You know, somebody should do something to improve the industry, If only you had a say! Wait, you do have a say, don’t you! I was reading an article on Wireless Estimator about the RFI response and how response is poor at best,article found here. Wireless Estimator OSHA RFI entry website found here.
If you completed the RFI response, than thank you and you‘re a shining credit to the safety of the tower industry! It shows that you care and that you want to make a change for the better in the industry. Way to go!If you didn’t, then read on!
Are tower climbers deadbeats? I would bet most people reading this would say no, and yet all you had to do is respond to the OSHA RFI, but you were too busy doing something more important, like shaving your back! 38 questions were there to be answered; some specifically asking for the tower climber’s opinion, but you didn’t have time to type out a few sentences, did you? You will quick to bitch about conditions and pay, but you could take the 30 minutes or so to even look at the first section of the RFI.
Worried about the deadline, well don’t, just respond today, tonight, tomorrow morning, but don’t wait any longer!
Most of you that didn’t answer probably spend a lot of time on Facebook complaining or posting rude pictures, so why not do something to help the industry?
All you had to do was answer some questions, but were you too busy or too lazy!
What was more important? Was it that TV show you were watching at night?
You know, I put a lot of effort into writing these blogs so help people, but you’re too busy to let OSHA know where the tower climber needs help.
Maybe we’re fine, maybe the tower industry is fine. Maybe all that most climbers are worth are $10/hour to risk their lives. Maybe all the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, boys, and girls that lost a family member mean nothing to you. it wasn’t you that got hurt, only a fellow worker in the wireless industry. A brother or sister that does the same job as you, a fellow elevated worker, someone who has a family who may never climb again, may never work again, or may never get to kiss their loved ones goodnight again. Once they are gone, it takes away everything, all they ever had and all they ever will have.
I hear so many of you complain, here is your chance to do something and most of you just won’t. Are you lazy, that is how I see it if you didn’t fill out part of this. Maybe it is a lack of commitment. Maybe you want to see your fellow workers get hurt, after all, doing nothing is like letting people die, so why not just sit back and hope that it’s not you or your work mates that die.
This is my plea for help, this is me asking you to get off of your lazy ass and do something. Complete the RFI response.Go to my blog here for instruction on what to so. The sooner the better!
Did you do it? Are you done? I didn’t say it would be quick or easy, but it needs to be done.
You know what, if you’re not going to do it, then maybe we should just continue to blame the climbers for all the faults, after all, most of you are not motivated to change anything. Complacency is the problem, and if you look in the mirror you will see the problem if you choose to do nothing.
Just remember what that you could have done something, and you chose not to. Way to go slacker!
Be smart, be safe, pay attention, and complete the RFI!
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Comment: TIRAP is yet another Top/Down approach to find safety solutions. Fundamentally, few details from TIRAP have been revealed. So far, the end game for the program is to immerse students into the industry. To send graduates into the workforce as “top hands”, “PM’s”, and “CM’s”. So, graduates are intended to become leaders for workers already in the field. Many with many years under their belts. Do you see the friction? As you mentioned about the deadlines, contracts, screw-ups, and the usual push to get the work done. With or without proper gear to complete tasks. What are these graduates going to do, to improve safety? They will cave in to the usual push. Just like we do already. Meaning, they will roll the dice and hope they cash in.
To their credit, if they follow through with their trainings, TIRAP this is quite thorough. at least for a short-term training solution. Sadly, long-term, careful, mentored exposure to ALL. rank and file workers is what’s missing. Every worker climbing towers needs to be properly experienced, not just “trained” or “certified” Union apprenticeships have been a traditionally proven leader in worker experience and worker safety. This approach is a bottom/up approach that IS successful at saving lives. Maybe this industry is not ready for this discussion now. Creating more BOSSES, by virtue of TIRAP, is just another industry band-aid to try to stick to a severed limb. So the madness continues. Families will get more shocking calls. Kids will grow up without their parent. Widows and widowers will try to carry on, with the help of the tax payers an all the stigma that endures. Because OSHA fines (a slap on the wrist or not) go to the US Dept. Of Treasury. Who really pays the price? I’ll end with a quote by Kurt Vonnegut, “And so it goes”.
Response: I believe that if TIRAP can be a model for the apprenticeship program it may really help. I don’t think that they will bypass the experienced workers because as you mention there is no replacement for experience. Experience is the key to leading in this industry. however, it is not the only qualification, common sense and brains help along with integrity. If you have a good person teaching these people the right way to do things, then it will go a long way. We all need mentors to help the process along and I think that is the one thing that has been missing in so many of these companies. Leadership helps and remember that you do not need to be the boss to be a good leader!
Remember to be smart, be safe, and pay attention to what you are doing. Follow the plan but don’t be afraid to adapt, improvise so you can overcome any obstacle!
On December 30th outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, there was a climber that had a medical issue and he had to be rescued. The climber apparently had a medical issue over 100 foot up on the tower. Luckily his workmates got him down from the tower but they had to wait for rescue to come to treat him.
First off, let’s say a prayer that this all turned out fine and everyone is alive and well!
Several fire companies showed up. One from Ann Arbor, another from Scio Township, another from Dexter township and finally the Tactical Rescue team from Washtenaw county.
It was pretty cold, about 24 degrees Fahrenheit when they were working. Now the article says that they took 2 men to the hospital, so I am not sure if another was injured in the rescue.Apparently the one guy got stuck and his coworker tried to help him.
Any information would help, please. There is a link to the article below!
I was having a conversation the other day when someone told me about an injury. The lawyers became involved almost immediately, as they always do. The lawyer told the family that injuries are the price of doing business for wireless carriers. Can you imagine? That this is what the legal system thinks of our industry?
