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03/29/2004
Safety & Education Committee Update
Right after I returned from Nashville I was asked what I got out of the conference this year. I replied that I got to see my first Blaw-Knox Double Diamond. Well, that’s not all. I decided that instead of listing the business items of our committee meeting, I would wax philosophical and give some of the thoughts I had during and after the conference.
I’ve been contemplating the nature of our unique industry. I can trace my "Tower Genealogy" back through the not so distant past and find names of people that have been my tower forefathers. I’ve even discovered that I am "related" to some of my fellow NATE members. The lineage goes from man to man and it seems like our industry can be best seen as a series of personalities rather than a domain of impersonal companies. While it’s true there are some "big" tower service companies out there, they usually have their roots in a one-crew tower company, started by a man who is still involved in major operations today. But I believe the heart and soul of our industry is still the small one to four crew regional company consisting of a well-experienced master of the trade, who has business savvy and owns the company, is involved in the day to day operation, and still gets out on the towers. The most efficient unit is the master towerhand/business owner who is out climbing with his one or two crews. He has a loyal customer base built upon a solid record of performance in quality, safety and customer satisfaction. His customers trust his judgment in tower matters explicitly. He is out personally working with a crew most of the time. He has never experienced a serious accident with his company because he personally trains his green hands. He is fighting the daily battle with insurance, OSHA, and perceived threats to his business such as large general contractor/carrier relationships and "big" tower companies. Having built his business on his expertise and hard work, it is an affront to him to have the government or others tell him how he must now do his work properly. It is an insult to have created a perfect safety record and then to be told that his training has not come from an outside source and this makes him unqualified. I think it is somewhat natural for him to be a little wary of large national organizations that claim to speak for him.
But back in 1995 a small group of people like this started NATE. OSHA was beginning to look our way and had no clue of how to deal with us, and the "wireless boom" was just beginning. The industry needed legitimacy in Washington and consensus in determining how to deal with safety and other issues. The Association’s Bylaws were set in such a way to favor the membership and leadership of tower service companies of any size. In this year’s voting session the qualifications for candidacy to the Board of Directors were clarified to assure that people who have a critical stake in the successful day-to-day operations of a tower service company run the Association. The size of the company is not a factor, only the size of the commitment to NATE. It is important to keep in mind that the leadership of NATE is still composed of volunteer towerhands.
The ideas and motivating principles of that small group of towermen are still what move NATE today. A lot of good work has been done and we do have legitimacy as an industry with unique challenges. There are important projects underway as I write that will contribute to the preservation of the heart and soul of our industry.
I always walk away from the NATE conference with a desire to be more proactive and professional in my own job back home. After the conference we typically identify several areas in which we would like to make improvement over the course of the next year. These things have made our company better, and have saved at least one life that I am aware of. I learned this year that you really get out of NATE what you put into NATE. If you pay dues and expect to be showered with easy fixes to all of your business woes, then you will probably walk away with the feeling that all you’re getting for your money are some stickers and a pretty magazine. If you come and dig in, get involved, and look around, you will see benefits both tangible and intangible.
Oh, before I forget. What is a Blaw-Knox Double Diamond? To see photos go to www.tower-pro.net/ Pictures_of_interest/wsm/index.htm. To read about it go to www.tower-pro.net/Articles/BK/wsm.htm.
Todd Thorin serves as Chairman of the NATE Safety & Education Committee and is the Director of Safety and Training for Sioux Falls Tower and Communications of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He can be reached at
605-331-6972 or todd@siouxfallstower.com
Todd Thorin
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