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.
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.
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!
Let’s talk about the FCC and the DOL tower safety and injury prevention workshop! The link can be found at http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2014/db0804/DA-14-1131A1.pdf if you want to read about it. This is great news, hallelujah! Way to go FCC & OSHA! (OSHA is part of the DOL.) This is a good thing and needs to be looked at! This year, 9 fatalities to date and 13 last year, this is something that really needs to be addressed. The FCC & DOL released the document on August 4th, 2014, and it’s great that they are stepping up. If you would like to watch it online and live make sure that on October 14th at 9AM ET you go to http://www.fcc.gov/live and see all the action.
By the way, this is post #131 that I put out there for you! I am on podcast #25 already! Tell your wireless friends!
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Wireless Estimator has an update at http://www.wirelessestimator.com/breaking_news.cfm if you want to see what Jonathon Adelstein, President and CEO of PCIA says. There is speculation that PCIA is pushing this and I know that they publicly endorse the event.
So what do you think they will discuss? Remember that it is safety and injury prevention, so that will open up many issues. I am hoping they stick to the death prevention first. We really need to prevent as many deaths as we can. That isn’t just going to be saying tie off 100% of the time. It’s going to be about making sure that the climber has something to tie off to on the structure! It’s going to be making sure that installations are thought out to the detail that a climber can make it around or through the structure on the tower.
Let me ask how many of the tower climbers have had to climb off the climbing leg to get around a dish or a mount or over an antenna? How many monopoles did you squeeze through the platform opening just to get to the next level? How many faces did you cross by holding on?
I think now that the communications industry is changing it would be a good time to update the towers. There will be 2G and 3G decommissioning happening soon. The next wave of LTE-A and 5G builds will be starting. This is a good time to see the industry work together to improve the conditions on towers. Pretty soon the entire radio, BBU and RF, will be on the tower in communications. Only fiber and power will be run up the tower. If there is wireless backhaul, then only power will be run up the tower.
Let’s think ahead, not just in wireless technology but also in mechanical and safety technology to make those structures safe so that the climbers can follow safe processes. Let’s make it so that the tailgate meetings include someone saying how much they love climbing this tower because they have an easy time maneuvering and tying off. Would that be a pleasant conversation for a change?
With the RRHs getting heavier and more common the tower will be asked to hold more and more weight in the radio and the steel. Let’s make sure that we plan out the tower modifications carefully! Let’s make sure that the mechanical engineers are ready to make the changes to the towers. It’s a team effort and when they beef up the tower they can also add some tie off points and plan out the climbing paths. Maybe a better way to cross the face.
So let’s make some noise and let the FCC know that it will take more than just OSHA trying to report what happened. Let’s see if the industry can come together to prevent all the threats. Let’s make it safer than ever with careful planning and thought. I don’t want them to just throw another initiative that is lip service; I would like to see real planning and industry buy in! If the money is going to be spent on growth, let’s grow the best way we can!
Where and when?
Date: October 14, 2014
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: FCC Headquarters
Commission Meeting Room
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Remember to give me your near miss stories, it seems more relevant now that ever, right? Let me know! Email me atwade4wireless@gmail.comor leave the information below. Or call and leave a message at my Google voice mail at 510-516-4283. I cover it here.
Other information!
Yes, Kelly Hill of RCR did asked me about the new OSHA directive.
Remember that theHubble Foundation needs your support. They help any climber in need, so remember that when you need help and if you can help! Show you care for the families of the fallen and the fellow climbers in need. They still have tickets to the car giveaway! Support Hubble, honor the fallen, and maybe win a Mustang! By the way, how much did you give today?
By the way, I am planning to put out some more books, this time on scopes of work, Bill of materials, and other useful information for the workers. Let me know what you think. I am working on 2 new projects, a new book that outlines my different jobs in the industry and a library of reference material that you can access quickly to take to the site. I want to see you make the site safer with quick reference material. If you have any idea of what you need out there let me know. Is this going to help you? Let me know on Facebook, wade4wireless@gmail.com or leave a comment or leave a message at 510-516-4283
OK, so OSHA has sent out an update for communication tower workers, https://www.osha.gov/doc/topics/communicationtower/index.html for the OSHA site. So what changed? Here is the PDF for the information, https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-01-056.pdf but let me tell you how I read it. First off, let me tell you that I am happy that OSHA is addressing this and I am happy that NATE and OSHA are working together to make the climbers life safer and easier. I appreciate the attention to the industry.
