that care, they know that a life is valuable. I also am hearing about more and more that don’t care because they have a schedule to keep. Everyone looks at an accident to see how to prevent it, but who is looking at the industry to make sure it’s policing itself? It should be every climber out there who has a foreman or PM that asks you to put the job ahead of their life. The reality is that a select few, (some climbers, some crew owners), and OSHA. They are trying to prevent this from happening in the first place. The FCC is assisting. The problem with relying on the government entities is that they are overwhelmed and understaffed.

So I would like to ask Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile to put safety and site audits in their budgets for the upcoming growth. They really not only need to be following up on the contractors and the Turf vendors but dropping in to see the work happening unannounced. They should be talking to random installer during and after the installations to check the pulse of the industry. That is something they could do to make sure the GCs are doing their job. They should be hiring trained and competent crews. They should also follow-up to see that those crew are getting paid! I think that is why AT&T wanted to deploy with someone like MasTech, my opinion only! I believe AT&T would like to see the industry improve. I also think that Verizon Wireless really wants to make sure the deployments are safe and paid for.

By the way, do you know why people don’t stay in wireless? It is usually because of the business practices and getting paid. It is so hard to stay involved in this business. People that stay in wireless do it because it is a passion. How does the industry reward them? By torturing them with horrible schedules, low pay and poor business practices. For instance, if you get hurt on a job, you may not get paid because they will bring someone else into complete it. So you are injured, out of work, not getting paid, and the customer just moves on, status quo, business as usual. Meanwhile, the hurt climber and their family are left alone to deal with the legal issues that ensue. Who is there for them? Hubble Foundation and that’s about it outside of friends and family. The lawyers are there, but they may be looking out for one of the companies involved, not the person.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention. You should have a plan in place even though you may need to improvise. After all, you need to have a guide to follow for the project and for safety.

Support the Hubble Foundation! When a climber gets hurt, they are there. When a climber is stranded they are there. When a climber gets stuck somewhere they are there. Would you want someone to help you out if that happened?

By the way, OSHA has not updated their site yet with the latest fatality numbers. OSHA Communications Tower

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More Feedback from You Wireless Workers!

December 2, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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I really appreciate all of the feedback. One of the posts that I got a lot of feedback on was “Tower Injuries: Is this the Price of doing Business?” I found out that the wireless community in general is fired up about the need for change in this industry! Not only the perception that it’s dangerous but the fact that we should be doing better. There is a not only a need for change, but the industry will get a black eye because it’s going to become a type of “US” and “THEM” mentality in wireless. What I mean by that is there will be the large customers, like the carriers, who will be the “THEM” looking to keep deployments as cheap as possible and the “US” which is the climber who puts his/her life at risk trying to get the tower completed in less time regardless of the risk.

Hey, don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter over there on the top right. > > >

Also, I have a Wade4Wireless products page where I have more information on my new SOW training package and I released an audiobook for my Tower Climbing: An Introduction eBook. I have a free eBook for the SOW Overview if you’re interested.

What we need to do is change the perception that the tower side of the industry is too dangerous to work and get it back to a highly respected profession where accidents may happen but are not common. The past 2 years are poor examples of safety. You know what I am talking about, not only the deaths but the injuries and near misses. Injury and death should not be the price of doing business in any industry. We are working harder to make this change, but it will take a team effort from all sides and especially from you! Each of you can help by spreading the word and becoming living examples of what to do the right way!

So, here is the feedback. I will have the comment and then my response. Just to be clear, all of these are responses from “Tower Injuries: Is this the Price of doing Business?” I remove the names to prevent any harassment, but if you include a company name I will print it.

Comment: Hi Wade, The comment was meant towards Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. The major companies that contract out the work so they don’t have to pay Union scale wages to their employees. But I agree as the one it was said to about everything you wrote.

Response: Thank you.

Comment: This fatalistic approach has no place in a safety culture. No level of accidents, much less deaths, should be acceptable.

Response: I agree whole heartedly!

Comment: Great article. I experience a lot of “deadlines” or “it has to be done” situations. There are better ways to send guys out in the morning without turning it into a race. I am 15+yrs into telecommunications industry. I take a laid back and still be safe point view with my crew and it works. Also the quality of work is excellent.

Response: It is great to see that someone can relax and pay attention to the deployment itself rather than the dead lines that often overcome many of us.

Comment: If you have never worked as an installer on one of these towers, you cannot understand how difficult it is to perform the tasks required to do a job. The owners, designers and producers of these towers are simply designing towers to support the antennas and lines, without any thought as to how they will be erected and maintained. (Other than step-bolts which are a major contributor to the fatalities.) In comparison, look at the U.S. Forest Service towers. Has there ever been an accident where a forest service worker fell from a tower? If there was, I never heard about it and these towers have been around much longer than communication towers. The service was astute enough to provide a safe workplace for their employees.

Response: I don’t know about the Forest Service tower injuries, I couldn’t find any, but I agree completely that the tower should be made as safe as possible. When climbing there are so many physical obstacles in the way and there are not always descent tie off points. Some people don’t understand what I mean by that but you may need to wrap the lanyard around something to get a tie off point because it may be the only thing to connect the lanyard too. It could be an oversized cross beam or a large leg. Especially since we all know that the climbing pegs are not an acceptable tie off point. I find that companies that are tower owners only seemed concerned with the tie off points if they have their people climbing all the towers. This is when it becomes a concern. 100% tie off is a lot easier when there are well planned and accessible tie off points that are clean without sharp edges.

Comment: Hi Wade. There are aspects of life this side of the pond where we have a surfeit of legislation and it suffocates us, but when it comes to H&S in mobile comms. I am glad we have tight legislation, prescriptive regulations and significant penalties for companies and individuals that do not comply. I work for a large tower co (JV between two carriers) and compliance with our Construction, Design and Management Regs is absolute and audited, and it underpins an uncompromising approach to working safe and staying safe.
It is frightening in any civilized country that injuries and fatalities might even flippantly be said to be the price of doing business, or perhaps to be viewed as in some way inevitable in delivery of rollout and upgrade projects to time and/or to budget. It’s time we replaced the triangle of contention between time, cost and quality handmade it a pyramid with H&S no longer a silent factor.
Finally well done on having a blog and a LinkedIn page that call this out.
Regards

Response: Thank you for the comments and it shows us how not all regulation is bad. Unfortunately here in the states big companies generally set regulation until there are too many accidents.

