The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) played a significant role at today’s 2nd Annual Northeast Wireless Safety Summit in Tarrytown, N.Y. The popular industry event, organized by HPC Wireless Services, consisted of a series of keynotes and panel sessions and was attended by wireless stakeholders from throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions who have a keen interest in enhancing their knowledge of industry safety.
Picture above during the summit are, from left, Brian Savva, HPC Wireless Services; Dr. Bridgett Hester, Hubble Foundation; Thomas McCarthy, OSHA; Victor Drouin, Green Mountain Communications; Phil Larsen, Hazon Solutions; Sherm Lucious, SAI Communication; Todd Schlekeway, NATE; and Amy Dolce, SAI Communications.
During the summit, NATE Executive Director Todd Schlekeway delivered a keynote address entitled Elevating Safety and Quality to New Heights. Major topics that emerged from the presentation included the unveiling of NATE’s most recent STAR Initiative Program data, promoting the 2016 Susan Harwood Grant Fall Prevention Worker Training Courses hosted by the Association and highlighting the NATE Climber Connection Safety Campaign.
Schlekeway also devoted a significant amount of time during his remarks to provide updates on the Association’s current legislative and regulatory initiatives. Specifically, Schlekeway discussed NATE’s Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Committee’s collaboration with federal agencies and the Association’s participation at the upcoming FCC-DOL Tower Climber Safety Workshop in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Schlekeway discussed the upcoming Broadcast Incentive Auction and the potential safety ramifications and challenges the auction poses to the industry’s workforce due to the post-incentive auction broadcast repacking work that will be conducted on broadcast structures.
“I would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of the 2nd Annual Northeast Wireless Safety Summit,” said Schlekeway. “This event gets bigger and better every year and provides NATE with a great platform to promote industry safety and quality to attendees from throughout the diverse wireless industry landscape.”
Other presentations at the event included: Transforming Wireless Worker Certification, a National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) presentation by Phil Larsen and Victor Drouin; Tower Training Techniques, a presentation delivered by Doug Dickinson from Ericsson; Proper Manlift Operation, demonstrated by Rob O’Leary of Big Rentz; and IDAS/ODAS Safety: Best Practices and Lessons Learned, presented by Justin Shorey of Shorey Wireless. Additionally, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provided attendees with an overview of the consequences of neglecting safety for the tower climber community.
The event’s sponsors included Ericsson, NATE, New York State Wireless Association (NYSWA), Advanced Network Services (ANS) Corporation, Barclay Damon, Centerline Communications, Centerline Solutions, BB&T Insurance Services, Construction Permit Services Corporation, A Saxon Design Group LLC, North River Integrated Management, L.E.C. Inc., Crown Castle, Eastern Communications Incorporated, Midwest Unlimited, Perfect-10 Wireless, Pro-Tel, Power & Tel, SAC Wireless, Talley Inc., TESSCO Technologies, TNT Telecommunications, Alliance Worldwide Investigative Group, Inc. and The Crosby Group.
Partners promoting the event include the Hubble Foundation, the Northeast DAS & Small Cell Association (NEDAS), National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) New England Wireless Association (NEWA), New Jersey Wireless Association (NEWA), New York State Wireless Association (NYSWA), National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) and WirelessEstimator.com