Apologies for the long post but I just couldn’t stop writing! It’s mostly my interpretation of the release, so make sure that you read it yourself, don’t take my word for it! Read it!
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From the bulletin DIRECTIVE NUMBER: CPL 02-01-056. It covers work using a hoist to lift personnel, (that would be you the climber), from their workstations, (assuming that would be from the ground to somewhere on the tower). The preferred way to access workstations on the tower is to climb a fixed ladder with attached climbing devices, (most tower have something today, but not all). So here is the news, if the climber will be working at one area and making multiple trips, then materials and the worker shall be hoisted to the work level. I am going to give my view here but I highly recommend that you read it, the link is above.
Listen, here is the reality I worked in, when I got on the tower I only got down for 2 reasons, 1) when the job was finished for the day or 2) if it was time to eat and we didn’t bring anything to the site to eat. I often spent 10 hours or more on the tower. There were days where I could spend 2 hours on a tower just to go to the next tower to do maintenance or repair. Time is money. Now, if I was on the tower for that long we would hoist up large items but smaller items we would often pull up by hand. This could address that particular part of the job. That does cause fatigue so why not have the winch do it. I am all for that.
If you are going to hoist employees, better know what winch to use and you had better know what you’re doing. Let’s review the definitions section. 1) Anti-Two block device, read this because this is a safety feature. 2) Maximum load, better know your limits! 3) Competent person on site, do we really have to stress this every time? YES! Because apparently this is still missing from many work sites! 4) Qualified person, again Mr. Obvious, YES! 5) Gin Pole, different rules apply to the Gin Pole and this should be a competent crew and something that is covered separately, 6) Engineered hoist systems, covers the complete hoisting system end to end, do you know and understand this system? Are you competent on the entire end to end system? Are you? Seriously, are you?
Hoisting personnel and training: there is that part again, training, have you been trained properly? No joke, have you been trained properly and do you feel confident using the hoist. I am not asking if you know all hoists or winches, just the one you are working on, that particular hoist. If you are making jokes right now, then maybe you should be looking for a new line of work.
I am not going to cover the equipment in-depth here, that’s your job! This section is very important and you should read it. First off make sure that a professional engineer approved your hoist system by stamping off on it. Check lines and slings. Load capacity should be at least twice what the load will be. Use a guide line to keep employees and loads off the tower. This is something that should not be taken lightly; tagging is critical and is something that a competent person should do if the load is a human. Use a foot block for people, obvious to me. Gin pole is on there, but if you are using a gin pole then your crew should be competent on a gin pole. Post the load capacity near the winch, this is something that is a great idea to keep everyone on the same page.
Trial lift and proof testing, this is something that should be part of the training and testing when you get the equipment. This should apply to more than your hoist or winch, this should apply to most of your equipment and safety gear. This section gives you a good outline of what you should be doing. It would be a good place to start for your testing.
Pre-Lift meeting: this is a great idea that you could add to your daily meetings and on every work site prior to doing the work.
I am not going to go over documentation, this should be obvious.
Hoisting employees to and from the workstation – this section you should read! I am not going to cover it because I feel this should be read direct and you should understand it. I don’t want you thinking that I can cover this at a high level and then you understand the requirements!
Communications between the operator and the hoisted employees. If you work together I would like to think you already have a system. I think it would be better if you had radios to communicate but if you rely on visual, make sure you worked it out ahead of time. I added a crane signals section in my Field Workers Aid book but I highly recommend that you all get on the same page in the Pre-Lift Meeting prior to any work. Also, don’t let the blind guy work the lift. I would also ask that if you have someone who is easily distracted, then maybe they shouldn’t be running the lift either.
OK, you should read the rest, this is long enough and I am sorry I droned on. I will have more in the podcast if you really want to hear more.
