You know, somebody should do something to improve the industry, If only you had a say! Wait, you do have a say, don’t you! I was reading an article on Wireless Estimator about the RFI response and how response is poor at best,article found here. Wireless Estimator OSHA RFI entry website found here.
If you completed the RFI response, than thank you and you‘re a shining credit to the safety of the tower industry! It shows that you care and that you want to make a change for the better in the industry. Way to go!If you didn’t, then read on!
Are tower climbers deadbeats? I would bet most people reading this would say no, and yet all you had to do is respond to the OSHA RFI, but you were too busy doing something more important, like shaving your back! 38 questions were there to be answered; some specifically asking for the tower climber’s opinion, but you didn’t have time to type out a few sentences, did you? You will quick to bitch about conditions and pay, but you could take the 30 minutes or so to even look at the first section of the RFI.
Worried about the deadline, well don’t, just respond today, tonight, tomorrow morning, but don’t wait any longer!
Most of you that didn’t answer probably spend a lot of time on Facebook complaining or posting rude pictures, so why not do something to help the industry?
All you had to do was answer some questions, but were you too busy or too lazy!
What was more important? Was it that TV show you were watching at night?
You know, I put a lot of effort into writing these blogs so help people, but you’re too busy to let OSHA know where the tower climber needs help.
Maybe we’re fine, maybe the tower industry is fine. Maybe all that most climbers are worth are $10/hour to risk their lives. Maybe all the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, boys, and girls that lost a family member mean nothing to you. it wasn’t you that got hurt, only a fellow worker in the wireless industry. A brother or sister that does the same job as you, a fellow elevated worker, someone who has a family who may never climb again, may never work again, or may never get to kiss their loved ones goodnight again. Once they are gone, it takes away everything, all they ever had and all they ever will have.
I hear so many of you complain, here is your chance to do something and most of you just won’t. Are you lazy, that is how I see it if you didn’t fill out part of this. Maybe it is a lack of commitment. Maybe you want to see your fellow workers get hurt, after all, doing nothing is like letting people die, so why not just sit back and hope that it’s not you or your work mates that die.
This is my plea for help, this is me asking you to get off of your lazy ass and do something. Complete the RFI response.Go to my blog here for instruction on what to so. The sooner the better!
Did you do it? Are you done? I didn’t say it would be quick or easy, but it needs to be done.
You know what, if you’re not going to do it, then maybe we should just continue to blame the climbers for all the faults, after all, most of you are not motivated to change anything. Complacency is the problem, and if you look in the mirror you will see the problem if you choose to do nothing.
Just remember what that you could have done something, and you chose not to. Way to go slacker!
Be smart, be safe, pay attention, and complete the RFI!
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Click me for more on SOW Training!Click here for more information about the tower worker logbook!Click here for more information on the tower worker’s field aid!
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Climb forward climbers! Let’s all deploy wireless! Thanks to Tower Safety Inc. for all of their support and sponsorship! Breaking news! Water tower painter dies in fall! New is here. This is very sad that anyone had to fall this year. While not doing antenna or tower work, this is very sad and my sympathies go out to the families. Link below. http://fox2now.com/2015/04/27/water-tower-worker-falls-to-death-in-damiansville/
FYI – 2015 USA OSHA Stand Down May 4th to May 15th!
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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! Scan or click the ICON for more information!
If you didn’t do it yet, complete the OSHA RFI, it is easy and OSHA values your response. I’m tired of hearing you complain, now is your chance to make a difference. OSHA doesn’t listen you say, maybe you are not complaining to the right people! Here is your chance. If you disagree with what I say, and then tell OSHA what the right thing to do it, it is very easy!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWT2Gt7vd0A
I uploaded my comments to theWireless Estimatorpage this morning. I am writing this on April 25, 2015. Did you respond yet?
Look up my answers onWireless Estimator OSHA RFI siteby searching forWade4WirelessorWade Sarver. Go ahead, log in and look around, see what others have said, that is what I am doing. Click on the view comments to see what others have done.
Here is how I responded to the 2 questions for Suitability for work.(Short and sweet today!)
Are employees directly engaged in tower work assessed for physical fitness? If so, how? Are physical fitness requirements and assessments addressed in contracting agreements?
Not in most cases, many are just asked if they can climb and asked to do a drug test.
What should be offered is a complete physical because this is a physical job that requires endurance.
