Category Archives: Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Small Cell Naming Overview

I don’t know how many of you know but for the last 2 years I have been pretty focused on small cell deployment, indoors and outdoors, as well as Macro deployment. The HetNet deployments are going to start next year. I see the upgrades on the existing tower as well as deployment of the stand alone sites, mostly small cells but some higher power, 10 to 20 watts, cell sites for “densification” of LTE systems to help offload Macro sites.  So let’s talk about that.

All the small cell names can be confusing. It adds a great deal of confusion to the deployment teams as well as some of the carriers.

I worked on some AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless offers where they were very careful to use the proper names for the proper small cell. They made sure that a Femto Cell was used for home use and that a Metro Cell is used for outdoor areas and the Pico Cell was used for small to midsized businesses.

Of course I dealt with a few other carriers that just called them all small cells or pico cells, no differentiation at all.

I thought I thought it might be a good idea to put this chart together to help you out. Eventually they will all be indoor or outdoor small cells, but until then let’s look at the naming nomenclature. This will also cover some usage applications.

Ω Offers from Wade

Small Cell: First off, there is the small cell where the unit has everything, except maybe the router, but the BBU, (broadband unit) and the Radio Head are all in one unit. These are very common now. Generally small cells are under 5 watts. Many times if they are indoors they are 1 watt or less. Similar to Wi-Fi but on a licensed band.

Femto Cell: This is usually the private small cell. It may be something that a person would put in their home or a small business to improve coverage. Small loading and usually just for a few connections. Most of the time it just connects to the internet, like someone’s cable modem.

Pico Cell: This is slightly bigger than the Femto, usually for a mid-sized business, bus station, or a smaller stadium to connect maybe 10 to 100 connections at any given time. Possibly more, depending on the application.

Micro Cell: This is usually a bigger unit that can handle larger stadiums or a train station or airport. This term is not used so much anymore because they just call it a small cell.

Metro Cell: This term was used for larger outdoor metro areas where the loading could be greater than 100 users at any given time. But let’s face it, they are commonly called small cells.

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Indoor small cell: Just like it says, it is a small cell that is mounted inside a building. It could be the small cell or a RRH that is mounted somewhere it is needed. In today’s world it is about coverage and loading. Loading is very important in the LTE systems.

Outdoor Small Cell: It is a small cell mounted outdoors, same reason, to help with coverage and loading.

Distributed radio system: Then there is the RRH, (Remote Radio Head), that’s part of a distributed radio system. The RRH could be at the top of the tower, other parts of a building, or a few miles away mounted on a light pole. The BBU may be located on a different location than the RRH. This is pretty common in today’s world. You know that on the towers they put the BBU on the ground and the dog-tags_clearbackgrondRRH is up on the tower with the antenna. So just imagine now that they put the BBU in a basement and the RRH’s are spread throughout the building. They may also have the BBU in a closet at a building and spread the RRH’s all over town to get the RF where the people are, to distribute the radio heads and antennas. This could be part of a DAS system where they rely on the CPRI, (common public radio interface), to be connected to fiber for the “front haul” which is like the backhaul but to go from the BBU to the RRH, forward! Currently there are several limitations which mostly have to do with timing. They can only travel so far before they would time out. That limits distance at this time. The cloud may change that soon. When they locate many BBUs in a remote location for widely distributed RRHs, they call that a BBU hotel, a term that means that many BBUs for multiple locations are in one spot. I believe that with the cloud this may change because BBUs will be located farther and farther away.

DSCS: Distributed Small Cell System is where you would deploy small cells, (and maybe Wi-Fi) like you would with a DAS system. These would be stand alone all-inclusive small cells with integrated antennas. They would be connected with fiber or CAT5 or some type of wireless backhaul.

So as you can see small cells serve as a solution in many cases and there were many names for them. Today most people just say small cell for everything except the Femto. The Femto is a specific use small cell.

Ω Learn from Wade

I did not bring up DAS too much because it is something that could be a separate solution or this could be part of a DAS solution.

I would think that when CRAN takes off and is common then all you will need is a decent backhaul connection to connect anywhere. And there it is, backhaul, one of the major deployment problems with small cell. Sprint is trying to drive down the price of backhaul so they can reasonable deploy CRAN and small cells everywhere. Also because they probably don’t sell backhaul anymore!

Speaking of backhaul, another solution that could be rendered is a UE relay. (UE is User Equipment like your smart phone.) A way to use a carrier’s bandwidth to provide backhaul to a MACRO site. Think of it working like one of those devices that provide Wi-Fi using the carrier for the connection. I think it is a great idea, if you have spare bandwidth. I was hoping the FCC would push through the light licensed 3.5GHz band with more bandwidth; remember the citizen’s broadband radio service? We could use that for backhaul, if there is enough bandwidth, then we could see small cells in that band to be utilized for backhaul for other small cells. That’s my dream to see one system support the many other systems in this ecosystem. Sign me up to build that out, a backbone system of fixed wireless to support the mobile wireless systems. Just a thought about how to affordably extend the last mile without using the precious bands that the carriers paid so much for.