Remember this letter in February? https://www.osha.gov/doc/topics/communicationtower/Letter_CT_Employers.htmlthat OSHA sent out to companies. Apparently most companies didn’t listen. I guess not everyone follows NATE and OSHA like they should. I will tell you this, most of the climbers I talk to and I communicate with not only follow NATE and OSHA but they respect what they are trying to do. I am not saying they agree with everything, but they understand that this is a process and that we all want the same thing, 0 fatalities if at all possible. Especially 0 fatalities that involve stupidity or lack of experience. We need to educate each other with real world experience to make sure that this becomes reality. Even though we all compete for work we all need to work together and share experience to make sure we make this industry the safest it can be. In the USA we have so many rules and safety processes in place and yet this industry is so dangerous. I know I give the carriers a hard time but I guarantee you that all of the people there want the same thing we do, 0 accidents if at all possible, they have the same goal. We all have the same goal, so let’s start working at it. The best place to start is training and education. That means we have to start with all of the companies and make sure that they care about their employees as a human, a living person, someone with a family. Then we can start to make progress towards a safer industry. It takes responsibility, not just the company but for each of you to look out for your work mate. It seems most people who read this feel that way and yet you read about workers who can’t help each other or companies that send workers out by themselves. It is time for OSHA to seriously look at all of these accidents. Let’s take this discussion away from Facebook and start by talking to each other at the tower sites, face to face. Let’s talk to each other in the field, in a friendly way, to make the newer climbers understand that inexperience and carelessness kills in this business, literally. And with that said, if there is a loss, let us respect the families since we seem to never know what happened until months later.
Remember that theHubble Foundation needs your support. Show you care for the families of the fallen and the fellow climbers in need. They still have tickets to the car giveaway! Support Hubble, honor the fallen, and maybe win a Mustang!
I am working on 2 new projects, a new book that outlines my different jobs in the industry and a library of reference material that you can access quickly to take to the site. I want to see you make the site safer with quick reference material. If you have any idea of what you need out there let me know. Show me you care, Facebook, wade4wireless@gmail.com or leave a comment or leave a message at 510-516-4283
First off, we had another fallen worker this month and I would like all of you to take a moment of silence in remembrance.
Well it’s time for the world cup!Soccer is exciting to the world! In North America and Australia we both say soccer, but to the rest of the world it’s football. Either way Let’s see how we stack up against each other in tower safety. I got some information on the high risk work certifications that Australia has from Dennis Lundin. I met Dennis on LinkedIn. He was nice enough to send me a boatload of information over. Thank you Dennis!
Here in the USA we have a high number of accidents that result in death. I often wanted to compare it to other countries where the government regulates the tower business. Here in the USA we are more or less self-regulated. We rely on the industry to regulate itself. I know you have businesses out there that say they keep an eye on it, but how? They really just give guidelines and they rely on OSHA to follow-up. Are we being proactive in accident prevention?
Now that OSHA is coming out with updated rules I thought it would be interesting to see what Australia does. I virtually met Dennis Lundin on LinkedIn. He was nice enough to send all this information on how it works down under. Here is what he sent me. It covers more than tower climbing, it cover construction in general. It covers risk management.
So what is the USA doing wrong? I really don’t know except maybe we have more work or maybe the lack of safety regulation is hurting the climber’s safety. Don’t you wonder why we don’t have more regulation for an occupation where the percentage of death is so high? Is it that government doesn’t care about the workers thatmake their communications system work? Here is a critical cog in the machine and the accidents seem to be accepted, not prevented. Is it because when it happens it is out at a tower site, not close to the public? I don’t understand. What is an allowable death rate? I think ZERO is the only answer.
Dennis was kind enough to take the time to put all of this together so we can understand what they are doing there. They seem to have a better track record that we do.
From Dennis: By Law, to work in Towers or on Roof Tops, etc a worker must have:
License To Perform High Risk Work (renewed every 5 Years)
Dogging – DG
Basic Rigging – RB
Intermediate Rigging – RI
Advanced Rigging – RA
Certification To Perform High Risk Work (renewed every 3 Years)
Permit To Perform High Risk Work on Buildings (Roof Tops, Platforms,etc) (renewed for every job) A Work at Heights Permit and Induction Certification from the Building Owner and a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) which need to be Fill-Out and signed each day by the Site Supervisor and all Riggers.
Access To Perform High Risk Work on Towers (renewed for every job) Access Permit and Induction Certification from the Tower Owner (which need to see all above Licence To Perform High Risk Work and Certification To Perform High Risk Work) and a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) which need to be Fill-Out and signed each day by the Site Supervisor and all Riggers.
Induction Certification (renewed every 2 Years) Tower Owner or Building Owner will typical use a company like Rapidinduct to set up and run the Induction services. All above Licence To Perform High Risk Work and Certification To Perform High Risk Work) and a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) need to be uploaded to the system and approved before Induction can be permitted.
