The National Association of Tower Erectors has acknowledged and applauded the release of a new directive from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concerning the use of hoists to move tower workers at tower sites. The previous guidance focused on the construction of towers, not those already built.
The new compliance directive is CPL 02-01-056. It “provides procedures for use by field personnel when using a hoist to take employees to or from workstations on communication towers and general enforcement guidance for compliance officers. This new CPL applies to all work activities on communication towers that involve the use of a personnel hoist,” according to a NATE release.
NATE Legislative and Regulatory Committee Member Jim Goldwater, Bob Lawrence and Associates, said, “OSHA’s directive is a milestone in our efforts to promote worker safety as the ‘riding the line’ technique has been demonstrated to reduce climber fatigue and susceptibility to repetitive motion injuries associated with ascending and descending towers and enables workers to access their respective workstations on the tower more quickly, yet safely.”
Legislative and Regulatory Committee Member Don Doty, Velocitel, “I would like to thank all of the officials at OSHA who have devoted countless hours of time and attention to learn the unique challenges associated with tower construction, service and maintenance work.”
NATE has also noted that OSHA now has a dedicated Communications Towers section on its website featuring the resources, directives and standards for the communication towers industry.
