Tag Archives: field technician

SOW Tutorial and more Feedback

November 21, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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I am taking this moment to let you all know that I put together a Scope of Work tutorial so everyone out there can understand the SOW. Yes, a shameless plug for something I made to help you out. I have a page setup to help you out, go to http://wadesarver.com/scope-work-training/ to learn more. Price is $24.99US but for reading this I have a discount code w4w_sow that will save you about $10 off of that price. I put this together for the wireless field workers that need to understand the SOW or may have to write one. It is a video tutorial. I have a free PDF white paper to help. Feel free to download it and see if it can help you out. If you want to order now click on the icons below.

I understand from many of you that you are working as contractors and need to write or update a SOW. My intention is to make sure that you understand the work in the SOW and that you understand how to protect yourself from doing work that is not covered in the SOW. I tried to make it clear how this is going to be your key to getting paid for the work you do and how you can create a change order for the work that is not in the SOW. Remember that all the extra work you do will cost your company money so you will need to weigh out whether the customer is going to appreciate it and reward you with more work or if they are taking advantage of you. That is your call but if the SOW is properly written you can make it your decision how to process.

And now, more Feedback!

OK, now let’s get to the feedback. Let me start by saying that I really appreciate the time you have taken to post notes in the feedback forms, thank you! I don’t post names because I don’t want anyone to get in trouble or be ridiculed by the tower community. If you put your company name in, I will post it unless I find it offensive in some way.
OK, let’s get started.
From my post “Climbing alone” we have:
Comment: Awesome ……like minds are good to hear
Response: Thank you!
Comment OSHA 1910.151(b) in the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace which is used for the treatment of all injured employees, a person or persons shall be adequately trained to render first aid. Adequate first aid supplies shall be readily available. Seemingly this indicates the necessity of a minimum of two persons.
Also, OSHA 1910.38 Emergency action plans. The requirements for a rescue plan under OSHA 1910.38 require a written rescue plan is on site completed and signed by all participating personnel.
To my knowledge, I have never reviewed a plan of rescue that
could be construed with a single climber carrying out the complete written activities to be performed during execution of a rescue.
One last thought, I do not believe there is a legal allowance affording the presence of only a single employee on site at any given time. This/these are my interpretation of the readings of the above stated reg.’s. Be familiar with the rules and when and where they may apply. Help with your crew members to become familiar, and at the same time become able to Trust yourself to know. That’s all I have,
Response: Thank you sir!
Comment: Wade – I wrote a blog post about this myself back in May:
http://safetyoneinc.com/climbing-alone/
I hear about this frequently. Not too long ago one of our clients told me about how he fired someone for climbing alone after repeated warnings. Nice to see someone stand behind his words with actions.
Be Safe!
Response: Thank you for taking the time to let everyone know the dangers of climbing alone. Even if you think you can, it is better to have someone there. I know the mentality that it won’t happen to you. We all think that until something so stupid happens, then we know it could happen to anybody. Things happen, good and bad, not always in our control or we get careless. Not fair, but it does. We aren’t always smart, safe, and we don’t always pay attention. We say we do, but we get stupid when we are in a hurry or tired. I know I do!
Comment: Well I do understand where this is coming from. I remember when our policy was buddy system we were to NEVER climb alone. Then as the company got busier it was well its okay just call me before, at location, and back on the ground. Then it went to no mention the fact I was aligning a 6′ or 10′ antenna by myself at 500’….. As time went on the company got so adapted to us climbing alone that if I said someone should be with me , it turned into well I guess we didn’t have what it took to step up. I made my way from greenhorn to lead man to supervisor, to job coordinator. After 15 years I decided to leave. There comes a point when a man becomes a man (at times a stupid one) but we all do what we have to do to take care and provide for the time being. Once he or she realizes the company that sends them out alone is only worried about their Upper Management Bonus check that comes in when the job was done with less payroll. PROFIT is all it comes down to. So if you’re reading this and you understand what I mean. Stop living (risking) your own life for your company that doesn’t care about your worth as an employee. I’m no longer there and left the industry entirely. Now I only kick myself for not doing these 14 years and 11 months ago. When your employer values and respects you……. You as an employee will have a new-found fire and self-worth to exceed farther than you would if you were left alone with no help if needed. Be safe guys and WHOOP! WHOOP! Climb safe and take your time to double-check your anchor. And remember its okay to be 100% tied off it’s a good habit & gets you home safe. Take care.
Response: Thank you for the honesty! I know exactly what you mean. We usually start out with the best intentions, but then something changes, the workload, the schedule, the bonuses, the money, or we just get lazy. We may deny all of these, but I have been there and I have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, and I know that I fell into these categories. Denial is something we can do until something terrible happens, then all we have is our excuses.
Comment: At the end of the day it all comes down to safety training. But people still make mistakes… most of which I’d say is caused by fatigue caused by poor management, busy work schedules, pressure to finish sites quickly, etc. Wireless work is very complex and it takes very knowledgeable people to make it work.
Response: So true!
OK, I have more feedback and I guess I have to do a follow-up. I will put more out in the next post unless some big news happens. I will try to get it to you soon!
Let me know what you think, don’t be shy!

