Category Archives: Wade4Wireless BlogCast

News Around the Tower!

Word on the tower!

OK, so I have been looking around and found a few articles that may interest you.

First off, there was a safety climb system failure that resulted in injury. It happened to a Kentucky tower climber that was working in Ohio on a Crown Castle tower. Allstate tower employee Taylor McDonald, 32, was climbing down the tower when he slipped on a step bolt around the 50 foot level and his safety climb did not properly slow him down. People on the scene said the cable grab appeared to be attached properly. OSHA did investigate the site and removed 50’ of the cable grab cable. He is currently in a coma according to Wireless Estimator. Just as a note, I reached out to Crown Castle to see what their safety policies were and I didn’t hear back. I have interviewed people in the industry before this happened and the common response was that Crown Castle doesn’t feel they play a role in climber safety. If you know more than let me know. I was told that they feel it’s not their problem. Can anyone corroborate that statement? Read about the accident here. There will be a law suit and I get the feeling that fingers will point blame both ways.

Go to the IWCE conference and see me! I will be on the “Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance” panel on March 17th, 2015. 

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Did you hear? Wireless Estimator did a report stating that the tower climbing industry is 29,000 strong! Read about it here. If there are 29,000 climbers, it’s a huge industry and should grown even more next year, for those that can handle the work. Do you think seeing these numbers may make a union interested in recruiting these workers and helping train them? I wonder. Could 29,000 climbers agree to unite? Probably not. This is amazing since on that same day I read that tower climbing is one of the worst jobs, link here. There is also an interview about how one guy fell into the job, link here.

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OSHA is busy, they handed out a $114,000 fine to Sherwood Tower Service. That is who Thomas Lucas, of Toledo, worked for when he fell from the tower in Stockton, Ca while paining. He had three children. OSHA handed out the hefty fine because companies that have workers at heights are required to provide adequate fall protection. Also, the harness should have been replaced due to visible signs of wear. These are called willful violations because it could have been avoided. Read about it here and here and here and here. To view current OSHA citation go to https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/SherwoodTowerServices_989451_0206_15.pdf and you can check it out for yourself. Listen, I know most of you don’t appreciate OSHA, but they are trying to make a difference, so support them!

OSHA stand down week is coming up! May 4th to May 15th and the information is on OSHA’s website! They show the tower workers representing the worker’s at height. Inside Towers wrote about it here. What can you do? You can maybe take a day that week and practice rescue, maybe inspect all of your gear and tools and rope. Maybe spend the time working on your CPR and First Aid training. Review your OSHA 10 handbook. Take the time to make progress! Refresh your skills, inspect your gear, show that you care about yourself, your workmates, and your company! If you need more ideas here is the link to the FAQ on what to do! OSHA is trying to help, so accept what they offer and work with it. If it’s not good enough for you, then by all means, make improvements, that’s what you do in the field, right? Adapt, improvise, and overcome, where here is your chance to step up. If you take the 5 minutes it takes to read this, you will learn that it’s not about standing down for a week, it’s about educating yourselves. For some reason last year many of you said that you could not quit work for a week. Education takes time and you need to learn to read and listen. Nuff said!

Anyone going to NATE United? I wish I were but I just could not make it. If you are LBA is giving a RF Safety Awareness class, read about it here. It’s a great reason to go to Lake Buena Vista, Fl, this time of year.

What do you think????? Feedback!

Start learning with some products that will help! Start with the Introduction to Tower Climbing, then get The Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Site Work, then you will be ready to move into the Scope of Work Training. The entire time you are working you should be completing a Tower Worker’s Logbook to log your high time and drive time and your project responsibilities! Learn more about my products!

Go to theIWCE conferenceand see me! I will be on the“Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance”panel on March 17th, 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! Meet me face to face and let’s talk after the conference.

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Feedback from “Wireless Deployment Efficiencies”

OK, this is from my post on Wireless Deployment Efficiencies where I wrote about ways to make you deployment as efficient as possible by thinking about your deployment plan.

Comment: You are so right, I’ve been a PM for over ten years and you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve said these same things. Great Post!!!

Response: Thank you! I know that becoming efficient is something you need to work at to cut costs and raise profit. It will also make you more competitive. However, you need to know how to become more efficient without hurting the essentials like safety and worker morale. Being efficient will often come from a good idea someone has in the field that everyone can adopt. However, being efficient doesn’t mean taking shortcuts, it means finding a better way to do a task.

Go to the IWCE conference and see me! I will be on the “Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance” panel on March 17th, 2015. If you go let me know! I would like to borrow a harness and helmet for my talk!

From LinkedIn I got this response which I wanted to share:

Wade:
I don’t know if you are fully aware of what happened in his case. Ray was called in to erect a self-supporting tower in Nebraska after the general contractors Erector announced they didn’t have the men that could erect the tower with a crane. But they didn’t inform the general until they had completely assembled the tower, a 300′ SST, and the crane had arrived.
Ray took the deal without a schedule extension, but only because the crane was there and waiting. The first day he and his crew arrived, they corrected the previous crew’s assembly mistakes and stacked 240′ of steel before dark. The next morning when they arrived, the crane company was tearing down the crane for removal. They had a guaranteed commitment on another job
The general contractor offered Ray $3,000.00 in addition to their original contract to finish the job with a hoist and pole, which they would furnish, however Ray would have to go pick the equipment up, and also, the general contractor would not slip the scheduled completion date. Ray took another man with him and drove all day and night to San Antonio, and then over to Houston and back to the job site near Omaha in 54 hours.
Upon his arrival at the job site in early afternoon, the crew rigged the tower with the gin-pole in a “Chicago Boom” fashion and disassembled the sections because they would have to assemble them in the air.
Their first pick was a single leg with step bolts. As they were setting the leg, they called the operator to raise the load a few inches but a step bolt was fouled in the pole. Ray climbed up on the pole and pushed the leg out and called for the operator to come up a few inches, but instead of pulling back on the load drum lever, the operator pulled back on the jump line lever. The jump line broke causing the pole to fall 240′ down through the inside of the tower with Ray attached to it.
It’s a miracle he survived. But the reason I call this to your attention is to give you an example of how the owners and general contractors, the brains of the operation, bully the workers and chisel them into unfair and dangerous situations and then gloat about how good they handle problems.
RB

