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Partnering with OSHA
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| NATE/OSHA National Partnership |
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On November 8, 2006 the NATE/OSHA National Partnership Agreement was signed creating a program for improving safety and health in the tower erection, service and maintenance industry. In a year when the need for improved tower safety is paramount, the Partnership will give NATE members an opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to this goal.
If you scroll down this page, you will find an application/agreement form. To participate in the Partnership, that document must be completed, signed and returned to the NATE office with copies of your OSHA 300 logs for the last 3 years. We will be accepting applications May 1, 2008 for the Oct 1, 2008 - Sept 30, 2009 Partnership year.
Eligibility
The NATE/OSHA National Partnership is open to all NATE members who employ tower climbers, including:
· Tower erection, service and maintenance companies;
· Tower owners and carriers;
· General contractors; and
· Other companies whose work involves employees climbing towers.
NATE Member Requirements
The Partnership resembles the program NATE conducted with OSHA Region V in a number of ways. Partnering members must agree to:
· Requisite Levels of Training – Tower related OSHA 10-Hour Training, or its equivalent, is required for all personnel who will be working on a tower site. OSHA 30-Hour Training, or its equivalent, is required for anyone operating in the capacity of a supervisor or competent person on site.
· Implementation of a Safety & Health Program – All applicants must have a safety and health program in place that meets or exceeds the standard established by the NATE Accident Prevention, Safety & Health Program Guide.
· Presence of a Competent Person – A competent person for safety and health must be on site at all times.
· Conduct and Submit Site Safety Audits – One change from the Region V Partnership is a better defined site safety audit form based on the best practices outline developed by NATE during the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety & Health (ACCSH) meetings on tower safety. The form provides a comprehensive checklist to enhance safety in ten specific areas, while at the same time reduces the reporting burden found in the earlier form.
A second change in the site safety audits is a clarification of how many audits must be submitted to the NATE office. The previous requirement that audits be submitted from 10% of a company’s projects was burdensome to companies who may conduct numerous smaller projects weekly or even daily. To encourage continued participation, safety audits will be required for 10% of a company’s projects, or 2 audits per month, whichever is less. Audits, signed by the company president, will be submitted to NATE on a quarterly basis.
· Complete List of Requirements – For a complete list of requirements for tower erection, service and maintenance companies, see the attached application / agreement form.
· Additional Requirements for Tower Owners, Carriers, and General Contractors – Tower owners, carriers and general contractors participating in the program must agree to follow the voluntary rules established under the NATE Tower Owners Safety Checklist, and the NATE Qualified Contractors Evaluation Checklist respectively.
OSHA Requirements
In return for NATE members’ efforts to improve industry safety, OSHA agrees to:
· Limit inspections of Partner work sites to the items found on the Telecommunications and Broadcast Tower Inspection Checklist;
· Provide a 10% reduction in penalties beyond the reductions outlined in the Field Inspection Reference Manual, where applicable;
· No citations for other-than-serious violations when violations are immediately abated;
· Authority for Regional Administrators to negotiate penalty reductions as part of the informal conference settlement agreement;
· Priority consideration for compliance assistance and off-site technical assistance; and
· Recognition of participants.
It should be noted that Partnering companies must adhere to the Telecommunications and Broadcast Tower Inspection Checklist. If any item on that checklist is not being followed, then OSHA compliance officers can expand the inspection at their discretion.
Penalty reductions will not be applied to high-gravity offenses such as serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations.
Partnership Documents
Scroll down to find the following PDF’s for you to download:
· Application/Agreement form;
· Telecommunications and Broadcast Tower Inspection Checklist; and
· Site Safety Audit form.
Conclusion
The NATE/OSHA National Partnership offers NATE members an opportunity to demonstrate their dedication to a higher level of safety. I encourage all eligible members to consider participating in this process. Together we can continue to pursue our most important mutual goal – to ensure that tower climbers go home safely at the end of the day.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or NATE Accounts Coordinator Shelly Trego at the NATE office.
Thank you for your continued dedication to improving safety in the tower erection, service and maintenance industry.
Sincerely,
Patrick Howey
NATE Executive Director
For your convenience the following link will also take you to an alternate page for the National Partnership. NATE/OSHA National Partnership |
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