By the way, if you stuck with me this far, here are some links that you may find useful!
Antenna basics free tutorial http://host.comsoc.org/freetutorial/rohde4/rohde4.html
Cold Stress information http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/coldstress/
Wireless Estimator is creating a Wireless Blue Book to help you find all your wireless needs in one location, http://www.wirelessestimator.com/blue-book/#!/
Trauma Kit information https://wadesarver.com/Podcast/critical-mindset-lane-falkner-talks-about-trauma-kits/
NATE webinar NATE Webinar Article…
I have books; please take a look at the new pages I created, http://wadesarver.com/tower-climbing-introduction/ and http://wadesarver.com/field-workers-aid-tower-site-work/ so you can get more information!

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Guess what?!! I have finished a training video for the SOW.

The price for the Scope of Work training is $24.99 but I have discounts for those of you who read this.

Gumroad for credit card sales – Save $10 by entering this code – w4w_sow. Credit Card https://gum.co/Wade4Wireless_SOW

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Feedback 3: Near Miss & Drugs

September 9, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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Near Miss Stories: I have another near miss story I wanted to share. “We had to lift an H frame mount up to put our CDMA next to our LTE antenna on the point of a tophat on a 250 ft guyed tower. The H frame alone weighed about 250-300 lbs without antennas. Rigging plan was to lift H frame with mast pipes and then put the CDMA and LTE antennas on afterward. Being at the top of the tower, we had no headroom. The CM said to use one of their in-house made rooster heads. We questioned it, but the safety manager, operations manager, and CM said it would work. We rigged the tower with our rooster head into an existing antenna mast pipe. Instead of playing it safe, the crew lead added a nose bag half full of angle adapters and filled up the rest of the way with 3 ways, a sunsight aat, topped off with 2 nose bags full of 1 5/8″ snap ins. So at this point the total load weight we figured was around 350-400 lbs. The green guy on the ground was tagging using a munter hitch to get the load around one guy wire. As the load was being raised up to us, the boy who was tagging put a slight amount of tag on and got the load around the guy wire. The load finally got up to us and right as we went to put our hands on it the rooster head snapped, dropping the load onto the first guy wire below us. The load rode the guy wire about half way down, flipped over, slammed the next guy wire below it, and rid that guy wire about 1/4 of the way to the anchor head where it fell off the guy wire and hit the ground. The tower was shaken violently, me and the other guy up top bolted for the ground. We got down, the owner showed up on site and said that this will never happen again. Come Monday morning during our weekly safety meeting, the CM, operations manager, and safety manager all concluded that what almost got us killed was the tag. They said too much pressure was applied to the tag and that’s what caused the rooster head to snap. They would not accept the fact that they were using an unapproved rigging device with no load rating. To this day, 2 months later, they still say the tag is what did it.” Good story!

Original post here.

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Drugs: I have one more feedback note that is a follow-up to the drugs, “OK, the drug topic is very strong to me. I have a daughter that is 19 and went through a drug treatment program for, yeah you guessed it, pot. Yes the non addictive drug, that can be detected for 90 days… blah blah. Well guess what. It is tested, and there is acceptable ranges and different levels for time elapsed. Some factors that will change this though is frequency of use. Somebody that uses it more frequently will test positive at higher levels through urinalysis. Hair follicle tests are more accurate, and becoming more prevalent. These tests are more accurate, and of course more expensive.”

Original post here.

I also looked up a past case. All of you asked about how pot will affect the outcome of a case. If you go to http://www.propublica.org/article/cell-tower-fatalities (released in 2012 and mentions Wally Reardon several times) you will see that Jay Guilford, the young man who died doing an AT&T install in 2008, did indeed test positive for marijuana in his system. To quote, “Under policies provided by Phoenix of Tennessee, Pierce received $200,000 in life insurance, but was denied worker’s compensation because an autopsy showed Guilford had recently smoked marijuana. Lawyers advised Pierce not to sue because of the drugs”. The point I am trying to make is that he did get his life insurance, but they could have gotten more and perhaps maybe they would have found fault with the process. He was making $10/hour. He worked for All Around Towers, (now out of business) who worked for General Dynamics who worked for AT&T. My point is that if they find anything in your system, it changes the outcome.

I also got some feedback about how I don’t know anything about pot, well, that is true, and I only know what I read. I am told I am against potheads – that’s not true, I am only trying to point out what happens when things go bad. I hope nothing bad ever happens to you, so please, prove to me that it doesn’t matter and stay safe. Prove to me that you know better and be the best at hazard prevention you can be. If you can do that and stay alive for the next 10 years on a tower, then call me anything you like, just remain alive and well. More links, http://video.pbs.org/video/2237737729/.

Feedback:

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NATE has announced their new Tower Family Foundation! It will launch September 10, 2014.

http://nationalassociationoftowererectors.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/t/27A57EA732B99C95/C62CEA3BAE9C840AC9C291422E3DE149

2 books. One for the new tower climber, the green hand, to understand that will be expected. The other is a handy aid to help out when you are at the site. I am writing a new book to go over all of the paperwork that you could encounter on the job so you understand what you are working on and what you should be doing. You may expand to other jobs in the industry. This can be the beginning of a great career path in the wireless industry.

Kindle:

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Whistle blower information:

http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=330216

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=OSHA-2011-0540-0001

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Do or Die! Are you in over your head?

August 20, 2014 Wade Leave a comment

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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 go here.

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!

Wade's Working Tips

Tag Archives: field technician

SOW Tutorial and more Feedback

Don’t forget, support Hubble!

Feedback 3: Near Miss & Drugs