What physical limitations should employers be aware of when assigning an employee communication tower work? What hazards might be associated with such limitations, and how could those hazards be mitigated?
It’s a physical job requiring strength, sight, hearing, and common sense. If an employee is short any one of those qualities then there is danger to that person and the workmates. If all the physical parts are intact then the common sense can be taught through apprenticeship and experience.
FYI – 2015 USA OSHA Stand Down May 4th to May 15th!
The thing that I didn’t address here is the common sense value, the figure thing out value, and the emotional stability factor. These are all factors that could affect the worker’s effectiveness at the site. I speak more about it on the podcast.
To become a certified project manager you need to take your Project Management Professional Certification test. Then will be a certified PMP, Project Management Professional. If you are studying or preparing for it then my partner can help.Click Here! Scan or click the ICON for more information!
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I wanted to make sure we all respond to the OSHA questions. I have been working on them for the past 3 days. I am still looking them over because this is very important to me. I really want to make sure we give OSHA a good foundation for the future of tower climber safety. I plan to upload them to theWireless Estimatorpage this week. I am writing this on April 22, 2015, and plan to upload them tomorrow.
First, I want to share them with you. This may not be the final but you can look me up on theWireless Estimator OSHA RFI siteby searching forWade4Wireless or Wade Sarver. Go ahead, log in and look around, see what others have said, that is what I am doing. Click on the view comments to see what others have done.
FYI – 2015 USA OSHA Stand Down May 4th to May 15th!
Since this is so long, I have put the tower climber questions in this post. I will release a post for each section. You don’t need to answer every question, but please, make sure that your answers are going to help. You have to look at this as your contribution for change, so if you decide to be a smart ass with a stupid answer, then you don’t care. You should find a new industry to work in because we want to make this a better profession! Remember that professionals work in this profession!
As a tower climber, what are the most significant hazards that you encounter on the job? What circumstances or conditions create or contribute to these hazards?
Hazards: Falling, fatigue, injury from over exertion, stress from travel and working at heights. The climber’s job is at height and outdoors so weather is also a hazard. The climber must work in all climates causing another risk to be taken into consideration. Frostbite and heat exhaustion are all factors that cause problems when working at height.
Circumstances: Often time the circumstances that cause problems are when the schedule is pushing the climbers to work quickly and longer hours in the air. The deadlines need to be realistic and take into account that there are delays due to delivery and weather and other customer’s schedules. This is often why inexperienced crews do much of the work because the roll outs of all the carriers happen simultaneously. Look at the auctions, all the carriers win the frequencies at the same time so they all have to deploy along the same schedules. This causes the current contractors to book up very quickly. This falls into the realm of taking short cuts. If the climbers would remain tied off 100% of the time then you would think the problem would be resolved. The schedule causes them to take shortcuts. Also, a big part of this is getting paid, low pay makes for poor quality of worker, training, and lack of PPE. When the crews don’t get paid, either by their owners or contractors, for any reason, they can’t continue safely.
Conditions: Working at heights for prolonged periods in all environments and in odd positions while moving heavy weight cause many problems. It causes the workers to over exert themselves if they don’t have the right tools. The tight schedules given to the climbers due to heavy emphasis put on due dates and trying to make the hours bid. Often the job is bid skinny causing the hours to be unrealistic. If there is bad weather then it could cause issues with climbing or if you delay the climb then the schedule will be impacted causing the climbers to try to get done in less time by rushing, taking shortcuts, or working extremely long days, even in the dark. The stress is caused by the extensive travel and the worry of training new workers at height. It becomes tough to worry about yourself and your greenhorn.
What steps do you take, at this time, to complete your work safely? What safety-related work practices do you think should be in place?
Currently employed is the 100% tie off, training, and practice. That along with logging the high time and drive time of each climber.
There should be 100% ties off rule, required training for all workers on site for tower work, tower safety, and rescue. First Aid and CPR should be standard. All drive and high time should be logged and kept on record. All practice of tower rescue should be logged and kept on record. All certifications should be required and kept on record. I think that the customer should require all the records they can. All customers should require a safety audit for all tower work to be done by independent companies. This should be the customer’s responsibility!
What safety rules and work practices are provided to you, and who provides you with that information?
In the safety handbook there is a list of rules, 100% tie off, notes about the drug tests, and safety practices for the worker. There is also a safety manual from Comtrain that is passed around. There is also a list of safety practices from OSHA and the insurance company about heavy lifting.
The handbook is distributed by the foreman and HR.