Response: Sometime trying to be too efficient can be a hazard, especially when you rush to make something happen without having the time to plan it out. Planning should include not only the best way to deploy but also the safest way to work. It really makes sense to take your time to plan out the steps. Being efficient doesn’t mean skipping very important steps like hazard assessment, tailgate meetings, and making the plan with your team! Think and pay attention to what is going on!

Do you have an opinion on this?

Listen to iTunesorStitcherfor 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 17th, 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.

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Feedback from Feedback about Policing the Industry

I had some feedback from my “Feedback on “Will the Tower Industry Police Itself?”

I wanted to get this out because this guy thought I deleted his feedback!

Comment: WHY DID YOU REMOVE MY POST……..

Response: I didn’t, here it is! I put his name in here because I think it’s funny, and I am pretty sure it’s not his real name!

Name: One of the few Intelligent ones
Comment: I will say this. YOU WILL NEVER POLICE THIS INDUSTRY. WHY……In most other industries you must have degrees, training, certs, etc. For example to be an engineer you need degree, certs, etc. To be a manager you need all plus more. See this is the only Industry I know where a person can have dropped out of High School, be working at a 7-eleven on Friday night and that following Monday be a tower climber installing high dollar equipment for major carriers. It is unbelievable.

What I mean is be careful what you ask for. This industry does not have professionals. There are some, but most rant and rave about being underpaid, so dangerous, etc but yet the industry is filled with drinking, pot smoking, not show up for work on time, rough necks who do not know a thing about being a professional. If they were to make qualification a determination for employment most would not make the cut. Urinalysis on a regular basis would weed out another chunk. Punctuality would probably get the rest. The professional powers to be known this and therefore it will never happen because 95% of the work force will not make the cut. You better not police the industry I should say.

Why is this industry so dangerous, I have climbed for over 20 years, had over 300 climbers under my supervision and no accidents or deaths. It is really quite simple. If your Physically tied to an object that is anchored in the ground, it’s physically impossible to fall. Pretty simple I think.

When climbers fall 100% of the time it is climber error. You never hear of equipment failing.

Response: Tell me how you really feel! First off, congratulations on training so many climbers, working with so many, and never losing any, thank you for that! I really mean it, great job! You are correct about most of this, you have those people but you also have some great people that think of this a profession, not a job. I often think of it as very skilled labor. However, I have also met many that fit the description you put in. You also make a great point about tie off, while not all the deaths last year were from tie off problems, there was also rigging failures, heart attacks, and tower collapsing. However, you are correct, there were many that obviously didn’t tie off. We need to drill into everyone’s head that if they don’t tie off they could die.

As for safety gear failures, there have been some this year but I don’t know if anyone’s safety lanyard failed, so you make a great point if you are referring to the safety lanyards!

Go to the IWCE conference and see me! For a discount enter code SPK! Remember that the communications people for public safety and fire departments will be there. Fire departments rescue climbers!

You want to learn about safety? Then listen to me at the “Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance” panel on March 17th, 2015

What are you missing? Listen to the Podcast, on iTunes, or Stitcher to find out!

Comment: After 25 years in the business, I still find that one of the biggest problems is drugs on and off the job sit. Another thing that causes us problems is NATE. NATE is like a lot of females. They love to keep something going all the time and I’m a firm believer if something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. My grandfather use to tell me, don’t stir in shit,, it will stink. If NATE would butt out and, leave OSHA alone, we would be better off. All of these company owner’s that claim they are a member of NATE and it is not nothing to be proud of. We have a safety guy in our company that is always talking about safety, safety, safety but, out of the other side of his mouth, he condones smoking pot in the company, on and off the job. It’s BS.

Response: OK, I take it you are not happy with NATE. I do know that NATE is working towards setting realistic safety training requirements in this industry. While they do serve the company owners, they are working to make the industry safer because this is the only way we will grow. Remember that no one wants a climber to get hurt. However, we have different views on how to prevent accidents.Prevention sounds easy, but it takes industry buy in and there are still so many climbers that do not tie off 100%!

OK everyone, this is a long comment, so be patient!

