Canadian Occupational Safety

APRIL/MAY 2017 17 National Association of Tower Erec- tors (NATE) to release a video on night climbing as part of its Climber Con- nection campaign in October. "We wanted to educate the broader industry on yes this is required at times in our industry and you have to double down on vigilance and safety," says Todd Schlekeway, executive director of NATE, based in Waterdown, S.D., which has 20 member companies in Canada. "You may have a client who needs some work done or you may need to troubleshoot an antenna on a tower that's part of a network that went down… It's kind of a necessary evil." Any company with tower climbers on staff — whether it be for instal- lation, maintenance or inspection — must ensure they are well equipped to handle jobs at night, even if they may be infrequent. There are about 1,200 tower climbers in Canada working on communications towers and anten- nas ranging from 200 to 2,000 feet, according to the Structure, Tower and Antenna Council (STAC) in Ottawa. There have been two recorded fatal tower accidents in Canada over the past 10 years and none since 2013, the council says. Tracey O'Krane, WSP's Western Canada HSE manager, says the tele- communications industry across Canada prides itself on workplace safety, and WSP's clients request the company's safety records, protocols and procedures. WSP's clients include major telecommunications and cable companies, public utilities, govern- ments and airports. But not all tower climbing com- panies have a culture of safety. Ron Morrison, program director at Raven Rescue in Smithers, B.C., has seen extremely unsafe towers that workers have been climbing for years. "They have had no training, they have no fall protection plan, the towers themselves that they are climb- ing are treacherous," he says. "In the telecommunications industry, in par- ticular, there are a lot of folks out there who haven't done the homework." There is especially a lot of home- work that needs to be done before any night work is conducted. A compre- hensive night work plan has to be in place, says Schlekeway. "Are you going to have portable lighting? Where are the obstructions? Are there high-voltage lines that you may not be able to see at night? It really boils down, at the end of the day, to the front-end of planning and risk mitigation," he says. "There's no substitute for the pre-planning phase and anticipating how you are going to be able to mitigate all the risks associ- ated with working at night." The best practice is for the crew to check out the tower and surrounding yler Morris is a tower climber at engineering con- sulting fi rm WSP Canada in Edmonton. He regularly climbs towers as high as 810 feet to conduct general maintenance inspections and post-work inspections for clients. Despite working at such extreme heights, he says he feels safe on the job. "By nature it's obviously dangerous working at heights and stuff like that but if you just follow your training and be adamant about safety, it's not that dangerous at all," he says. WSP Canada has not had any seri- ous injuries or fatalities since opening its doors one decade ago. It has 10 telecommunications offi ces across Canada with 200 employees. Most of the work Morris does is during the day. But sometimes cli- ents don't want to turn down power during peak traffi c hours — such as the large broadcasting companies — so Morris and his colleagues need to work at night. Climbing at night requires extra diligence. The hazards associated with nighttime work prompted the area during the day. This is a manda- tory requirement at WSP. "You can see everything and you get a better feel for the site and we can incorporate that into our fi eld- level risk assessment and our project risk assessment. You're not going in blind," says Morris, who is also a member of the contractor qualifi ca- tions committee at STAC. During the daylight, a physical inspection of the tower should be con- ducted to ensure the structure is safe to climb, says Morrison. Since falls from height is the main concern, the tower's safety climb system — often a ladder with a cable — and all anchor tie-off points need to be inspected. NATE is advocating for drones to conduct these inspections. Schleke- way says the photos and imagery that unmanned aerial systems (drones) can capture can play a huge role in monitoring a tower site before the work is done and in planning the job. Drones can also limit the physical burden on workers. "They can reduce the number of times tower techs have to go up and down the tower on any given day," he says. "They can mitigate risk and, therefore, in theor y, mitigate the repetitive stress that climbing entails. You may have to do it a few less times per day." Before a night project is started — or any project for that matter — the weather must be considered. Ice, snow, high wind and lightening can all pro- duce unsafe climbing conditions. "If we're working throughout the day and into the evening, as the temperature changes, we might start to see changes on the surface of the structure. If the structure was wet, our conditions can become very slip- pery, making our descent much more diffi cult," says Morrison. "A drop in temperature can also negatively effect the mental well-being and physical capability of the climber." WSP workers check the forecast before setting out for a night climb. While on the job, workers on the ground are checking and making sure no bad weather is coming, says O'Krane. Workers on the tower are also equipped with wind metres. "A lot of times you can't see a storm coming at night, so we want to make sure they are safe from that," she says. Before the climbing begins, workers must inspect their fall protection equip- ment — harness, lanyard and anchors — to make sure it's in good work- ing order. They should look for tears, cuts and torn stitching. All personal protective equipment (PPE) needs to be inspected before each use — not weekly or monthly — and employers should provide a checklist to guide the process, says Schlekeway. Climbers will have such PPE as eyewear, gloves, safety boots and a hard hat. A tailgate meeting must be held before the job begins to discuss spe- cifi c hazards and relay any important safety messages. Only experienced workers should conduct night climbs, says Morrison. "It's going to require a greater mas- tery of what you're doing, a greater familiarity with climbing and anchor- ing and that process in general, and that situational awareness on a tower," he says. "It's that experience to be able to anticipate things before you see them because you are just going to need that type of a background to be able to work safely in that environment." A typical tower climbing team is made up of two or three individu- als. For night work, WSP increases its crew by one or two people to enhance safety, says O'Krane. Towers need to be well lit with por- table lighting devices or spotlights for night work. Additionally, a considerable area around the tower needs to remain lit at all times — that's probably the most crucial thing, says O'Krane. "In the event that someone falls into their harness and needs to be res- cued off the tower, it's important for the ground area as well to be very well lit, then we know if we are bringing them down that we aren't going to put them anywhere where there's obstruc- tions or fences or trees or anything like that," she says. Lights should be attached to haz- ards and to equipment that is being hoisted, says NATE. Workers should wear headlamps so they can complete the task in front of them, hands-free. Many workers also wear glow sticks to remain visible while they are on the tower. "Working at high-risk environments at night, glow sticks are invaluable," says Morrison. "We use them to light up our technicians, our rescuers and to illuminate hazards. We typically T

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