http://video.yahoo.com/network/10114963 ... &l=5144241
A video on how NOT to climb a tower in case you are not Spiderman.
How to not climb a tower
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Re: How to not climb a tower
Damned scary.....
Re: How to not climb a tower
I posted this on my FB page a few weeks ago.
I don't care how they climb towers, but the methods I have seen here, would lead me to believe these two are on a death wish.
free climbing or not, they hardly tie off, and their hard points are weak at best.
I hope the system wasn't energized, but if it was, or cut back even over 90%, neither had an RF suit or a dosimeter to check for RF levels, and no grounding.
I doubt those glove breath, and probably trap moisture, making a firm grip impossible, and very prone to slippage.
I would have demanded a cable with anti fall arrester installed. being that high or not, and only climbing 100 feet still should require a safety cable.
I've gone up a few towers, with many over 200 feet, which isn't much, and free climbing all 200 feet does make it a workout!
Believe it or not, the best boots I used to climb towers with are those used by utility pole climbers and spikes.
The arch is supported by an internal steel plate, which provides support and minimizes foot pain and fatigue.
You do not want o be up at elevation and have your foot slip off a rung from that.
I am also a tie-off fanatic, I do that as often as I can, tying off below, climb down, rest and tie off below again with second hook.
It's just may way to ensure i am going home at night and not on a table.
Radio is tied to my shoulder and NO speaker mics allowed!
Nothing should be able to come loose, or fall off and out of reach.
Tools are tied to my bucket and are able to reach my work with ease, but not allowed to fall down the tower.
Not enough room to allow tool use...raise the bucket and tie it off.
No loose tools allowed either, not even screwdrivers.
Simple insurance to help get the work done in a safe manner for all, crews at the top and more importantly, on the ground.
I don't care how they climb towers, but the methods I have seen here, would lead me to believe these two are on a death wish.
free climbing or not, they hardly tie off, and their hard points are weak at best.
I hope the system wasn't energized, but if it was, or cut back even over 90%, neither had an RF suit or a dosimeter to check for RF levels, and no grounding.
I doubt those glove breath, and probably trap moisture, making a firm grip impossible, and very prone to slippage.
I would have demanded a cable with anti fall arrester installed. being that high or not, and only climbing 100 feet still should require a safety cable.
I've gone up a few towers, with many over 200 feet, which isn't much, and free climbing all 200 feet does make it a workout!
Believe it or not, the best boots I used to climb towers with are those used by utility pole climbers and spikes.
The arch is supported by an internal steel plate, which provides support and minimizes foot pain and fatigue.
You do not want o be up at elevation and have your foot slip off a rung from that.
I am also a tie-off fanatic, I do that as often as I can, tying off below, climb down, rest and tie off below again with second hook.
It's just may way to ensure i am going home at night and not on a table.
Radio is tied to my shoulder and NO speaker mics allowed!
Nothing should be able to come loose, or fall off and out of reach.
Tools are tied to my bucket and are able to reach my work with ease, but not allowed to fall down the tower.
Not enough room to allow tool use...raise the bucket and tie it off.
No loose tools allowed either, not even screwdrivers.
Simple insurance to help get the work done in a safe manner for all, crews at the top and more importantly, on the ground.
Re: How to not climb a tower
I got sweaty palms just watchin them!
Q: Does this unit come with a speaker?
A: hello yes its in the radio thanks
A: hello yes its in the radio thanks
Re: How to not climb a tower
OSHA DOES require 100% tie off. Not sure where they came up with the idea they don't, must be an old video.
Back in the day, this WAS the norm.
As far as requiring a safety climb cable. I'm assuming you don't do alot of tower work. Newer towers do have such things, but the older ones don't.
In fact, older towers typically don't have a ladder, or step bolts to climb. You just climb the steel. Some designs this was easy, others not so much.
As far as height, 50 foot is the magic number. After that height, you are assured death from a fall. As you go higher, it just takes longer to get to the bottom.