Interested? Let me know about it. I will add you to my email list for more information.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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Special thanks to Tower Safety for their sponsorship! Tower Safety, where the best get better.

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More Tower Accident Lawsuits

OK, so here it is, more lawsuits are popping up. First the one in Nutter Fort, WV where the firefighter’s family is suing and now the deceased tower climbers families have filed suits against SBA and FDH Velocitel and 3 other subsidiaries. The new lawsuit is stating that faulty methods were used to shore up the tower while the guys worked on it, which we all know by now. Very sad that it happened but I will be interested to see what the outcome of this will be. That is if we ever know the truth, these lawsuits tend to be settled very quietly and with gag orders. Let’s see what happens this time and let’s see if we can learn from it. The industry can always learn from mistakes to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

Make sure that when you get assigned a job you review it and ask questions. Make sure you know what the risks are and that you understand the problems before stepping foot on the tower. Your experience should guide you.

http://www.theet.com/news/local/more-lawsuits-filed-in-deadly-harrison-cell-tower-collapse/article_f160c2d2-3208-51be-888b-b32b458db646.html?mode=jqm

http://www.theet.com/news/local/lawsuit-filed-in-firefighter-s-death-at-cell-tower-collapse/article_e50aa496-3764-5201-b48a-78d6378c3733.html

http://www.wboy.com/story/24608973/update-wrongful-death-lawsuits-filed-involving-2014-cell-tower-collapse-in-summit-park

https://insidetowers.com/lawsuit-filed-in-2014-tower-death/

http://wirelessestimator.com/articles/2015/%EF%BB%BFlawsuit-charges-contractor-tower-owner-and-its-engineer-are-liable-in-firefighters-death/

Ω Click here to learn more on Wireless

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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Where the best get better! 480-313-0678

Special thanks to Tower Safety for their sponsorship! Tower Safety, where the best get better.

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NWSA Needs Tower Techs for Board Seats!

The NWSA, National Wireless Safety Alliance, is seeking tower technicians, tower climbers, to fill board seats for the Board of Governors. Want to know more? Let me tell you what is going on.

Here is the press release put out by NATE.

The NWSA was formed to create a national standard for training for tower climbers. They will have a national standard for tower technicians, foreman, and other positions in the industry. This is backed by NATE and several companies. The plan is to make sure every climber out there has a standard training certification before doing work. This is going to go beyond the training school to make sure all tower technicians understand the basics that are set national, very similar to Cisco training, Fireman training, and so on.

Ω Click here to learn more on Wireless

So they are looking for people who work in the industry, they are look for tower technicians to take a seat to help set the standards. Do you think you qualify? If so then make sure that you fill out the application, found here. The deadline is June 19th of 2015. Make sure that you apply today! Complete the application and send it to nwsa@nws-a.org as soon as you can!

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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Where the best get better! 480-313-0678

Special thanks to Tower Safety for their sponsorship! Tower Safety, where the best get better.

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OSHA RFI Response for Contracting, Oversight, and Economics

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Click here to learn more about Tower Safety! Where the best get better!

Update on the RFI response: Thank you everyone who responded to OSHA tower climber RFI. Less than 500 people in the US that really want to help OSHA recognize the importance of tower safety in the wireless community. Congrats! For the rest of you, don’t worry, I realize I am beating a dead horse with no hope of getting him to move. So I will let it rest for a while. I was just so shocked that so many of you complained about safety but so many of you refuse to let OSHA know what their problems are. I just don’t understand, that’s all. I should have remembered my dad’s old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”. In this case I can’t help those who won’t help themselves, even if they spend their spare time complaining about this very problem.

Here is my full response in a PDF. Click here to download it and look it over. This is what I sent to the FCC.

To update the RFI with your answers click here to go to Wireless Estimator or click here to go to the FCC site. You can submit anonymously if you want to. Deadline is June 15th, 2015!

Special thanks to Tower Safety for their sponsorship! Tower Safety, where the best get better.

Contracting and Work Oversight

  1. Describe your role in the contract chain and the key safety-related provisions typically included in your contracts. How do contracting parties oversee or enforce those provisions?
    • Currently I help put together large offers that will require contractors to deploy large communication systems. Usually with larger companies a project manager will manage the contractor and follow through the work with them from inception to close out.

What are the consequences if a party fails to fulfill those contractual requirements?

  • If they do not present the certifications and safety plans they do not get the work. If they send uncertified people out to the site and the contractor hears about it they are not paid.
  1. What characteristics of past safety performance does your company use in selecting potential contractors and subcontractors?
  • Review contractor’s safety record as well as the required material.

What safety-related criteria does your company use in this selection process?