Comment: Every accident is preventable. That is not a safety slogan but an actual fact. The problem is that safety costs more than a lot of employers and/or their employees want to pay. In this business (tower work) you don’t get off easy when you make a mistake. Serious injury and death are the regrettable results when mistakes happen in an elevated position.
Take a closer look at the photo above. Do you see all of those cable connections on the bottom of the antennas and radio heads that are inaccessible unless someone suspends themselves from the tower/platform mount? How much would it cost to relocate those connections to positions above the bottom of the platform to afford a safer and efficient work position? Why continue to put good people in harm’s way to do their work?
Safety starts on the drawing board of every product and every project. If not, the risk to workers greatly increases and the opportunities for serious accidents go up accordingly. It is time to re-engineer our approach to safety in the wireless industry!

Response: I could not agree more! However, it is not thought of end to end. I tried to bring this up before but it seems that there is no alignment from the beginning so it is mostly put on the climber. When I say from the beginning, we should start when new towers are constructed. They can’t be prepared for everything as technologies change, (who knew we would hang all the radio heads on the tower?), but the tie off points could be prepared better. When the equipment is hung on the tower it should be thought out so when work is done it can be easily maintained, but it is not. I worked on transmitters years ago where they were trying to get the unit to fit in a small space. It fit in a small space up until you had to work on it. Then you had to pull it out from the tight spot, hoping not to affect the connected coax and you had to practically pull it apart to work on the most common failures. Not to mention all the tools you needed, it had nut, screws that need a flat, Philip, Torx and more just to work on it. They improved that side by making everything modular at first, now they replace an entire unit when it has problems. But the climber has more and more work on the tower, in the air, at height. They have to learn fiber skills, coax skills, climbing skills, safety skills, and more. Yet, when something happens people always say, well they should have done this or that, not accounting for all the issues they have to contend with. When something bad happens, most people look at the end, not the beginning to end. How many times has OSHA said, “Well the RRH should have been mounted elsewhere” or “why didn’t the tower owner provide proper climbing tie off points”?

If you have an opinion, tell me about it!

I thought you guys may want to get more training, here is a good antenna tutorial.

Antenna tutorial http://www.comsoc.org/form/tutorial-registration-antenna-basics#.VGiNsOXkjUM.linkedin

Want to support a tower climber’s family or a climber in need? Here’s how. Support Hubble, they need it now more than ever!!

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Guess what?!! I have finished the tutorial for the SOW.

I also have books!

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Tower Injuries: Is this the Price of doing Business?

November 9, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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I was having a conversation the other day when someone told me about an injury. The lawyers became involved almost immediately, as they always do. The lawyer told the family that injuries are the price of doing business for wireless carriers. Can you imagine? That this is what the legal system thinks of our industry?

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I am so angry about this but it is the opinion of the outsiders looking in. This is something that has to change. I have heard this so many times, so many things that give the industry a black eye. Injuries should not be one of them. Can we shape up? Of course, look at all of the tower companies out there that want to end any type of injury in the field. When I spoke to Liz Day, the woman who put together the Pro-Publica tower climber report, References here and here and here, she told me that everybody she talked to was so open about accidents. From the companies that had serious injuries to the companies that had fatalities. Everyone was quick to talk about how to make the industry better. They all wanted to achieve a safer and healthier injury rate. I don’t think anyone wants any of this to happen.

So why the bad reputation? You know, it is easy to point to the individual, and blame them. Isn’t that the first thing that happens in an accident? What about equipment failure? It happens. What about when something on the tower is not installed correctly? That is very common. What about lack of training? Yes, common problem.

This is completely different that the Price of Doing Business!

Haven’t we tackled of all these problems? Haven’t we done all we can to make these problems go away? And yet, 11 deaths this year as of November, I pray there are no more. Please, no more injuries this year. Imagine how many we don’t hear about. Imagine all the people who get hurt and we never know.

What can we do? The FCC and DOL are stepping in by forming TIRAP, information here and here, and we hope that forming an organized system will help. It is still voluntary.

What about the pay structure? Are people getting paid? Are contractors being treated fair? Well, that all depends who you talk to. If someone can’t complete a job because they got hurt, what happens? Does the job stop? Chances are they will bring someone else in to complete the job and the injured contract won’t get paid. Talk about a kick to the crotch. So apparently the system has problems with payments. Why is that when the carriers are spending so much money to build these systems?

It appears that the prime directive is money and schedule. After all time is money but what is a life worth? Apparently not much when it comes to deployment. After all, 11 deaths this year, and DOL, OSHA, the FCC, and all the tower companies are working towards a better industry. So where is the problem? OSHA created the Communications Towers Website so we can track such things. They created TIRAP. They had a workshop. Yet, the reputation around the industry is that injury and death is part of doing business.

I was talking to someone this morning that mentioned that several contractors have a list of companies that they list as “DO NOT USE” because they treat climbers bad, they cheat subs out of getting paid, and quite frankly they are unscrupulous people. I know every industry has this. I have seen it in construction, same scenario where when one company gets a bad reputation they simply open up under a new name. Why is this happening in the wireless industry? Because it is a booming business where people smell money. I have seen big businesses change their practices because under the leadership they look for a way to downsize to save money. It happens because their priorities shift and they choose to treat people as a faceless resource who they just want people gone. I get it, big companies may pay better, but some of them have poor leadership. Leadership matters. That is why I respect someone like Dave Anthony of Shenandoah Tower Service who was at the TIRAP workshop. He not only practices what he preaches, he lives it. He cares for his business and his employees. Not all employees care, another issue but one I don’t have time to address here. I just have to say it is hard to filter through the crap to get to the truth on all sides.

So what can we do? Work together to make it a better industry. You are always going to have personality clashes but I would like to think we can all work together to weed out the scum who craps on the worker.

Communication is a big problem! I see so many projects where you may have a crew show up to see that no one knew they were coming. Why is that? How does that happen? Too many project managers? Poor leadership on a project? All too common.

So here is what I would propose, the customer should have a feedback line or email or website that the worker, the contractor who is actually doing the work can tell the customer about the GC or turf vendor they are working with. Sometimes the company isn’t bad, it’s just one jerk that is causing problems. I have seen it in my companies where customers will request one person because they trust them and they know they can count on them. Yet the company will not eliminate the problems. Sometimes we should honor the customer’s request.

If the customers started a database of problems companies and problems people, it may help. It may cause problems for some good people, so once again you need a bull crap filter. This is no easy task!

