TIA Hosts Tower Climbing Facilities Working Group to Talk about Safety and Care

Last week, TIA hosted the Telecommunications Industry Foundation’s Climbing Facilities Working Group meeting.

The group included contractors, engineers, manufacturers, end users, structure owners and representatives from OSHA and is focused on developing strategies to eliminate damage to climbing facilities, structures, and safety climbs when installing new mounts or other appurtenances on a structure.

At the meeting, each party within the working group raised their concerns and ideas with the goal of eliminating damage to climbing facilities, ensuring quality and addressing safety for climbers. The meeting helped clarify roles and responsibilities and build communication between these important tower stakeholder groups.

Structure owners want to be clear that damage is not to occur; end users clarified that they don’t want installs to be allowed to cause damage to the climbing facilities, structures or safety climbs; manufacturers noted that improvement in the designs and install instructions could help; contractors identified their need for information and support to communicate issues and identify solutions; and engineers stressed the need for a clear scope of work and necessary information in order to consider issues and specify resolutions to issues.

Moving forward, the group will be finalizing a whitepaper to share best practices for minimizing damage, ensuring quality and improving safety.

TIA and its Foundation are pleased to support communication and education for the industry uplifting the current standards as published.

For ICT manufacturers, end users, tower companies, engineers, and contractors that seek to participate in TIA’s Climbing Facilities Working Group, please contact Andy Kurtzman.