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I am so angry about this but it is the opinion of the outsiders looking in. This is something that has to change. I have heard this so many times, so many things that give the industry a black eye. Injuries should not be one of them. Can we shape up? Of course, look at all of the tower companies out there that want to end any type of injury in the field. When I spoke to Liz Day, the woman who put together the Pro-Publica tower climber report, References here and here and here, she told me that everybody she talked to was so open about accidents. From the companies that had serious injuries to the companies that had fatalities. Everyone was quick to talk about how to make the industry better. They all wanted to achieve a safer and healthier injury rate. I don’t think anyone wants any of this to happen.
So why the bad reputation? You know, it is easy to point to the individual, and blame them. Isn’t that the first thing that happens in an accident? What about equipment failure? It happens. What about when something on the tower is not installed correctly? That is very common. What about lack of training? Yes, common problem.
Haven’t we tackled of all these problems? Haven’t we done all we can to make these problems go away? And yet, 11 deaths this year as of November, I pray there are no more. Please, no more injuries this year. Imagine how many we don’t hear about. Imagine all the people who get hurt and we never know.
What can we do? The FCC and DOL are stepping in by forming TIRAP, information here and here, and we hope that forming an organized system will help. It is still voluntary.
What about the pay structure? Are people getting paid? Are contractors being treated fair? Well, that all depends who you talk to. If someone can’t complete a job because they got hurt, what happens? Does the job stop? Chances are they will bring someone else in to complete the job and the injured contract won’t get paid. Talk about a kick to the crotch. So apparently the system has problems with payments. Why is that when the carriers are spending so much money to build these systems?
It appears that the prime directive is money and schedule. After all time is money but what is a life worth? Apparently not much when it comes to deployment. After all, 11 deaths this year, and DOL, OSHA, the FCC, and all the tower companies are working towards a better industry. So where is the problem? OSHA created the Communications Towers Website so we can track such things. They created TIRAP. They had a workshop. Yet, the reputation around the industry is that injury and death is part of doing business.
I was talking to someone this morning that mentioned that several contractors have a list of companies that they list as “DO NOT USE” because they treat climbers bad, they cheat subs out of getting paid, and quite frankly they are unscrupulous people. I know every industry has this. I have seen it in construction, same scenario where when one company gets a bad reputation they simply open up under a new name. Why is this happening in the wireless industry? Because it is a booming business where people smell money. I have seen big businesses change their practices because under the leadership they look for a way to downsize to save money. It happens because their priorities shift and they choose to treat people as a faceless resource who they just want people gone. I get it, big companies may pay better, but some of them have poor leadership. Leadership matters. That is why I respect someone like Dave Anthony of Shenandoah Tower Service who was at the TIRAP workshop. He not only practices what he preaches, he lives it. He cares for his business and his employees. Not all employees care, another issue but one I don’t have time to address here. I just have to say it is hard to filter through the crap to get to the truth on all sides.
So what can we do? Work together to make it a better industry. You are always going to have personality clashes but I would like to think we can all work together to weed out the scum who craps on the worker.
Communication is a big problem! I see so many projects where you may have a crew show up to see that no one knew they were coming. Why is that? How does that happen? Too many project managers? Poor leadership on a project? All too common.
So here is what I would propose, the customer should have a feedback line or email or website that the worker, the contractor who is actually doing the work can tell the customer about the GC or turf vendor they are working with. Sometimes the company isn’t bad, it’s just one jerk that is causing problems. I have seen it in my companies where customers will request one person because they trust them and they know they can count on them. Yet the company will not eliminate the problems. Sometimes we should honor the customer’s request.
If the customers started a database of problems companies and problems people, it may help. It may cause problems for some good people, so once again you need a bull crap filter. This is no easy task!
So listen, if you’re starting out, it will take some time to work up to getting work for the big boys. So make those connections, do good work, build a good reputation and honor your workers and your customer and the team will make your company earn a great reputation in the industry. Hopefully you will get to the point where you can pick your customers, that is a great place to be.
Work hard, be safe, be smart, and pay attention.
Let me know what you think!
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! My books will help teach someone the basics of tower work.
More in-depth information is on the podcast! Search on iTunes for Wade4wireless and write a review now!
Topics covered:
Lowest bidder wins, even if they have to cross 3 states to do the work. So many times a tower crew will pass the local crew to do a job. We can’t figure out why one crew can do something for less with the same equipment but traveling farther to do it. What are they not spending money on? Could it be safety gear and training? We really can’t figure that out.
Tower workers are often away from home for 1 to many weeks at one time during a deployment. This job wears people down, affects their family life and their attitudes. It can cause depression and anger issues. Family stress causes so many problems with people. When you are trying to support your family and they resent you for being away, it becomes a painful conundrum.
Deployment speeds are making a difference, crews struggle to keep up with the rate that deployments are moving. Wally brought up that every time he would be on the phone with a foreman/PM/customer they would always end with, “You will be done today, right?” This goes without saying when you look at Kathy Pierce’s story about her some Chad Weller who was ordered to climb in a harness that didn’t fit. Dangerous conditions and wrong equipment make for a disastrous result. Here you have attitudes and deadline that pressure people to make poor decisions. Gette mentioned how many people wanted to refuse to climb but when their paycheck was dangled over their head because the customer/foreman would say they would just find someone else and it would be the last job you would do, climbers feel the pressure to do it. Most times things turn out OK, what about when they don’t? It usually ends badly and then all you have is fingers pointing, OSHA investigating, and lawyers hushing everyone.
