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| National Association of Tower Erectors (#363) |
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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.
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