So listen, if you’re starting out, it will take some time to work up to getting work for the big boys. So make those connections, do good work, build a good reputation and honor your workers and your customer and the team will make your company earn a great reputation in the industry. Hopefully you will get to the point where you can pick your customers, that is a great place to be.

Work hard, be safe, be smart, and pay attention.

Let me know what you think!

Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! My books will help teach someone the basics of tower work.

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Climbing Alone and more Feedback

November 5, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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So, did you ever try to climb quickly just to get things done? You’re alone and thought it wouldn’t take long so you would go up to finish something. First off, you should not climb alone, second always be 100% tied off no matter what. I wanted to bring this up because it should go without saying. I know that tower workers are quick to criticize anyone who can’t rescue a fellow climber, but if you are alone, then no one can rescue you! If you are alone, no one can call for help! If you are alone then no one can do anything. Do you remember when that fellow fell in Texas? He was found beside the tower. He was there for maintenance repair and then someone found him 30 feet from a tower near Bluetown, Texas tower, post here. The company sent him out there alone! This man was Ronaldo Eduardo Smith, according to Sheriff Omar Lucio. He was 62 years old, climbing alone, no one is sure how high he was on that 1,000 foot tower. Unfortunately I could not get more information. This happened about the same time that the West Virginia accident happened. So here we are, 9 months later and we don’t know any more that we did that day except his name and that he is gone. So sad, our prayers go out to his family.

More information is on the podcast! Search on iTunes for Wade4wireless and write a review now!

Listen, I climbed alone, I would call in when I started to climb, called in when I reached my height, and called in when I was heading down, and called in when I got on the ground. Did that make it right or smart, no, I was completely stupid! I want to make sure no one makes the same mistakes I did! I want to get the word out that the money is not worth the risk! I want to make sure that OSHA and TIRAP are doing all that they can to make sure that everyone who works in the tower industry is 100% safe! Many of you think that it may not be possible to get to 0% fatalities, 0% accidents, but I don’t! I just think we need to work as a team and try harder! Did you ever hear of Albert Einstein, not a climber but he had a great quote. Quoting the great Mr. Einstein, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Any idea what he means? I will tell you how I interpret this, we can’t use the same methods we were using when we created all of these problems! So we now have 100% tie off, which from what I hear only about 20% of you actually follow! Not an accurate number, just some of the feedback I am getting from people who brag about it on Facebook. Are you being as safe as you can be? Do you think about what you’re going to do before you do it? Or do you think, “That won’t happen to me!” Just like climbing alone, most people think nothing will happen to them, and chances are good that only about 10% will die. Are you one in 10? Let’s quote the great Clint Eastwood from his character “Dirty Harry” movie, video clip here, “You have got to ask yourself, do I feel lucky? Well do ya punk?” So think about it, do you feel you are too good to have an accident or too lucky?

This wasn’t a tower climber but a mountain climber that fell 40 foot off of First Flatiron in Chautauqua Park in Boulder County, Colorado. He thought he could climb alone without safety gear. This is a good example of what happens when you don’t have safety gear. I wanted to get this out because people thought it was a tower climber, links below. Thank you Dave Harrison! You are the man!

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_26843731

http://kwgn.com/2014/11/01/man-climbing-alone-without-gear-seriously-injured-in-flatirons-fall/

http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2014/11/01/climber-injured-in-fall/18345013/

http://kdvr.com/2014/11/01/man-climbing-alone-without-gear-seriously-injured-in-flatirons-fall/

Hey, just to offer you a helpful link, http://www.rfwireless-world.com/calculators/ is something that someone sent me and I thought I would share with you. It is a good reference for some RF formulas that may help you work in your job. Trust me when I say most stuff today is fixed but in case you actually get to do some RF work, it may help. Something that is really cool is their RF Exposure calculator, it is pretty neat because they not only let you enter the values, but they show you the formulas. See if there is anything you can use on there.

Tell me, what do you think about this?

More Feedback!

So here is more feedback.

Someone responded on the “Let’s all TIRAP, FCC and DOL team up” post.

Comment: I work for Premier Utility Service! I’ve been climbing for 3 years now and absolutely see the need for an apprenticeship! It is so great that the industry is finally taking the correct steps to better the future of all of us in the telecommunications industry!
Thank you for being such an advocate for all of us. Being that you attended the event I had a couple of questions for you!
Is there an estimated length for the apprenticeship? And when is the expected date for completion of the program?
Thank you

Response: Thank you sir! I appreciate the words of encouragement. There are so many ways to learn about safety and it is up to all of us to make sure that we can all stand for a safe work environment. For information go to http://www.tirap.org/ and here is what I know. The expected length of the apprenticeship doesn’t seem to be set, and I don’t know if they have a set length. I am thinking it has less to do with a time period and more has to do with skills and training. I don’t have a date for program completion at this time but I do have an email into them for more information. It is taking longer than expected to get a response. Once I do, and if I get permission, I will write something up. Just because you get answers doesn’t mean they will let me print it. I had some interviews with the FCC and they would not let me associate their name with anything in print. For more on TIRAP here and here and here. More information on guidelines here and here.

This will not be easy, since the lowest bidder gets the work. We will need to make sure that we have good and realistic pricing to start with. There will always be someone who thinks they can do it for less, but I think the carriers will have a responsibility to make sure that the climbing companies are doing everything as safe as they should be. They need to help us help ourselves. I am talking safety, but also in getting the crews paid! It is impossible to be safe when you don’t get paid! So if they have a turf vendor who won’t pay, then they should find a new manager for their contractor! We all need to do the best work we can so we can get paid in a timely manner. The acceptance process needs to be improved!

Next comment is from the “Notes on Workshop on Tower Climber Safety” post.

Comment: That workshop meeting reads as though it has a great consensus for all to build a common safety & procedures platform for us all to work from which will help all of us tower worker bees immensely. I look around my tower crew workers & worry & wonder who will be my first tower worker that may chose to ignore their safety training & get themselves or somebody else injured or killed? I am going to pass along & have parts of your article read aloud plus parts of the workshop meeting since our weekly safety meeting on the fall protection subject normally amounts to 100% of our worker having no feedback or suggestions. It’s amazing that they must perceive that everything is perfect until they arrive at their tower site & everything is not. It is a difficult job for tower climbers & ground crew to adjust & adapt to daily changing safety challenges! My hat is off to those of you that were able to make time to attend & participate at the workshop.