Comment: There are some interesting issues addressed in this forum that I agree with. There are no schools that can duplicate the effectiveness of OJT, however, schools can teach a lot of important points to a green hand. For example, I don’t think schools should teach that workers become totally reliant upon their PPG. I believe they should be taught to be as secure as possible on the tower, without any PPG at all, and the PPG should be considered secondary. Learning where to position yourself to avoid danger has proven to be as much of a deterrent as the PPG. I think a false sense of security is experienced when a worker wraps their lanyard or hooks their hook over a member. This is not a new argument. Years ago after an ironworker fell off the Verrazano Narrows bridge, American Bridge went on strike while pressing the general contractor to put nets under the areas they were working. Management claimed that a net would cause the men to feel a false sense of security and would result in more injuries because of carelessness. Eventually, after a short strike, the contractors capitulated and provided netting under the areas where bridge spans were being installed.
What puzzles me about all this schooling and training is, what are the credentials of the people doing the schooling and  training. Who is teaching the teachers? How many years of experience do they have actually climbing, setting iron, jumping poles, flagging cranes, using the basic tools or even tying knots. How many times have you teachers set up on top of a tower and actually endured the pain from harsh weather so you could finish a job and be home for Christmas? Few of you have ever experienced these circumstances.
The brains of the industry forget that this is a job. A job is where workers are given a task to perform and are paid to get it done in a safe and timely manner. If the works not done, nobody makes a dime. The workers that have the unique ability to get the work done safely need to be adequately compensated for what they contribute, and the “wanna-be’s”, the “professional resume writers and per-diem collectors” and the “PM brother-in-law contractors” need to be eliminated, and this is the job of the project managers and staffing people.
A crew will police itself only after they have worked together for some period of time, but it takes time. Moving boomers in from out-of-state on an “as needed” basis doesn’t give regular workers the time to learn what the boomers know or the tasks where they excel.

Response: Thank you sir, for the honest feedback. People often forget that if they don’t finish, they don’t get paid. If someone gets hurt or dies on a job, the company won’t get paid unless they finish. Most PMs and GCs won’t wait, they will bring another crew in to finish and not pay the first crew a dime. That doesn’t seem fair but that’ how it is. Ask anyone out there, this is the way the wireless business works. The GC can barely wait for OSHA to finish before they have a new crew on site to finish.

Training – I think the trainers play a key role in the process, but the experienced guys probably make more money working than training, just my opinion, unless they like going home every night, which is a huge factor after traveling for years. Most trainers are there to train the climber for a specific task, we rely on OJT training to teach them the job. That’s how invaluable getting trained on the job is, it is invaluable. When you are work with an experience crew you learn so much more than working with all people that never climbed before. However, those crews get pretty creative, but it leave so much to chance. Work experience becomes invaluable, if you are trained properly and know your job! It pays to learn what you can while you can. Learn as much as you can!

Be smart, be safe, pay attention to your task, following your plan but be ready to adapt, improvise, and overcome the obstacles in your way!

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March 16th to 20th, 2015

Enter discount code SPK today!

 

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

Create your plan and career path with some products for wireless deployment and the tower workers! 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 17th, 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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They support tower climbers in need!

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Feedback (Part 2) from “Will the tower industry Police Itself?”

Comment: Thanks Wade, good commentary. You ask some very deep questions that never seem to be honestly answered. This industry has been “self-policing” for decades. All in all, the fatality rates have been dismal. I have been hearing for decades, “We will take care of ourselves, we are professionals, who would be better than us can make this industry safer?” Things have not changed at all!
Furthermore, look at some of the tower rescues done by emergency services. While many nitwits want to talk about how they would have rescued and fired the poor guys. You overlook the reason why those men got where they were in the first place. Because they were hired to climb and they know nothing about it. It’s not a joke! We buried a number of fathers and husbands last year, because they were put in situations they had NO EXPERIENCE IN!
Anyone you speak to in this industry will tell you how safe they are and how they stay tied off 100% of the time. If this were the case, we wouldn’t have buried 14 of our own this year.
You laid out some of the ugly truths of this industry Wade. Self-policing is code for, “You don’t need to check us out, you should check out the other fools”. Free-climbing is rampant. Nobody dares to admit it. As long as the speed of the work is the #1 goal, safety and workers rights will always fall to the back. Carriers escape any culpability through turfers and subcontractors. It’s all big business and big money. Little of which actually gets to the ones being pressured, to do the tasks safely.
The policing has to come from the climbers. They must be allowed and encouraged to say “no” to unsafe situations. Any company owner will say, “We always have our men’s backs.” That is until the PM tells you the site you are on needs to be completed today and on the air tomorrow. There is no other answer he will accept, other than “Yes sir!” Safety is not honored or rewarded.
How can we possibly train every worker in the field with real-time OJT, supervised over a period of years by climbers with proper experience and safety records?
Unions already do that, and have been doing this with excellent results. While we have companies, who throw men off the street to job sites without any leadership. This is why climbers die. Sadly, climbers don’t seem to have the stomach to change this either. Sad times indeed.

Response: Thanks! That is why I asked about a union for climbers. I haven’t had time to really follow through with that. I heard so many vast opinions about unions, it’s hard to determine which is from experience and which is perception. I just want to find a way to make the industry safer, efficient, and profitable. They all go together to be successful. No deaths and minimal injuries.

What are you missing? Listen to the Podcast, on iTunes, or Stitcher to find out!

Go to the IWCE conference and see me! I will be on the “Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance” panel on March 17th, 2015

Comment: Industry driven by carrier deadline. Stressful  environment on tower owner side to meet customer  demand. Push, deployment,  change in equipment,  push, re prioritization, conference call, chastisement, lost in the drudgery to get it done. Then an accident happens. The carrier, GC, and tower owner say. We do not know how this could have happened, but we need to change.
Cooperation and standardized  SOP is the change.  Tower owners and carriers need to cooperate on a standard of keeping the backbone of the industry  safe. For without the backbone the body has no posture and is weak.