  • Ask for certifications up front but that is it. We should be asking for the safety and rescue plan as well.
  1. Are safety-related factors considered in determining whether to remove a contractor/subcontractor from an ongoing project or from future selection processes? If so, what specific factors are considered?
  • Yes, safety record and feedback from the end customer, landlord/tower owner and the PM. The subs employees are usually very honest and their feedback is also taken. If the feedback is very negative, then they are removed.
  1. What are the ways in which the multi-leveled contracting environment (i.e., where entities such as the carrier, tower owner, turfing vendor, subcontractor, and contractors hired by the subcontractor all have some role in the project) impacts employee safety at communication tower work sites?
  • As margins are added, the price that the actual crew doing the work is very low. It takes money to provide training and PPE to employees. It also adds delays to the schedules because the work required passes through many hands before it is released to the company doing the work. Compressed schedules cause the installers to rush increasing the chances of making mistakes.
  1. What practices might companies in the contracting chain adopt to encourage communication and coordination among employers at tower work sites? What obstacles stand in the way of communication and coordination between different parties in the contracting chain?
  • Many contractors are afraid to let the end customer or master contractor talk to the end worker but this should not be the case. There should be NDAs in place that allow the turf vendor or contractor to act as a placement company and open communication showing the certifications from the people on the field to the end customer. The obstacles are fear that the other contractors will steal the sub contractors. The other fear is that there could be confusion with all of the information being shared. There needs to be a way to streamline the information from the end customer to the work crew. Then, streamline the information from the field back to the end customer. It all comes down to program management.

Economic Issues

  1. The Agency seeks information on the number and size of firms that are engaged in communication tower work and on the number of employees employed by those firms.
  • The companies that I deal with are mostly 30 to 50 employee companies.
  1. The Agency seeks information about wage and turnover rates for employees who work on communication towers. The Agency is also interested in information about the experience possessed by workers currently doing communication tower work. Are they usually experienced in this type of work? Are there many new or inexperienced employees working on communication towers?
  • Experience – From what I see the experienced crews are doing the tower building and structural upgrades. The tower crews doing antenna and line installations are usually the less qualified people. These crews are usually less experienced and paid less. There are many inexperienced crews doing cell deployments and there will be again when the work picks up.
  • Payment – for carrier deployments they usually get paid from $15 to $30 an hour. For heavier tower work they generally get paid over $35/hour depending on experience.
  • General – I have personally talked to many tower techs that have worked in the business for less than 2 years, they are just learning the job and the issue is that they often are on a crew with the same experience and that is not the structure that we should have in the field.
  1. What types of equipment are used in tower work and how often is this equipment repaired and/or replaced?
  • Tools, winches, PPE, rope, cranes, vehicles, so much more.
  • It should all be maintained, repaired, and replaced as needed.
  1. The Agency seeks information from all employers in the contracting chain about the extent to which employees directly engaged in tower work are covered by workers’ compensation and/or an employer liability insurance policy.
  • I have worked on all sides. Insurance is handled by HR or finance. I do not have the best insight into this issue.

 Tell me what you think!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRY84DgXvsw

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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To become a certified project manager you need to take your Project Management Professional Certification test. Then will be a certified PMP, Project Management Professional. If you are studying or preparing for it then my partner can help. Click Here!

When working in project management it really helps to have some templates to get started. I have a partner that has the toolkit you need! If you need some tools then I think this will help. Get some templates and tools that would help you improve your PM work. Click Here!

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End to End Safety: The Site Safety Audit

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www.towersafety.com

Why is safety so important? If you need to ask it’s because we need to all that we can to make sure that the workers come home alive. Elevated work is very dangerous, look at this article in Paintsquare and listen to what FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said. Worker safety is job #1. Complacency is a killer, as is the killer schedules. The FCC knows it, OSHA knows it, and you should know it. But what’s easy to do is easy not to do, and safety can be easy to do, but just as easy not to do. I am going to give you an idea of what can help in mass deployments.

Special thanks to Tower Safety for their sponsorship! Tower Safety, where the best get better.

First, let me talk about how the end customer can make a difference in safety. I have it figured out. A way we can track the poor contractors, the dangerous workers, and poorly equipped climbers. This is something that the end customer, let’s use the carriers as an example. I am talking specifically about AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, and even FirstNet. Any end customer that will listen. Here is a way you can play an active role is saving live, eliminating bad contractors, and securing a good work force. It is to do safety audits on all regions you are deploying. I don’t mean all sites, pick a percentage randomly, but make sure you send someone out to do the audit while the contractor is still on site. This is not a close out package! This is an audit of the workers and what they are doing. You learn a lot when you show up unannounced.

It will cost money, I won’t kid you. You will need to make sure you build a budget for this, outside of deployment, and you must not have your GC or OEM or master integrator do it because they might cheat. You must do it as a separate project that runs simultaneously with the deployment. This is how the end customer/carrier can play an active part in deployment safety. Not just for the tower crew but for all of the workers in general.

While I think this is a great idea because 1) it will keep all of the contractors honest, 2) remove the incompetent crews, 3) keep all the crews on their toes for safety. Plain and simple, it’s a plan that will help you maintain the integrity of your deployment for safety and competence. An added bonus is it will show that you are serious about tower worker safety, right? If anything, this should alleviate you of accident liability because you are doing all that you can. This is a form of quality control!

Why wouldn’t you do it? To remain hands off so you can point the finger and stay at arm’s length to controlling safety. You probably won’t want to spend the money, which you will point to the shareholders and say they won’t let you do it. Meanwhile, what did you pay for safety people for support and what did you pay CTIA, PCIA, and NATE to resolve this issue? While they appreciate the support you can have more control here. This will look great in the eyes of OSHA and the FCC!

