You may understand cell tower work, but what about site acquisition and cell tower leasing? I previously shared that I did a very short stint in site acquisition. It is a tough job, kudos to all the site acquisition people out there. So what about the leasing space and land for cell towers? Do you fully understand the leasing aspect? I was curious about cell tower leasing, because people have reached out to me in the past, asking me about leasing cell towers and leasing the ground beneath the tower. How does it all work?
FYI – 2015 USA OSHA Stand Down May 4th to May 15th!
I saw an interesting blog fromAirwaves Advisors,http://www.airwaveadvisors.com/blog/that talked about the leasing of cell towers. This prompted me to reach out to Nick Foster, the President and Founder ofAirwaves Advisors, to ask him more about cell tower leasing. While I didn’t get him on the podcast, he was nice enough to let me interview him about this aspect of our industry.
First, it is important to understand that Nick does not represent the carriers, or the big tower companies. Nick works for the land owners. You know, the ones who know little about the tower industry, and think that if they get a few hundred dollars for a cell tower on their property, or on their roof, that they are getting a good deal. Well, let’s be fair here, Nick is an advocate for the landlord, the people who can benefit with a better understanding of the true value of a cell tower lease. These people are members of our community and deserve to get a fair-deal. It is their land, or building, and they have to deal with the tower on their property, the constant vendor access, and the workers showing up on their land for the construction.
So what if a carrier, Crown Castle, or American Tower, wanted to build a cell tower on your property, or rooftop? Would you know how to structure the lease, or to make changes to the lease, based on the addition of a new carrier to the cell tower? Well, Nick can help you structure the lease up front, he is the one you need to call first. He has a page to tell you who he can help, http://www.airwaveadvisors.com/who-we-help/, that shows you he is in the corner of the little guy. He is the one who will stand up for you, the property owner. He has helped not only land owners, but commercial property owners, religious institutions, governments, and cell tower owners.
My conversation with Nick was interesting. He was working in the commercial real estate industry in Washington D.C. before moving to San Diego (one of the most beautiful cities in the world in my opinion). He did a stint in site acquisition and realized how often property owners had no representation, often leaving thousands of dollars on the table. This prompted him to think about what type of business to start. Then people were calling him asking for help. The next thing you know this guy is working the business and growing. He knows how to deal with the big boys, because if they are looking to go somewhere, it is usually for a good reason, they need to be there to fill dead spots.
Oh, and if you think he is dealing with the carriers direct, well guess again, it is usually a site acquisition or a law firm, not the carrier or tower company. The carriers and tower owners usually are ready to bring in the big guns immediately to ensure they secure a favorable deal. To balance the power, Nick is here to help out the property owner.
You probably think I have been talking about just the monthly income, right? Well, there is more than the rent and the recurring revenue. If the tower owner adds another carrier to the tower, the land owner should be able to get some more money for each carrier in a revenue sharing option.
What about the access road, who is going to maintain it? You or the tower owner? What about the landscaping, is there a governmental ordinance that the land owner is held to? Will the taxes change? What about the zoning, did you think about it?
My point here is that you have options and you should never go into the negotiations without being fully prepared, or represented. Remember that knowledge is power, and chances are you will need someone who is as knowledgeable as the person negotiating against.
This is only going to get more intense with the growth of small cells, and the smaller cell sites with LTE. I think the carriers will need to install more assets that will be closer to the people to help carry load and capacity needs. All the property owners out there will need help. They will be looking for someone to help them negotiate those leases up front, so that when the small cell expansion happens, they will be able to get a fair price without having any damage done to their property, and to maximize their value.
Remember that you need to make sure that you are fairly represented.
Look out for my safety initiative coming out soon!
What do you think about leasing land for a cell tower?
Do you log your climbing and driving time? Do you log your work tasks and projects and locations? Well why not? It may mean the difference between proving you did the work or not. It may mean that your employer does not understand how much you climb. You need to have a record of it so keep a daily log. Click on the link below to gain more knowledge! Get the template to get started by clicking the link below. http://wadesarver.com/tower-worker-logbook/ Do you know how to read your scope of work (SOW)? Do you understand what to do on the job site? Are you being asked to write a SOW? If so, then get some training! Link is below! http://wadesarver.com/tower-worker-logbook/
When working in project management it really helps to have some templates to get started. I have a partner that has the toolkit you need! If you need some tools then I think this will help. Get some templates and tools that would help you improve your PM work.Click Here!
