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 Printing Instructions
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MidAmerica Tower Service, a NATE National Partnership Participant, Makes Safety and Health a Top Priority |
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Background:
MidAmerica Tower Service, Inc., a non-union communication tower contractor that
employs 11 full-time employees, has been an active participant in the Region V
OSHA/National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) Partnership since it was
signed in November 2006. MidAmerica is only one of the 86 contractors approved
to participate in the national Partnership. NATE and OSHA have worked jointly
for several years to improve the safety and health of communications tower
workers.
Success Impact:
Commitment to Safety and Health Leads to Improved Safety
Culture
In June 2006, MidAmerica Tower’s CEO, Phillip T. VanSwol, made a major
commitment to improving the company’s safety and health management system (SHMS).
One of the ways Mr. VanSwol decided to improve the safety culture was to hire a
full-time safety and training coordinator, even though he operated a small
business of only 11 employees. Mr. VanSwol also developed and implemented a
Cathead Safety Certification Program that all managers and employees are
required to complete.
In July of 2007, an OSHA evaluation team conducted an onsite at two of
MidAmerica’s cell tower job sites. At one of the sites, MidAmerica employees
were pulling lines of coaxial cable 187 feet up the face of a self-supported
tower, and connecting the lines to antennas. Cables were cut, rigged, and
hoisted up the tower by the use of a Cathead/Capstan hoist. Mr. VanSwol used
this as an opportunity to field-train a new employee on the Cathead hoist.
Following the training, the new employee told the onsite team that he had never
received so much initial safety training in his 20 years of working in this
industry.
At the second onsite, MidAmerica’s employees were finishing up grounding and
terminating lines into a surge arrestor located in a shelter building at the
foot of the self-supported tower. Two more employees were formally interviewed
and also had high praise for the company’s dedication to safety and health. They
also repeatedly stated that in all of their years of performing tower
construction, they had never worked for a company that actually “practices what
it preaches.”
Increased Safety and Health Focus Leads to Achieving VPP Star Status
In July 2006, after making the commitment to improve the company’s SHMS,
MidAmerica applied for recognition in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).
On September 28, 2007, MidAmerica Tower was approved as a Voluntary Protection
Programs (VPP) Mobile Workforce Demonstration for Construction at the Star level
company throughout the State of Illinois. At this same time, the company had and
injury and illness rate 100% below the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS)
national average. Since MidAmerica Tower was the first communications tower
company to achieve this, they received their VPP Star at the annual NATE
conference in February 2008.
Partnership Objectives:
The key objectives of this Partnership are to analyze
participant data to identify causal factors 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
industry, and increase the number of employees that attend the OSHA 3150 Tower
Safety course.
Origin: Region V, Chicago Regional Office, Peoria Area
Office, and Fairview Heights District Office
Partners: Mid-America Tower Service, Inc. is a member
of the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) Partnership
Partnership Signed: November 2006
Industry: Communications Tower (NAICS Code 23899)
Employees: 11
Employers: 1
Source and Date: Ken Kroll, Compliance Assistance
Specialist, Fairview Heights District Office, Nick Walters, Assistant Director,
Peoria Area Office, and Julie Evans, Team Leader, Chicago Regional Area Office
(March 2008)
Status: Open
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