Cell Tower Safety special - PBS Frontline

[WF7A]

That part I agree with.

Not true at all. I am one of those managers for a very large Cellular company. That is the exact reason we contract all that work out like all other Cellular companies. It shifts those cost and liability to the contractor. That is just smart business management 101.

It is no different than you buying collision and liability insurance on your vehicle rather than tying up tens of thousands of dollars set in a bank account to self insure yourself. You are simply shifting the burden to a contractor.

I wasn't specifically targeting wireless carriers but industry in general.

I wrote a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) database for FedEx that's now being used by dozens of airlines around the world. U.S.-registered airlines--and most likely Maintenance/Repair/Operations stations, too--will soon be required to have an SMS in place in order to receive, or continue to be approved with, FAA certification since it's finally getting into the aviation industry's head that it _has_ to be proactive in addressing safety issues and create a means of logging, correcting and preventing them from occurring. Even if the work is subcontracted, the airline/MRO will still be on the hook for worker and product safety....primarily because there's a certification/paper trail that has to be followed and approved, unlike in the wireless industry where the sub can hire anybody off the street who has no paper trail whatsoever.

[AD7N]

As an example to relamp a 300 foot tower with 3 side markers and one beacon on average cost a Cellular company $2000 for a 1 hour job, that requires 2-man crew. The contractors are well paid for their services.

Aside from shifting the liability to a contractor there is another significant reason for using contractors. There is simply not enough work to keep company employees busy full time. The work comes from either repairs/maintenance which is very infrequent, and/or new construction. One contractor can do work for all the various companies in a geographical district and remain profitable and keep their employees busy full time. It is just smart business.

Keep in mind money is Amoral being neither good or evil. Money is like a brick where it can be used for good like constructing a building, or for evil by crushing your skull.

You mention the contractor, but you're missing the point. Not a single mention of the Medusa hairdoo (web of subs) you're contractor probably has.

I do agree, it makes very sound business sense to outsourse this kind of work to a contractor. NO arguement there.

However are you really hiring a "contractor", or have you just poured money into a tangled web of sub-contractors? Do you even know?

I bet only a modicum of that $2000 is actually going to the company doing the work. Your front contractor takes a cut, the sub companies they hire take a cut, and any sub companies below that take a cut. That $2000's gone through many many hands before it ever reaches the human hanging off the side of the tower.

It's got administrative bloat written all over it, and the company at the bottom of the food chain might be pushed just enough to cut corners and use old gear, slice safety margins and push their workers to the limit. If one falls, the company folds shop simply and flys by night to another part of the country to start up again....

This issue is not just isolated to the Cellular industry, but across many industries. Fly-by-night sub-contracting companies are a major issue, but to turn a blind eye to where your $2000 is actually going is burying a head in the sand.

[KF5LJW]

However are you really hiring a "contractor", or have you just poured money into a tangled web of sub-contractors? Do you even know?

I bet only a modicum of that $2000 is actually going to the company doing the work. Your front contractor takes a cut, the sub companies they hire take a cut, and any sub companies below that take a cut. That $2000's gone through many many hands before it ever reaches the human hanging off the side of the tower.

You are making stuff up. They are not General Contractors hiring sub-contractors. They are small companies with a single owner and maybe 6 to 12 employees. I have about 4 of them which I send a RFQ to each of them for every job to get the lowest price, and to keep them honest.

A typical bid would look like:

• Mobilization Charge $900. This is drive time from their shop to job site which can be up to 6 or 8 hours round trip.
• Labor $600, going rate is $300/hour/man for 1 hour of work time to climb and replace the lights
• Material $400, cost plus 10% stocking charge. The Zenon Flash tube is $300 wholesale cost
• Tax $100

[N0SYA]

Well I work for one of the largest Cellular Companies in the USA. I also know how all the other carriers operate. In a Nut Shell the Cellular Companies do not allow any employees to climb a tower. It is all done by contractors. Where i live most of the actual climbers are undocumented aliens.

The packing industry uses a similar method, hire unregistered agents of a foreign power at cut rates, and when they get hurt on the job ... well ... too bad so sad.

[K1MAL]

You are making stuff up. They are not General Contractors hiring sub-contractors. They are small companies with a single owner and maybe 6 to 12 employees. I have about 4 of them which I send a RFQ to each of them for every job to get the lowest price, and to keep them honest.

A typical bid would look like:

• Mobilization Charge $900. This is drive time from their shop to job site which can be up to 6 or 8 hours round trip.
• Labor $600, going rate is $300/hour/man for 1 hour of work time to climb and replace the lights
• Material $400, cost plus 10% stocking charge. The Zenon Flash tube is $300 wholesale cost
• Tax $100

Heh maybe its that way in your AO but thats not how it ends up working here. The guatemalans who show up to relamp our tower do not make ANYTHING near 300/hour. They arnt hired by the broadcast company. They are hired by another contracting company that sub-contracts to them.

Hogwash. Companies like ATT, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile all require contracting companies to carry $10 M liability insurance, Workman Compensation insurance, and comply with all OSHA rules. Otherwise they are rejected.

OSHA doesn't kick in unless you have 10 or more employee's so most of these subcontracting "companies" are all small crews. Im not just talking about towers im talking about other parts of their business. Next time you see some AT&T or CATV contractor in a ratty 15 year old bucket truck (and magnetic logo that says "OFFICIAL CONTRACTOR FOR XYZ) go ask him how much liability insurance they have.

[K0SPN]

You are making stuff up. They are not General Contractors hiring sub-contractors. They are small companies with a single owner and maybe 6 to 12 employees. I have about 4 of them which I send a RFQ to each of them for every job to get the lowest price, and to keep them honest.

Maybe you should actually watch the show and go visit the contractors they interviewed and tell them that they are "making stuff up".

[W3WN]

< snip >
Where i live most of the actual climbers are undocumented aliens.

Klingons, Romulans, or Ferengi?

[WF7A]

Better call the Men in Black, Ron.

[W3WN]

Better call the Men in Black, Ron.

Who? I can't remember, not since that bright red light shone in my face a minute ago.

[AD7N]

You are making stuff up. They are not General Contractors hiring sub-contractors. They are small companies with a single owner and maybe 6 to 12 employees. I have about 4 of them which I send a RFQ to each of them for every job to get the lowest price, and to keep them honest.

A typical bid would look like:

• Mobilization Charge $900. This is drive time from their shop to job site which can be up to 6 or 8 hours round trip.
• Labor $600, going rate is $300/hour/man for 1 hour of work time to climb and replace the lights
• Material $400, cost plus 10% stocking charge. The Zenon Flash tube is $300 wholesale cost
• Tax $100

I should have been more general, I apologize. It appears like a strong industry trend is towards sub-sub contractors, but it sounds like the guys you cut the check to do the work directly and in-house themselves.

I just have to wonder how many hire the crew like you, and how many work through a general...