Also a Method Of Procedure (MOP) must be in place in the SWMS
Per Dennis:As I install Microwave Links, my MOP is below Step by Step Tower Installation Procedure ;
Access site and logon as per Tower/Building Owner and Vertel instructions
Complete daily SWMS highlighting any apparent hazards and complete toolbox talk
Confirm drawings are correct cross check with RF design plan
Unpack Dish and assemble as per manufacturer’s instructions that are supplied with the Dish
Assemble Dish Mount as per supplied drawings
Unpack and complete visual inspection of rigging and harness equipment
Check RadMan for operation and calibration
Call in outage (if any) with Tower Owner, confirm with either on site technician or NOC that power has been reduced
Set up block and tackle 2 meters above the intended Dish Mount position, employ 100% attachment techniques whilst accessing tower to install block and tackle, use only tower ladder to access tower
Use only a block with inbuilt braking system and ensure block and tackle is suitably rated for the task at hand
Approach red zone of tower with caution monitoring RadMan for RF activity
Hand haul Dish Mount into position keeping clear of existing equipment
Attach and secure Dish Mount as per supplied drawings
Hand haul Dish and ODU into position and secure as per manufacturers instructions
Pre-terminate Connector to Feeder on ground and hand haul into position, connect to ODU and seal connection in approved manner
Secure Feeder to Tower Feeder Brackets with appropriate Cable Tries or Cable Hangers that suit the Feeder being used
Install Earthing (Ground) Kits to Feeder as per manufacturer’s instructions
Route the Feeder into the Cabinet or Hut via the gland plate and appropriate size gland and terminate as per the manufacturer’s instructions at the IDU mounting location
Power up equipment and align Dish as per manufacturer’s instructions and Vertel MLT
Once tower work is complete contact NOC to close outage (if any)
Clean up site and remove all rubbish, log off site and ensure compound is secure.
So who wins? Let me know what you think, get me onFacebook (hit Like while you are there!)or leave a comment. The way I see it is Australia gets an A while the USA gets a D because we still have so many fatalities. D is very poor, but look at our track record. We have so many people who try to make the USA #1 in training and prevention but we are dropping the ball when it comes to responsibility within the companies. Safety is the priority and schedule should be a distant 3rd after safety budget. Let’s make the rest of the year safe and healthy and no more injuries! At least no more preventable injuries.
I have some good stuff coming up for you faithful followers. I am working on an interview with the FCC people on RF radiation, more tick talk, and some small cell deployment problems.
So this week I have been busy trying to align some interviews with some people about the RF radiation issues I have been talking about. It takes time and I just can’t seem to get them aligned just yet. I am also reaching out to get more information on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. If you know of another subject I should be talking about let me know. I know we are all awaiting an update from OSHA on the tower climbing standards they said they would add. This is something that I personally can’t wait to see. Below I mention some things that were important to me. I put in some Amazon affiliate links to show each of you the books. You can buy it wherever you like.
Hey tower climbers, did you fill out my survey at http://wp.me/p3OC6A-hS so I know how you look for work? Let me tell you why I want to know, so when all of you come to me asking for work I can tell you what to do. Now it’s a crap shoot. None of you really ask for websites but you ask who is hiring. I can only speculate and try to find a good fit. I hope all of you get work and learn more at each job!
I know I have said it before but I am reading a good book, The Tower Builder by Vicky Kaseorg, which is now $7.99. It’s really about climbers and some classic towers and tower companies. It’s about the tower climbing industry from an outsider’s perspective but with several insiders talking her through the process and history of tower building.
I just saw a new book written by Adam Beck called 7 Knots and Hitches, Rigging Antennas & Lines, it’s a hard copy that you can take with you and it’s for the tower industry. I didn’t buy it yet, but I plan too soon. I know you guys love knots and it seems everyone needs to learn about knots.
Hey, if you’re just starting out then take a chance and read my book, Tower Climbing: An Introduction to learn what you are in for. I wanted to give new climbers an idea of what the job will have in store for them. I also came out with a Field Worker’s Aid if you’re interested.
Are you looking out for your coworker? With all of the near miss accidents that the fire department is being called. I am thankful for no tower climber deaths in the past few months, thank you for taking the time to be safe. Remember that it’s a team effort and that you need to keep an eye on each other to make sure that there is something that the other guy may have missed. Remember that God is watching but God won’t catch you! You need to make sure that the accident doesn’t happen in the first place! This is a brotherhood where all of you need to look out for each other at the job site. Watch over your coworker like his life depended on it. Would you want him or her to do the same? I know that there have been some near misses that the fire companies have been rescuing people. So here is where I need your feedback. We used to rescue people that were stuck on a tower ourselves, but lately the fire companies are the key people and I am grateful that they are here to help. I am curious if there is a change in policy that won’t allow climbers to rescue their own. Does anyone know? Let me know by email at wade4wireless@gmail.com or Facebook or in the comments section.
