Posted by Dan Phelan on Thu, Sep 16, 2010 @ 09:58 AM
Yesterday, a video made the rounds on the internet, specifically facebook and Youtube that showed a point of view video from the helmet of a "high angle steel contractor" climbing a 1700' communication tower. The narrator of the video, cited various OSHA safety protocols that the climber was following during his ascent, but as of this morning, the video that garnered close to 100,000 views in a single day was pulled down.
One of the reasons the uploader stated for why it was pulled down is:
On Monday he was getting calls from colleagues telling him that they were concerned about what the video showed. His world is a very small one, and you don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you! Some facility owners are pretty uptight about liability and such and may not hire him if they think he does not take safety seriously.
Basically, the tower climber was concerned about his company's Risk Profile. He was worried about the liability implications if the wrong people were to see it. I found this interesting for a couple reasons:
1. The narrator specifically mentioned all the safety protocols that the climbers were following, the safety measures built into the tower itself, as well as the various ways OSHA regs respond to the techniques and safety measures they were taking during the climb.
2. Short of being dropped on top by a helicoptor, I can't figure out another way for a high-angle steel contractor to reach the top of the spire to service it.
It's understandable that the facility managers could be concerned about liability, but after watching the jaw dropping video, I don't see how they could not know their towers are serviced. If any commercial contractors that work on these towers could comment on what added safety measures could have been taken, I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this page (anonymously of course).
Tower climbing, and servicing an electrical box 1,786 feet in the air is no doubt a very dangerous niche in the construction industry, but in order for our cell phones, televisions, and radios to function at an optimal rate, these towers need to be kept in proper working order, and someone has to work on them and I'd be interested to see why these climbers thought that this video would negatively influence their Risk Profile. I assumed the risk they take in their job was common knowledge by the companies they contract with, as well as the insurance companies that insure them.
More INFO on the video/topic
Screenshot from http://www.theonlineengineer.org/