So what would the plan be? Here it is in a nutshell. Your next deployment will be planned out and you will hire the crews, the contractors to manage and run it and the OEM to supply the equipment. That will give you the schedule and the contractor’s names. So simultaneously have your safety people working on their project, independently, to create another separate RFP to do 10 to 25% random safety audits at the sites while the crews are on-site. This will have to be done independently of the tower work and GC because if you use them then they will warn the tower crews that an inspection will take place. Do not hire any of the deployment companies! That defeats the purpose.

Plan to put out a separate RFP to other vendors, ones that are not involved in your deployment or maybe safety teams. They can be safety vendors. Make the scope all about inspections of the tower workers while they are on the tower site working. Make the inspections random. Make it one guy that visits the sites to keep costs down. Plan on a percentage of sites, say 10% to 25% of the sites in that region. I will write the SOW if you need me too.

So when the guy goes to the site here is the high level scope.

  • Give the safety contractor a region.
  • Give the safety contractor a schedule of deployment, your PM should know what is going on. Make sure the safety contractor knows which sites the climbers will be working at.
  • Have the contractor go near the site to watch and record what it happening.
  • From afar, take video and picture for 30 minutes of the site, if possible. Log the workers actions from a safety standpoint.
  • Then have the contractor go on site, identify his purpose and show ID. Make sure to talk to the foreman or lead crew member. Ask for his and all crew members credentials and ID, record all names. Ask for all certifications but chances are good they will not have them along, so ask if they can email them to the safety contractor. Get all names, ask for each person’s ID if possible. Take notes while on site to log all activity, record all notes about work and safety. Wear all necessary PPE, like a hard hat.
  • This person visiting the site should not climb! Not his job, one person can do this. They need to take pictures and videos. If possible, use a drone to get the tower pictures and videos of the climbers in action with the foreman’s permission. Do not climb! Take plenty of notes, complete a form to log all safety information.
  • The person on site should compile the report and send to the office for completion, close out, and billing.
  • The office can compile the pictures and put in a deliverable format for the customer, end customer, and make a rating of the crew based on safety with the evidence of video and pictures and ID information. Include all names, ID information, and copies of certifications.

So there it is, if you are interested in learning more, I am writing a white paper on this subject. Let me know if you want a copy, I can send it to you if you leave me a message below. I think that we need to do something. This will serve many purposes. If you sincerely want to see the qualified contractors do the work, this is a good plan. I am sure you will tell me all the problems with this plan so feel free to comment!

Related blog posts: Large Scale Wireless Deployments, Are you in over your head?

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention to what you are doing. You need to arrive alive at the end of the day or week. You have family and friends and crewmates that want you around!

Here is my full response in a PDF. Go ahead and download it to look it over. This is what I sent to the FCC.

Tell me what you think!

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download
https://youtu.be/pRY84DgXvsw

Tower Safety Logo
Click me! Tower Safety – Where the best get better!
Hubble Logo
Support the Hubble Foundation! Click me for more information!

⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

SOW Training Offer
Click me for more on SOW Training!
Tower Worker Logbook Offer
Click here for more information about the tower worker logbook!
Wireless Field Worker's Offer
Click here for more information on the tower worker’s field aid!

⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

  Interested in gaining your CCNA? I have an affiliate with a great study guide! Learn more, Click Here!

To become a certified project manager you need to take your Project Management Professional Certification test. Then will be a certified PMP, Project Management Professional. If you are studying or preparing for it then my partner can help. Click Here!

When working in project management it really helps to have some templates to get started. I have a partner that has the toolkit you need! If you need some tools then I think this will help. Get some templates and tools that would help you improve your PM work. Click Here!

Click on the pictures below for Amazon deals!

Drones from Amazon, DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ V3.0 Quadcopter with FPV HD Video Camera and 3-Axis Gimbal (White)

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Worker injured on Baraboo Water Tank

In Baraboo, Wisconsin, a water tank worker was injured while dog-tags_clearbackgrondworkers were cleaning and painting the water tank. I don’t have a name yet but he was rushed to the hospital immediately after the accident. So far he is alive. He appears to have been one of the painters but no confirmation at this point. New links below. OSHA will investigate this incident!

Word is that he fell about 70 feet from the stem of the water tank, the assumption is that he was inside when he fell but I am waiting on more facts to back that up.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/maintenance-worker-falls-into-water-tower-seriously-injured/33366426

http://www.startribune.com/worker-seriously-hurt-in-fall-at-baraboo-water-tower/305942911/

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/One-person-hurt-in-accident-at-Baraboo-water-tower-305924281.html

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/Worker-seriously-hurt-in-fall-at-Baraboo-water-tower-305945861.html

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/worker-hurt-in-fall-from-water-tower-in-baraboo-b99512558z1-305963911.html

http://whbl.com/news/articles/2015/jun/03/maintenance-worker-hurt-after-falling-into-baraboo-water-tower/

Feedback and information appreciated!

Listen to iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

 

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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Support the Hubble Foundation! Click me for more information!