Response: Thank you for the feedback and I really appreciate the support. This made me happy that I went! Knowing that you appreciate the notes on this makes me understand how important this was for the industry! You make a great point, nothing is ever perfect when you arrive, and no climber has a perfect life! Far from it! Tower climbers deal not only with work problems, like when they who up at the site something is missing or something is in the way or something is hanging where you need to put your equipment. They deal with financial problems like customers not paying or the boss being late with a paycheck or the boss not covering expenses for the tower climber. They also deal with personal problems, like marital problems from being away from home for long periods of times and missing their children growing up. They deal with work personnel, let’s face it, there are some great guys in the industry, but we have our share of jerks! Those jerks could cause a problem when on the tower putting people at risk. I just brought up some common issues that you need to be aware of if you don’t know what the climber has to deal with. It is not an easy job that is why for some it is a passion to not only climb but to do the best they can do to be safe and do a good job! While most tower climbers really care, like the both of these people who left comments, many do not care. It is just a job or a way to kill time or something they do just to impress the women! I say that because most of the female climbers I talk to seem to be more conscientious than many men and really care. It seems like there are a bunch of guys out there that need to be straightened out. My opinion!

OK, let’s end this by announcing that NATE is going to have a webinar on December 9^th if interested, http://natehome.com/2014/11/04/dont-miss-the-live-nate-webinar-on-december-9-2014/ about the “Achieving Zero Injuries – Best Practices in Workplace Safety” that I will listen to. Oh, Todd Schlekeway, if you read this, please put a meeting invite in the article so I can add it to my calendar. Just being selfish here but the sooner I put it in the better chance I have of making it. This is probably more for the tower crew owners because it is presented by the law firm of Fisher and Phillips. Presentation by Edwin G. Foulke, Jr who is a partner there.

OK, finally, support Hubble, they care for you tower workers! Did you hear that? Gette and Kathy are very passionate people who give every moment of their spare time to the families of the tower workers. Why, because they have been through tragedies of the wireless industry! They have suffered the tragic loss of someone they loved. Someone who they loved dearly, someone they thought they could not live without. Someone that they would like to be remembered forever by their work in this charity! Do you want to be remembered for something good? Do you want to leave a legacy of helping people? These two women suffered more than anyone should. Did they quit on life? Maybe for a little while due to grief, but then they came fighting back to help your families tower workers. Isn’t it time you give something back? Isn’t it time to show you care? Isn’t it time you fulfilled your legacy of helping a fellow climber’s family? Just do what you think is right! These people are here to help and help they have, so I am thinking it’s time you return the favor! Click on the picture below to go to the website!

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

The Price of Safety!

October 30, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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Deploy with the Wireless Deployment Handbook eBook that covers professional carrier end to end deployment of LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS to show you the proper way to plan for deployment then execute, planning and action without the mistakes.

Hey, the price of safety can run into the thousands of dollars. I know that IT guys complain when they need to spend a hundred dollars on a program after they bought a laptop for $1,000, but the tower tech probably has a laptop as well. One that will need to be used at a tower site, on the seat of a truck, or on top of a transmitter in an outdoor cabinet. No matter what you do it takes money to run a business, we all know this. But when safety is involved, it takes money. Training, insurance, legalities, policies, enforcement, and gear all cost money. It ain’t cheap!

The price of safety is not only the classes you need to take, the OSHA classes, the CPR classes, the first aid classes, the climbing certification, and the hours that the tower crew owner has to pay the technicians to attend these classes. Many times the climber will need to travel and the training is only good for the company that you work for at that time. Remember that an employer is normally paying for all of this. If you are a contractor doing it on your own, then you know that you are spending your money. It is a tax write off. However, it is still money out-of-pocket. All this and remember that your certifications may not follow you, each company should certify you, I wrote about it here. If you want to price out training, go ahead and research it at http://safetyoneinc.com/ or www.lbauniversity.org or http://www.rfcomply.com/pc/index.php or http://www.comtrainusa.com/ for more information. There are plenty of safety programs out there. Maybe go to Wireless Estimator and see who they recommend.

I won’t get into insurance in this post, but maybe in the future. Insurance can make or break your business, and then if something happens, they may or may not cover you. Insurance companies often look for an out unless you have the right policy.

Governments spend money on safety as well! Safety is being addressed and the government is investing more in tower climber safety. If you are in the tower industry then you should be aware of TIRAP, http://www.tirap.org/ the organization formed to set standards for the climbing tech. The fact sheet is found here. The one thing I am not very clear on is whether they will have a database showing participating companies, but that is another blog post. That would help climbers know who to work for. I have blogs on the conference here and here and here.

Today I want to talk about gear, your safety gear and what is cost to be properly equipped. My good friend Daniel at GME Supply were nice enough to take the time to run several quotes for me. No, I did not pay them and they are not paying me for this advertising. Here is what I did, I sent them an email asking them to quote out safety gear for this post, and they did. Full disclosure. I don’t know if you would pay this price or get a discount, but I wanted to show everyone the price of the gear. I won’t have all of it, but you get the idea. If anything, this is on the low-end of the spectrum. Remember that each person on the crew needs to have gear, as well as be trained and insured.

Oh, to be clear, the employer must pay for the safety gear. There is a company in California that will deduct money from employees paychecks just so the employees can have safety gear. When do they tell the employees? Right after they are hired. They ask that they sign a form stating that they must have deductions taken from their paychecks to pay for their safety gear. Can you imagine around $70 per paycheck so you can climb safely for a company? Maybe up to 4 or more paychecks, that ain’t right! I would like to say now that is wrong. Proof is here, as required by OSHA! More information here and here. So if your employer makes you deduct money from your paycheck, get a copy of the form, then go to this OSHA Whistleblower Fact Sheet and it will tell you what to do. I used to post this at the bottom of my blog posts. Well here you go, all the information you need to make a difference! They do separate out some items, like non-specialty steel toes, everyday clothing, ordinary clothing or creams, ordinary sunglasses, winter coats, normal rain gear, normal hats, parka, lifting belts if not required. If you own the company of tower crews, why would you make them chip in to be safe? Let me know! I bet most of you will bring up all the times you have had employees steal from you, and that sucks. I get it, they took your tools, gear, whatever. However, it is up to you to make sure you do inventory and that the employee understands that they are responsible for anything lost or intentionally damaged or stolen. Do your due diligence.