Workers and contractors not getting paid. Just because the lowest bidder wins doesn’t mean that the crew will get paid. This is all too common in the industry. Many people are just not paying an agreed to price. This corruption in the industry must stop. It is not only affecting the well-being of the workers, the crews, the safety of people, but causes most people to look at the tower industry with a despicable taste in their mouth. This was one thing that Liz Day brought up, that the other biggest complaint in the industry was not getting paid. The problem with this complaint is proving it. Not many people hiring subs will want to open their books!
Layers upon layers of contractors. Why is it that there can be so many layers of workers between the customer and the actual crew doing the work? This creates problems. Liz Day mentioned that when you search the OSHA database that you never see one death from American Tower, AT&T, nor and large contractor like B&V, because they hire the smaller contractors that pay the price. The larger guys may have their own climbers but mostly for maintenance, not large deployments. What is something bad happens? Then the customer can simply say, the contract says the lowest bidder should be safe. Meanwhile, today they are asking for proof of training and certification, which is a great thing. What about customer safety inspections? That would really help and I believe someone brought that up, either Wally or Craig, can’t remember which one, but they said that AT&T made enough money where they could randomly inspect the work at the site. I will tell you from experience that they inspect the final work with their punch lists. This affects payment, and there is always something that need repaired to delay payment, been there and done that. Final inspection is a key component to getting paid. So in this case the ends will justify the means. When that terrible decapitation happened this year Verizon Wireless stepped in to help with the process because no one else knew what to do. That was the right thing to do. They showed that they care and that they wanted to take action.
Working on the road really wears on some people. When they spend weeks on the road and it shows how their attitudes become different. Each person responds differently. Some get depressed while others get angry and some people become party animals. Why is this? Well, they didn’t bring this up but think of “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. Some people become a product of your surroundings meaning if they have a strong leader they will maintain but if the leader is a party animal then peer pressure could play into your actions. Remember that these crews are together, all day and all night. It becomes the family and someone in the crew will be the role model for the younger and more impressionable people. There are exceptions to every rule, but the odds are against most of them.
This was brought up – Tower climbing is being formalized int he education system. Aiken Technical College received a $2.45 million grant from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training competitive grant program for the expansion of the College’s nationally unique Tower Installation training program. This program is supported by the DOL and the DOE.
Commitment – Leaders gave their commitment to helping this cause! Leaders high up like the Honorable Thomas Wheeler of the FCC, Honorable Thomas Perez the Secretary of Labor, Dr David Michaels of OSHA, and Jonathon Adelstein president of PCIA offered to give their full commitment to this cause in full support of Scott Kisling the TIRAP chair to make sure that this program gets wheels! The rubber meets the road and the tires started rolling!
You – Here is where you can be the engine to insure this program has full success. Members of NATE have the ability to make a difference and support each other. Let’s make sure we monitor the industry! Let’s make this program go forward and offer our support. We can only make a difference if we not only support the program, but each other by caring for what happens a year from not. Compassion is contagious, let’s make sure it spreads throughout the industry, from the climber to the foreman to the crew owners to the project managers to the customers! It will take more than a team effort to make this safe, it will take an industry full of compassion to insure true success, ZERO point ZEROcasualties! Do you want to make a difference in this industry, here is your chance! Just say no to unnecessary risks, to dangerous work, to crazy demands. Be realistic and work as a team not only within your company but across the industry. We may be competitors in business but we have the opportunity to stand united. The tower climber can only be strong as an industry. Make a difference and stand for good work ethic, smart working, good ethics, and safe work environments!
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! My books will help teach someone the basics of tower work.
Part 1 – I had to break it down to prevent this from becoming a book. Part 2 will be out soon!
I had a great time, the only thing that would have made it better is free candy. I got to meet many superstars in the industry like Gette Hester, Liz Day, Art Pregler, Wally Rearden, and Todd Schlekeway. I got to discuss business with Doug Lee and a few others. I have to tell you that the wireless industry has so many good people in it. I could go on but I think that most of you would like to hear some feedback on the speakers, so let me move right into my feedback on what each person said.
Quick update – apparently I had everything wrong on the recent water tank fall, the family of the climber reached out to me to straighten me out. I will correct it but I really wanted to finish this first. I am updating the blog and will update the podcast out of respect for the family.
They had a lot of speakers, so I am going to fly through some of them. Now remember that this is my opinion of what each one said, my opinion! If you want more of what I thought, then listen to my podcast. I will have an extended version of each on there. More information is available athttp://www.fcc.gov/events/workshop-tower-climber-safety-and-injury-protectionif you want to see what they have first hand.
These people are making a difference in the industry. The measuring stick will come in 1 year, to see if the industry can shape up. Every one of you in wireless deployment can play a part to make this the safest industry if you only can be smart, be safe, and pay attention. Correct the problems.
More in-depth information is on the podcast! Search on iTunes for Wade4wireless and write a review now!
Roger C. Sherman, Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC – The opening remarks by Chief Roger Sherman of the FCC was a good start, got us off on the right foot.
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA – Dr Michaels kicked it off with his speech on how most of the accidents out there were preventable. Dr Michaels committed to doing everything he could to make sure the industry is as safe as it possibly can be with
Kathy Pierce, Hubble Foundation – Then came Kathy and she brought the room to tears with her memory of how things happened the day she lost her son. She opened up about her son’s accident. She recounted that terrible day and how that accident should never have happened. This woman poured her heart out in front of a group of people who needed to hear it. This was enough to make you realize that change in necessary to prevent this from ever happening again! She recounted that horrible day when her son went up on that water tower in a wrong size harness only to never go home that night. It makes you realize that the people who get hurt or die in something like this aren’t the only people who suffer! The families of these people pay a dear price in loss and suffering. Many of them never get the answers they deserve.