I got 3 things to talk about today – drugs, morons, and steel.
Drugs:
Let’s start with drugs, yes drugs. In fact, I will make it simple, let’s talk about marijuana, pot, hemp, or the wacky weed. Whatever you want to call it, pot stays in your system for quite a while. I read this article about POT onTruth on Potwhich says that detectable amounts are in the system for up to 12 hours, but could be detectable for up to 27 hours. Why am I telling you this, because if you smoke the night before and then you have a drug test the following day, guess what, you may fail. If there is an accident and they test everyone, then if there is a trial it is no longer about the accident but about the incompetent drug user on the site. In fact the blame may be put on the guy smoking. So we probably will have drug testing for all tower crews in the near future. Apparently, from the feedback I have been getting most people just can’t stop. One big party on the road. More pot articles arehereandhereorhere. Remember that if something bad happens, there will be someone looking to lay blame, who better to blame than the pothead? Drug test should be mandatory after every incident. Random drug tests may become the standard. Get ready for the changes.
If you care about the coworkers on your site, you need to curb your habits! Even if you are on cold medicine, you need to speak up and say something. Anything that could dull your senses or could cause problems should be brought to the chief’s/boss’ attention. If you are the chief, then wake up and let your crew know. Team relies on each other to live. Lives matter, blame is too late.
Wake up pothead, I don’t care what you do on your own time, none of my business, but if a family loses anything because you’re smoking dope then we have real problems. This industry needs professionals!
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Morons:
So now we come to the morons section. This is something that most of you don’t want to admit. Hey, I was a moron a few times, what set me apart was that I learned from my mistakes and I asked for help. Isn’t it great that when someone on Facebook has a legitimate question and all the people can do is rip that guy apart for being stupid! I would like to start my own forum so I can kick those guys out. We are all professionals here, grow up. Are you a skilled professional or a laborer? Which is it? There are places for both on the crew – it’s just nice to know where you stand. What can you tell me about the job you are on? I have done both, but if you are just there for the paycheck, remember that lives are on the line. Don’t be a moron!
Steel:
And now the steel section, we need to be safe on the steel. Are we looking at the big picture when it comes to safety on the tower? Do we know how safe the tower is? Did someone look at the structural? Yes, they usually do because it is an obvious hazard that can be easily, although not cheaply, looked at.
What about the tie off points? Did anyone look to see if the tower was safe to climb and if the climber had tie off points? Ever climb a monopole where the pegs are loose? I did. Ever climb a tower where the face is so huge you need to go to the top and climb down another leg to rig in safety lines? Yup, did that too. Did you ever take two people to rig a safety line to cross a face? I did that too. It’s all extra work.
What if the tower has a ladder up the middle then you need to be able to descend to the point you are working at. Usually in something like that there is very little to tie off to for your positioning lanyard much less another point to tie off your safety lanyard. You probably will need to stay attached to the rope but it’s not an ideal situation. Should the tower owner clean that up? Should they make an effort to make the towers or monopoles as safe as possible for the climbers? Yes, absolutely! Are they doing this? You tell me! Tell me in the form below because I think that when there is an accident they are often overlooked. I worked on many towers where there were so few tie off points. It really helps when they are readily available. They can be added but it costs money.Remember this article?
Feedback let’s me know what you want to know!
I think the goal should be that if there is an accident at the tower, we can unconditionally look at the guy that’s hurt and see he was at fault! That should be the goal, to clearly identify the fault, equipment failure or stupidity. Now, however, we are still not doing that. We are still guessing at what happened. Isn’t it time we start taking every excuse for an accident away? We all know that people have to work at heights, we all know how to improve some towers, and we all know that no one wants to spend the money to do it. This is one way to eliminate a problem.
