Accolades from all quarters of the industry have been coming in for Pat Cipov who was selected by the Wireless History Foundation (WHF) last week as one of its 2018 Wireless Hall of Fame honorees – the most recognized and highest honor acknowledging the leadership, innovation and achievement of each honoree in the wireless industry. In making the announcement, the …
Foremen getting unique opportunity to help set the creation of certification guidelines
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) is reaching out to the industry’s thousands of tower foremen to complete a survey to provide their valuable input to ensure the new NWSA Certified Foreman Examination accurately reflects today’s work environment, regulations, and technology. This new certification for the telecommunications Industry will define a set of criteria to verify that candidates have achieved …
SBA’s Ciarfella joins National Wireless Safety Alliance Board of Directors
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Mark Ciarfella, Executive Vice President – U.S. Operations at SBA Communications Corporation, has been appointed to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors. The NWSA leadership made the announcement from the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s 2018 Connectivity Expo which is taking place this week in Charlotte, N.C. The NWSA, headquartered in Fairfax, …
Tower tech’s new ‘badge of honor’ certifications detailed in NWSA video
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) has unveiled a video highlighting the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) worker certification programs as the second to debut in Volume 3 of the Association’s critically acclaimed Climber Connection series. The video, entitled “NWSA: A New Badge of Honor” focuses on the transformative and portable certification offerings now available in the marketplace to the …
Industry movers and shakers to serve on National Wireless Safety Alliance Board
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Bernard Borghei, Executive Vice President – Operations and Co-Founder of Vertical Bridge, Doug Dickinson, Western Region Environmental Health & Safety Manager at Ericsson; Bruce Eades, President of USA Telecom Insurance Services; Pat Moore, Field Service Specialist at Stainless; Paul Roberts, Vice President of Compliance for American Tower Corporation; Jose Tarafa, Corporate …
Washington’s ‘Little Red Book’ could easily save tower tech lives
The State of Washington Department of Labor and Industries’ (L&I) extensive Safety Standards for Telecommunications became effective Jan. 1, 2018, and in order to get the rule into workers’ hands, the agency, at no cost to the individual or their company, is providing a downloadable copy of the 129-pages of rules in Chapter 296-32 WAC. The department is also providing …
Tower Technician Practical Examiner workshops to start in early 2018
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) is encouraging industry employers, trainers and workers to register for the upcoming Telecommunications Tower Technician Practical Examiner Accreditation Program (PEAP) Workshops. NWSA will be facilitating several workshops throughout 2018, and is announcing the first two on the following dates: January 29-February 2, 2018 – Vista, CA (Hosted by Pacific Safety Solutions) February 12-16, 2018 …
NWSA begins development of Telecommunications Tower Foreman worker certification
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) today announced that a group of nearly 40 subject matter experts, representing a broad cross-section of the telecommunications industry, are convening in Dallas, Tex. this week to begin the development process for the Telecommunications Tower Foreman certification program. NWSA made the announcement at the 2017 GSMA-CTIA Mobile World Congress Americas event in San Francisco, …
NATE’s WIN Great Plains September conference agenda and speakers unveiled
The National Association of Tower Erector’s (NATE) and Wireless Industry Network (WIN) unveiled the speaker line-up and agenda for the NATE WIN Great Plains Regional Conference on Wed., Sept. 27, 2017 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Bloomington, Minn. The conference will feature dynamic speakers and informative sessions on cutting-edge industry topics. The event will also offer tremendous networking …
Tower foreman certification credential’s program being developed by NWSA
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that its Board of Governors has approved proceeding with the development of a new certification and credential for Telecommunication Tower Foreman. The new certification will create a credentialing system for industry workers who supervise crews that work on communications structures, whether they are antenna and line crews, construction crews, or structural modification …
Calculating the job risk online, cell tower technicians are ‘doomed’ – but it’s unlikely
A study that has been kicking around since it was published by researchers at Oxford University in 2013, has gained a second life in the last few months after two online entrepreneurs made it easy to find out how susceptible 702 occupations were to being replaced by machines. The university report by Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne was created …
Industry applauds OSHA / FCC’s long-awaited Communication Tower Best Practices guide
The FCC and OSHA today released their Communication Tower Best Practices guide following a concerted joint effort on industry safety when the two agencies began the initiative with a workshop in Washington, D.C. in 2014 and continued the effort with another group of industry stakeholders in 2016. Although the guide is advisory in nature, and is not a standard or regulation, …
NWSA’s practical examiner workshops will begin on June 12
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) has announced the scheduling of four additional Telecommunications Tower Technician Practical Examiner Accreditation Program Workshops for 2017. Attending this event will allow applicants to both complete their practical exam to become certified as a Telecommunications Tower Technician and to become an NWSA-accredited Practical Examiner. As a Practical Examiner, individuals will be authorized to administer practical exams to …
Ed Dennis teams up with CITCA for training programs and NWSA credentialing
Steve Wilder, Chief Operating Officer of CITCA, LLC in Bradley, Ill has announced that Ed Dennis has joined the CITCA family of safety professionals. A well-respected name in the tower safety industry, Dennis will serve as an instructor for CITCA classes, and will oversee CITCA’s coordination with NWSA certification programs. He previously served as Director of Safety and Training for Pinpoint Towers in …
TIRAP and NWSA are tied at the hip regarding a safe, qualified workforce
Two key industry organizations are continuing to collaborate to achieve common goals of a safe, skilled and qualified telecommunications workforce. Officials from the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) and the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA), which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last year, met recently at the Safety LMS training facility in Austin, Tex., as part of …
Black & Veatch exec Martin Travers joins National Wireless Safety Alliance’s Board
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) has announced that Martin Travers, Group President of Black & Veatch, has joined the organization’s Board of Directors. Travers was nominated and formally appointed to serve in this leadership role during the NWSA Board of Directors meeting held in Fort Worth, Tex. on March 2, 2017. NWSA, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, is a national non-profit …
NWSA lauds America’s first trailblazing telecommunications tower technicians
Workers successfully complete assessments; recognized with professional NWSA Certification The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced the names of individuals who are among the first workers to obtain NWSA Telecommunications Tower Technician (TTT) certification at an educational session that was held Tuesday in conjunction with the NATE UNITE 2017 Conference in Fort Worth, Tex. The following industry workers have obtained …
MacEntee named safety alliance’s executive director, Trego and Cook join staff
The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Duane MacEntee has been selected as the organization’s new Executive Director. MacEntee replaces Chuck Slagle who has retired from his position as NWSA Executive Director and is transitioning to a consultancy role within the alliance. “NWSA is thrilled to welcome Duane MacEntee as our new Executive Director,” stated President Don …
Carriers and towercos plan for enforcement of new tower technician certifications
Nationwide NWSA certifications mark historic milestone for the communication tower workforce The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced the official launch of two industry-wide certification programs, Telecommunications Tower Technician 1 (TTT-1) and Telecommunications Tower Technician 2 (TTT-2), and carriers and tower companies have informed Wireless Estimator that they are assessing when they will require full certification compliance of all technicians …
Black & Veatch’s Benjamin Afton appointed to safety alliance’s board of governors
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 …