Who assigns and oversees your work? Who provides your training and checks your equipment? When at a job site, to whom would you report a potential safety issue?
The department head or a project manager assigns and oversees the work from a high level. In the field, at a tower site, there is a foreman or a crew lead that oversees the work and maintains the schedule and safety practices. Someone from HR, the safety person, oversees the training and certifications.
You would report all incidents to your immediate supervisor.
Potential safety issues would be reported to the foreman or lead on site.
What specific steps do you think employers can take to make tower work safer?
I think that companies that do safety audits work best. They have a person come out to the sites randomly to inspect the crew and offer ways to improve safety without being a jerk. I think that practice makes perfect so by getting the crew or crews together once a month to practice rescue and safety and talk about how they do things is a big help. I believe that annual training is very important to keep everyone up to speed.
How, and to what extent, does the design or configuration of towers, and equipment installed on towers, affect your ability to complete your work safely?
It plays a major role. There are times you can’t figure out how to stay tied off to go to the next level. Or you have nothing safe to anchor to. Monopoles are very difficult to maintain a safe anchor. Sometimes on a monopole, or other towers staying tied off is harder because the safe points are no near. Many times there should be a safety climb on the towers and monopole but it is either broken, lose, faulty, or not installed.
What do you think of the OSHA RFI? Let me know by sending me a message and then I will send you a newsletter, eventually.
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For all of you that say OSHA doesn’t care, you’re wrong! I have proof, well here you go! They released a Request For Information (RFI) to get the feedback of all of you climbers! All of you climbers that care enough to take the time to respond! The official FCC information is hereand thePDF is available here.
However Wireless Estimator came up with a way to make it easy on us to fill out the form. They have an overview here. I am going to go through it for you so you understand what is going on. The link isHEREand let me walk you through the process. If youclick on the linkthen you will see that Wireless Estimator has compiled the questions for you. They also are going to let you look at other people’s answers as well. You will not see their names but you can see what other people said. It may help you modify answer or totally disagree.
So for all of you that say OSHA is not listening, here is your chance to take action! This is your chance to help shape the industry. All I ask is that you give a professional and fair answer. You can’t say you disagree or agree with no explanation. This is your chance to contribute, no excuses. OSHA has more information here.
Now, let me go over the web page and how to enter questions. When you answer the questions and give your input, remember, be concise, be professional, base your reasons on experience and evidence and how it will impact you, and make sure your answers are sound. If you want to see a website on how to respond go tohttp://www.regulations.gov/docs/Tips_For_Submitting_Effective_Comments.pdfand see what the feds recommend that you do.
OK, now the website overview. When you go tohttp://www.wirelessestimator.com/osha-rfi-2015/#!/section/1/questionsyou will see that the sections are broken out on the left, I have a picture below. You will see the sections to the left and the questions in the center. Make sure you complete each question that you are prepared to answer. Now remember that you will be able to enter good information and if you enter a crap answer that it will be flushed!
I would recommend answering only the questions you are qualified to answer, don’t try to suggest something for a section that you are not qualified to work in. Make your answers count, but don’t feed a line of crap, be truthful, honest, and give a great suggestion.
There is the overview in the beginning to tell you what each section encompasses. You have the following sections:
Question for Tower Climbers
Training and Certification
Suitability for Work
Hazards and Incidents
Contracting and Work
Economic Issues
Tower Design
Regulatory/Non-Regulatory Approaches
Do the best you can, make it count, and you will play your part in shaping the industry by informing OSHA what to do and how to make progress in saving climbers lives. That what this is all about! Saving lives and making sure that qualified people are doing this job! Do you get it? This all depends on you and your participation. So be a professional and contribute to the industry that you work in.
Don’t you want to make a difference at OSHA that could affect all climbers? It’s up to you!
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention. This is your time to shape the industry, don’t waste it with regrets!
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Many of you have hired contractors. Many of you probably already have contractors that work for you so you have been through this. (Thanks towww.ConstructionDataQuarterly.com for input)
General information about the sub. Wireless is a relatively small industry, so chances are you may know the owner of the tower crew. Make sure you get all of the information. Who owns the company, experience, resume, are they a minority business, size of business, contractor’s license, number of employees, do they hire contractors or do they have their own crews?