That’s it for this week, so be smart, be safe, and don’t be stupid!
OK, what the hell is a small cell? Well, let me tell you about small cells. It’s like putting the cell site where the people are, I mean right where the people using the most data. Suddenly you have a cell that can service a group of people with little RF loss and high data throughput. This is a great thing for carriers because it relieves the macro from the loading it would have from one area in its larger coverage area. That is the goal of the small cell, to alleviate the loading and add coverage. I will concentrate on the outdoor small cells for this article but the indoor may be very similar, just less up front work.
So putting a small cell in should be easy, right? I mean if any of you worked with Wi-Fi you would think you can just pop up an access point and you have an instant hot spot. Well, there is so much more to it than that. The carriers will need to do some work up front is they are to put it in their system. They need to do the RF design, loading study, and coverage analysis. They will probably study the analytics to see where the need is based on coverage and macro cell loading, (data and voice). This is prior to placing the small cells in the macro coverage area. They will look at each sector of a Macro site.
The other challenge is putting the backhaul in. It usually will be fiber, about 10 to 100Gbps backhaul provided to the router connected to the small cell. This is usually a Service Aggregate Router, (SAR). Backhaul quality is everything because you have to make sure you have quality of service. Here is where the LTE small cells have a huge advantage because they have a complete IP backbone, unlike most 3G stuff out there, LTE will be a cleaner deployment. All this is done before they decide to deploy anything.
So mounting the unit will not be too hard, but the connection of the backhaul will require fiber skills. They may have wireless backhaul in some areas, if they connect from the wireless backhaul to the SAR it will be using a fiber jumper. Fiber will be the key to most small cell backhaul connections. The one exception may be if the cable companies step up with a cable backhaul for small cells, they call this Data Over Cable Interface Specification, (DOCSIS), which should be a game changer if it becomes mainstream. Then you could use a standard cable connection for backhaul. This may or may not work because carriers seem to like a dedicated connection back to their core or to one of their cell sites. This is a dedicated connection that would give them security and complete control. It’s what most of them want to do. They don’t just tie into an internet connection like a Wi-Fi connection would. It’s just not that easy at this time. If you’re interested in LTE backhaul, there is a good overview athttp://lteuniversity.com/get_trained/expert_opinion1/b/skrishnamurthy/archive/2013/04/01/why-ethernet-backhaul.aspxto explain in more detail.
So let’s look at what we’ve done, we’ve completed the engineering, defined the spots where we wanted it. We then narrowed the spot by finding a mounting location, a pole or a building top, then we found a mounting location that has a fiber connection near it, (fiber is not everywhere), now we finally have the exact location to mount it. Then we have to get a lease, this is all part of site acquisition! We need to work out all of those headaches. If you are not familiar, you don’t just go out and mount it to a pole. You need to find out who has rights to the pole or building, who you lease it through. Then you may or may not need to do a structural analysis on the mounting asset. You will need to do a site design drawing for the documentation prior to the mounting of the asset. What about permits? The local municipality or city wants to take their cut and they want to know what is mounted where. So you will need to make sure all the permitting is completed, this usually slows down the process even more and cost money because you need to file paperwork and often need to hand deliver the documentation.
OK, location found, fiber nearby, mounting asset identified, leasing completed, permitting completed, now we can mount and move ahead, right? OK, now we need to follow the engineering, install the unit, connect the fiber, power to the unit. Did you say power? Did anyone order power? This is something else that needs to be taken care of, power at the pole. So now, at a pole we need fiber and power. Both have a long lead time.
OK, pole, permitting, lease, power, fiber, so now we can mount, and connect it up. Then we’re off to the races. Well, it is mounted to the pole so we are good there. We connected the backhaul to the SAR, we are good there. We now power it up and it should work, right? Make sure the antennas are facing the proper direction and the tilt is set up properly. Now you need to make sure it is provisioned properly, that means that the SAR has to be integrated, then the small cell has to be integrated, then the carrier will want to make a test call and they may or may not want to optimize it with someone doing a walk test. Remember, if the cell has any problems it could create more problems with self interference. The engineering has to take that into consideration. Self interference is taken very seriously because it will create dead spots.
Once the small cell is up and running, life is good in that area, loading is off the macro and on the small cell. The carriers plan to put 10s of thousands of these in. I believe that if the FCC allows more bandwidth to be freed up for LTE, this will be the way that utilities will access their fixed networks. Public Safety already is carving out their chunk of LTE bandwidth. I think that they will rely heavily on small cells because they need coverage in specific areas. Let’s face it, LTE and small cells will be an amazing thing as the world of data takes over. Video will not be just for entertainment, it will be the requirement both ways, video streaming up to the network and down to a device.
