The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Benjamin Afton, Safety & Health Manager for the Telecom Business Line with Black & Veatch in Overland Park, Kan., has joined the organization’s Board of Governors. Afton was appointed to fill one of the seats reserved for the Large General Contractor sector of 
the industry.
“The wireless construction industry is very unique in how it operates and the challenges it poses to workers from a safety and health standpoint. The NWSA is a great resource when it comes to standardizing safety practices and propelling them into the mainstream. The safety and health of our industry’s employees is paramount in my mind, and I look forward to furthering that agenda with a group of like-minded industry professionals,” Afton informed Wireless Estimator following the announcement.
Afton said he was honored to join the NWSA Board of Governors and is looking forward to utilizing his experience with Black & Veatch to bring national certification programs to workers in the telecom market.
NWSA is a national non-profit assessment and certification organization that has been established to provide thorough, independent assessments of knowledge and skills and provide verifiable worker certification in order to enhance safety, reduce workplace risk, improve quality, encourage training, and recognize the skilled professionals who work on towers and other non-standard structures.
The NWSA Board of Governors consists of representatives from a broad cross-section of the industry and is tasked with developing policy and overseeing the activities of the various committees that will serve under their jurisdiction.
Since joining Black & Veatch, Afton has worked in various B&V telecom markets on a variety of construction projects from wireless to wireline. He formerly managed the B&V West Coast markets as a Regional Safety Manager for the San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and Las Vegas markets before taking an assignment overseas for the Black & Veatch Energy Group in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Upon return from that project, Afton became Regional Manager for the Midwest, primarily working on the AT&T Turf Project. Afton has currently transitioned to a new role of Business Line Manager for Telecom Operations within Black & Veatch, which is based in Overland Park, Kansas.
“Benjamin Afton’s wide range of experiences will serve us well in his position on NWSA’s Board of Governors and we are excited to have him on board,” said Don Doty, President of the NWSA Board of Directors.
The NWSA organization is the result of collaborative efforts between a broad coalition of the industry’s leading subject matter experts, companies and stakeholders representing wireless carriers, broadcasters, tower owners/vertical realtors, OEM’s, turnkey management firms, small contractors, tower technicians, public safety entities and industry associations.
NWSA’s Telecommunication Tower Technician I (TTTI) and Telecommunications Tower Technician II (TTTII) certification programs are slated to be launched in the marketplace on December 29, 2016 along with co-branded NCCCO Rigger and Signalperson Certification programs. These programs have the distinction of becoming the first assessment and certification offerings available to the wireless industry’s workforce through NWSA.
Other assessment and certification programs NWSA has under consideration for the future include Climber Certification, Antenna & Line Foreman, Tower (Stacking) Foreman, Structural Modifications Foreman, DAS Systems, Small Cell Systems, Broadcast Structures and Outside Plant/Fiber to the Home and Business.
Industry workers, companies and stakeholders are encouraged to visit the NWSA website at www.nws-a.org to learn more about the organization.