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Interested in gaining your CCNA? I have an affiliate with a great study guide! Learn more, Click Here!

To become a certified project manager you need to take your Project Management Professional Certification test. Then will be a certified PMP, Project Management Professional. If you are studying or preparing for it then my partner can help. Click Here!

When working in project management it really helps to have some templates to get started. I have a partner that has the toolkit you need! If you need some tools then I think this will help. Get some templates and tools that would help you improve your PM work. Click Here!

Click on the pictures below for Amazon deals!

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Less Than 5% of Wireless Workers Contributed to the OSHA RFI!

That’s right, less than 5% of the wireless industry contributed to OSHA’s Tower Safety RFI! I am talking actual contributors.

I originally was counting all the comments when I reported the earlier numbers. Someone pointed out that I was counting dog-tags_clearbackgrondcomments, not individual submissions or individual contributors.

You see before I was counting all the comments. A comment is what is just the response, not the contributor. On the FCC website, actually at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=25;po=0;dct=PS;D=OSHA-2014-0018;refD=OSHA-2014-0018-0001 where you can see and count each comment. This would be one answer or an answer for all 28 questions, just one submission. So I went through and looked at the names individually. Don’t worry if you submitted anonymously. I didn’t actually see your name, just that someone submitted.

To update the RFI click here to go to Wireless Estimator or click here to go to the FCC site. You can submit anonymously if you want to. Deadline is June 15th, 2015!

So, on there were actually 32 submissions, of that 26 of them were accepted and actual submissions, 1 was a proposed rule and 5 were supporting material. I counted each anonymous as a separate entry because they could be unique. So out of the 26 there are 22 unique entries, so 22 people submitted comments on the FCC page.

Now, on the Wireless Estimator page, found here, http://wirelessestimator.com/osha-rfi-2015/#!/. This took a little longer to build a list of unique names. It took me awhile but I came up with around 195 unique submissions, really a best estimate based on cut and paste and excel and asking around.

Learn more on Wireless Ω

So let’s add this up, 195 (Wireless Estimator) + 22 (FCC) =  217 people who submitted responses. That is probably high because some people, like me, submitted on both sites. So that would lower.

217 people in the industry were willing to help OSHA understand the danger associated with tower climbing. In the tower industry there are over 10,000 people, allegedly, working at tower sites, training, running crews, etc. So let me do a quick calculation, 195 of 10,000 would be 2.17%. So either the number for the workers is way too high or only 2.17% of the people want OSHA to understand what is going on in the industry.

If you want to make a difference, then go to Wireless Estimator or to the Regulations.gov websites and give your 2 cents. Let them know what is really going on. Read what others in the industry want to change.

Or do nothing, it appears that over 90% of the industry would rather just get up and go to work, keep the blinders on.

Ask yourself, are we better off now, or before OSHA existed? Nobody seems to care until someone gets hurt.

God only helps those that help themselves. Here is a chance to help the industry, or do nothing and see what happens.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention.

Here is my full response in a PDF. Go ahead and download it to look it over. This is what I sent to the FCC.

 Tell me what you think!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRY84DgXvsw

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

Tower Safety Logo
Click me! Tower Safety – Where the best get better!
Hubble Logo
Support the Hubble Foundation! Click me for more information!

⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

SOW Training Offer
Click me for more on SOW Training!
Tower Worker Logbook Offer
Click here for more information about the tower worker logbook!
Wireless Field Worker's Offer
Click here for more information on the tower worker’s field aid!

⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

  Interested in gaining your CCNA? I have an affiliate with a great study guide! Learn more, Click Here!

To become a certified project manager you need to take your Project Management Professional Certification test. Then will be a certified PMP, Project Management Professional. If you are studying or preparing for it then my partner can help. Click Here!

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OSHA RFI Response for Hazards and Incidents

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Update on the RFI response: Let me start by saying thank you to the 929 people that got on Wireless Estimator to respond to the OSHA Tower climber RFI and the 29 people who uploaded their RFI response directly to OSHA as of May 28th, 2015. Thank you. Apparently there are less than 1,000 people in the US that really want to direct OSHA. From the feedback I am getting the rest of you think it’s all up to the climber. That’s fine, it just does not align with what many of you told me earlier. I just needed to know where we stand, that’s all. Many of you complained prior to the RFI, so I guess that was the 958 people that responded with input. Many of you were afraid of your companies, maybe they would fire you, and so you did it anonymously, which is great, because you responded. Thank you all! I guess the rest of you are fine with the way things are, great! I can see where it is such an inconvenience to take 30 minutes out of your life to help OSHA improve the rules for safety specifically for tower climbing and tower safety, it’s a real burden. After all, many of you think we were better off before OSHA and the DOL existed, probably even feel that way about the FCC.

Here is my full response in a PDF. Go ahead and download it to look it over. This is what I sent to the FCC.

To update the RFI click here to go to Wireless Estimator or click here to go to the FCC site. You can submit anonymously if you want to. Deadline is June 15th, 2015!