Response:This is great feedback, these are all good points and if we could have cooperation and standard operating procedure (SOP) across the industry then we could really move ahead. We really need the climbers to work together and communicate.
Comment: I am in the industry 16+ years as a climber and foreman. Recently moved into PM position and in-house instructor. I have always felt that climbers should be a union. Mainly for the purpose of people being properly trained. It is something the industry always needed and still does.
I feel a lot of the deaths and injuries over the years have stemmed from no or improper training. Having a unionized training could only benefit this industry. The days of handing a harness and gear to a guy who was telemarketing last week, showing how to put a harness on and climbing up 150′ to swap 12 antennas in one day with him, while showing him how to choose a proper anchor point for his fall arrest lanyard would be gone.
That telemarketer could have received good training for a few weeks and been sent out ready and knowing what he signed up for and knowledgeable enough to be more of a help than a worry whether this guy should even be up there right now. At the least, he would have been weeded out before he had the chance to get hurt or hurt someone else.
The training we receive through Comtrain, Gravitec, etc. is good training except for the fact that it is, as everything in the industry, rushed. Originally a 2 week class cut down to 2 days, rushed. The training is good for someone who has some type of experience already, has picked up on some of the vocabulary and who has put a harness on already. It is a great refresher course.
Climbers need a little more than that to get a good start and not try to learn under the extreme pressures of the field until.
Sign me up. I would love to continue working in this industry for years more seeing this type of change and giving future climbers a little more security in their chosen field.

Response: Great points! I think that training had to be made more efficient because so many climbers come and go quickly. One thing that doesn’t help is the fact that you don’t know how the person is going to react to the job. Will they be there for 3 months or 5 years? That is the owners conundrum. They are trying to hire and ramp up for jobs but then they lose people for whatever reason and then need to start the expensive process over again. I believe that is why so many businesses are family owned.  That also is why so many owners stop caring because they tend to get screwed over and they have a hard time really caring. It becomes all business. What we need to do is find balance. We need owners that put safety first, but they still need to make a profit. Remember that safety still costs money. Training is very important.

Do you have an opinion on this?

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

Create your plan and career path with some products for wireless deployment and the tower workers! 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 17th, 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.

Tower Climber YouTube Training Videos Part 1

OK, I have been asked by many to find a few. Here are some Tower Climbing videos I found on YouTube. I plan to start my own YouTube channel, if you think it’s a good idea or a bad idea, let me  know! Also, what do you want me to talk about? Get on my newsletter list!

 Comtrain class in Tennessee

Downey Rescue Training (climbing pegs are not acceptable safety tie off points!)

Learn more about the SOW and Tower Aids!

Simple Lower End Carry Ground based tower rescue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaNXWbzfI_k

Listen to my podcast on  iTunes or Stitcher

See you at the IWCE conference! I will be on the“Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance”panel on March 17th, 2015. 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.

Tower Climbing and Rescue

Tower rescue training advanced 2013

Tower Rescue considerations

Tower Rescue Total Access in the UK

Learn more about logging your high time in Logbooks!

Tower Rescue Pacific Safety

IRATA Level 1 Aid Climbing

Rescue from Ascent

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!

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Support the Hubble Foundation!

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!

Feedback (Part 1 of 2) from “Will the tower industry Police Itself?”

This is from my post “Will the tower industry Police Itself?”

Comment: Wow
I AGREE so much of what you say is truth (I am a 11 yr veteran of the industry) and it is passion that has kept me in. I believe if the big 3, at&t etc, would see that you can not replace an injured worker with anyone just to get system on-line so it will get punched. Please I have trained my share, how many still, in few but some and they are DAMN GOOD HANDS, but the pay doesn’t match. Keep up the good work here.

Response: Thanks, I often hear how many customers are more concerned about 2 things during an injury and that is schedules and reputation. You know what they rarely worry about? Lawsuits, even though they do lawyer up most people working there do want the injured to get better, most managers know that the courts set a precedent when AT&T was sued and the judge determined that because AT&T put that layer of turf vendors in between them and the climber, they could not be held liable. However, now OSHA would like to see the contracts so they can investigate farther. For all of you that think I am making it up, go HERE and HERE and HERE. Listen, when there is an accident and you see a friend get hurt, or a family member, it suddenly changes your perspective. No one wants anyone to get hurt. Look at TIRAP setting a model to follow and NATE working on training standards. All tower crews have to do is follow their instruction. Most do, most companies have a great culture stressing safety along with quality work. Like is said, safety is not cheap, so when the customer demands low prices but continue the demand for unrealistic schedules, the problem continues. The way I see it, safety is in the hands of the of the crew owners and customer, they will set the standards for their contractors but continually asking for the certifications for everyone on their jobs as well as doing safety audits randomly. No tower crew really likes the customer checking up on them but that is the only way I see things changing.

Go to theIWCE conferenceand see me! I will be on the“Tower Safety and Regulatory Compliance”panel on March 17th, 2015.

