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Veteran tower climber, helping ham radio operators, succumbs after a fall in Arizona

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Update: June 12, 2016 – Andrew Milton ‘Milt’ Jensen, 73, who died when he fell from a tower located on Mount Lemmon in Pima County, Ariz. on Thursday while volunteering his services to an amateur radio club, had been climbing professionally for a number of years and had safety training, according to a family member who announced services today that …

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Kentucky fall claims the life of a West Virginia tower technician

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Update: May 25, 2016 – The tower technician who died yesterday had been working on a project installing a 310-foot self-supporting tower for Appalachian Wireless. The Federal Communications Commission’s database identifies a construction completion date of May 25, 2016. Appalachian Wireless has built a number of towers recently. In March, they built one in Mud Creek, Ky. and in April, …

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OSHA is readying new RF, fall protection and hoist standards

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had known that fall protection in the wireless construction industry has either been used improperly or inconsistently due to the high fatality rate of tower climbers, after analyzing the responses to their 38 questions on tower safety published last April, the agency has decided that it will be moving forward with revising their standards …

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Ohio cell tower climber’s death wasn’t industry related

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

A 20-year-old man who fell 70-feet from a cell tower in Oxford, Ohio on Thursday and died, was not an industry-related fatality, according to Miami University Police Chief John McCandless, who said it was a sophomore majoring in university studies from Seoul, Korea, and Beijing, China Although a number of industry workers contacted Wireless Estimator on Friday, stating that they …

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Over $13,000 in fatality citations vacated after Virginia’s OSH ignores a filing deadline

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

UPDATE: March 24, 2016 – Summit Tower Construction co-owner Allan Hadfield said today that although he welcomed the dismissal by a Waynesboro, Virginia Judge of six Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) citations based upon a judicial filing technicality, following a 2013 fatality, he and his attorneys were prepared to show that his employee’s death was caused by an equipment …

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Crew and subcontracting requirements could change with proposed OSHA/FCC best practices

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

If the best practices (BPs) being developed by the Federal Communications Commission and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration are implemented nation-wide, it is likely that the industry will see a marked improvement in fatality and injury counts. It will also assist in reducing the number of companies in the industry that provide lower bids because they’re not burdened by …

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FCC Chairman’s zero fatality message is clear even with slightly different fatality count

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Thursday’s message at the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and the Federal Communications Commission workshop was loud and clear as stated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “The industry that provides world-class wireless service must have world-class safety for its employees and contractors. Period,” said Wheeler in his opening remarks during the half-day session (video available here) at FCC headquarters in …

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SBA seeks at least $1 million from two contractors after towers collapse

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Boca Raton, Fla.-based SBA Telecommunications LLC and SBA Towers have filed a property damage lawsuit against S&S Communication Specialists Inc. of Oklahoma, and FDH Engineering, located in North Carolina, following the collapse of two communications towers that resulted in the death of three people. The complaint filed last month, asking for at least $1 million, states that both companies were …

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Former OSHA construction safety chief believes some companies see agency’s fines as a ‘business cost’

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator

Jim Maddux, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Directorate of Construction, retired at the end of December from the position he held since Dec. 20, 2010. During his leadership at OSHA he was instrumental in creating a serious conversation about climber safety in America, and shepherding new proactive initiatives targeting the telecom industry. He began his carrer with OSHA …

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Removing five diagonals and loosening 12 others cited for causing deaths, injuries

In Featured News, Incident Report News, Safety, Standards by Wireless Estimator

Four lawsuits that were filed in June against a tower owner and the contractor it hired to design and manage a structural reinforcement project in West Va. where two tower technicians died and two were injured after a tower collapsed, have worked their way from circuit court to federal court, and the defendants are alleging that it was the tower …

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Ernie Jones succumbs following tragic tower elevator-related accident in Oklahoma

In Featured News, Incident Report News, Safety, Standards by Wireless Estimator

An industry icon who helped shape and advance structural and safety initiatives during his service to the tower industry was killed yesterday in an elevator-related accident on a broadcast tower in Oklahoma City, Okla., according to individuals knowledgeable of the incident. Although there are few verifiable details, Ernest “Ernie” Jones had reportedly been working with a crew on KOCO’s broadcast …

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Texas climber succumbs to injuries after falling from water tower

In Featured News, Incident Report News by Wireless Estimator

Update: September 1, 2015: The employer of the 21-year-old Texas tower technician, Pedro Samuel Salazar, who died yesterday, Orbit Broadband, released the following statement: “We at Orbit are deeply sorrowed by this and our prayers go out to the individual and his family. There is an ongoing investigation and we are working with all those involved. Out of respect for …

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Climber’s fall in Rhode Island proves to be not industry related

In Featured News, Incident Report News by Wireless Estimator

Bloggers, social and industry media began asking yesterday whether a man who fell from a cell tower was an industry worker because they had viewed a link to an NBC 10 news video which, other than stating that someone had fallen off the tower, provided no details, nor did they. The ensuing speculation resulted in dozens of emails and numerous …

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Sheriff’s report: Woman’s death in March was 2015’s first fatality

In Featured News, Incident Report News by Wireless Estimator

Although OSHA has not stated whether 28-year-old Stephanie Gurney’s death on March 28, 2015 was industry related when she fell off of an SBA Communications tower near Eden, Tex., a Concho County Sheriffs Office Deputy’s report obtained by Wireless Estimator identifies that the woman was being assessed for her ability to climb by the owner of Jostan Communications for possible …

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OSHA cites wireless contractor with $114,800 fine following painter’s death

In Incident Report News, Safety by Wireless Estimator

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration has issued a $114,800 fine for an Indiana wireless contractor, which it charges did not provide adequate protection for a 49-year-old worker who fell about 90 feet to his death while painting a communication tower on August 10, 2014. Thomas Lucas of Toledo, Ill. fell 80 to 90 feet while painting a communications …

South Carolina technician, 44, is 10th industry worker to die this year

In Featured News, Incident Report News by Wireless Estimator

UPDATE: Authorities have identified the tower technician who fell approximately 100 feet from a cell tower in Greeneville, Tenn. yesterday as 44-year-old Allen Lee Cotton of Sumter, S.C. Two of his co-workers from Central USA Wireless did not see him fall, according to Greeneville Police Officer Shawn Hinkle’s report which provided information regarding the 12:25 p.m. incident. “Mr. Cotton was …

Technician succumbs following a 100-foot fall in Greeneville, Tennessee

In Featured News, Incident Report News by Wireless Estimator

A tower technician fell to his death this afternoon in Greeneville, Tenn., according to Greene County EMS Director Robert Sayne, who said he was at approximately the 100-foot level when the incident occurred. Sayne did not have any additional information. An individual familiar with the worker’s death, said the tech was working on an Ericsson project for Sprint on a 197-foot …