Dragging tools in a bag. Sometimes you have to. Not everything fits in a bolt bag. I don't know as I care for how far down it was, but you don't what it so close to you that it's hitting you in the legs either. At that length, the lanyard could get tangled in the climbing rungs and become a problem, but in truth, there is NO easy way of carrying tools to that height. The issue with carrying loose tools to that height is they can fall when being handled and a 1/2 socket at that height is sure death to anyone it hits down on the ground.
(Interesting factoid A 1/2 bolt dropped from a height of 50 foot had caused death by hitting someone in the head below)
Climbing is demanding work. It requires you to be in good shape and have a sharp mind. It's not work for fools or those that are complacent. Being complacent on a tower is a sure way to learn about gravity. There are alot of safety rules that go with tower work, but common sense is by far the biggest requirement. There have been a number of deaths related to people doing stupid things like unbolting a cross member they were using as a tie point.
Tie or Fly
Back in the day, this WAS the norm.
As far as requiring a safety climb cable. I'm assuming you don't do alot of tower work. Newer towers do have such things, but the older ones don't.
In fact, older towers typically don't have a ladder, or step bolts to climb. You just climb the steel. Some designs this was easy, others not so much.
As far as height, 50 foot is the magic number. After that height, you are assured death from a fall. As you go higher, it just takes longer to get to the bottom.
Dragging tools in a bag. Sometimes you have to. Not everything fits in a bolt bag. I don't know as I care for how far down it was, but you don't what it so close to you that it's hitting you in the legs either. At that length, the lanyard could get tangled in the climbing rungs and become a problem, but in truth, there is NO easy way of carrying tools to that height. The issue with carrying loose tools to that height is they can fall when being handled and a 1/2 socket at that height is sure death to anyone it hits down on the ground.
(Interesting factoid A 1/2 bolt dropped from a height of 50 foot had caused death by hitting someone in the head below)
Climbing is demanding work. It requires you to be in good shape and have a sharp mind. It's not work for fools or those that are complacent. Being complacent on a tower is a sure way to learn about gravity. There are alot of safety rules that go with tower work, but common sense is by far the biggest requirement. There have been a number of deaths related to people doing stupid things like unbolting a cross member they were using as a tie point.
Tie or Fly
Keith
CET USMSS
Field Tech
What more can I say
CET USMSS
Field Tech
What more can I say
Re: How to not climb a tower
Tower work is not my main income, I do the bench work and everything else that is required, since I am the sole proprietor, I have to do it all 99% of the time.
I limit my tower work to 'as needed' and only up to 200'...no need to go higher, that's why we have mountains in AZ. that takes the load off my legs and any assitants I bring along.
Small towers like the Rohn 25 and the like, would never stand up to a single winter on may of the mountaintops here, even guyed, I see them snap all the time.
If you like those small faced towers at 8,000 ASL, be prepared to replace a lot of steel, antennas cable and clamps.
You may get lucky with a couple mild winters, but not for long, ice loading up there is horrendous...I've had 500 pound blocks fall off heavy Pirod towers from as low as 40 feet above ground.
Small face towers fill up fast with ice, and I do mean fill...leg to leg.
Microwave dish's get hammered to death...ice shields get severely destroyed where the falling ice punches right through, cuts elliptical waveguide, tears off feed assemblies and has also caused one 10 foot dish to come crashing to the ground from 150 feet.
Sure, this is Arizona, but on those peaks, it's winter well into may, and often June.
I limit my tower work to 'as needed' and only up to 200'...no need to go higher, that's why we have mountains in AZ. that takes the load off my legs and any assitants I bring along.
Small towers like the Rohn 25 and the like, would never stand up to a single winter on may of the mountaintops here, even guyed, I see them snap all the time.
If you like those small faced towers at 8,000 ASL, be prepared to replace a lot of steel, antennas cable and clamps.
You may get lucky with a couple mild winters, but not for long, ice loading up there is horrendous...I've had 500 pound blocks fall off heavy Pirod towers from as low as 40 feet above ground.