Comment: Points I’d like to make:
    1- Get the charlatans out of the industry. The last few years have seen a huge growth and everyone wants a piece of the pie. This includes TURFERS that have no frigging clue as what they signed on for and/or give  $#@% about the GCs actually hanging their ass out in the wind dealing with these idiots.
   2- Company owners, foreman, leads right down to the FNG need to make safety the daily priority.
   3- There is no substitute for OJT. Just like there is no substitute for climber/rescue training and practice. Safety isn’t just a classroom study. There is class/instruction work and hands on. Every day there is something different. Training people to pay attention and identify issues is a daily thing (it never stops).
    4- Aptitude is something you have or don’t have. It cannot be trained, instructed or expected of someone who does not possess it. Identifying this early is the only way to be proficient and safe in this industry.
More points:
TIRAP was good intentions but ran like just any other class, getting a D- is still passing. That goes back to aptitude, and attitude (many people want to be a medical doctors and in some countries can be, even though you wouldn’t want them working on you). People have to be built for this work mentally and physically.
The Govt should set basic standards and then step off. Are we adults of babies? If you’re the latter this is the WRONG place for you. If you’re the former act like it. This is a business and hopefully your name. Treat it right, you can only sell your soul once.
Unions, like communism, has worn out it’s usefulness and welcome. Now it’s just a tick sucking off the system and occasionally killing someone off.
This is not  business for whiners, con men or swindlers. This is a business for real men and women. Honesty and integrity are paramount. Really everything starts with those 2 things. Sadly those are the 2 things missing from the majority of society and in this business it’s the difference between life and death. Yes there are plenty of companies out there without those qualities but they will burn down or out in the short-term. And in the process make life more difficult for the rest.
The large companies (MASTEC included) have NOT paid GCs on projects for the last 3 years pretty regularly so I have to disagree with you on that one.
Thanks for reading and I hope I didn’t make anyone dizzy with the jumping around a bit. Some times my rants go that way.
All I really want to say is that this industry is one of those that there isn’t room for rationalizing. It is do it or don’t do it. Half assed will get someone killed>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Response: You make several good points, this is a tough business. It is full of swindlers and con men, mostly because even though it’s a small business we don’t call out these people in a public forum because of lawsuits. So what do we do? Word of mouth within the industry. I follow a few deployment pages and postings only to see that there are climbers and businesses that just screw over others. Yes, it is something that happens to the companies. Some people work for a company and walk with all they can carry and then there are companies that hire crews and just don’t pay them. I have been on both sides and it really sucks when it happens. However, you push forward and do what you can do. You worry about taking care of business, your business the best you can. You build in any protection you can. You talk to your competition about safety, companies, and who pays and who won’t. We really need to communicate in this industry, after all, that’s what we do, we build communication systems, right?

You also brought up about big companies, it just seems that when companies get larger, their priorities change, I don’t know why but that is the perception. They need to realize that they will get a bad reputation in the industry, but most don’t care because there are so many crews looking for work. So many tower crews are out there looking for work, willing to take risks for the sake of getting paid by a customer.

As far as unions, I think that they offer a way to organize the climbers to be trained properly. Unions still are out there and still offer value. I feel differently about them because I know many tower climbers in the IBEW and they seem to be well-trained and do good work.

To respond to your original points:

  1. You have clueless and uncaring people in any industry, However, look at all the good people in this industry, I really believe it balances out. I talk to people like Dr Bridgette Hester, Kathy Brand, Wally Reardon, and so many more that really make the industry look good.
  2. There are outstanding company owners out there, watch the TIRAP Workshop and you will see Dave Anthony of Shenandoah Tower Service who runs his company with one of the best safety cultures in the business, building safety first attitude from the top down. Unfortunately there are probably 10 companies to every one like Dave’s that don’t stress anything but the schedule. Money first for some people. It reminds me of something someone told me, (sorry for getting sentimental) the greatest things in life are free, even though we chase money life was given to us and love is often found, not bought.
  3. OJT is the most valuable training you can get, but it really helps to have experienced and upstanding people you work with. You may or may not like them but if they are really good at their job and safety, then you will learn good habits. Unfortunately many young men learn bad habits or need to rely on their intuition to figure out what to do with no experience, sometimes that can be good or bad.
  4. I agree, aptitude is a gift that really helps in this business.

Comment from my blog I thought would be great to share:

Wade,
I think that you have asked the single most important question in all of telecommunications, actually. I spent more than 15 years working aloft in every scenario imaginable from new builds and installations, to having to do a tower survey just to make sure the tower is safe for 2 men to climb – and some failed that and I refused to let my people work on them. In my career aloft, we did not even have a near miss. Riding the headache ball was not allowed! Hanging off an attachment was not allowed. Gin poles of all sizes were not used if they were in poor repair. Some of these practices were “very inconvenient” and probably cost my company money, but I never had to plan a hospital visit schedule, or worse, ever in my outdoor career.
Telecom is not the only area this problem exists. In many areas, you just have to stand under a bridge for a short while before you decide that where you are standing is unsafe. I think that in the case of the bridge, a worker on the bridge cannot be responsible for the maintenance of the structure before performing work on some part of it. If that were the case, repairing the guard rail might be a multi-million dollar project.
I heartily support the training efforts, and apprenticeship programs for all areas of telecommunications. When workers in our industry are well-trained, costs actually come down because the work is accomplished in less time, and the quality is always better, and for the owner of the infrastructure, maintenance costs are generally lower. When infrastructure is in poor shape, then risk is higher, and costs for maintenance and installation is higher.
Just my two cents!
Congratulations on your blog!

Response:Thank you! It’s funny you say that because I take so much heat for asking these questions. So many people don’t want to ask these questions, it is business as usual. Some people get defensive, like I am accusing them of something. I just want everyone out there to be smart, be safe, and pay attention to what they are doing. I want them all to come home alive. I really want the industry to thrive, with no deaths and minimal injuries. There is a ton of work coming up that will require creative solutions for deployment, we need to build up the industry and be prepared.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention! Follow the plan but don’t be afraid to adapt, improvise, and overcome!

Do you have an opinion on this?