Dave Anthony, Shenandoah Tower Service – Boy, if someone like Dave ran every company I don’t think there would ever be an accident in the industry again! This guy took the safety and policies that he was able to implement in his company and shared them this group. He firmly believes that change needs to come from the top down. From the owners down to the climber. The attitude around the way that policies are laid out and given to the climber need to be more than writing in an employee handbook but preached on a daily basis. The climber needs to know that the leaders care as much as they do!
Liz Day, City University of New York (CUNY) – to refresh your memories, Liz did the expose when she worked with Propublica, links here and here and here and here. This woman is a statistical machine! She talked about what she learned in the stories she got from people in the industry. She also pointed out that tracing the death and accidents in the industry was very hard because you can’t look at the carriers, like AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, nor can you look at Black and Veatch and Bechtel, because the tower crews are very small companies, they are working for a contractor that when an accident happens the groups up the food chain simply pass it off as “Not my problem!”. She told a story about how one person’s family tried to sue one of the carriers only to lose because they were removed from the work and had statements in their contracts about safety.
Bridgette Hester, Hubble Foundation – If you are reading this then you probably know Gette and her work with the Hubble Foundation. She had a presentation which you can get here. Gette explained the toll that these workers have just doing the job and traveling so much. So many workers are on the road and already have strained family lives. This causes distractions in the field when they start to worry about what is going on at home or how they missed their child’s first steps. It can become such a distraction that worked don’t pay attention, become angry, or very depressed.
Wallace Reardon, Workers at Heights Health and Safety Initiative – Wally is a pretty outspoken guy that speaks his mind and he had a presentation which you can find here. Wally also brought up the fact that just because most climbers talk about safety, many do not practice what they preach. He mentioned how he would go to tower sites where work is being done only to find out that speed was more important than safety. Even recently he noticed that climbers are working faster with safety playing second fiddle to the deadline. Wally repeatedly said how most project managers or job leads would always end their conversation with the statement, “you will be done today, right?” This was to hammer home that they cared more about the deadline than anything else. Time and money are the priority, with safety becoming an inconvenience and afterthought. One more thing, Wally mentioned how angry most climbers get when they are away from home so long. I believe it was Wally that brought up how one of them even got suicidal due to a family crisis.
Jonathan Campbell, PCIA – OK, first let me say this was the youngest looking guy in the room! I thought maybe he was fresh out of college. I know he is not that young, but when he is my age he will still look like he is in his 20s! Now, with that said, it is great that PCIA is getting involved and that they will get the carriers to push the safety agenda! To have the PCIA represent the carriers in this effort to save lives should really help the carriers become an active participant in industry reform since they provide so much work.
John Johnson, Black & Veatch – John gave a pretty good opening speech that I really appreciated. He mentioned how B&V did all the safety training and yet they were still having problems in the field. The one thing that they had to implement was training on how to do the job. Then they started adding training for the tasks as well as the safety training and they started to see improvement. Listen, I have been no fan of B&V in the past because of the competition, but I have to admit what John said made a lot of sense. He said B&V put together a training plan that would cover the worker’s job as well as their safety needs. It really made sense.
Craig Lekutis, WirelessEstimator.com – What can I say, Craig is a smart guy and it was great to hear what he had to say. He covered the stats and the climber’s plight in the field. This guy is in touch with the climbers and mentioned how many times the climber is pushed to meet the schedule.
Art Pregler, AT&T – Art gave a speech on how AT&T is setting new safety standards for the industry from the customer perspective. They are working with these other groups to make sure that the safety message becomes a standard in any deployment. Art mentioned how they are working with NATE to improve climber’s safety from day one of the job.
Paul Roberts, American Tower – Let me tell you, Paul can talk, this guy was fun to listen to and he made some good points. He mentioned that ATC does have climbers that take safety very seriously. These climbers under Paul’s watch have the right to not only stop work but to throw anyone off of the tower that is not actively 100% tied off. He also mention how he was trying to work with other tower owners to make sure all safety standards are practices while they are on watch. To do this we need a solid standard in place that all tower owners can agree on. If they truly can be the safety guardians of the towers. Paul brought up how there are several standards to be followed in this industry. He also recommended that we all read MIL-STD-882, I found 882E online here.
Todd Schlekeway, NATE – Todd was there and had a good speech but the most important thing, to me, is when Todd mentions that NATE is working on a consolidated safety standard for the tower industry. Why is this so important? Because it would unite all of the other standards for everyone in the industry to work from. To me, this would be a very important step in uniting the industry, especially if all agencies could adopt it and follow it. Then the companies would adopt it and follow it.
Scott Kisting, TIRAP Chair – Scott gave a rousing speech about TIRAP, a program which is reality and was christened at this event. That is making this a historic event. This is why this event happened. This is why the people in this industry are working together.
Jonathan S. Adelstein, President, PCIA, and Former FCC Commissioner – Jonathon gave his commitment to the effort moving forward. He mentioned how PCIA would like to make wireless deployment move ahead safely and smoothly. If he can convince the carriers to work with their contractors to insure safety, then we can really expect the carriers to carry some of the burden. That would really help the industry in this time of need.
Hon. Thomas E. Wheeler, Chairman, FCC – Mr. Wheeler was kind enough not only to make this event, give a speech, but show his support for the tower workers in the USA. This speech was something that should make all of the climbers be appreciated that the FCC commissioner is taking the time and resources to propose changes for the climbing personnel in the industry. The commissioner expects to see improvement in not only the fatality rate, but the accident rate seen among climbers. I believe he was reinforcing his commitment to the wireless deployment teams everywhere by supporting this initiative.
