The Hamilton County Iowa Sherriff’s Department has confirmed that a 28-year-old tower technician fell to his death yesterday at approximately 4:45 p.m. from a cell tower. The man has been identified as Stefan Watermann who was employed by Tri-State Tower of Marion, Ia. A spokesperson said that Watermann lived in Anamosa, Iowa. The investigation is underway into finding the cause. …
Great video tips unveiled in NATE’s 100% tie-off safety video
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released a 100% Tie-Off Safety Video as part of the Association’s Climber Connection campaign. The video was released by the Association in advance of next week’s NATE UNITE 2016 Conference in New Orleans, La. The video highlights practical 100% Tie-Off safety tips for industry workers to follow to ensure that they are …
Fall protection equipment malfunctions result in serious injuries for Texas climber
A 26-year-old tower climber is expected to be in intensive care for another ten days after he fell from a guyed tower in Rosenberg, Tex. when his personal fall protection equipment failed after he slipped from a brace on a climbing face as he was descending after a day’s work on an LTE project for AT&T. Wesley Scott, who had …
Crew and subcontracting requirements could change with proposed OSHA/FCC best practices
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 …
Workshop panelists ferret out tower climber concerns and possible solutions
During his opening statement at a Department of Labor / Federal Communications Commission tower climber safety workshop on Feb. 11, 2016, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that “everybody has to be proactive,” emphasizing the need to champion pre-emptive strikes by all wireless industry stakeholders in order to continue to improve upon a lower climber fatality rate that was achieved in 2015. …
FCC Chairman’s zero fatality message is clear even with slightly different fatality count
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 …
Ten days later, an unaligned Texas “tower” worker’s fall is still being reported
Commentary – When a Texas NBC affiliate posted a short breaking news bulletin on their website on Feb. 3, 2016 with the headline: “Emergency crews respond to man falling from tower on FM 54 in Hale County,” the link was immediately pasted on tower-industry Facebook groups. One social media poster even misinterpreted the headline and re-posted that the man fell …
Australian tower tech’s death is a sad reminder of lower international fatalities
A tower tech fell to his death from a communications tower in Australia today, according to a local news report that stated he was 43-years-old and died after falling off of a structure near Adelaide River around 4:00 p.m., but offered no additional information. The worker’s death accents what appears to be a safer environment throughout the world for tower …
TIRAP investigates life-threatening tower safety climbs, a problem that needs to be fixed
The Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP), announced the release of the latest installment in the TIRAP Telecommunications Video Series: “Safety Climb Systems.” Although it’s an instructive and well-produced presentation of the important role safety climb systems play on telecommunications towers, it strikes an uncomfortable chord in identifying the number of incorrectly installed safety climbs that are in the industry …
Tech is asking for $75,000-plus after being struck by an angle adapter
Update: Feb. 3, 2016 – The angle adapter referenced yesterday in a lawsuit brought by a Virginia Beach, Va. Tower tech that is suing American Tower Corporation after he was struck by it after it allegedly fell from the structure, was a “cable safety boot attached to an angle adapter with bolt that wasn’t attached to [the] tower properly,” according to …
Northeast Wireless Safety Summit presentations announced for Feb. 4, 2016 event
HPC Wireless Services, a wireless telecommunications platform company servicing the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, has announced the agenda for their 2nd Annual Northeast Wireless Safety Summit (NEWSS), taking place from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2016 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Tarrytown, N.Y. The NEWSS program includes panels, keynotes and demonstrations addressing the safety issues and …
SBA seeks at least $1 million from two contractors after towers collapse
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 …
Former OSHA construction safety chief believes some companies see agency’s fines as a ‘business cost’
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 …
NATE’s 2016 educational campaign will also be tough on social media nonsense
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) today released a video trailer promoting its upcoming 2016 Climber Connection marketing campaign that will combat climbers on social media whose dangerous activities set poor examples for an industry with tens of thousands of technicians who work safely. Equally as important, it will highlight safe work practices. The Climber Connection campaign was developed …
FCC and DOL announce second workshop on tower climber safety and apprenticeship program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Employment and Training Administration (ETA) have announced preliminary details of a second workshop on tower climber safety and the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP). The first joint FCC-DOL workshop on these subjects was held on October 14, 2014. The upcoming workshop, to be …
Removing five diagonals and loosening 12 others cited for causing deaths, injuries
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 …
Three people are rescued safely, but one still needs assistance
At about 1:00 p.m. yesterday, Tooele County, Utah and Marion County, Oregon emergency services were called into action to save three people who needed their assistance at two tower sites. One weather-related incident could have been avoided, the other event was an unpredictable action taken by a teen that thought her only option to end her unsolvable problems was suicide. …
Telemundo’s WNJU tops the list at $900 million in FCC’s new repacking auction prices
The FCC has adjusted repacking opening bid prices for TV stations in the reverse auction, with Telemundo’s WNJU New York having the highest bid price at $900 million, with WCBS coming in second at $889 million. The changes do not impact the start date of the auction, which begins March 29, 2015. In order for broadcasters to have 60 days …
Court rules that AT&T will stand trial in tower injury lawsuit along with other defendants
AT&T, Inc. was denied its request last week to be removed from a personal injury lawsuit brought by Thomas Jeglum, 26, against the company in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania after the California tower tech suffered serious injuries when he fell in 2013 from a stealth tower site in Allentown, Pa. while performing an AT&T Mobility LTE upgrade. Judge John M. …
Comp insurance is down along with project prospects for some wireless contractors
Experience mod requirement of 1.0 or less seen as ‘ridiculous’ The good news for contractors, according to Bruce Eades, Regional President for Insurance Office of America, is workers compensation insurance premiums are going down from an average of $12 per $100 of remuneration to $6 based upon a change in NCCI Class Codes. But truly troubling news, Eades says, is …