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 17th, 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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Support the Hubble Foundation!

Let us not forget, February 1 of 2014 was NOT Super!

This year on Feb 1st North America will be enjoying the Super Bowl, the NFL’s and America’s biggest sporting event off the year! Last year, on Feb, 1, was the day that 3 people lost their lives. 2 Tower climbers were killed along with fire rescue and 2 more climbers were injured when the tower they were upgrading collapsed while all 4 men were on it. Then, rescue arrived to save them, and they did save the injured, but not until after another tower beside the first, damaged the second tower and caused it to collapse during the rescue, where another life was lost, one of the fire fighter who was attempting to rescue one of the injured climbers. This was a very sad day. Do you remember hearing that news? I do.

I have posts here and here.

So I saw on Facebook where NIOSH put out their report about the tower climber, it is an excellent report if you have the time to read it, go to http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201403.pdf and download it. I pulled some good stuff out of it that the tower industry could learn from.

If you want to read more about the investigation from OSHA, go to OSHA NEWS RELEASE for more information. To get OSHA updated information go to COMMUNICATION TOWER. I see the number of fatalities is still 11, I guess they are not counting the fall in December, post here, as a Communication Tower Fatality. OSHA: No more falling workers.

What did you learn?

OK, back to the NIOSH PDF which you can go download. You can learn from this by looking at what the fire departments did not do properly. It is easy for us to look back and learn from this terrible accident. We reviewed what the tower crews did wrong, but the NIOSH Report # F2014-03 was very enlightening. For instance, do you have a copy of all of your training records on file where everyone can get to them in case something happens? Do you have your Standard operating procedures documented and available to show anyone who asks?

When I worked at a company where we built up the tower business with crews I learned quite a bit. For one, insurance is very expensive, that seemed to be my first lesson. Second, training takes time and costs money. Third was that safety gear and training costs money. Nothing is free and nothing is cheap!

However, we had a consultant come in and tell us to record our standard operating procedures (SOP). You see, we had the employee and safety handbooks, that is not what he was talking about. He wanted us to document our typical installation processes. This is something that we took for granted. Creating it was tedious but in the long run, it was helpful. We documented simple procedure, like how to put a non penetrating rooftop mount together, very simple yet it had to be documented. We also put together mounting a dish to a tower. We had to break it out to several size dishes. We documented safety procedures and more. This is something that tower climbers often say, “Well, no tower installation is the same!” I agree, but the basics are very similar, right? I mean to install a dish, you need to climb the tower, rig the tower, put the dish and mount together, usually on the ground, then hoist them up, attach them to the tower, the ground the dish, connect the ODU, connect the cables, and align the dish. Now, that wasn’t so hard was it? We also made drawings and sometimes added pictures. Many times the process of assembly was in the instructions so if we used a common part or dish or antenna, we used that for the SOP.

By doing this we learned the value of paperwork in wireless deployment and in protecting the company. It also allowed us to identify holes and procedures we were missing. From that we built a better way to build scopes of work (SOW) and continued to build a basis for documented hours for bids. When I bid jobs this really helped me identify the process of deployment.

Just a few notes, let’s learn from this incident as we should from all incidents, whether it was a horrible fatality like this was or whether it was a near miss. Ask yourself, what did you learn?

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention. Create your plan, follow your plan, but don’t be afraid to adapt, improvise, and overcome. That’s what you do in wireless deployments.

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 17th, 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.

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Special thanks to the hard-working investigators at NIOSH!

From the PDF. “This incident was investigated by Jay L. Tarley, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Matt Bowyer, General Engineer, and Tim Merinar, Safety Engineer and Project Officer with the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH located in Morgantown, WV. Expert technical reviews were provided by Chief Joseph V. Maruca, West Barnstable Massachusetts Fire Department and Chief Ulysses Seal, Bloomington Minnesota Fire Department. A technical review was also provided by the National Fire Protection Association, Public Fire Protection Division.”

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2 injured in Tower Collapse!

Updated 2/2: According to Frank Dirico, President of Viaero Wireless, the tower did not have a section collapse, but rather the men were working on the cell array on the ground when it blew down on them, for more go to Inside Towers at http://insidetowers.com/nebraska-tower-didnt-actually-collapse/

Updated: OSHA will investigate the Viaero tower accident. They have been fined before, this is something that OSHA can not overlook. Viaero previously paid fines of  $125,000 after losing an employee to a previous tower accident.

http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/osha-investigating-viaero-tower-collapse/article_5fb099da-a8b0-11e4-8270-97393dc48fd1.html

2 people were injured when a tower collapsed around noon local time today. The 2 man were trapped under a Viaero cell tower near Avenue R and Overland in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The tower was under construction when apparently the high winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50mph caused it to topple. A spokesperson on site said that they men were making repairs on the ground when a piece from the tower came down due to high winds. Initially they said that they were 10 and 20 feet in the air when the section blew over but later it was reported they were working on an antenna array on the ground. Apparently the men were trapped under the section that blew over when emergency workers got there. Another report says the men were working on an antenna on the ground when the section blew over and hit them on the found. Either way they were trapped when the fire department got there.

Listen to  iTunes or Stitcher for more commentary! Podcast Download

The Scottsbluff Fire Department responded to the scene and treated the men.

One man suffered a leg injury while the other had a shoulder injury.

The Viaero spokesperson, Mike Felicissimo said that the men were working on an antenna array on the ground when the wind caused the section to move.

Both men are doing well and they are in good spirits! Great news!