Hon. Thomas E. Perez, Secretary of Labor – The Department of Labor has always been committed to worker safety. I believe that, thanks to Mr. Perez and the efforts of Dr Michaels, that the TIRAP program has full support of the DOL and will be used as a measuring tool for all climbing companies to follow. By working with the FCC and private industry Mr. Perez has worked diligently to provide a brighter future for the wireless deployment teams across the USA.
You, the tower worker, foreman, crew owner, project manager – You didn’t think I forgot about you, the crews and companies that could not make this event did you? You play a key part in this effort! I took a vacation day, spent my own money to be there, just to keep all of you informed, so don’t let me down or the industry down! If you thought it was all about the people who showed up on October 14th, 2014, then you didn’t pay attention. Listen – here is where you can make a serious dent in the industry. I know we always say safety is an attitude, but its work! It’s money! It takes time! It is a team effort, and you, the tower crew owner, foreman, project manager, and the tower climber have the best chance to make this work! Don’t just ignore this or say it was done in Washington DC and that you have had no say! Take it seriously and make an effort!
OK, I gave you my feedback on each speaker. I bet you’re asking, will this initiative work? Are you willing to work to support this initiative? Well that is up to you, isn’t it? This isn’t the seat-belt law where the cops will be waiting to find you on the highway and give you a ticket so you can survive a crash. OSHA will be watching but they don’t have the resources that most police departments do. They are forced to come in after the accident and determine why it happened and make sure it won’t happen again. They will start to monitor accidents after the fact. If you want to prevent them from showing up, then make sure that you are accident free by following all the safety practices you can. Will you make sure that there are no more accidents, at least in your watch? Or will you say it’s somebody else’s job and that you have no control or that someone made you do something stupid. Maybe it’s time for you to take responsibility for your actions in your company.
If someone gets hurt, it has a huge ripple effect. If someone gets hurt under your watch then who is to blame? This program will require all of you, from the top down and from the bottom up to pay attention. Can you do that? Listen, accidents will still happen, but maybe we can reduce stupidity and arrogance.
I know so many climbers complaining about so many things. What if we all focused in the safety factor here, end to end? What if we take a moment to look at what is in our control? You are a climber then inspect you equipment, and know what the SOW says. If you are the foreman then did you set realistic expectations for the work and the schedule? If you are the project manager do you understand the time line and the limitations of the worker? If you run the crew did you put your worker’s well being first by providing them the tools, the gear, and the time they need to do the job safely and right? If you are the customer did you hire a crew you trust to follow and enforce safety practices and get paid? If you are the GC, did you make sure all your crews have been vetted properly and paid on time? How can you expect the crew to work safely when they don’t get paid?
You see, it’s not all on one person or one department. It takes an industry to act as a team. It takes effort on your part. It takes cooperation, communication, dedication and caring. Do you care? We will see a year from now, won’t we?
I want you to think about something, when the San Francisco Bay Bridge was built, an acceptable death rate was one life for every million dollars spent,link here and scroll down to 1933.There were 28 fatalities building that bridge. Do you know what the acceptable fatality rate is today? Zero point zero!
I will have a part 2 on this soon. It is too long for one post.
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! So feel free to buy one of my books and maybe they will help you learn something that you didn’t know or teach someone who needs to know.
I heard about this firsthand when someone came looking for information. Wireless Estimator wrote about ithere. What happened was someone called several people stating that a climber fell and died. This type of thing worries so many people. We have enough problems in this industry without people making up stories about death. I don’t know the whole story, but I will tell you that someone thought it would be funny to make up a story that a climber had died. To call people and then put it on Facebook that a fellow climber, a towerdog, a brother in climbing, had fallen. This happened about 2 weeks ago.
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OK, to start with I think that people out there need to understand that many people really care about the industry, so when someone says something like this because they think it’s funny, they cause sleepless nights. They cause OSHA and climbing groups to research the facts. They waste a lot of time of many people because of some sick joke, a sick prank. I get calls all the time of past and present problems, some true and some made up. I research issues and I understand that there are so many angry people in this industry that want to make it look worse that it already does. With so many people working around the clock to make this industry a better place, it’s a shame that there are a few people giving it a bad name.
If you know one of these people, deal with them accordingly. They really are not an asset to the industry nor to anything in the wireless profession. They are a disappointment to not only to the wireless industry, but to themselves as well. I like to think that we can all learn from this. Unfortunately, next time something terrible happens we will need to say, prove it because of people like this.
All I can do is complain about and, forget about it, then move on and be thankful that the FCC and DOL are working together to understand the industry and make the workplace safer than it has ever been in the USA.
For the person that started this rumor, congratulations, you made some people worry and feel like crap because they genuinely care about other people and the industry. As you sit at home this weekend and laugh at the pain you caused, at the company you slandered, and at the profession you maligned you can be proud that you were able to sink to a new low by setting the standard for decency even lower.
For everyone else – Do me a favor, don’t be despicable, be decent and make the world a better place by helping each other out. Helping each other takes time and effort but it’s worth it. There are so many good people in this industry. So many people who do good things for as many other people as they can reach. I am thankful for that. I worked and talked to many of those people. So let’s work together to make this a better work place. We all make mistakes, so let’s forgive, get over it, and push forward.
In my opinion, the wireless industry is a great work place. I get frustrated at times and like any business you have scum buckets. Then you meet people who really care and want to make their work shine, people that really care about each other, then I have hope that wireless is the best industry to work in ever.
Comment: The only comment I have is to NEVER spend your own money for supplies. You are a naive sucker if you do. Plus, it will save you all the trouble of doing what this gentleman had to do. These companies for the most part will take advantage of you if you give them the opportunity. If they want a project finished badly enough, they will get the supplies to you.