So before I get into all of this, and you wonder what safety will cost, then think of what will happen if you don’t follow the process, if you don’t pay for the necessities of the climber. Let me ask you, what is the cost of one life? Why don’t you ask the families of the fallen while you go back and challenge the fines that were handed to the companies. Ask the friends of the climbers and ask fellow climbers what they think when another climber falls. They support each other and they try to understand what happens, how it happened, and why it happened. I found out that you may have someone looking out for you but most times you need to look out for yourself!

So the quotes didn’t come out very well in the post, so you can download them;

https://wadesarver.com/Podcast/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Capstan-and-accessories-quote.pdf

https://wadesarver.com/Podcast/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Harness-and-equipment.pdf

https://wadesarver.com/Podcast/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Delux-Tower-Climbers-Kit.pdf

https://wadesarver.com/Podcast/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/WestFall-Pro-Climbing-kit.pdf

So for $679.99 you can have the deluxe climbers kit, GM-90002 which will include EAGLE TOWER LE HARNESS, 1″ X 6′ CENTURION ADJUSTABLE, 1-1/2″ X 6′ FLEX-NOPAC LANYARD, West Fall Pro 4-7/8″ x 3″ Steel Carabiner (2 each), West Fall 7″ x 3-3/4″ Steel Carabiner (2 each), 3/8″ WIRE ROPE GRAB FOR FALL, RED LARGE GME GEARBAG, EXTRA TALL TOP CLOSING CANVAS BOLT Bag, COMFORT PLUS 5151 HARD HAT.

That was one option, another is the Westfall Ascend Climbing kit, for $1,139.99 and you get MED WESTFALL PRO ASCEND TOWER Harness, White Petzl Vent Helmet, Grillon Adjustable Lanyard with handle, West Fall 4-1/2″ x 2-3/4″ Steel Ca (2 each), West Fall Pro 4-7/8″ x 3″ Steel Ca (2 each), EXTRA TALL TOP CLOSING CANVAS BOLT BAG,, DBI LAD-SAF 3/8″ Wire Rope Grab w/attach, and 1-1/2″ X 6′ FLEX-NOPAC LANYARD.

What if we break it out and buy it separately, well, maybe that is how you want to do it. Dan at GME was nice enough to put this list together for me. This has some extras in it but it’s a good break down. If these are hard to read, then download them from the links above.

Qty	Description	Part #	Price Each	Total ext
1	ALUMINUM, WESTFALL PRO MED WESTFALL PRO ASCEND TOWER HARNESS	WF-88022	$410.00	$410.00
1	MED EXOFIT TOWER HARNESS	DS-1108651	$374.95	$374.95
1	PETZL VERTEX VENT, WHITE	PZ-A10VWA	$115.00	$115.00
1	JSP 6151 HARD HAT, VENTED, WHITE	PP-280-EV6151SV-10	$49.99	$49.99
1	I’D LG DESCENDER/BELAY DEVICE NFPA	PZ-D200L0	$250.00	$250.00
1	STERLING 1/2″ HTP STATIC KERNMANTLE	SR-P130060092E	$349.16	$349.16
1	ASAP MOBILE FALL ARREST DEVICE	PZ-B71AAA	$215.00	$215.00
1	ASAP’SORBER LANYARD, 40CM FOR ASAP	PZ-L71AA40	$49.95	$49.95
1	FRENCH CREEK, 5/8″ 3 STRAND 300′ LIFELIN	FC-410-300Z	$265.99	$265.99
1	FALLTECH 8355 ROPE GRAB W/ PARK AND LANYARD	FH-8355	$215.99	$215.99
1	29506, 1″ X 6′ CENTURION ADJUSTABLE WEB	FP-29506	$46.95	$46.95
1	GRILLON ADJUSTABLE LANYARD WITH HANDLE	PZ-L52A002	$180.00	$180.00
1	35478, 1-1/2″ X 6′ FLEX-NOPAC LANYARD	FP-35478	$99.69	$99.69
1	6′ SAL Internal Y-Leg Lanyard, Loop + Re	FH-8259Y3	$69.95	$69.95
1	DBI LAD-SAF 3/8″ Wire Rope Grab w/attach	DS-6116540	$369.95	$369.95
1	3/8″ WIRE ROPE GRAB FOR FALL PROTECTION	RG-5000	$179.99	$179.99
1	ERGODYNE 5020 DUFFEL BAG, MEDIUM, BLACK	ED-13321	$24.99	$24.99
1	LARGE DELUXE GME SUPPLY GEARBAG, BLACK	GM-3050	$59.99	$59.99
1	CANVAS BUCKET WITH BLACK LEATHER BOTTOM	GM-5104	$59.99	$59.99
1	CANVAS BUCKET WITH BLACK MOLDED BOTTOM	GM-5109	$34.99	$34.99
1	EXTRA TALL TOP CLOSING CANVAS BOLT BAG	GM-5416TCP	$24.99	$24.99
1	BULL-PIN AND BOLT BAG, CANVAS, TUNNEL	GM-5416T	$12.99	$12.99
1	GME Supply Rescue Kit, Sterling Large Rope Bag,7/16″ HTP Static Red x 300′, PZ-D200S0 Descender/Belay device, 3 each West Fall Pro 4 7/8″ x 3″ Steel carabiner, 1.5Mx25mm Tube Tape sling, PMI Easy pick-off Strap	GM-9025	$744.95	$744.95
1	MaxiFlex Ultimate, 15G Gry. Nylon Shell, Blk.	PP-34-874/L	$3.33	$3.33
1	CORDEX PLUS MIDWEIGHT GLOVE, TAN, SZ L	PZ-K53LT	$49.95	$49.95
1	6470 M Black Outer Layer Thermal Weight	ED-41203	$129.99	$129.99
1	Ergodyne 6465 CORE Performance Work Wear	ED-41103	$114.99	$114.99
2	Rope Connection/Termination Plate	TR-V4260	$48.00	$96.00
1	fieldSENSE Occupational RF Monitor	FS-8500	$490.00	$490.00
1	ZENON Z12 EYEWEAR, CLEAR	PP-250-01-0920	$1.50	$1.50
1	BOUTON ANSER EYEWEAR, BLACK W/SMOKE LEN	PP-250-AN-10112	$3.99	$3.99
2	07400, WestFall Pro 4-7/8″ x 3″ Steel Ca	WF-7400	$18.99	$37.98
2	07420, WestFall 7″ x 3-3/4″ Steel Carabiner	WF-7420	$25.99	$51.98
2	07430, WestFall 9″ x 5-1/2″ Steel Carabiner	WF-7430	$34.99	$69.98
1	WESTFALL SEPARATOR SPREADER BAR	WF-7475	$31.99	$31.99
1	3′ Anchor Pass-Thru Sling Web	FH-7336	$27.99	$27.99
1	6′ Anchor Pass-Thru Sling Web	FH-7372	$31.99	$31.99
			Totals –>	$5,347.11

So that is what it will cost to outfit the climber with the basics. This is the normal gear they will use daily. Not anything for weather like sun screen or winter clothing or gloves. I always used gloves, paid for them out of my own pocket because my hands are a very valuable asset. What about boots? Steel toe, winter and summer, steel shank for support. It all matters and the climber normally pays for all of that just to work.

