Welcome to this week’s edition of cell tower industry news, created by Jarad Matula and brought to you by Towercrews.net.
New safety website
The National Association of Tower Erectors announced earlier this year at NATE Unite 2014 a new 100% tie-off awareness campaign to make safety at the forefront of everyone’s minds after a string climber deaths that many said were completely preventable through higher safety precautions. To further solidify their commitment to this campaign, NATE, in association with the Wireless Industry Safety Task Force launched a new website devoted to the 100% Tie-Off 24/7 Awareness Campaign. The page is a special section of NATE’s own website, where industry resources and information will be stored. The goal of course is to make sure tower industry personnel and stakeholders are always aware of the standards and compliance directives related to fall protection.
So what all can you find at the site? A 100% Tie-Off 24/7 Commitment Certificate, which you can print directly from the website, and is designed to be pact between employers and employees to affirm commitment to 100% tie-off. You can also download a printable safety poster, a public service announcement and a photo album.
“The Task Force is encouraging all employers to incorporate the resources included on this website during next week’s OSHA National Safety Stand Down efforts and into their respective company’s safety and health tailgate talks,” said task force member and NATE Chairwoman Pat Cipov. Click here to visit the 100% Tie-Off 24/7 website.
More PCIA tower videos
We shared a couple of videos from PCIA last week that were directly related to the tower industry. There were a couple left out so you weren’t overwhelmed with videos, but these are a great watch/listen and so decided to include them this week. At PCIA’s 2014 Wireless Infrastructure Show in Florida, three tower company executives sat down with PCIA to discuss the future of their respective companies, as well as trends in wireless industry.
This video includes Ben Moreland, CEO at Crown Castle; Brenden Cavanagh, EVP and CFO at SBA Communications; and Rodney Smith, CFO at American Tower’s U.S. tower division.
This panel was moderated by RCR Wireless News’ Martha DeGrasse. Participants include Nathan Foster, founder and CEO of Atlas Tower; Patrick Tangney, co-founder and chairman of ACL ASEAN Tower Holding; and Olivier Puech, CEO at ATC Latin America.
Cell tower as ‘half-assed tree’
When you see a tower that has been camouflaged as a tree you always assume it’s just so that it’s not an eyesore. Turns out that may not necessarily be the case. In a recent article from Fast Company Design entitled, “Why your local tower looks like a half-assed tree,” a writer posits the theory (with evidence) that the actual reason people tried to hide towers in the first place was because the perception early on was that cell phones, and by extension cell towers, were health hazards. If people saw a (half-assed) tree instead, perhaps they would forget about the tower and thus its potentially harmful effects. Despite no definitive evidence that these towers are actually harmful, the companies that own them have had to act as if they do and hide them. Unfortunately, still no word on why most of these tower cover-up attempts are so “half-assed” as the writer calls it.
Regional/local cell tower news
