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10/01/2005
OSHA Relations Committee Update
The NATE Summer Conference was held August 2-3, 2005, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The OSHA Relations Committee met and discussed the following subjects:
• Gordon Lyman, Safety Director for WesTower Communications, has volunteered to participate in an educational session on the NATE CTS during the NATE Conference & Exposition to be held in Orlando next February.
• TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) efforts regarding the new Tower Construction Standard (Engineering Standard) are progressing nicely. The TIA Task Group has been allotted time to address NATE members on this issue in February. This will be used in conjunction with the Gin Pole Standard.
• The Z-359.2 standard will become obsolete by the end of 2005. A family of 359 standards will replace the single Z-359.2 standard currently in effect. For those of you unfamiliar, this is the manufacturer’s standard for fall protection equipment. The series of new standards will incorporate the practices (use) and rescue will be included.
• ASSE’s (American Society of Safety Engineers) new Tower Erection Standard is still dormant. Gordon Lyman will keep us informed on this process.
• The NATE/OSHA Partnership is still being developed with the next meeting in Washington to be held sometime in September or October. Elements are being enhanced to provide incentives for participants.
• On the day I wrote this report, most of the North Carolina Communication Tower Standards had gone into effect. NATE was involved in this noble and worthy effort from the beginning, and had reached agreement with North Carolina officials on nearly all issues in the standards. NATE continued to press, however, for a more realistic timeline requiring new employees to receive training in advanced rescue and retrieval techniques. Many of us are concerned that forcing the newest crew members – which is the same statistical group reportedly having the most accidents – to learn advanced techniques before they have the experience needed for the proper execution of those duties, is not only inappropriate but potentially dangerous.
• Employee Accountability is an issue that is gaining momentum among our membership. Exactly how to address this subject is a point of consider-able debate. Several strategies are being explored.
Each of these activities will provide additional tools to enhance safety on our job sites.
Don Doty serves as Chairman of the NATE OSHA Relations Committee as well as Vice Chairman of the Association. He is the Vice President of Doty Moore Tower Services, LLC of Cedar Hill, Texas and can be reached at 215-631-1300 or Don.Doty@StainlessLLC.com
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