Hazards and Incidents

  1. Falls: Falls are currently the leading cause of fatalities among communication tower workers. OSHA believes that many falls result from the improper use of fall protection equipment or the failure to use any fall protection equipment at all.
  2. How are employers addressing fall hazards?
    • 100% Tie off.
  1. Are employers providing appropriate fall protection equipment to employees? Is it maintained and replaced when necessary?
  • Many are and most of them do maintain it. It varies from company to company and many make that decision based on budget.
  1. What factors contribute to employees failing to use fall protection while climbing or working?
  • Common sense and safety. If someone is not using it then they are not trained properly or the company did not provide it or they are stupid. Probably a combination of all 3.
  1. Are there situations in which conventional fall protection (safety nets or personal fall arrest systems) is infeasible? What alternatives can employees use for fall protection in those situations?
  • There can be situations like that and each one should be treated as a one-off. They should always be able to use some type of fall protection. If there is a situation like that at a tower site then the owner should put something in to make sure the worker is safe. It would be a hazard once but then safe for every worker after that.
  1. What are the ways in which fall protection systems or anchorage points on communication towers can fail? How can these failures be prevented?
  • Often times they are not installed. If there is a cable grab, they need to maintained and inspected. Preferable annually but every 3 years would be good. Anchor points, if installed, should also be inspected every 3 years. Climbing pegs should be inspected and replaced as needed.
  1. Should OSHA require built-in fall protection measures on new towers? Existing towers? Would such a requirement enhance worker safety?
  • Definitely on new towers, there is no reason not to. On existing tower I believe so, but it would be an expensive venture. Perhaps on all towers built over the last 5 or 10 years would be reasonable.
  1. Structural issues: When new equipment is added to communication towers, the additional loading of the tower has the potential to overload or destabilize the structure. Older towers may need additional reinforcements to maintain their structural integrity as new equipment is added to them. Communication tower collapses have resulted in numerous fatalities in the past two years. Which contractual party bears responsibility for ensuring that any structural work on the tower—such as modification or demolition—is done safely from a structural perspective? What steps are employers currently taking to prevent collapses?
  • Responsibility: That lies with the team, the tower owner, the structural engineer, the customer, and the crew doing the work. The customer needs to require that the structural engineer not only provides the loading requirements and the upgrades, but also a procedure to do the upgrade. The tower owner needs to approve the plan, and the tower crew needs to understand and sign off that they can do the work properly.
  • Steps taken – Most companies are reviewing the upgrade plans and verifying their steps with their given experiences. The crews and structural engineers need to be on the same page.
  1. Hoisting materials and personnel: Base-mounted drum hoists are often used to hoist materials and personnel to working heights on communication towers. Hazards arise if hoists that are not rated for lifting personnel are used for that purpose. OSHA is aware of incidents in which hoists have failed under such conditions. Also, overloading material hoists and improper rigging procedures can result in loads striking the tower structure or workers located on the tower. OSHA knows of several deaths in the past two years that have resulted from these types of incidents.
  2. When are personnel hoists used?
  • In my experience, rarely.
  1. What types of hazards are associated with personnel and material hoists? What are the best practices for safely managing those hazards?
  • You need to have the proper winch and a good operator.
  1. How are capstan hoists used in tower work? In what types of operations can they be used safely?
  • In my experience, to raise equipment, and I have never had a problem with one as long as the operator is qualified and paying attention. They can be used safely if inspected and the operator is qualified.
  1. What are the most common types of rigging hazards that occur on communication tower work sites? What can employers do to eliminate or minimize those hazards?
  • Often, people don’t know the load rating of the block or they choose a poor termination point for the block. Also, rope needs to be inspected. I have seen rope failures due to crappy rope. It needs to be inspected and replaced. There should always be spare rope available for any job. Winch failures happen, although I have never had that problem because we maintained our winches, but they do fail and usually at the worst of times. One more thing, all the workers need to pay attention. If one worker rigs the tower for a light load and then the ground crew tries to pull a heavy load, bad things happen.
  1. Are there methods, other than the use of a hoist or a crane that can be used to lift material and personnel at a communication tower? Which methods and procedures are the safest?
  • If you can’t pull it up by hand or carry it, I don’t see another way to get it up there. Maybe someday drones will be strong enough to carry payloads.
  1. What are the roles of different levels of the contracting chain in managing rigging and hoisting activities?