Cellphone tower collapse

http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/two-men-injured-in-tower-collapse/article_254d01f4-a728-11e4-a8ef-8bbe35b137c1.html

http://columbustelegram.com/news/state-and-regional/men-injured-after-scottsbluff-cell-phone-tower-collapse/article_bc875756-f5ed-58ba-9890-4cdffd66944e.html

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/men-injured-after-cell-phone-tower-collapse/article_f3d40468-da73-5365-8574-32b5d77ac140.html

http://www.nebraska.tv/story/27966131/two-men-injured-after-scottsbluff-cell-phone-tower-collapse

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/men-injured-in-scottsbluff-cellphone-tower-collapse/article_d764f7b6-a732-11e4-920d-17eb252c9864.html

http://www.kotatv.com/news/nebraska-news/viaero-tower-collapses-early-this-afternoon/30968894

Feedback, thoughts?

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!

 

Climbers, do you know your high time?

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Listen, one thing I didn’t do properly was log my high time. When I was climbing I didn’t log my drive time nor my high time. That is the one thing that most climbers talk about but no one logs it. I think that it’s a good idea to keep a log of your time in the air and to log how high you climb.

I was thinking about this for quite a while. We often don’t look at the climbing history of the climber after the project is done. If there is an accident we look at their age and resume. What about when the climbers are in the air for 12 hours a day for 5 days straight? Does anyone look at what the climber was doing for the last 2 weeks? At their current health? It doesn’t appear anyone shares that with OSHA.

So I think that it’s time that climbers log 2 things, their drive time and their high time. If a climber is driving for 10 hours, he really shouldn’t be climbing, but many do. If he spent all day in the air and then get’s called out at night to climb again, can his body handle that? I know that mine did, but was I being safe or looking at the schedule?

When I was climbing I had severe tendonitis, to the point where I could not go bowling with my kids. I would take them and watch. I was in the air 5 to 7 days a week, climbing anywhere from 100’ to 700’ for that stretch. I wish I had a record of the hours of high time and of drive time. I can only imagine it was well over 50 hours in the air each week and maybe around 16 hours of drive time. That makes for a long week. I know that many of you are doing more than that now, but if you don’t log it, then no one knows.

I created a simple spreadsheet for you to log your time, use this as a template. If the $1.99 is too rich for your blood, then create one on your own, record what and where you’re working, the hours a day in the air which I call high time, the highest height you climbed, and your drive time.

Although simple to set up and do, it is hard to log because you probably feel there is no time. No time to record what you do daily. You already do so much paperwork, right? Then this should be a no brainer! This should be something that you should do to let yourself, your boss, and your customer know how hard you work and how much time it really takes to complete the task. If you won’t do it then have one of the ground guys do it as part of their duties or maybe the foreman or PM. Just do it! Do it and you will see how much high time and windshield time you really have in a week. After all, it’s your body you need to keep track of. I think that this may really help you understand the physical strain you are putting on your body and the mental exhaustion that you are feeling from driving so much.

Order Tower Climber Logbook Today!
Order Tower Climber Logbook Today!

More information on my template is here!

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www.HubbleFoundation.org

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?

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention! Follow your plan but be ready to adapt, improvise, and overcome the challenges that arise!

Feedback from “Is it Time to Unionize Tower Climbers?”

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This is feedback from my earlier post, “Is it Time to Unionize Climbers?” You have a voice so use it! Commentary on the perception many people have of the union and the climbing industry.

Comment: I applaud the conversation.  This needs more focus and attention.  I’m not an expert on unions and maybe not a fan of them because of what I’ve heard about them, that being said, I feel this is one industry that could and should have one.  I’ve tried personally to open a Telecom University, funding was not there.  Watching the DOL and FCC try to get some proper training for the industry is interesting.  What is the right thing?  Not sure, but I’d like to see some changes and am willing to help.  Going back to the union idea – again, I’m not an expert.  I’d be more than willing to bring my 23 years of telecom experience and contacts to the table and help get a solution though.  If enough people came to a table and got involved, I have no doubt we could do it.

Response: Thanks for pointing out that the industry needs some help. I think the question is a good one as well.

Comment: I am former West Region Safety Training Manager for Nexius. They have put their climbers in a separate company so they can better manipulate wages, training, and safety regulation costs, without affecting the rest of Nexius assets. This can potentially put climbers in danger, and keep them at a lower wage rate, with less benefits than other Nexius employees. I would like to help organize, train, and unionize climbers in the desert southwest. I am currently starting my own company training tower climbers in the southwest.

Response: Thanks for pointing out how the climbers are separated out from the rest of the company. I have seen this done to keep insurance costs down as well as protect the company from liability. Insurance companies know that it is a high risk job and the rates show it. Pretty tough job when the expenses are so high for something that turf vendors want to pay $10/hour for the service.

Comment: 13 years in, have made tremendous sacrifice , it has to go, in a better direction with more gain for the individuals who truly make it happen.

Response: Once again this shows how hard the field crews work with little reward or a better future. Thank you for sharing and for the hard work.

