[pontibeast]

I wouldn't trust someone else with my safety rope, hell I would barely trust myself. I watched it again and it looks like he is climbing up until the clip is around his belt line and then moving it up. I was a project manager for a construction engineering firm and had to climb steel to verify proper weld and bolted connections. The only part I didn't like was walking on the I beams at heights. Most of the welders I worked with made it look so easy I felt like a rookie as I shuffled across. I didn't mind the heights as much as I did going deep down into trench's. I was afraid of getting buried in a slide or like one poor guy on a job site buried because no one knew he was still in the ditch. He was dead by the time they got him dug out. Suffocated from the weight of the soil pressing on his chest. At least with the fall there is a nice view until the sudden stop at the end.

[OCMDGTO]

Looks like a couple of my treestands!

[Alvin]

Lloyd your post reminded me of a FRONTLINE video from a while back.

Here => http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/fi...-tower-deaths/

"The smartphone revolution comes with a hidden cost. A joint investigation by FRONTLINE and ProPublica explores the hazardous work of independent contractors who are building and servicing America’s expanding cellular infrastructure. While some tower climbers say they are under pressure to cut corners, layers of subcontracting make it difficult for safety inspectors to determine fault when a tower worker is killed or injured."

Edit: Full YouTube program video here => http://youtu.be/bOU7hiLRZew

[Will]

^^Hopefully that industry will go like the electrical contracting industry is going. My company constantly stresses safety and is always pushing new regulations and restrictions on what we can do because only companies with the best safety records are allowed to bid on the biggest projects and government contracts.

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by 72projectbird

This ones pretty good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4Xk1mEwmI

Dayum that's high up. It makes my feet tingle.

That made my palms get sweaty, and my legs nearly go numb.
No safety harness: unreal.
I also wouldn't like the second guy coming up onto the top 'platform' with me. I could see that spindle they clipped onto wiggling around.

[Squidward]

Even watching that vid made me want to $#!7 or throw up. Not a fan of heights.

There was a TV tower near where I grew up in MI. One night when I was 18 or 19, I was out with a few friends. We had a few beers, and decided to climb the tower. I got half way up and pussed out. Two of the guys went to the top and tied off a bandana. I kept the cooler company on the roof of the service building after scaring myself at only halfway. No safety harnesses, and under the influence.

I just looked up the stats on that tower. 921 feet tall.

Wow. We were dumb.

I wonder what the job pays?

[pontibeast]

I would imagine it pays pretty well. I made 24 an hour doing window cleaning on rapel and that was back in the 1980's and much less height.

[tigergto]

Absolutely insane.

[cdrookie]

wonder what the emergency rescue plan is? you would think OSHA would have a field day with these types of jobs... but i was told on the "stairway to heaven" tower that they weren't required to wear harnesses because there was no emergency rescue plan that was practical.
i've been on sites that require you to wear a harness if you're 1 FOOT off the ground!!! doesn't matter that there's no self retracting or tear away lanyard that would stop your 1 foot fall. BUT it's ok to walk out of the office onto the portable stairs, that are 3 feet tall, and smoke...

[Guilty]

I was talking to a friend of mine last week, and he told me his nephew is doing this type of work now. His Dad is 100% native American and apparently they aren't afraid of heights so there are quite a few Native Americans in this field now. The pay is supposed to be very good as well. In the first video, the guy had two safety lines he was attaching to the tower so he was pretty well covered it seems.
Good link Lloyd!!

[pontibeast]

I have heard of a certain tribe(can't remember which) that used to be really in demand for doing high steel work for the same reason. They had no fear of heights and thus were very confident at really sketchy steel frame work.

[spartazoo]

NFW!!

[Stuart]

There are a bunch of videos out there (apparently mostly from Russian sites) of teenagers climbing tall towers, skyscrapers, etc. with out any safety equipment, and then doing things like dangling from the edge by one hand while taking a selfie with the other. Those are the videos that make my stomach churn.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by pontibeast

I have heard of a certain tribe(can't remember which) that used to be really in demand for doing high steel work for the same reason. They had no fear of heights and thus were very confident at really sketchy steel frame work.

The Mohawks. My understanding is the no fear of heights thing is a myth - they got into steelworking many years ago, and it's simply developed as their niche in the working world.

[Alvin]

This on topic popped up on a Biz social media blog

‘You can’t subcontract safety’: OSHA, FCC host workshop on tower climbers

Washington – The safety of communication tower workers is an issue that has been growing nearly as fast as the rate at which new cellular and data towers have been appearing throughout the country.

Between 2011 and 2015, 36 workers died in communication tower-related incidents, according to OSHA. In April 2015, OSHA issued a Request for Information seeking feedback from stakeholders on how the agency can best work to prevent injuries and deaths during tower work. And on Feb. 11, OSHA and the Federal Communications Commission conducted a workshop to discuss comments received in response to the RFI and guidance on best practices for improving tower climber safety.

Culture

Stakeholders who attended the workshop pointed to a major safety issue they say the industry is facing: subcontracting employers who are not qualified to climb.

On sites with several subcontractors, no one knows who is working on that site – or if they’re trained, certified and insured, said Kevin Schmidt, who serves on the board of governors with the National Wireless Safety Alliance.

Although some panelists at the workshop believe adding safety requirements to contractual language will help subcontractors pay closer attention to safety, Wade Sarver is concerned that it may not be enough. Ensuring all workers are qualified on a site with multiple contractor levels could become challenging, and the work schedule may prompt employers to take shortcuts, warned Sarver, a wireless industry consultant and former tower climber.

“If you just confront someone and say ‘you’re not qualified to climb,’ the boss is going to come over and say ‘we need him today,’” Sarver said. “I’m not saying that’s the right culture; I am saying that’s the reality of the world in most cases.”

In fact, following the contract language actually may lead to an employer being “blacklisted” from future jobs, according to Nick Vespa, vice president of Tallahassee, FL-based Southeastern Towers. Vespa said workers face pressure to complete the job on time, which leads to working while tired even though the contract states that workers should not be fatigued. But if the subcontractor asks for more time to give employees rest, it may lose out on the next contract.

Sarver suggested hiring independent auditors to inspect sites for safety and check worker identification to ensure only qualified employees are climbing.

But John Parham of Pasadena, CA-based Jacobs Engineering Group took it a step further. Instead of simply auditing a site, Parham said, the safety culture of the entire company should be audited to identify gaps. He agreed that contract language is not enough to ensure a safe worksite, noting the worker is not thinking of contracts while on the tower. As such, a strong safety culture has to exist through all people involved with the project.

“You can’t subcontract safety,” Parham said.

In addition to technical training, Parham suggested training workers on being better professionals who care for one another and respond to safety concerns that are raised...

More => http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.c...tower-climbers