We really need to work together. Remember that this is only one hazard. Keeping hydrated on the tower is a simple way to eliminate another hazard. Working as a team will eliminate more hazards. Daily inspections eliminate another hazard. Tailgate meetings and planning, eliminate more hazards. Hazard assessment – make things as safe as possible, as a team. Training will eliminate another hazard. Practice rescue techniques, keep first aid kits andtrauma kitshandy.
My Books below. I wrote them to get you started but now I am going to put together some more to keep you going. Understand that you can build a career path to get you beyond climbing.
Qualifications, do you think that just because you climb towers you are qualified to do anything on the tower? What does your company bid on? Does your crew install dishes or LTE arrays or broadcast antennas or stack towers or strengthen towers? Do you know if you are qualified to do this work on the tower? Did your boss assign your crew a job that you know you are not qualified to do? Did you read the paperwork before you started? Are you in over your head? Is it do or die? No, it isn’t! Because if you are not prepared to pull that load up the tower then maybe you should say something to whoever is running the show. Either get the right crew with the right tools or get another company in there to do it!
You company should not be bidding on anything with a dollar sign. Like Clint Eastwood said as Harry Callahan in “Magnum Force”, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” It was much cooler when Clint said it, but you get the idea! Do you know your limitations? Did you plan on lifting such a heavy and large load? Do you know the ratings on your ropes, blocks, shackles, straps, and all associate hardware? Do you? Do you know how to mount to the tower? How about what to mount to on the tower? Do you mount to a small cross member for a large load? Can you tag the load out with the people you have? Ask yourself, can I do this with the people I am working with? Answer honestly!
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Listen, some companies bid on work because they need the work, not always because they can do the work.Reputation is big in this industry so that is why when something happens they need to correct it immediately. Accidents happen and most people can forgive, but you need to work extra hard to earn forgiveness and avoid a repeat in the future. If you are good at what you do, then the word of mouth should help you out.
There is a lot of speculation about how prepared a crew was recently and if they should have been doing this work because of an accident. Could it have been prevented or was it a faulty piece of hardware? If you read this then you can probably guess what accident I am talking about. If you don’t know then gohere.
So if you are the one bidding on the work you had better know what your crews can handle. Do they fly dishes or cell mounts? Do they erect towers? If so what kind and how big? Do you think you can do it all? Think again. How experienced is the crew that will be doing the work? How confident are they? How smart are they? How smart are you? All questions that should be asked prior to the responding to the offer.
You see, the thing here is if you are wrong, it may not be a bad day but a funeral. It may cost someone more than a damaged reputation! Think about it. That is why I am in favor of not only experience and learning, but understanding your limitations. If you have worked on something similar than you will understand what is involved and the risks! If you are getting into something new, then it would be a good idea to hire someone who knows what they are doing and get the equipment to handle the job. Plan it out. Read the SOW, look at the BOM, understand you equipment’s ratings. Know what you have and what you will be doing by making a plan.
If something goes wrong, OSHA will look at the people doing the work and that company who is doing the work, but I am thinking they should go beyond that, end to end. Tower owners to the end customer so they know all the factors involved. I am pretty sure that someone at OSHA is looking at this rolling their eyes because they are overworked, but I think once they get the system in place then it will benefit everyone. Once the standards and requirements are set then they will roll it out to the industry. For the tower crews it will probably mean more paperwork to qualify everyone and that will mean more costs for the customer because it will not be free. We all know that paperwork means more money. We also know that it may weed out some of the crews that should not be out there in the first place. It may get ugly before it gets pretty again.
Did someone ask how to use a Capstan properly?
Hey, great resource for Capstan winches from GME Supply, and no, I do not get any type of kickback! I just think this is an excellent resource for someone using a capstan. Kudos to GME Supply for putting this out! I can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier!Presented by Keith Willey of Hubbell Power Systems. Great job Keith! It’s all about the drag!
Also, I got a message from Richard Evans that the tower lighting is enforced so harshly because if a helicopter or small plane crash into it then people will die! They will not survive a crash. So that is why the fines for the tower lighting are so severe and they need to notify the FAA immediately. I really didn’t think about the helicopter traffic, so that is something that needs to be taken into consideration when looking at the fines. I should have thought about that and the towers on the mountain tops. They are all factors for the tower lights causing planes and helicopters to be safe.