My response: Good advice to follow, I learned the hard way, much of that depends on who you work for.
Comment: I’m very happy that you ultimately got paid – sorry that you had to spend even five minutes fighting for what was yours to begin with. I complain on one axiom you mentioned: “they thought they would get away with because this company did business by not paying unless they absolutely had to … “ This should have been worked out unambiguously, immediately before signing on as an employee or contractor. I’m not chastising you – I’ve been burnt before – became wiser afterwards, immediately. I got burned once – never again. I recouped my stolen loot – and will die with the secret as to how I did it. I surely wish all of you who trust people [companies] – only because you’re trustworthy yourselves, will learn as quickly that snake oil people are embedded even in Fortune 500 Companies.
My response: It actually was worked out in my work contract, that is why I got paid, and thank you for understanding. You are correct, I am wiser now and I pay attention to how the company does business, that matters. I research a company and the people who are in management before I work there. I worked for a company that didn’t get paid and they went to court and won, yay, however they still didn’t get paid. Just because you have it in writing doesn’t mean they will pay you, it only means you won and that you may have to go back to court again. I have seen some companies spend more time working not to pay people than working to make a profit.
Comment: Wade, I’m glad you (a) sought out an attorney to find out about your rights, and (b) the attorney you spoke with gave you sound counsel. Sadly what you experienced is more common than most people realize, and many just give up. I’m very happy that you stood your ground and fought for what you had earned. Jonathan Kramer, Esq. Telecom Law FIrm, P.C.
My response: Thank you sir!
Comment: Worked for them a few years back. They decided to close the Dallas office without warning while my crew was on the road. We were left high and dry, and told we could just go home. The XXXXXX brothers have a history. Glad you could fight for yours.
My response: Thank you!
Comment: Hi Good work you have done! The industry is full of bad moral. I have worked as self-employed in Denmark for many years. At several occasions the customer will not pay. It is much too easy. They can do it with no risk. The customer get a free credit and probably a discount, due to a compromise. I have always made a legal case against these companies. The law should be changed in a way, so that the companies risk a penalty if they don’t pay what they owe you!
My response: Thank you!
OK, that’s it for this week and there is much more in the podcast so listen there for more information.
Verizon 4G LET Upgrade using a helicopter
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! So feel free to buy one of my books and maybe they will help you learn something that you didn’t know or teach someone who needs to know.
Update: The FCC and Department of Labor are teaming up for the Tower Climber Safety and Injury workshop. Read about it here. It will be on the internet live, go here on October 14th at 9:30AM ET. I am really looking forward to this because the standards are being set. I want to get to DC so I can witness history first hand. This will be the day that climbing standards will be well-defined in the US. The agenda is here. I am curious how many actual climbers will be helping out and how many will offer their advice. Some big names in the industry will be there, like Gette Hester, Wally Reardon, Dave Anthony, Art Pregler, and Craig Lekutis. NATE will have Todd Schlekeway representing them. It should be a big day but the real test will be to see what will happen afterwards. Will rigging standards be set, will there be more than 100% tie off promotions? Will there be real standards set that will be enforceable? I know all the chances I took back when I climbed, now the standard regulations will be set. Remember that what happens here will determine how many lives will be saved in the future. This will shape the industry for the better, I hope. With safety, climber’s values will go up, so will billable hours, so will the number of people who live! This may have the ability to make the industry as safe as it can possibly be. I hope they make progress!
Update: Hey, did you hear that Wireless Horizon has contested the fines that OSHA is handing them? It’s true! They think that they have a story to get out of the fines. We’ll see. I would like to hear what the defense is.
Update: RCR did a story on tower climbing job search tips. Find out what they say here. Trust me, you need all the help you can get. I see jobs posting all the time and yet there are so many people looking.
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Feedback Below, remember these are your words!
Thank you all for your comments. I could not post them all here but I will post them!
Feedback on the botched rescue attempt where the FD had to rescue 2 climbers 50′ up! Original post here. Feedback says: “Hi Wade, wow another unbelievable news story about how the FD has had to rescue someone!! There’s something far wrong here. Why do people go to work on towers without a rescue plan and a rescue system? They are not expensive to put together. I wonder if it’s a case sometimes of kit being available but not having the confidence to carry out a rescue. This I know you have asked before, whether people would carry out a rescue. Really, if people work in this industry they should be prepared to rescue mentally and have the physical means available. UK H&S legislation specifies that a review plan and mean of rescue must be in place for activities such as work at height and confined spaces. It specifically states that the emergency services must not be relied upon as part of a rescue plan. What happens if a commercial incident occurs where the emergency services attend and there has been no other rescue provision in place is that the HSE (UK equivalent of OSHA) investigate via the local Police department and people end up with fines? If serious injury or death results, those responsible are in court. It’s not perfect over here either. Despite regular team rescue training, we need to re-certify our rescue every year. The amount of people who find this terrifying despite having passed the annual refresher for years is mind-boggling. Perhaps it’s the training industry paying lip service and just putting bodies through courses that don’t address actual training needs and build people’s confidence or perhaps this is symptomatic of the current worldwide demand for people to work in high places like towers and turbines and there’s not enough time for people to become seasoned. Perhaps there are not enough people who have an aptitude for heights. I don’t know the answers but it’s a good job that the fire departments take rescue seriously!”
My response is that you are correct, do climbers practice rescue? What happened there? Do we take rescue as seriously as we should when we go out to a remote spot to do a very dangerous job?
More feedback on same post, “Good to hear this guy is safe. But…when will people learn, you need a viable rescue plan while at heights, one that is achievable and not just writing on a piece of paper.”