Small face towers fill up fast with ice, and I do mean fill...leg to leg.
Microwave dish's get hammered to death...ice shields get severely destroyed where the falling ice punches right through, cuts elliptical waveguide, tears off feed assemblies and has also caused one 10 foot dish to come crashing to the ground from 150 feet.
Sure, this is Arizona, but on those peaks, it's winter well into may, and often June.
Re: How to not climb a tower
Ha! I have seen the power of ice fer sure. We get reasonably mild winters, compared to say Montana or NoDak. But, we do get ice storms from Jan to March that can tear things up pretty badly. Brings the whole area to a stand still for a few days. I was foolish enough to respond to an emergency outage during a storm several years ago. Made it to the top, but before I could exit to open the building door, ice hammered the van, shattered my ladders, and caved in the roof. The ladders probably saved my life. The van was toast. It got me home, but that was it's last trip. So, now I tell our guys to be sure to wear their helmets so that when we find their body, OSHA won't fine us for not providing safety equipment.
Re: How to not climb a tower
Sage advise. Like Ernest, because of the mountains, we have mostly low self supporting towers with the occasional guyed Rohn. What bugs me to death is why site owners allow antennas to be mounted on the stepped leg so that we have to climb through somebodies stuff before we can ascend higher. What were they thinking? Haven't they ever heard of a side arm or pipe mount? What good is a cable brake when somebody mounts a six foot dish at the fifty foot elevation across the face with the ladder? It's nutz sometimes.desperado wrote:OSHA DOES require 100% tie off. Not sure where they came up with the idea they don't, must be an old video.
Back in the day, this WAS the norm.
Re: How to not climb a tower
Funny you should mention mounting dishes over the face of a tower, especially the stinkin' ladder!
First 50' was ladder, then steel after.
Some previous outfit(will remain nameless)but it begins with a 'P'..mounted a single 4' dish right over the last 10 feet of the ladder.
To some this may not appear to be a big deal, BUT, that first 50' is spaced, so not even paul Bunyan can get around it easily.
It was just a single dish, P-P local backhaul...lashed up at a moment's notice as looking at the back of the dish, the ODU was not even
sealed properly, and the feedlines/power were open to the WX.
I still think someone was 'supposed' to align the dish, and started, but they probably got a good path and walked away, forgetting the ODU was wholly unprotected.
I save all my cable caps, and place them on the tips of the mounting clamps(when they fit) so I don't have to worry too much about being scarred for life running into them
on the way up, or down.
And WHY do so many 'tower' crews use so few cable clamps...hit one, miss one...? 7/8" Heliax not BIG enough for proper support?
And clean up your mess once you finish at the site, it's not my job to remove your trash...cable trimmings, connector bodies messed up, boxes all over.
No wonder site fees are going up year after year!
First 50' was ladder, then steel after.
Some previous outfit(will remain nameless)but it begins with a 'P'..mounted a single 4' dish right over the last 10 feet of the ladder.
To some this may not appear to be a big deal, BUT, that first 50' is spaced, so not even paul Bunyan can get around it easily.
It was just a single dish, P-P local backhaul...lashed up at a moment's notice as looking at the back of the dish, the ODU was not even
sealed properly, and the feedlines/power were open to the WX.
I still think someone was 'supposed' to align the dish, and started, but they probably got a good path and walked away, forgetting the ODU was wholly unprotected.
I save all my cable caps, and place them on the tips of the mounting clamps(when they fit) so I don't have to worry too much about being scarred for life running into them
on the way up, or down.
And WHY do so many 'tower' crews use so few cable clamps...hit one, miss one...? 7/8" Heliax not BIG enough for proper support?
And clean up your mess once you finish at the site, it's not my job to remove your trash...cable trimmings, connector bodies messed up, boxes all over.
No wonder site fees are going up year after year!
Re: How to not climb a tower
No kidding. Sometimes I think I'm the only guy in the world that carries garbage bags with me.