skip navigational links Occupational Safety & Health Administration DOL.gov OSHA.gov DOL.gov
www.OSHA.gov
<<< Back to List of Current Partnerships Link to Printing InstructionsPrinting Instructions
 
National Association of Tower Erectors (#363)

Date Signed: November 8, 2006
Contact Information: Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, (202) 693-2213
Links: Construction
Partnership Agreement (Also available as a 581 KB PDF)
Press Release
Signing Photos
Participants (May 1, 2007 - September 30, 2008)
Participants (October 1, 2008 - September 30, 2009)

Partner:

National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE)

Partnership Overview:

Advances in telecommunications and an increasing dependence on wireless communications and broadcast services have fueled the construction, service, and maintenance of telecommunication and broadcast towers throughout the country. With this unprecedented growth, stakeholders from the industry and the occupational safety and health community have expressed concerns about work practices and the health and safety of tower workers. NATE, headquartered in Watertown, South Dakota, is a non-profit trade association that represents employers in the tower erection, service, and maintenance industry. The association was founded in March of 1995 and has more than 500 member companies located throughout the United States and abroad. Members range in size from five to 300 employees, with 99 percent having fewer than 200 employees and 85 percent having 15 or fewer employees. Since 2001, NATE and OSHA’s Region V Cleveland Area Office have worked closely together to promote safety and health and best practices in the communication tower industry.

On November 8, 2006, NATE and OSHA formed a national OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) with the purpose being to work together to educate and promote safety and health in the communication tower industry. The OSP will accomplish its goals by focusing on efforts, skills, knowledge, and resources of NATE and OSHA to benefit tower erector industry employers and employees. Another additional benefit expected as a result of the OSP is increased communication and respect between partners and other stakeholders. The lifespan of the OSP is three years which expires on November 8, 2009.

Partnership Goals:
  • Reduce the percentage of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities of participating telecommunication and broadcast tower erection employers, and their subcontractors, to an aggregate rate that is below the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ average, based on most recently published data.
  • Recognize participants that successfully achieve reductions in illnesses, injuries, and fatalities.
  • Improve awareness of OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) on the hazards/issues associated with the tower erection industry.
Partnership Objectives:
  • Analyze participant data to identify causal factors and corrective actions and share corrective actions.
  • Identify best practices for the development and implementation of successful ergonomics programs and guidelines.
  • Develop, implement, and share best practices with participants. Establish a website or tool to communicate best practices among participating NATE members.
  • Develop a recognition system to recognize participants for reductions in injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the telecommunications and broadcast tower erection industry.
  • Increase the number of employees that attend the OSHA 3150 Tower Safety course.
Progress:

The OSP has completed two annual evaluations so far – one in 2007 and one in 2008 – with many positive outcomes showing as a result. During the second year of the OSP, 97 employers participated which covered over 4,000 employees – four times the number of employees covered during the first year of the OSP.

The latest results from the 2008 annual evaluation show that the OSP developed industry-specific training courses and offered almost 50,000 hours of training (more than double the number of hours during the first year), with 1,040 employees, managers, and supervisors receiving the OSHA 10-hour course and 448 received the OSHA 30-hour course. All 97 of the participants’ developed, implemented, and/or improved their safety and health management system using OSHA’s 1989 Guidelines as a model. Over 1,300 self-inspections were performed (700 more than during the first year) resulting in 350 hazards and/or violations being identified and corrected/abated.

In 2008, the Partnership’s overall Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) is 3.4. – a decrease of 40 percent from the first year – and the Partnership’s Days Away, Restricted, and Transferred (DART) rate was 2.6 – a 37 percent decrease from Year 1. The Partnership’s two-year TCIR average rate was 4.2, which is 14 percent below the 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) national average of 4.9. The Partnership’s average two-year DART rate was 3.3 which is 14 percent above the 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ national average of 2.9. Although the Partnership’s DART rate is above the BLS national average, it is important to note that the Partnership decreased their DART rate by 37 percent from Year 1 which is quite an improvement.

NATE developed its groundbreaking "It’s Up to You" Public Service Announcement (PSA) which was released on November 11, 2008. Tower companies, regulatory groups, families of tower workers who were victims, and other key industry stakeholders came together to deliver the message about the importance of safe work practices. The OSP reached another milestone as MidAmerica Tower Service was the first OSP participant to attain Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) New Star recognition.

The OSP continues to work to promote safe practices in the tower communication industry. Future plans in 2009 include continuing to develop and post safety-related material on the NATE website, streamlining the application process, and conducting a trend analysis of the tower worker fatalities that occurred in 2008.

 

Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs at 202-693-2200 for assistance accessing OSHA PDF materials.


Back to TopBack to Top www.osha.gov www.dol.gov

Contact Us | Freedom of Information Act | Customer Survey
Privacy and Security Statement | Disclaimers
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
Page last updated: 08/05/2009