OK, now I gave you a background, how does it affect the field worker? Well, you may need to be certified to mount the small cell by the OEM. Remember that the warranty will be affected if you mess something up. Also, this is going to have intricacies that may be affected by how you mount it. Antenna direction, fiber skills, and power connection could all play into this. The Power Distribution Unit (PDU) may be mounted at a different location to power the SAR and Small Cell. You need to know what you are doing to make the connections. It will take skills. Chances are good that you will need to make a test call for the integration phase, provisioning, to be completed. You may need to program the SAR by connecting your laptop to it and uploading a specific configuration file. You need skills! This isn’t Wi-Fi, it’s carrier grade equipment. If you do tower work you know the difference.
I plan to do more on small cells in the future. This is something I have been working on and I have more information to share.
Let me know what you’re struggling with out there in the field. I would like to write about something that could help. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or hitting me up onFacebookor reach out to me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/wadesarver/! I am looking for tower pictures onFacebookpage! I am working on a new book, an aid for the field worker and I plan to have a new website ready soon. I have been very busy on other projects but I think that it should happen soon.
Hey, I talk about learning fiber training and I see that JDSU has free webinars on fiber, go their website here and see if you can learn more about fiber! The webinars are free!
By the way, I have my Blog Cast live on iTunes now.Subscribe if you dare!
Let me ask you something, does your customer really care about you? I see that the safety initiatives are all led by the carriers, NATE, and the tower companies. Hey climbers and engineers, are you represented? I’m sure you are by the contractors out there that tell you the project needs to be done yesterday. So they have created the stand down week and the new NATE site,http://natehome.com/100-tie-off-24-7to encourage 100% tie off campaign. That will raise awareness in most of the industry. What about the people who don’t know what you do? Well, it’s up to you as a group to raise awareness. Let’s see if this works.
Let’s make people aware, when go to a carrier’s store, ask them what their company is doing to promote tower climber safety? (Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile to start with) Do you think that most device sales people know that you risk your life to make sure that they can text their friends? Now is that time! Let them know that you play a key role in the industry. Send an email to the carriers, get the email from your bill or their website, and ask them what they, the carrier, are doing to ensure that you are safe! It’s a simple question. Better yet, ask your family and friends send an email to ask the carriers what they are doing to make sure that the people they love are safe! It’s a team effort to ensure that the world knows about the climbers and engineers that work out at the tower sites! The carriers are very influential in this industry. They spend a lot of money on lobbyists to make sure that deployments go smoothly. Let’s make sure that they know that the worker needs their support. PCIA made announcements how they were working with the governments to ensure a smooth wireless roll out by overriding additional permitting.
Broadcast workers should be doing all that they can to be sure that you are safe. The TV and radio people should all know the stations that they work for are doing all that they can to ensure climber safety! Reach out to your favorite show, by phone or by email and ask them what they are doing! Trust me, most people in broadcast have a great deal of respect for you when they know what you do.
Do you do government work? Well, are they making sure all of the climbers are properly trained and have all of the safety gear that is needed to do the job safely? Don’t call any governments, they probably have no idea about anything outside of their office. However, you could look up your congressman, but unless it’s an election year they may or may not answer you. It takes big numbers to get their attention. If congress or the house interests you then go hereand here . For the president you can go here but I think he has bigger things to worry about. Now OSHA can be reached here. OSHA is who should be looking after the worker, so they would be the best contact if there is an incident. OSHA is there to help, they would be the ones I would call on for help and they are taking an interest in climbing in the USA. However, only reach out to them if you see a problem. I do think that regulation of the climbing industry will be coming. Look at all of the accidents out there. Not just the ones we heard about but the ones that are not reported. There are many. I would like to think that OSHA, EPA, and the FCC are doing all that they to make sure that people are safe. One of the problems in the USA is that crossing departments causes more problems. I think that they could learn from police task forces. I talked with several drug enforcement agencies that pulled in resources from the state police, local police, the FBI, the Coast Guard, and army so that they could work together to catch the bad guys. I am hoping that OSHA and the EPA and the FCC would create, if they didn’t already, a coalition to make sure that workers that are exposed to RF and tower dangers would be represented properly. I plan to release a post with more information soon.
Let me know what you are doing with this article! Something or nothing, email to the carriers? What?!? Let me know!