  • Not sure I understand the question, contracting chain confuses me. However, on site I can explain the on site work. Guys on the tower choose the anchor point, knowing what they expect to pull up. They also anchor it based on load, obstructions, mounting location on the tower, and access. Then the block is attached to the tower using straps, steel cable, or carabiners. Then, depending on the weight of the load the ground crew will operate the winch or pull it up. The ground team is responsible for attaching the load to the rope/cable properly not only so it can be held on the way up but also so it can be positioned properly for the attachment of the item to the tower. They need to plan out how to rig it so that the equipment can swing into the tower with the attachment points where they need to go, or at least very close. Then there is a tag line on the ground. A rope is attached to the load to make sure that the load is swinging out from the tower and does not hit anything on the way up. The tag line is there to ensure that the load flies in the direction that you need it to go. It is also there so control the load in the wind. Wind is a huge factor. You do not want to destroy anything that belongs to someone else nor do you want to destroy your load.
  1. Radio Frequency Hazards: Much research has been done on the health effects of overexposure to radio frequencies. General health effects reviews have found that high levels of exposure to radio frequencies may result in burns. In addition, the link between exposure to radio frequencies and cancer, reproductive diseases, and neurological effects has not been thoroughly explored.
  2. What methods are employers using to protect workers from overexposure to radio frequency?
  • Several things, site and tower inspections looking for dangers like Sirius/XM and antennas and broadcast. This should be part of the hazard assessments and a requirement. Also, RF exposure meters, like the NARDA.
  1. Is there a need for employers to institute comprehensive radio frequency monitoring programs on communication tower work sites? What would a good program look like?
  • Yes, it would be simple, add it to the hazard assessment, require RF safety training, and assign each climber a RF exposure meter with the requirement that they have it on their body at all times. They would need to be trained to use the meter properly and they would need to keep the batteries charged. It should be a require part of all climbers PPE.
  1. Weather: Communication tower workers work outside during all seasons, and in all climates. They can be exposed to heat, cold, wind, snow, and ice. Storm conditions can quickly arise when workers are at elevation, and it can be difficult to descend the tower quickly.
  2. What are the specific weather-related hazards to which communication tower workers are exposed?
  • Hot – Heat exhaustion, sun stroke, dehydration, severe sun burn.
  • Cold – frostbite, hypothermia, numbness and stiffness causing climbing difficulties.
  • Lightning, always a risk, most climbers are usually off the tower or safely attached to the tower during a storm, but still a risk.
  • Ice – Falling ice is a risk, could fall on the ground people. Climbing an icy tower should never be done but some people break the ice off as they go up.
  1. How does a crew monitor and respond to changing weather conditions, including storms?
  • Weather report, smart phone apps, and simply look at the sky.
  1. Fatigue: OSHA believes that fatigue can affect communication tower workers in several says. Climbing a communication tower is physically demanding, and OSHA is concerned that fatigue due to exertion can be hazardous for tower workers. Accelerated work timelines can also result in tower workers working very long hours. And OSHA understands that communication tower workers may travel long distances to reach remote work sites, which can result in workers being fatigued before they even begin work.
  2. What hazards are faced by a worker who finds it physically challenging to perform expected tasks, such as climbing a tower or performing a self-rescue? What impact can this have on other crew members?
  • Falling is the biggest risk for everyone. If a climber is getting tired to the point where they can’t get down, then they need to be rescued. Many times the climber can tie off, drink some water, and rest. The workmates should be aware of the condition of the climber but if they are not paying attention then they will be responsible for the rescue. IF the climber is too tired to climb, he probably shouldn’t attempt self rescue, but controlled descent is easier than climbing so it may be a viable alternative.
  1. What are the common causes of worker fatigue at communication tower work sites?
  • Long days, heavy lifting, extreme weather.
  1. What are the effects of fatigue on tower worker safety, and what types of incidents occur as a result of worker fatigue?
  • If a worker gets too tired they make mistakes, not only the obvious physical mistakes like falling or dropping things, but mental mistakes and miscalculations. Not only for that day but they will be hurting for the next day or 2 and should be grounded so they don’t continue to be at risk. This puts more work on the workmates to perform. If all 4 crew members are climbers, then they should shuffle the work on those long days even if they alternate climbing duties daily. They should log their high time to make sure this happens.
  1. Other common hazards:
  2. What other hazards are present in communication tower work, and what types of incidents are resulting from those hazards? What can be done to protect employees from those hazards?
  • Bee stings, allergies, snake bites, spider bites, over exertion, crushed limbs, broken bones, Carpal tunnel, long-term RF exposure, auto accidents, stress due to being away from home causing depression, stress of working a high rick job, bird poop, chemicals, long-term sun exposure.
  1. What are some health and safety considerations involved in working with communications equipment installed on non-dedicated tower structures, such as water towers, buildings, silos, electrical transmission towers, etc.?
  • Each structure has a dedicated risk, there are too many to mention and each structure should be looked into individually. I will list a few here.
  • Water Towers – many people don’t realize how the water tower slopes off so they should be tied off 100% of the time when working there. Also, climbing up some of them you are in a confined space which could have problems.
  • Electrical tower – must be certified to work on these, the risk of shock is too great.
  • Buildings – safety issues, poorly maintain rooftops, should have a wall or rail or the climber should be tied off, bird poop piles up in many of these, trip hazards, low overhead in some areas, hi RF areas.
  • Silos – usually remote, not always structurally sound, environmental issues, animal and insect issues