Get their safety and OSHA information. Ask them for any citations and their experience modification rate for the previous 3 years, their safety programs, their safety plans, their rescue plan and how they handle their daily, weekly, and annual safety meetings. Ask them who is responsible for the safety program in their company. Ask for a name. Ask to see their safety and rescue plans. How long have they been accident free? What was the last accident? What were the circumstances? Most companies are very open about this, if the lawyers allow it.
Who is their current surety provider, agent name, bond rates.
Find out if they have ever filed for bankruptcy. It matters.
Find out if they have any active litigation pending. See if they have any labor law violations, if their license is or has been revoked. Do they have any judgements filed against them?
Ask all insurance questions up front, make sure that your umbrella covers the contract.
References, references, references. Ask them for references. Now, they will give you all the good ones so don’t be afraid to ask the references for references, perhaps even a PM that work on their jobs. Don’t just ask for work references, verify their credit references as well. Make sure you ask for up to 4 references.
Scope of work, when it comes to the specific job. Clear up the scope of work questions. Make sure you agree to the scope and who will provide the miscellaneous parts used daily. Understand the tool requirements, the tasks, and the labor requirement. I know many of you will hand them the SOW and say, “Good Luck!”, but that’s not enough. Clear up the small things and then they can do the big things.
Review the Bill of Materials. The BOM and staging really matter, clarify as to what the expectations are. It’s a simple thing that can be cleared up prior to the job. When the deployment starts, it’s hard to settle this when the equipment is being shipped.
Clarify the change order process. Do it up front so there are no questions during the job.
Don’t tell the sub he has to do something he can’t do, remember that they have limitations. Just because someone does tower work does not make them an expert rigger! Be clear about the work!
Are you going to hire this sub or are they going in as a partner? Be clear about the roles.
Then deploy, install, make wireless magic happen!
Pay your sub, make notes of what they did right and what they could have done better. If they didn’t finish the job, ask yourself why and whose fault was it? Did both of you understand the scope of work?
Remember to be smart, be safe, and pay attention. If it’s your plan then follow it until you have to adapt, improvise, and overcome those obstacles at the site!
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!If you are on your mobile then scan this.
Before I start, let me congratulate Dr Bridgette Hester for the great article she wrote for AGL Magazine,found here,about here research into Carla Valencia’s death, may she rest in peace. It was her first real climb (sound familiar?) and another coworker got hurt as well. The article is great, take some time and read it! This too will have lessons learned about responsibility which is a topic for another day.
I read the story in wireless estimator,link here,if you don’t see it then scroll down until you see the headline “Near electrocution of two techs requires a review of safe practices” posted on April 6 of 2015.I am trying to figure out how these guys missed power lines. Do you know whet I am saying? So I think what we have to do is review what lessons can be learned from this incident.
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First off, thank GOD that they both are alive, although you wonder how they survived, let’s just say that this is a gift that they lived and we can learn from what went wrong! That ans the fact that bucket trucks are supposed to be rated non-conductive up to a certain voltage. I remember that from when we had our bucket trucks inspected, the paint was very important.
They must have been competent on a bucket truck because it didn’t tip and they were able to lower it back down. They did not jump out and the truck apparently is insulated properly. The only injury I read about is the guys arm was burnt from touching the electrical line. Thanks for clarifying this Wireless Estimator.
Let’s review, they were able to operate the bucket truck, let’s hope they were trained properly on using the bucket truck. I want to refer to my posts on a Fisk here, (wait for it), because it’s relevant. Everyone’s response to my Fisk post (orFISK Videos) is that the user must be trained and competent. That applies to more than the Fisk, it also applies to bucket trucks and lifts. In fact it applies to anything anyone is using when working at heights. You should not be winging it, but many do, and you should practice how to use the equipment, especially rescue equipment.
So you should be trained on the bucket truck as well. To be competent is more than just powering it up and leveling it. The operator was trained on using the lift. It is doing a hazard assessment prior to going up, just like you should do before you climb! What these guys did poor job of is hazard assessment and planning. Did they have a plan? Apparently it was to go straight up to whatever they were working on. Did they do a hazard assessment? It doesn’t seem like it.
Do you see now? I find that 20-20 hindsight is very clear. It took shocks and burns and near heart attacks to teach their gentlemen. Please don’t make this mistake but learn from it. Remember what I say, pay attention! These guys were not aware of their surroundings when going up, they were not looking in all directions. He has probably used the lift so many times he took it for granted that it was easy to use and that 99% of the other times everything was OK. He may have been distracted by the other guy. We can only assume that he just didn’t pay attention at that moment.