Comment: I am not so sure being unionized would be the best thing for this industry, however I do see some positive points that would help the industry as well.
The biggest problem that I would see coming out of this, is that it would cause climbers to get lazy,  it’s no secret that these jobs are time sensitive, you show up to site you start working and you don’t stop, a lot of times not even for lunch, you eat while you work.  I have worked or been on a lot of jobs with union workers and to be honest, I have never seen one bust his but at the pace climbers generally work at.  It’s something we seasoned climbers pride ourselves on, while we complain at times, deep down we are proud we can show up day after day and spend 12 plus hours on the tower and knock a site out a day earlier then the projected completion.  I have noticed union workers do not have this mentality a lot if times and spend a lot of time socializing and working at their pace, rather than following the mentality of (not all climbers) but most.
I see a huge positive in an apprenticeship program and extended training, I have seen too many guys come into this industry with zero experience other than a two-day course whether in-house or at a school in certified climbing and rescue then they are thrown into a crew and expected to work, with zero rigging experience, and zero carrier technology experience in a sort of boot camp period for green hands, I think this is a good period, if placed with a good crew and foreman it really helps to set the tone of what is expected and that we work at a face paced, you are not on your phone and we are not here to socialize but to work and work hard.  However I would like to see guys with a lot more experience and training from some an apprenticeship program maybe 6 months long.  This will only improve confidence in the green hand.
I would like to see a better pay scale, even us more seasoned foreman make good money, but not the greatest, the carriers make a LOT of money and this job is not easy, we are out there battling the elements, fatigue, long hours, and physical abuse to the body, I just feel a lot of us should be paid more for the risks we take every day and the impact to our bodies we endure during the long hours, we are talking about being for the most part the back bone to these carriers that are which are multi billion dollar companies, yet green hands make about the same as someone working in a checkout line at a grocery store.  I believe there is room for a lot of improvement in the pay scales for the work we do and the risks we take.

Response: I have to tell you that the union guys I worked with were anything but lazy. However, I heard all of the stories about how they just sit around. I think the difference between those stories is that most shops are in it to make money. If someone sits around then it is hard to make money. Don’t get me wrong, you seem to have many people out there, union and non-union that are lazy and don’t care. Most tower climbers, union or non-union that I have worked with get it, they understand that time is money and that quality counts.

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Comment from email: The bigger question, why unionize anybody? That answer rests with your political tastes, government or private sector. In my opinion, labor unions are parasites, sucking much nutrition, i.e., $$$$, and returning little more than placebos, feel good benefits, feel good commandery and feel good job security. There are reasons that labor unions in general are nose-diving into non-existence and that is the expose’ that they are more form over little substance. Their intrinsic and bureaucratic relationship with government makes even the perceptual “form” lethargic and corrupt.

Among the “pros” mentioned, most important, “certification,” implies “qualification<’ which everybody wants but seldom get unless industry-driven. Industry is driven by results, i.e., $$$$$ – something which government and labor unions extract very well but don’t return, generate nor inspire. And so, your labor union certification programs would become pencil-whipping cheat sheet worthless documents – the “old guy” [seniority] is always top-paid and ranked and usually the biggest time-clock [productivity] cheater – the essence of labor unions.

In the roughly three and a half decades of cellular / wireless tower climbers the industry has been composed of every genre of beer-drinking blue-collar worker from farm boys to apprentice electricians to auto mechanics. Very few of them have understood the basics of RF, 50 ohms, impedance match, resonance, antenna gain or skin-effect. Even with Site Master sweep-generators being made readily available they still didn’t appreciate what the readings meant. Antennas and coax installed – a few days of freezing rain, all of a sudden high VSWR alarms are awakening the on-call cell tech and shutting down RBS sites – this was the norm more than the exception for at least two decades of the industry until the demand for some rudimentary education and certification began trickling in – maintenance overruns made operation managers pull their hair out.

Unionization? No.   Industry-driven standardized training and certification? Yes.

Response: This was a common response, many people really dislike unions. However, he mentions that the tower climbers are beer drinking buddies, I think that is a sign that you get what you pay for. I know many climbers that do understand RF and the mechanical design of the towers. However, I also know the ones that view it as a laborers job, a means to pay the bills. Again, I feel you get what you tolerate. If you want a laborer, chances are that is what you will get. The standards will be set soon, then there will be a weeding out of some of the bad eggs, but then the price will go up to have qualified people. Isn’t that where we are now?

Comment from email: Great post. I am a 15 yr member of IBEW LOCAL 1. Two years ago we sent 20 men, all journeymen, through CITCA competent climber, authorized climber and tower rescue class. We had an opportunity to work for Wigdahl Electric. All went well for a time. We all loved working on cell towers. We also had civil crews for base work. The company lost a big chunk of work thru Ericsson/Sprint so we diversified into ATT and T-Mobile. At some point earlier this year the management in St. Louis from Wigdahl was not able to secure more work for us and shut the doors to the St. Louis branch. We, LOCAL 1, are still trying to get into the tower business thru a contractor and have discussed all of the pros you have listed.

Response: Thanks for letting us know. Good luck for the future!

Comment: Approached some officials at NATE about doing just that, providing skilled workers on a permanent basis or temporary.  All ready trained and certified.  The response was indescribable. They were only interested in their bottom line, not safety or training or skills. Left that meeting with my head in my hands. So you understand me, I have been in this business for over 35 years as a union Ironworker.

Response: Thank you, appreciate the input.

Comment: I am a tower climber and I am a union member,,,,, The IBEW has no clue what I do for a living but damn sure can tell you about electricians!!!!
What a Joke!! Even insurance companies cannot understand what we do for a living!!!!

Response: I have run into that in the past where insurance people have no idea what you do. At that time we joined NATE and got an education on how to insure the company. I learned quite a bit from NATE about the business. It helped the company prepare and grown.

 What do you think?

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention to what you are doing! Adapt, improvise, to overcome. Stay Alive!

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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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