 Tell me what you think!

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Large Wireless Network Deployment

I want to go over the Large Wireless Network Deployment process. It is something that takes a long time to plan out and there is so much to consider. We often just see one phase of it, out in the field. The planning and preparation that goes into it can be a meticulous process, especially for the government roll outs. The carriers are better at it because they continuously do it and the entire company is on board with it. The challenges that utilities and governments have to deal with are politics and payback because they build their networks for different reasons, not just to generate income but to save money and lives.

So while I was at IWCE I sat in several sessions that they had. There were so many so I had to focus on a few. I attended FirstNet sessions but in addition I wanted to concentrate on the tower work, DAS, and Small Cell. I sat through a session on deployments that were geared to get the states, cities, and other government entities prepared for a large deployment.

Listen to the podcast for much more detail, there is too much to list here.

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For this scenario I am going to present a large deployment. This is a bird’s eye view of the process. Of course many of you are involved in the specifics. I just want you to see the perspective from the end customer’s vantage point.

So in deployment the plan to be more thorough in the planning of the deployment. I see the way that consultants are going to be more and more involved in future deployments. They will be involved in the deployment planning. This is the initial work up front, usually 1 or 2 years before anyone really has a plan. They will be working with the customer to plan out what they will do. This is something that most deployment people get involved in but business development might be listening for something like this. A great example of this, which you can follow, is the FirstNet deployment. They have been planning the system out for years to make sure it is the system that will be working for years. They intend to have a broadband system to support public safety, utilities and other government entities to have access to.

Next will be the RFI, Request for Information. This is where the people doing the deployment will request information about the equipment, hardware, and timelines. I have been involved in many of these and they are very time-consuming because it’s the customer’s vision, but it may not be attainable or it may be unrealistic or it may be too soon to implement, meaning that they equipment is not ready for prime time. There could be several RFIs to clarify the expectation and to make sure all the contractors and OEMs are synced up.

Then will be the actual plan for deployment and then the RFP, Request for Price, or RFQ, request for Quote. These are where the customer will send out the refined system, the goal, the actual system that is set to be built with the expectations of the customer. This is where the larger contractors will respond with an answer for all of this. Then they will put RFQs out to the contractors to do the work or they will build a budget around your past pricing. Trust me, they don’t always have time to complete the RFQ process. This is where the larger contractors need to have good documentation on past projects. They also need to confer with the front line to make sure that pricing does not change.

Then, the evaluation process happens. This is where the customer and maybe their consultants review everything. This is where they need to decide who has the best answer for the best price. I know all of you think the response is solely on price, but if the customer is smart, they balance the responses out. Then the decision to install a system that meets all (or most) of their needs for the best price. This takes time and based on how they structured the RFP is it may be a long process to get to comparing apples to apples.

Then the award! Oh that sweet award. Actually the award may not be until after a long grueling questioning process to determine if the contractor can actually do what they said they could. It matters to make sure that they are all on the same page.

Just because you won the bid doesn’t mean you will get the work, you need to go through the qualification and then you may move ahead. Big jobs are tough, it’s more about the high level up until now. If the qualification took place and there were no objections, then the next step. Qualifications will take some time because you will need to lay out the plan and provide detail on how you will reach the customers expectations in not only the technical aspects like coverage and loading, but also the timeline for deployment and a plan.

Timelines are an issue. Remember that if you plan to build new sites or acquire new sites, that takes time! The structural may take time, but not always, if you have paperwork from a previous structural, which most tower owners should have, then it doesn’t take long at all, unless you need to improve the structural integrity of the tower, then that will have to be done. Remember to be realistic, set expectations, and allow for possible delays. This is a big step though, you start the design and then you do the surveys and build the BOMs. Here is where the site engineering takes place, oh boy!

Now, when all of that is completed, then the deployment or migration or upgrades. Whatever you may be doing in this case. There is always an opportunity for more work after the win. It’s up to you to decide if it’s what you want to do or not.

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 Feedback is appreciated!

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Most Cited OSHA Violations in 2014

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This is for October 2013 to September 2014 (Source www.ConstructionDataQuarterly.com) I am putting this out because it is a good idea to see how busy the OSHA department really is. I understand that we want them to concentrate on the wireless business but the reality is that they cover all workers in the USA. This is no easy task and here you can see the violations that piled up over the previous year.

  • Fall Protection, Section 1926.501, Duty to have Fall Protection, 6,064 citations.
  • Scaffold, Section 1926.451, General Requirements, 3,834 citations.
  • Ladders, Section 1926.1053, Ladders, 2,361 citations.
  • Fall Protection Training, Section 1926.503, Training Requirements, 1,461 citations.
  • Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment, Section 1926.102, Eye and Face Protection, 1,051 citations.
  • Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment, Section 1926.100, Head Protection, 893 citations.
  • Toxic and Hazardous Substances, Section 1926.1200, Hazard Communication, 821 citations.
  • General Safety and Health Provisions, Section 1926.20, General Safety and Health Provisions, 757 citations.
  • Scaffolds, section 1926.453, Aerial Lifts, 721 citations.
  • Excavations, Section 1926.6512, 614 citations.

My OSHA RFI responses are here, take a look! Download it.

Ω Click here to learn more on Wireless

We always want them to do more, but they need the resources to do it. Believe it or not OSHA is doing all that they can to make elevated workers safe, are you? What have you done? Did you complete the OSHA RFI? If not, why not! Don’t be a slacker or a deadbeat, complete the OSHA RFI today! Wireless Estimator OSHA RFI entry website found here.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention. Help spread the word of safe climbing!

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Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

 Feedback is appreciated!

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