A man has got to know his limitations!
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I just read about the Texas deer tick bites cause red-meat allergies. Can you imagine you get bit by a tick and you get a meat allergy? I did a post and podcast about tickhere, and the prevention is an insecticide called Permethrin, Bruce Holsted will tell you all about ithere.
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First off I would like to pay my respects to the 49-year-old fallen tower painter that passed on 7/10/2014. Rest in Peace Thomas Lucas, you will be missed, gratitude and love out to your family. This is the ninth fatality in 2014, and let us all pray that this is the last! I put some tower painting videos in here to honor him. For more information go here.
Thank you for the feedback on the near miss stories. I got several responses immediately. I am doing this so people can learn from the mistakes that others made. These are lessons learned. For those of you that don’t understand this, let me clarify. When you’re at a site telling someone what you plan to do, do they just say OK and walk away? Or, do they say “this is what I would do” and “this is what I tried in the past” and “here’s why it didn’t work”. I would always offer my ideas and opinions at the site, it is up to the current crew as to whether they want to use it or not.So let’s learn from these!
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Each story is told by the person who sent it in. I took out any names, company names, or customer names.
Story 1: We used a hemp rope they tried to drop a 10′ dish and the mount, this was about 10 years ago when nylon ropes were new. Well, because we didn’t tag the dish, we tried to drop it straight down a self supporter. (For those that don’t know self supporters get wider at the bottom!) Well it was fine until if got snagged on the tower, so then we tried to pull the dish back up. Guess what, the rope could not pull it back up so the dish dropped, hard, and flattened one site. However it didn’t just fall straight down, it hit the tower and bounced inside the tower! Flattened on side of the dish and looked really bad. Luckily, they (customer) didn’t plan to reuse it and sent it in for scrap. No injuries, no one was hurt, and an important lesson was learned that we need tag lines and patience. Lesson learned!
Story 2: Just this past Friday I was working on a raw land site where the tower had been stacked the previous day. Myself and one other man( a rookie to my company) were shaking down the tower. I had gone up and done a tape drop and came down tightening one legs gussets and center stitch. The man with me had helped stack the previous day. He did great! 100% tied off, climbed well, didn’t drop any tools, kept his hands out of pinch zones and listened to direction from crew chief very well. The stack went awesome. He went up to tighten down another leg and center stitch. He got down to the forty-foot mark and at this time I was going thru hardware to see what was left and organize for the next crew coming in to fly waveguide and build a carrier’s site. There was some hardware on the pier at base of tower and without hesitation I went to gather it. At that moment he slipped while standing on the two downward diagonals and the spud socket wrench he was using came free. It hit me, bent over, in the back just below my shoulder-blade from forty feet. It landed socket end first and the alignment pin slapped down after. I WAS LUCKY!! I’m bruised but not broken.
Story 3: We loosened the mount with a 2 man crew, thinking that the mount and the antenna would not be too heavy. It took a long time for me, on the tower, to break all the clamps. The hardware was tight and it took a long time to take off. Well as soon as I took the last mount off the load was so heavy that the guy on the ground got pulled into the block on the ground. He couldn’t hold it so we both tried to slow it down but it would not stop! We had to let it fall. Busted the antenna but didn’t hit anything on the ground! We got lucky, just a couple of bloody hands bit no real injuries. A bad day we walked away from.
That’s it for this week. Keep the stories coming.Email me atwade4wireless@gmail.comor message me on Facebook or leave the information below. Or call and leave a message at my Google voice mail at 510-516-4283. Remember ithere.
In honor of the fallen climber, here are some painting videos:
FYI: PEAK Career Services, a division of Pinnacle Career Institute is working with an International Engineering Firm to hire and train a significant number of entry-level Tower Technicians in order to meet rising demand in the Telecommunications Industry. Candidates chosen for this opportunity will participate in an intensive 1-week training program at no cost to them. There are several locations throughout the United States. Visit www.peakpci.com for more information or email contact@peakpci.com. To apply go to www.peakpci.com/apply-now
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We need the Hubble Foundation now more than ever, and they need your support. Will 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
Updated links, he was a tower painter and the accident was at 13668 E Morseville Rd, in Stockton, Ill. on Sunday afternoon around 1:48PM local time. He apparently fell from 80 to 90 feet. Thomas Lucas of Toledo, Il, was 49 years old.