Ok, let’s play what if. What if someone who did the site survey would have identified the lines and then called the power company to insulate them? Remember that if you are working near power or high tension lines you can call ahead and request that they insulate the, What they do is wrap the lines with a loose fabric or plastic insulator so you don’t get shocked if you touch the line. You have to ask and plan. They will be happy to assist you if you give them the time to do it.
However let’s say this was a service call. Then these guys could have done a few things like they could have identified power lines and came up with a plan to avoid them. If they were paying attention then they would have made a serious effort to watch them as they were going up. Second they could have planned out how the bucket’s path to know where it would go. Finally, and most importantly they should have been paying attention! Simple yet we just don’t do it! Look up, look around, and see what is going on. Maybe they needed a ground guy to watch them go up because it sounds like they had 2 guys in the bucket.
They probably should have paid attention to their surroundings. It is easy to get distracted, seriously, they are lucky to be alive after being so careless. Remember that I say pay attention? It’s not just lip service; it is practical advice in any situation. We are all guilty of being distracted, all of us, especially me!
So learn from this mistake. Be competent on your equipment through training, practice, and reading if possible. If you have someone to teach you that has experience, great, just try not to pick up their bad habits.
What’s easy to do is easy not to do, like paying attention. So make the choice to go home every night healthy and alive! It is your responsibility to be smart, be safe, and pay attention. One act of stupidity can hurt or kill you in this business.
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!If you are on your mobile then scan this.
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I talk about how the unions are relevant and so many people tell me that they are not, and yet, so many people, especially workers, are talking about it. Well, here is someone who is going the extra mile to make sure that something is done. Bryce Mallory is one of several people who are taking the union to the next level. There is so much more in the podcast, but he is starting a fund-raiser to get the money to start the union. He is creating a YouTube video so he can get the word out and we talked for over an hour about the process and the many issues in the field today. Remember that Bryce is a tower climber and is vocal about what is wrong in the industry. You may not agree with everything that he says, but he says what a lot of people have been thinking about for the last year or so. Just keep an open mind when you listen! Go to the bottom of the blog for videos!
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Bryce is trying to start a union for the tower climbers. He has reached out to the Ironworkers Union and now he is trying to organize a group on his own. He felt the Ironworkers union did not represent the tower climber’s needs and that they had little interest in helping the tower climbers on a national level.
Unionization of the industry is something that climbers talk about. Many are in a union, although not the same union and there is no tower workers union, yet. To unionize this industry would be a daunting task, one that would take an organized and consistent effort. Not to mention money to support it. It would take a group that is patient but willing to push when they had to. It would also take a large group of workers to enroll.
One of the problems with unionization of the industry is that there is not a large number of employees working at one company. In other word a union can’t go in a bargain with one large company to gain a contract. This industry is made up of smaller companies with maybe 2 or 3 crews of tower workers. Each crew may consist of 2 to 5 members depending upon their skill set. That is why unions have been efficient in the past because they were able to bargain with large companies and then work their way down to the smaller companies. The tower worker industry is not like that, it is generally smaller companies.
Why is the industry made up of smaller industries? Well, here is the way I see it. The work is feast or famine, so a larger company would have to ramp up, say hire many employees to build, lay them off when the work stops or a large customer, like AT&T, decides to change it’s outlook for the year. In today’s world it is hard to stay laid off for a year until the next build happens. The other reason is training, insurance, the cost of safety is a lot of money. Insurance will eat you alive. Finally, another reason is how the tower worker is treated by contractors or turf vendors. They treat them like a tool, only using it when the work is hot only to shelf it when the work stops. Since many tower workers work for small companies, the less reputable contractors don’t always pay their tower crews. I knew people that thought this was a viable business plan to work the small company and not pay them, then to tell them if they do the next job they would pay them, but they never paid them all the money just some of it until the smaller company was out of business. Then they move onto the next company. Sad, but true. This is one of the reasons that the industry needs help, money is put before the people and the people need money to not only live, but to pay for all the safety training and equipment needed to do the job. I remember hen the carriers used to work with the climbers, they would ask for payment terms of net 120, 4 months to get paid. It is better now, but if you wait 4 months for a paycheck then you may starve to death.
Another problem they face is that tower climbers are so spread out, all over the US, many travel, and there may be about 20,000 that would actually enroll. It would be a daunting task to sign them up. To get them to have the time to organize may seem crazy.