My response, you are correct sir!
Feedback on OSHA fining Wireless Horizons, blog is here. Feedback: “Managers, directors and owners: Please don’t think about compliance with OSHA requirements as a way to avoid fines. Think about being the safest operation possible to protect the lives of sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, all the men who show up to support your business. Don’t they deserve your support in return?”
My response, well said!
Another feedback statement on that same post, “I’m pushing for all climbers to look out for each other at all times and under all conditions, if somebody is doing something wrong and nobody says anything to that person or shows or makes that person do it the correct way that’s their asses that’s gonna get chewed just the same if not fired just the same because we don’t want people who don’t look out for their sisters or brothers! Once we get both our hands and feet on the tower all we have up there are the people working right beside us so we have to depend on each other, all we have is each other and nobody else, so ya better hope you got some trustworthy people by your side That’s watching your back! Or ya just might end up dead just cause nobody spoke up to you or for you! And I hope this sinks into people heads Cause it’s definitely a problem brother, and a deadly problem at that! Thanks for providing a place for a voice to be heard.”
My response, thank you for spreading the word!
Let me know your pain! I have more feedback to post and I will continue next time. Meanwhile, what problems do you see out there? What do you think of the FCC and DOL teaming up? Do you think this is progress? Let me know! Wade4wireless@gmail.com
From 2013, an AT&T site walk through.
http://youtu.be/9KCJXwGcS2M
Did you help Hubble lately?
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! So feel free to buy one of my books and maybe they will help you learn something that you didn’t know or teach someone who needs to know.
Hey workers. Did you ever take the time to know your trainer? I wanted to talk to someone about how they train tower climbers for rescue. I was lucky enough to interview Todd Horning,bio here,about climber rescue training. He spent some time with me to talk about what he had to do to get SPRAT 3 certified and about training and past classes. I was impressed with his experience and passion for ropes and knots! The guy really loves what he does. We did talk about the other rope group,IRATA, both great organizations that have done so much good in the rope access world. They set standards and share knowledge so people can be consistent, knowledgeable, and learn more about rope access. Todd has some good stories and some opinions about the people who come to class. He admits that he has to know more than his students on rescue training.
If you scroll down I have a video about Carabiners that may interest you.
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Toddworks forSafety One, a training company that specializes not only in fall protection training, but they also have Survival, Safety, Snowcat and Winter training for anyone who may need to know what to do in these situations. This group dedicates all of their time to making sure you have someplace to go to learn to survive, prevent accidents, and rescue your fellow worker. This school does so much more than train tower climbers, they cross so many different industries. This training is for more than tower climbers. However, that is what I am going to concentrate on because most readers are tower workers.
Just because you’re not a climber you may still need to be trained. This is an industry where you could be out away from civilization, and that could be a rooftop where it’s in the middle of a city, and you need to respond to an emergency. Of course, the best thing you could do was avoid any accidents if possible. Now, bad things can still happen but when you are working in a dangerous environment there is risk involved. So the more training you have the better you can handle it.
Along with training you should practice your techniques. Practice will help you improve your skills. It matters.
So Todd is a cool guy that talks about the SPRAT training. He talks about the way they do the testing. They have the written test but they also have been knowledgeable enough to be tested by an independent person who comes in and drills them verbally and then they show their skills this is not something that you walk into and get lucky, you really need to know what you’re doing.
He also talks about his classes and what he has seen good and bad. Not everyone that comes to the safety class really wants to be there. Many people just need to get the certification. They are easy to spot because they don’t want to do more than they have to. They always admit that they only climb when they have to, not any more than that. Todd says that he talks to those people who really have to be certified but find a way to get out of training. For some people it is only another cert that they need to get to keep their job.Todd points out that there are 3 types of students, participants, vacationers, and prisoners. He understands that some people love it and some people just need the certification and some people feel they know more than he does.
One of the challenges is trying to keep the classes interested. Some guys have been doing this for years, 15 years or so, this is a crew that knows what they are doing.
If you want to learn more about Safety One training, follow their links. If you want to learn more about rope access then go to the links in here.
Do you have an opinion on your trainers? Tell me how they did and where you got trained. Was it worth your time and the companies money?
By the way, NATE started theTower Family Foundationand they already have $400,000, yes, $400K to give out to tower climbers families. I can’t wait to see where the money is going to go, that seems to be the one thing we are waiting for. They can do so much good for all the families we lost in the past 2 years!
Next podcast I interview a SPRAT 3 level trained climbing instructor Todd Horning of Safety One, cool guy and passionate about safety and rope access! His information is here.
2 books!
“Tower Climbing: An Introduction” is for the new tower climber, the green hand, to understand that will be expected.
“Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Work” is a handy aid to help out when you are at the site.
You may expand to other jobs in the industry. This can be the beginning of a great career path in the wireless industry. Whether you decide to keep climbing or find another opportunity, the industry is large and growing!
Hello everybody! First off, if you didn’t see there is a warning sent out about a safety climb.Capital Safetyput out a press release that their 3/8” 7X19 strand galvanized cable, also known as “Safety Climb System” could have slippage issues. All the more reason to tie off 100% even when using a safety climb. Read the notice, I have the linehere. While not a recall it is a warning so read the document so you understand what is going on. Does anyone remember that not long ago there recently was asnap hooks recall?
Today I am going to discuss the Scope of Work, SOW, for all of you who just go out and do what you’re told. It would be a great idea for everyone who is at the site the review the SOW. I am working on a book that reviews all of the paperwork that the tower worker will be dealing with.