Another fallen worker, another loss in the industry. As seen in Wireless Estimator,http://www.wirelessestimator.com/breaking_news.cfmthere was another fallen worker near Stockton, Il. quoting Wireless Estimator, “Jo Daviess County Coroner Bill Laity said that the man who fell from a communications tower in rural Stockton Sunday was Thomas W. Lucas, 49, of Toledo, Ill. According to Laity, Lucas was painting the structure when he fell. Laity did not know if Lucas was self-employed”
Apparently Sunday afternoon, August 10th, this happened. It seems not many people on the news wire picked it up. Just so you know the details are scarce, we just don’t know much at this time but here are some articles that may help.
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
I am not sure if you saw but OSHA issued some citations. Here is some information.
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S&S Communication Specialists, Inc has a serious citation for the way in which they removed the diagonals. This is all for the accident at the tower site that was at 9141 Murphy Rd, Clarksburg, WV. Proposed penalty #1 is $7,000 for not using temporary braces or supports. Citation #2 is another “Serious” citation for the attachment of personal fall arrest equipment not capable of supporting at least 5,000 lbs. Issued on July 23rd. Total of $14,000 for both citations. S&S has 15 days from July 23rd to respond.
If you remember back on Feb 1st that 2 workers and a firefighter died when 2 towers collapsed, Kyle Kirkpatrick, 32, from Hubert, Ok, and Terry Lee Richard, 27, of Bokoshe, Ok. May they rest in peace. Also, a firefighter that was called to the scene also died when a second tower collapsed during the rescue attempt. He was Michael Dale Garret, 28, if the Nutter Fort firefighter of Clarksburg, WV. May he rest in peace.
I am reading in one article, WBOY.com that they account for 9 deaths in 2014 attributed to tower work.
So what are you going to do? Make sure you can do the work if necessary!
What do you think of the citations? Let me know ASAP! Don’t tell me you can’t reach out to me!Facebook, wade4wireless@gmail.com or leave a comment or leave a message at 510-516-4283
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! By the way, how much did you give today?
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
Tower Climber Company websites – this seemed to be a standard resource. I think that most people go directly to the companies for work. I had about 12% here.
Tower job search sites – this is where most people would write in. Write in votes:
Wireless Estimator of http://www.wirelessestimator.com/helpwanted.cfm was the overwhelming choice here and all I can say I am sorry I didn’t add it as one of the choices. I should have had this as a choice! Sorry guys at Wireless Estimator, your site has so much on it that I forgot that you can also get a job there. If anyone wants to learn more about the industry it is a great place for news and updates and there are so many tools there for work. It’s a great resource.
#3 on the survey – LinkedIn – had a few more votes but not many, I know that many of you use this for job search and many companies put the information on LinkedIn. If you didn’t read it then take the time to look at http://wp.me/p3OC6A-dQ and build your resume and background on LinkedIn. It takes some time but it will be worth your while if you start job searching.
#2 on the survey – Facebook – this got 15% of the vote. Many of you look for work on Facebook, this was the #2 choice and I know that I see many job postings on there as well. Facebook is a huge resource for this kind of thing. If you’re not in one of the many tower groups then maybe you should start joining. There are so many tower climbing and tower climber groups. It is a good resource for tower workers.
# 1 on the survey! Word of mouth – this was #1 with over 20% of the vote. Apparently most people rely on word of mouth to get a job. I would be willing to bet that Facebook plays a part in this. In today’s world many people reach out to friends, but it’s not always a phone call, it could be on Facebook or LinkedIn or an email.
So I hope this helps, let me know what you think and tell me where you look for work!
Get a JOB!
http://youtu.be/yR6A-Bk9eZQ
Other information!
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
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.
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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
FYI – 2015 USA OSHA Stand Down May 4th to May 15th!
Remember that knowledge is power, and chances are you will need someone who is as knowledgeable as the person negotiating against.
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