HIGH HEAT TRIGGER IS TROUBLING – NATE believes that some of the proposed enhanced safety measures, which could include mandatory breaks in a break area away from the work area or work-stoppages, will not be feasible for tower crews who are responsible for climbing and maintaining communications facilities at height.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will accept public comments through Dec. 30, 2024, on its proposed rule issuing a heat injury and illness prevention standard for outdoor and indoor workplaces. According to NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, the rule would require employers to develop a heat injury and illness prevention plan and provide water, rest breaks, and control of indoor and outdoor heat when needed. Other requirements include developing plans for workers unaccustomed to working in high heat.
Additionally, the rule would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has authority except those specified by the rule. To read the proposed rule in the Federal Register, visit HERE.
Safety is NATE’s and its members’ highest priority, the organization said in a statement. While they naturally share the agency’s interest in protecting the health and safety of workers during excessive weather events, the Association has some concerns with OSHA’s proposed “Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings” proposed rule based on the impractical nature implementing some of the provisions based on their industry’s unique work environments. For example, they request that the agency consider the following:
- NATE believes that some of the proposed enhanced safety measures, which could include mandatory breaks in a break area away from the work area or work-stoppages, will not be feasible for tower crews who are responsible for climbing and maintaining communications facilities at height. Communications towers do not have sheltered or shaded facilities built onto the towers, and added sheltered areas on towers may require additional structural analysis, which would cause additional cost. Accordingly, mandated work-stoppages would require tower technicians to climb down a tower and into a break area. In these scenarios, safety would be compromised because the proposed rule would require more frequent climbing (every 2 hours) and contribute to fatigue and repetitive stress injuries. Applying the fall protection hierarchy of controls, the most effective measures are applied by eliminating hazards. When workers must descend and ascend a structure multiple times, this creates additional exposures to falls and increasing a hazard.
- NATE respectfully suggests that establishing an arbitrary High Heat Trigger enforcement temperature would be unreasonable in the broadcast and communication tower industry. Tower technicians work at elevation on towers ranging from 100 to 2,000 feet above the ground. OSHA may determine that a High Heat arbitrary heat index is cause for safety mitigation measures; however, while working at elevation, temperatures can vary because of higher wind speeds and is a lower heat index than the index on the ground. NATE believes that monitoring the heat index for all climbers in various locations on the structures cannot be completed with sufficient frequency and accuracy with current measuring equipment due to variation in elevation during the work schedule.
- NATE believes that establishing a High Heat Trigger enforcement would eliminate the ability for tower crews to complete tall tower maintenance inspections and the ability to “rig” a tall tower as both scopes of work typically exceeds two hours.
- NATE does not believe that a heat standard based on an arbitrary Heat Trigger ground temperature properly addresses the conditions encountered by tower technicians and fails to provide appropriate workplace safety benefits to tower crews who work at height. Rather, NATE believes that tower technicians should be vigilant about their personal health history, physical conditions, and their ability to acclimate to any new environments. Tower technicians should also follow the heat-related illness guidelines that the Association has developed based on NATE members’ input.
- NATE recognizes the importance of heat safety in our industry and developed the NATE Safety & Health Manual which includes a chapter on heat-related illnesses. NATE provides this resource to member companies to aid in the development of in-house training programs that address excessive heat and heat illnesses. NATE’s members contributed to the development of heat-related illness safety material and most member companies actively train their workers to follow these safety protocols.
- Factors that tower technicians must consider every day include one’s physical condition, the weather (including such heat-related variables as temperature, wind, and humidity), clothing worn, quickness of movement and how much physical demand is being placed on the body (lifting, heavy work), if there is air circulation over the body, whether the person is in direct sunlight and if they are taking any medication(s) that may contribute to a heat-related illness.
- OSHA states break areas must be “readily accessible” which is defined as: “capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections, without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb over…, or to resort to portable ladders…, etc.” Descending a structure to access a break area does not meet the definition of readily accessible.
For almost two years, NATE has been advocating review by OSHA of the proposed rules. In a letter to Douglas Parker, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, NATE says it believes that some of the proposed enhanced safety measures, which could include mandatory breaks in shaded area or work-stoppages, will not be feasible for tower crews who are responsible for climbing and fixing communications facilities at height.
“Communications towers do not have sheltered or shaded facilities built onto the towers. Accordingly, mandated work-stoppages could require tower technicians to climb down a tower and into a sheltered area. In these scenarios, safety may actually be compromised because it would require more frequent climbing and contribute to fatigue as well as repetitive stress injuries,” NATE said in its ANPRM filing comments.
Submit Public Comments
To make the industry’s collective voice heard on this issue, NATE member companies and the industry at large are strongly encouraged to submit public comments on the proposed OSHA Heat Injury and Illness Prevention rule. Public comments can be submitted electronically via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Comments may be submitted HERE.
NATE has provided tips for submitting public comments:
- Considering the above examples, tell the agency your story and how the issue impacts your company.
- Provide as much detail as possible.
- Include any ideas or suggestions you have for addressing the issue.
- Where possible, include data, research, and supporting evidence.
Follow the instructions online for making electronic submissions. After accessing the portal link, check the “proposed rule” box in the column headed “Document Type,” find the document posted on the date of publication of this document, and click the “Comment Now” link. All submissions must include the agency’s name and the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA–2021–0009).