But wait climbing fans, just sit back and think about the other necessities, not the fluids that should always be on site but the other necessities like ropes, brackets, tools, and other necessities. If these are hard to read, then download them from the links above.

Qty	Description	Part #	Price Each	Total ext
1	C3081170 AB Chance Capstan 120 Volt AC P	HB-C3081170	$2,089.95	$2,089.95
1	CAPSTAN WINCH, Hitch Mount	HB-T3080999	$299.95	$299.95
1	C-Bracket	HB-C3080890	$114.99	$114.99
1	SWIVEL BRACKET	HB-C3080903	$299.99	$299.99
1	C3080856- ROPELOCK	HB-C3080856	$154.95	$154.95
1	COMPOSITE DOUBLE BRAID PULLING	EN-CDB160600	$400.00	$400.00
1	3/8″ COMPOSITE DOUBLE BRAID, 600′	EN-CDB120600	$240.00	$240.00
1	4″ ALUMINUM ROPE BLOCK 2500LB WLL	WF-B2500	$365.00	$365.00
3	1250 LB BLOCK W/ FORGED STEEL HOOK	HB-22301	$139.99	$419.97
4	GREEN ENDLESS ROUND SLING, 3′	LX-ENR2-03	$10.25	$41.00
4	Yellow Endless Round Sling – 3′	LX-ENR3-03	$13.50	$54.00
8	5/8″ SCREW PIN ANCHOR SHACKLE	WS-SHA58LR	$9.99	$79.92
8	TUF TUG MATERIAL HANDLING CARABINER, 150	TT-TTMHC-1500	$32.95	$263.60
4	CANVAS BUCKET WITH BLACK MOLDED BOTTOM	GM-5109	$34.99	$139.96
		Total –>	$4,206.50	$4,963.28

No, I didn’t think of everything but I put together some basics. This will help show you some costs before we even bought tools. Tools area another subject, but this is for one crew. You will need tools to work, and it depends what you do. Like I aid they will need a laptop to do close out packages, you will need a phone, probably a smart phone to do your work. It is not cheap. Tools are easily over $1,000 for a person, into the thousands when you start doing steel work.

So now you know what goes into a crew’s gear, not laid out in the cleanest way, but you get the idea. It ain’t cheap and it ain’t free! Get it people, it costs money. Money is a big part of safety, like it or not. If the crews don’t get paid, they can’t afford to be safe. If a company takes deductions from the climber, it is wrong!

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

Thank you GME!

Phone: (800) 940-6762 ext. 2250
Fax: (888) 511-0457

www.gmesupply.com

For more listen to iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

Start learning with some products I created just for you! Start with the Introduction to Tower Climbing, then get The Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Site Work, then to do the work you need to look at the Scope of Work Training, and finally the Tower Worker’s Logbook to log your high time and drive time and your project responsibilities, go to Learn more about my products! for more information!

Go to theIWCE conferenceand see me! I will be on the“Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance”panel on March 17^th, 2015. Don’t you need an excuse to go to the Las Vegas convention center. I will share the stage withCory Crenshaw, Charles Ryan,Dr. Denis Boulais, and Robert Johnson. Our moderator will be J. Sharpe Smith ofAGL Magazine. Here is a list of exhibitors that will be there. I will be speaking and I may need some safety gear, email me at wade4wireless@gmail.com so we can talk! Make sure you sign up for this forum running 1:00PM to 4:30PM because let’s face it, these are issues you deal with on every job!If you want to talk after the conference, let me know.

If someone can lend me a climbing harness and helmet at IWCE, I would appreciate it! I would like to show the crowd what the climber needs to wear everyday.

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

FCC and DOL Unite for Tower Climber Safety!

October 13, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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Just a reminder that tomorrow, Tuesday, October 14^th, is the FCC Tower Safety and Injury protection workshop. This will be the roundtable for climber safety regulations for future and current climbers. This will set the safety standards for the tower climbing industry going forward. My post is here.

The information I posted is copied here – “Update: The FCC and Department of Labor are teaming up for the Tower Climber Safety and Injury workshop. Read about it here. It will be on the internet live, go here on October 14^th at 9:30AM ET. I am really looking forward to this because the standards are being set. I want to get to DC so I can witness history first hand. This will be the day that climbing standards will be well-defined in the US. The agenda is here. I am curious how many actual climbers will be helping out and how many will offer their advice. Some big names in the industry will be there, like Gette Hester, Wally Reardon, Dave Anthony, Art Pregler, and Craig Lekutis. NATE will have Todd Schlekeway representing them. It should be a big day but the real test will be to see what will happen afterwards. Will rigging standards be set, will there be more than 100% tie off promotions? Will there be real standards set that will be enforceable? I know all the chances I took back when I climbed, now the standard regulations will be set. Remember that what happens here will determine how many lives will be saved in the future. This will shape the industry for the better, I hope. With safety, climber’s values will go up, so will billable hours, so will the number of people who live! This may have the ability to make the industry as safe as it can possibly be. I hope they make progress!”

Again, you can watch it live at this link, http://www.fcc.gov/live?utm_source=Inside+Towers+List&utm_campaign=1672c699d5-10_1310_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af16c4fc22-1672c699d5-81090165&goal=0_af16c4fc22-1672c699d5-81090165.

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Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! So feel free to buy one of my books and maybe they will help you learn something that you didn’t know or teach someone who needs to know.

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Know your SOW and more Feedback

September 20, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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Hello everybody! First off, if you didn’t see there is a warning sent out about a safety climb. Capital Safety put out a press release that their 3/8” 7X19 strand galvanized cable, also known as “Safety Climb System” could have slippage issues. All the more reason to tie off 100% even when using a safety climb. Read the notice, I have the line here. While not a recall it is a warning so read the document so you understand what is going on. Does anyone remember that not long ago there recently was a snap hooks recall?

