NATE 100% Tie-Off – NEW NEWS

Safety One supports the NATE 100% Tie-Off campaign.  We support 1000% Tie-off! Of course we do. We are a safety training company and believe in every climber being attached. 

My post was an attempt to create a forum for some feedback, positive and negative, and perhaps an area to raise questions about what this really means. Unfortunately, we came across as not supporting the initiative itself, which is not true. I have to admit, I made a mistake and I missed the target by a long shot. I apologize. We support the campaign fully, and the NATE 100% Tie-Off poster was hung up on our training bulletin board immediately following the conference. 

I have had discussions with industry people, NATE staff, gear manufacturers and just about everyone you can imagine. The largest problem faced in the industry today resulting in tower fatalities is the attachment to the tower. The statistics support this. It only makes sense to constantly promote, advertise and enforce 100% Tie-Off because it is the law. No, maybe 100% Tie-Off is not a new idea, but it is important. In fact, the single most important facet of safety at height. So, really, what makes it new and better with this promotion?

• A new collaborative agreement for 100% Tie Off from the top Carriers, Tower Owners and GCs: Alcatel-Lucent, American Tower, AT&T, Bechtel, Black & Veatch, Crown Castle, Ericsson, General Dynamics, Goodman Networks, Jacobs, MasTec Network Solutions, Motorola Solutions, National Association of Tower Erectors, Nexius, Nokia Solutions and Networks, SAI,  Communications, Samsung, SBA Communications Inc., Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Velocitel, Verizon Wireless and WesTower Communications taken an active role in promoting. We are anxious to see what they do to promote this down to all levels.
• NATE is larger with voice and presence than in 2009 and will have a bigger impact now through various outlets including public service announcements, advertising, social media, and more. Every student of our and most likely every other training company will see whatever promotion materials they give us.
• OSHA – With Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health and his assistance, more emphasis will be placed in increasing fines for violations. Will stiff jail terms be next? Will they investigate more accidents and near misses that they are not required to?

We believe that this initiative is a good idea. It should help with transparency throughout the industry from carriers down the line to all subcontractors. I hope for more fines from OSHA when there are willful violations. We hope for better communication between NATE, the climbers and the gear manufacturers to devise new safer equipment. We hope for a safer industry. 

But hope is not a strategy. The strategy set forth by NATE and these carriers is an answer, but not the only answer. The industry requires a top to bottom culture modification towards a safer environment that promotes the workers safety ahead of all other issues. Personal responsibility of the tower worker and coworkers must be encouraged, promoted and willfully adopted through all levels of every organization.

Be Safe!

Kevin Carter