Yet, I hear rumblings of forming a tower union from many of these people, you know why? I think it’s because throughout the past several years with all the advances in safety, we still lose many a year. This year, 2015, we lost a young woman in March, the first of the year. So one this year is much less than last year, but is that because workers are practicing 100% tie off or is it because this has been a slow growth year? Don’t think OSHA doesn’t know how many we lose, it’s more than they show on their site because we lost some to auto accidents and other accidents.
Now, there are many climbers who are in unions. Some are still in the Ironworkers union because the local chapter supports them. Others are in the IBEW because their local chapter supports them. These organizations both seem to have an organized training programs, they support their people, offer to keep their members training records available and ready. If a union company needs a climber they can go to the hall and request one. If one is available then they go there to work.
Bryce is one man who took it upon himself to work to see that dream come true. He would like to offer the workers a choice. He is willing to go toe to toe with the companies that hire the climbers and make sure that tower workers get a fair deal.
In this interview he talks about how he plans to start the union and get it going. He brings up man issues in the industry that made him want to start this challenging endeavor. While many of you have your opinions about unions in general, he brings up the critical issues as he sees them in the tower industry.
In this talk we go over the current issues that OSHA faces and how they could do more for the tower industry. We understand that they have budgetary issues but that is hard to explain to someone who gets hurt.
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!If you are on your mobile then scan this.
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I just got home from the IWCE show in Las Vegas. I had a good time catching up with many people. The exhibit floor was full of vendors for public safety and utility communications systems. I also saw tower companies and training companies. It was a good show for deployment. There were distributors and tower companies and training companies. There were also manufacturers of equipment for anything to do with backhaul, public safety, and utilities. If you would like to see a list of vendors,click here.
Oh, if you scroll down to the bottom you can see the proper way to inspect your harness fromwww.towersafety.com.
I spent most of my time in the sessions trying to understand more about deployments and FirstNet. There were many tracks and they also had certification classes for anyone who wanted to take them. It was a well-rounded show.
First, let’s talk about me and my session. I was in the Tower Safety and Regulatory compliance session. I talked about what the tower climber does and the safety aspects of it. My key point was to get the customers to realize that they too play a part in safety by putting in the requirements for certification. What I mean, specifically, that in the RFP that they write that they should make sure that they ask for the certifications of all the people on the job. All the tower climbers need to be certified. The customer does play a part in all of this. They should also ask to be shown the safety plan of the tower crew. Everyone should have a written safety plan.
The session I was in was moderated by Sharp Smith of AGL magazine. He did a great job leading the session. Cory Crenshaw talked about “Constructing and Operating in Compliance” where she reviewed the timelines for compliance, planning, and execution of tower construction. Anyone who has done this realizes you don’t just pop it up overnight. If you/re interested go toCrenshaw Communications Consulting website by clicking here.
Then we had a talk from Charles Ryan of Concepts to Operations about T-Mobile versus Roswell, Georgia. It was really about how the FCC has changed the zoning compliance issue in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Local zoning boards need a solid reason to turn you down for building a tower, and when you add to an existing structure you still have to follow the local zoning process but they can’t turn you down if you are on an existing tower and within the compound. There may be more to it than that but you get the idea. It was interesting to hear how much things have changed in favor of the communications companies. For more information on Concepts to Operations click here.
Then Dr Denis Boulais spoke about RF hazards and compliance. Mostly the real problems they have in Australia and the compliance differences between the US and Australia. It seems that they have done extensive study into the effects of RF on the human body and what we should look out for. If you are interested reach out to Denis here,denispatrickboulais@gmail.com to get more information.
Finally there was a presentation from Robert Johnson who spoke about the hazards of RF and what to look for at the tower site and rooftop. He mentioned that experienced tower climbers probably have the Narda monitor and know what to look for. Unfortunately on rooftops the other workers are not prepared, like the Air Conditioner repairman and the window washers, they are not as experienced as anyone working tower sites, so they are at the most risk. Roofers also need to be alert. For more information look for Narda Safety Test solutions. He gave out a FCC website that was also interesting,the FCC Frequency Safety site, click here to see it.
Thank you Tower Safety for being a sponsor! Where the best get better!
Tower Safety! Offering OSHA 10, OSHA 30, Authorized Climber, Competent Climber, Train the Trainer, RF Awareness, and CPR/First Aid.
