safetybriefs.org

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I had no idea. Did you?  The deadliest (civilian) job in America is a cell phone repair person?  I guess I was thinking Deadliest Catch would rank up there.

This makes me rethink my outlook when I get a dropped cell phone call.

Recent figures show that the deadliest job in America now goes to people who construct, upgrade, and repair cell phone towers. Who are these people? Are they daredevils? How’s the pay? What training do they have? What’s the appeal? I want to know.

But for now let me share with you some statistics.  According to a story in last week’s RCR Wireless News …”building and climbing towers (which can be hundreds of feet tall) is more dangerous than ranching, fishing, logging, and even ironworking. The fatality rate is currently 183.6 deaths per 100,000 workers: Five tower workers died during one 12-day span earlier this year alone. 18 tower workers died on the job in 2006.

The cause for the run up in tower worker deaths isn’t completely clear, but it’s likely a combination of careless working practices (workers not using safety gear 100 % of the time, or not using it correctly) and network operators pushing to build out and upgrade their networks too quickly. Hard to blame carriers for wanting to get faster networks up and running, but not at the cost of human life. (RCR is careful to note that the investigation into the rise in fatalities is too early to attribute to any specific source.)”

There is a bunch of oversight in this industry. The person waxing my eyebrows has to follow more state regulations than a cell tower repair person. And because the towers are built and repaired by private contractors (the carriers and tower owners themselves are not involved directly and do not face fines) it makes it more difficult and slow for safety changes to happen.  However, some experts say to look for change in federal legislation as workers themselves push for change. A partnership was recently created between the NATE (National Association of Tower Erectors) and OSHA.

I have included a picture the NATE/OSHA partnership have available for job sites to post. It’s a reminder to tie-off when working.

You can download the SAFETY POSTER HERE

Technorati Tags: cell phone repair, dangerous job, safety gear

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