RIP James Linstedt.

Today I am going to discuss the Scope of Work, SOW, for all of you who just go out and do what you’re told. It would be a great idea for everyone who is at the site the review the SOW. I am working on a book that reviews all of the paperwork that the tower worker will be dealing with.

The SOW will have the outline of the job. It should be put together so that you know what duties are required of you. For instance you will need to know what you are installing. You will be putting in just the equipment on the tower or both the base station and the tower. If you are installing microwave, what is your responsibility? Are you doing the installation and the alignment? What are you doing?

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Where are you working? This should be part of the SOW as a site list. The site list is a separate document that you will be working with but it should be attached to the SOW as an addendum.

What parts do you need? You should have a Bill of Materials, BOM, as an attachment. This is very important because if you pick up the parts at the warehouse and don’t review the BOM, guess who’s fault it is if you miss something. YOU! YOU! YOU! If you miss a part that is on the BOM and you don’t get it, you messed up. Make sure when you hit the staging warehouse you look at the BOM and check off each part you need. If you are doing the install and you need a part that is not on the BOM, guess what, it’s the customers charge and a change order so you can charge for the labor and part to add it. However, if your people put a clause in the SOW that says you will supply miscellaneous parts, then you need to define miscellaneous parts. Why does this matter, because your customer will consider 200’ of #2 copper as miscellaneous and you may have meant zip ties and vapor seal, that’s why! If you’re asking what the difference is, the maybe you should look for a new line of work. Don’t be an airhead!

So, when I put my package together I will explain the SOW and I will give you an example and I will give you audio to talk about it. I should have something out here in the next 2 weeks or so. I am putting together something for all of the paperwork so everyone can get on the same page and understand what to look for and how to write the SOW. I just need to complete it and I will put it out to you guys.

Now, I have 2 feedback statements I want to share.

Feedback on tower owners:

First off, I have to take back what I said about American Tower not inspecting sites annually. I heard back from one of their people and he told me that at a minimum they inspect the towers annually. He knew the FCC lighting regulations inside and out but he said that with or without light, they make it to every tower at least once a year. That is awesome! Think about it, they have over 28,000 towers in the USA according to http://www.americantower.com/corporateus/investor-relations/. From what I hear they are on top of site inspections. So if something is wrong at the site, maybe you should let them know.

Feedback on Training:

OK, this is great to hear that someone would send their people to IRATA training to improve safety. Here is the statement, “Hi Wade, we got IRATA certified so we could deal with wide face towers safely. Now we use roped access on many jobs that don’t strictly speaking require it as it’s a safer alternative to relying on fall arrest and once the ropes are rigged often many more times efficient too :)” This is awesome and it’s nice to see some super responsible people out there! This came from the UK by the way, they go the extra mile!

Feedback on TIRAP:

It appears that a professional climber out there is happy that TIRAP is happening. This man is willing to help create the climbers bible, how cool is that. Here is the statement, “Finally! Now we might even be recognized for the skilled work we do under VERY hazardous conditions on a daily basis. Now, maybe the green guys will understand that 2 yrs. DOESN’T make you a professional yet. But, give it time and actually LEARN from older and more experienced guys. It’s all in the details. I’d like to collaborate with anyone interested in writing a “climbers bible”. Let me tell you something, when you climb for 10 years you begin to learn something. However, you need to keep a good positive attitude. Here is someone who I am going to reach out to so we can collaborate on putting more information out there.

Just to be fair, I did get plenty of negative feedback saying that the industry does not need to follow TIRAP nor do they need to issue this directive. I am surprised by how many people think this is a bad idea. Someone reminded me that this is a recommendation and it is not a requirement. I look at this as a step in the right direction. I am shocked that so many people see this as a bad thing, what a shame. The industry cries for change and improvement and now that it is being recognized and improved it seems people are angry about change. I get it, there are many good tower crews, safe and without incident, but for every 10 safe crews there’s probably at least one crew that just won’t follow the safety practiced recommended just because it costs too much. OSHA just caught someone who didn’t follow the safe climb rules, Morlan Enterprises got a $52K fine on July of 2014. Go ahead and take chances and see if OSHA cares or if the whistle-blower rules matter. Whistle blower fact sheet here! OSHA is your friend, the FCC is your friend, and they are here to help. While we may not always agree with them, in the end they are really here to make our lives safer and better.

Tell me what you think!

Other notes:

I have been talking to Bridgette Hester who is working diligently to make the Hubble Foundation do as much as possible. She just awarded another scholarship award to Carrie Plants, who lost her husband Daniel Plants back in 2007. This is part of the Widow’s Fund that Gette has created. For all of you climbers out there let us not forget the fallen, they may be gone but they are not forgotten! Let’s all say it together, “Way to go Gette, Way to GO!” She sis so much with passion, just one woman, than most groups could do.

By the way, NATE started the Tower Family Foundation and they already have $400,000, yes, $400K to give out to tower climbers families. I can’t wait to see where the money is going to go, that seems to be the one thing we are waiting for. They can do so much good for all the families we lost in the past 2 years!

Next podcast I interview a SPRAT 3 level trained climbing instructor Todd Horning of Safety One, cool guy and passionate about safety and rope access! His information is here.

2 books!

“Tower Climbing: An Introduction” is for the new tower climber, the green hand, to understand that will be expected.

“Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Work” is a handy aid to help out when you are at the site.

You may expand to other jobs in the industry. This can be the beginning of a great career path in the wireless industry. Whether you decide to keep climbing or find another opportunity, the industry is large and growing!

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Inspection of Full Body Harness

How Carabiners are made

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Let’s All TIRAP! The FCC and DoL Tell Us How!

September 10, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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OK, not the best title but the FCC and DoL have come together to develop standards for “Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program” (TIRAP), for the occupation of Telecommunications Tower Technician.

Announcement here.

Guidelines here.

Outline of schedule and training here.

OK, this is very exciting. The FCC and DoL have decided to outline the requirements for the Telecommunications Tower Apprentice, Level 1. You may ask why this is so interesting to me. Well let me tell you it’s because the DoL is defining the requirements that are going to be put on the tower technician aka the tower climber.

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When will they announce this? October 14^th, 2014, 1PM in DC, so it’s Eastern Time. WOW! Requirements laid out! Requirements defined along with a public announcement.