Before I get into all of this don’t forget to go to the bottom of the post and see the new Hubble Foundation logo, pretty cool! Also, I see workman’s comp is becoming an issue in DC because the DOL put this out, Adding Inequality to Injury, a PDF explaining how injury leads to a serious loss of income and a change in lifestyle. I thought you would like to see it.
Comment: It appears that this is becoming a frequent occurrence–and thank God he was rescued without injury. But Wade, we shouldn’t have to be in the rescue business. If there is a platform on the tower, the workers should be able to work on it,,,not have to hang under it with a 40 pound safety harness restricting your ability to climb back up. Why not lower the platform three feet and mount the antennas on the handrail. This improvement would not only eliminate the need for rescue missions, but it would also place the owner in compliance with the “Provide a Safe Workplace” regulation as required by OSHA. I lost a friend last year in a hunting accident caused by wearing his safety harness. Evidently he fell out of his tree and was unable to climb back up to get loose,,,and he was a very physical guy. He unbuckled his leg straps hoping to slip out the bottom of the belt but never made it. When they found him, the belt was up around his chest cavity and he probably suffocated. Richard Bell
Response: One thing that we need to know is not only how to use the gear we have, but to make sure that we have the proper gear. What I am saying is make sure your harness fits you properly. Make sure that you are prepared for not only your job, but the rescue if needed. Make sure you know the plan to rescue someone if needed. I know this is easy to do, but as you can see it is very easy not to do. Many crews simply think it won’t happen to them, and many times it doesn’t. But what if it does?
As for mounting the equipment in a way that the climber can access it, I am not sure. There is a preliminary design done and many times the arrays are built on the ground without the forethought of what may happen in the air. So what I would say to the crews is think about the maintenance, think about repair, and think if you had to do it, what would you do. Maybe the installation crew would have prepared to descend and then have someone else remove the gear but the maintenance crew did not think it through, at least not like that. The guy probably thought he could pull himself back up and that just didn’t work out.
I will be speaking at theIWCE conferenceon March 17th, 2015!
Comment: I am well aware of situations like this. The company I worked for last winter took in a new ‘class’ (21 started, 12 finished) of men with no previous experience and after 1 week of training and approximately 3 weeks of mentor-ship under guys with somewhere between 3 months and 2 years experience they began dividing us off into crews of two. Which the supposed construction manager asked me to help him with because I was ‘the smart one’
The rest of the guys got to stick with another experienced climber, but I was writing reports by my second week, and pressured into taking over my own truck and crew by week five (no previous experience mind you)!
Anyway, in just a few months I witnessed my partner be blown off the tower (he’s ok–his cable grab worked) because we were told to climb in 25 mph winds with 40mph gusts and — minus 10 air temps. I kept him on the ground for over a week after that–it shook him up. On that same day my other guy had the tip of his index finger ripped off raising a new radio because he couldn’t even feel it (he’s ok now too), but no worker’s comp or paid medical attention. I patched him up myself. And last Christmas Eve we were out in an ice storm at 10 pm in an ice storm trying to complete our fourth site of the day under orders. No code for that gate so we were told to climb the fence! Nobody else was willing so I gave it a try, but by about 80′ the ice was an inch thick and it was getting ridiculous so I came down and we got home for early Christmas morning. A couple of months later my partner ended up with a staph infection in his arm and was too sick to do anything let alone be available for a rescue if I got in trouble yet we were kept in the field and ordered to go out anyway. He laid in the front seat of the truck and tried to keep an occasional eye with the binoculars.
I could go on but you get the point. I never saw a man fall, but we were constantly put in the position to make an already dangerous occupation simply ludicrous–all for $12/hr!
I love climbing and problem solving up there, and as noted above was forced to learn fast, but I am seeking a reputable company that offers a good training program, a little respect for its employees, their families, quality of work, and OSHA/safety standards. If interested I can be reached at 989-449-2413 and/or heathjabs@gmail.com. Thank you.
Heath Jabs MS, PT
Response: Thank you Heath for letting us know what is going on out there. I wish you the best of luck!
Have a good week! Remember to be smart, be safe, and pay attention! Follow the plan but don’t be afraid to adapt, improvise, and overcome!
girls that lost a family member mean nothing to you. it wasn’t you that got hurt, only a fellow worker in the wireless industry. A brother or sister that does the same job as you, a fellow elevated worker, someone who has a family who may never climb again, may never work again, or may never get to kiss their loved ones goodnight again. Once they are gone, it takes away everything, all they ever had and all they ever will have.