The SOW will have the outline of the job. It should be put together so that you know what duties are required of you. For instance you will need to know what you are installing. You will be putting in just the equipment on the tower or both the base station and the tower. If you are installing microwave, what is your responsibility? Are you doing the installation and the alignment? What are you doing?
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Where are you working? This should be part of the SOW as a site list. The site list is a separate document that you will be working with but it should be attached to the SOW as an addendum.
What parts do you need? You should have a Bill of Materials, BOM, as an attachment. This is very important because if you pick up the parts at the warehouse and don’t review the BOM, guess who’s fault it is if you miss something. YOU! YOU! YOU! If you miss a part that is on the BOM and you don’t get it, you messed up. Make sure when you hit the staging warehouse you look at the BOM and check off each part you need. If you are doing the install and you need a part that is not on the BOM, guess what, it’s the customers charge and a change order so you can charge for the labor and part to add it. However, if your people put a clause in the SOW that says you will supply miscellaneous parts, then you need to define miscellaneous parts. Why does this matter, because your customer will consider 200’ of #2 copper as miscellaneous and you may have meant zip ties and vapor seal, that’s why! If you’re asking what the difference is, the maybe you should look for a new line of work. Don’t be an airhead!
So, when I put my package together I will explain the SOW and I will give you an example and I will give you audio to talk about it. I should have something out here in the next 2 weeks or so. I am putting together something for all of the paperwork so everyone can get on the same page and understand what to look for and how to write the SOW. I just need to complete it and I will put it out to you guys.
Now, I have 2 feedback statements I want to share.
Feedback on tower owners:
First off, I have to take back what I said about American Tower not inspecting sites annually. I heard back from one of their people and he told me that at a minimum they inspect the towers annually. He knew the FCC lighting regulations inside and out but he said that with or without light, they make it to every tower at least once a year. That is awesome! Think about it, they have over 28,000 towers in the USA according tohttp://www.americantower.com/corporateus/investor-relations/. From what I hear they are on top of site inspections. So if something is wrong at the site, maybe you should let them know.
Feedback on Training:
OK, this is great to hear that someone would send their people to IRATA training to improve safety. Here is the statement, “Hi Wade, we got IRATA certified so we could deal with wide face towers safely. Now we use roped access on many jobs that don’t strictly speaking require it as it’s a safer alternative to relying on fall arrest and once the ropes are rigged often many more times efficient too :)” This is awesome and it’s nice to see some super responsible people out there! This came from the UK by the way, they go the extra mile!
It appears that a professional climber out there is happy that TIRAP is happening. This man is willing to help create the climbers bible, how cool is that. Here is the statement, “Finally! Now we might even be recognized for the skilled work we do under VERY hazardous conditions on a daily basis. Now, maybe the green guys will understand that 2 yrs. DOESN’T make you a professional yet. But, give it time and actually LEARN from older and more experienced guys. It’s all in the details. I’d like to collaborate with anyone interested in writing a “climbers bible”. Let me tell you something, when you climb for 10 years you begin to learn something. However, you need to keep a good positive attitude. Here is someone who I am going to reach out to so we can collaborate on putting more information out there.
Just to be fair, I did get plenty of negative feedback saying that the industry does not need to follow TIRAP nor do they need to issue this directive. I am surprised by how many people think this is a bad idea. Someone reminded me that this is a recommendation and it is not a requirement. I look at this as a step in the right direction. I am shocked that so many people see this as a bad thing, what a shame. The industry cries for change and improvement and now that it is being recognized and improved it seems people are angry about change. I get it, there are many good tower crews, safe and without incident, but for every 10 safe crews there’s probably at least one crew that just won’t follow the safety practiced recommended just because it costs too much. OSHA just caught someone who didn’t follow thesafe climb rules, Morlan Enterprises got a $52K fine on July of 2014. Go ahead and take chances and see if OSHA cares or if the whistle-blower rules matter. Whistle blower fact sheet here!OSHA is your friend, the FCC is your friend, and they are here to help. While we may not always agree with them, in the end they are really here to make our lives safer and better.
Tell me what you think!
Other notes:
I have been talking to Bridgette Hester who is working diligently to make theHubble Foundation do as much as possible. She just awarded another scholarship award to Carrie Plants, who lost her husband Daniel Plants back in 2007. This is part of theWidow’s Fundthat Gette has created. For all of you climbers out there let us not forget the fallen, they may be gone but they are not forgotten! Let’s all say it together, “Way to go Gette, Way to GO!” She sis so much with passion, just one woman, than most groups could do.
By the way, NATE started theTower Family Foundationand they already have $400,000, yes, $400K to give out to tower climbers families. I can’t wait to see where the money is going to go, that seems to be the one thing we are waiting for. They can do so much good for all the families we lost in the past 2 years!
Next podcast I interview a SPRAT 3 level trained climbing instructor Todd Horning of Safety One, cool guy and passionate about safety and rope access! His information is here.
2 books!
“Tower Climbing: An Introduction” is for the new tower climber, the green hand, to understand that will be expected.
“Field Worker’s Aid for Tower Work” is a handy aid to help out when you are at the site.
You may expand to other jobs in the industry. This can be the beginning of a great career path in the wireless industry. Whether you decide to keep climbing or find another opportunity, the industry is large and growing!
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PDF books you can pay with Credit Card:
Inspection of Full Body Harness
http://youtu.be/66Ib3swPckg
girls that lost a family member mean nothing to you. it wasn’t you that got hurt, only a fellow worker in the wireless industry. A brother or sister that does the same job as you, a fellow elevated worker, someone who has a family who may never climb again, may never work again, or may never get to kiss their loved ones goodnight again. Once they are gone, it takes away everything, all they ever had and all they ever will have.