When you look at the schedule and training document you will see they require OSHA 10, PPE training, CPR/BBP//First Aid, RF Awareness, Job Site Analysis, and SOW training. They also outline basic rigging and material handling. Does it stop there? But wait, there’s more! Operate hand tools, operate truck s and trailers, and introduction to structures and Appurtenances! Oh yeah, so much to learn! Let me tell you, this may not be cheap so the customer will be expected to pay more, like they would for an electrician, a mason, or any skilled labor. Maybe the executives complain as they still expect the laborer of years past that had no training but would risk their life for that $10/hour that went out to the lowest bidder. Band together climbing companies because those days are over! The requirements are laid out for you to demand more money to hire skilled labor! These guys are entering a new era, an era where they are going to be viewed as skilled talent. Remember those guys? They are the ones that most companies let go so the carriers could build out the systems for less money! I digress, apologies, let me get back to the point!

In the details they have knots listed, imagine that, the bowline and the clove hitch. They have the SOW listed so they actually want you to know and understand what you are supposed to do at that job site! Amazing insight!

Safety training is outlines, OSHA 10, Authorized climber, PPE, CPR, RF Awareness, Job Hazard Analysis, and SOW. All this required so the climber knows what is going on at the site. These are all explained in the documentation. I love it because this is something I have been saying for a while, not because I am right, because it should be expected that the guys out there should be prepared for anything that could happen. Training and practice will make them the best they can be. Don’t think that you can take the training once and that’s all. You need to make sure your people are trained early, trained often, and trained well! Practice makes the training sink in and if an emergency comes up there is no guess-work, just quick and thoughtful planning to save lives! Practice makes the safety training a habit. We all want good habits, not laziness. We all deserve to have the chance to save our workmates, our partners, our friends, our work family!

Technical training outlines the SOW, basic rigging, material handling opes/knots, antenna/line installation, lightning system installation and maintenance, tower structural installation and maintenance, and applicable standard awareness. They don’t stop there, they add test equipment, exothermic welds, basic understanding of regulatory issues, and operate trucks, trailers, and equipment. Bu hold on, there’s more! Operate hand and power tools like the normal power tools like drills and saws but also torches, connector tools, and tools applicable to the SOW. So much to learn. So many climbers already know this but don’t get the credit they deserve for such knowledge. Skilled labor, professionals are in this industry and now they will be recognized for it.

Let me tell you, this is a wonderful thing to be done by the FCC and the DoL. They are changing the landscape of this industry in the USA. We need the help. If you wonder why, then you live under a rock! This move is because so many out there have been falling, so many have been hurt, so many have been careless, and mainly because the industry let it happen! When I say the industry I lay the blame all around. Do you really think that $10 to $15 an hour is a fair wage for someone to make the schedule so someone’s smart phone will be able to download “Angry Birds” and get Facebook updates? Apparently it was the case. It’s the one thing that someone pushing a deployment could control, or so they thought. Then by simply saying, “I told them to be safe and use safety gear” they could wash their hands of it.

How will this affect you, it depends who you are. The climber stands to get more training and eventually get paid more. The tower crew companies stand to bid higher, make more money, but pay for more training and pay to maintain the training. If you are the end customer like a carrier, your prices will go up. That means that you will pay more for the climbers. I know you will complain, but let me ask you, what is a young person’s life worth anyway?

How will it affect the industry? Well, deployments may be delayed, but will they be delayed any longer than the auctions were delayed? Will the installation take longer than site acquisition? Will the installation take longer than the OEM takes trying to work out the bugs? You know, it goes back to what I said, everyone thinks that the climbing crew is the one thing that they can push and push. Well, now they will be pushing back.

I get a little fired up about this, but I have been on both sides. I know what it’s like to push and be pushed. If you push, take time to listen. When you listen you realize that there is a good reason that the crew can’t do the installation. When you listen you solve problems. It’s really a great thing. Schedule can be a bitch, but losing a life is something that people don’t forget. Schedules are something that’s forgotten in the end as long as the company doesn’t go under. Then they blame the costs and schedules. But when someone dies, all that fails to matter, at least to the family of the lost.

So I think this is a great thing and I am hoping the industry changes for the better. Remember that it takes talent and brains to do this job. Just because climbers get high for a living doesn’t mean that they lose sight of what’s important.

Tell me what you think about TIRAP! How is it going to impact the industry? Who do you think it will hit the hardest?

FCC = Federal Communications Commission

DoL = Department of Labor, OSHA is part of the DoL.

For more information on knots go to www.netknots.com and Adam wrote a book, go to http://www.telecomrigging.com/ to get one. I do not have any type of agreement with Adam Beck, but I think that this could really help you out.

For more information on other hazards, look at these links, bird-poop and ticks and more ticks and more ticks and more ticks!

Whistle blower information:

http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=330216

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OSHA-2011-0540-0001

Support the Hubble Foundation NOW!

NATE has announced their new Tower Family Foundation! It will launch today, September 10, 2014.

http://nationalassociationoftowererectors.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/t/27A57EA732B99C95/C62CEA3BAE9C840AC9C291422E3DE149

2 books. One for the new tower climber, the green hand, to understand that will be expected. The other is a handy aid to help out when you are at the site. I am writing a new book to go over all of the paperwork that you could encounter on the job so you understand what you are working on and what you should be doing. You may expand to other jobs in the industry. This can be the beginning of a great career path in the wireless industry.

Wade's Working Tips

Tag Archives: TIRAP

FCC and DOL Safety Review

And now, some notes and history, helpful and reminders.

Tower climber risks:

Injured Tower climber Support

My IWCE presentation on YouTube about Tower Climber Safety. If you want the PowerPoint slides, just ask. I presented this in early 2015 at IWCE.

So what do you think? Get on my email list today!

Feedback from “Tower Injuries, Is this the Price of doing Business?”

What are you thinking, let it be heard!

Will the Tower Industry Police Itself?

More Feedback from You Wireless Workers!

Tower Injuries: Is this the Price of doing Business?

Climbing Alone and more Feedback

More Feedback!

The Price of Safety!

FCC and DOL Unite for Tower Climber Safety!

Know your SOW and more Feedback

Don’t hesitate to write a review!

Let’s All TIRAP! The FCC and DoL Tell Us How!

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Whistle blower information:

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Tips to Work With

And now, some notes and history, helpful and reminders.

Tower climber risks:

Injured Tower climber Support

My IWCE presentation on YouTube about Tower Climber Safety. If you want the PowerPoint slides, just ask. I presented this in early 2015 at IWCE.

So what do you think? Get on my email list today!

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