WASHINGTON-The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has expanded its tower safety program to several Eastern states, another move by federal officials to curb the unusually high rate of deaths and injuries in the tower industry.
The Philadelphia regional office of OSHA, which oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia, said it has begun offering partnerships to communications structure contractors.
OSHA said eligibility requires tower contractors to implement a safety and health program, train employees, complete a work-site evaluation with assistance from OSHA, use 100-percent fall protection where required by OSHA standards, and comply with OSHA Instruction CPL 2-1.36, which covers employee access by hoist during construction activities. In addition, OSHA said owners of communication towers must agree to have a competent person evaluate their structures for potential hazards when employee access is predictable.
OSHA’s regional office in Chicago has a similar program in place for several Midwest states.
Earlier this year, OSHA Director John Henshaw wrote major mobile-phone carriers and tower owners to enlist their support to improve safety in the tower business. OSHA works closely with the National Association of Tower Erectors on tower-safety efforts.
