The tower industry has banded together as the National Association of Tower Erectors to address collective issues of operations and safety and to affect industry-initiated standards. The nonprofit organization represents communications tower erectors, service contractors, maintenance companies, vendors and manufacturers across the nation.
Safety is at the core of the organization’s purpose, according to the Watertown, S.D.-based group’s administrator, David Brotzman. NATE aims to “provide the safest workplace possible for tower personnel. That’s the bottom line,” he said.
NATE’s other stated objectives include educating the public, government agencies and clients of its progress toward safer tower industry standards; keeping members informed of relevant industry issues; providing a unified voice for tower erection, maintenance and service companies and making it easier to effectively lobby for the industry. Brotzman added NATE intends to take the industry, which “has not enjoyed the best of reputations,” to a more professional level.
The standards and safety committee, chaired by Bruce Budagher, is one of four NATE committees. The group works to develop workplace safety standards and uniform approaches to operations and practices for constructing and maintaining towers, Brotzman explained.
It is “important the customers-license holders-know they’re using towers that [follow] an approved safety standard,” Brotzman said. NATE also is trying to develop an industry injury and illness prevention program.
NATE’s OSHA Relations committee, headed by NATE Vice-Chairman Don Doty of Doty-Moore Tower Services, works with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop government regulations that will apply specifically to the tower industry. OSHA’s current regulations detail information in legalese, which is difficult to understand, explained Brotzman. Small companies get overwhelmed by the technical aspects of those rules. They need to be written in laymen’s terms, he said.
Brotzman noted NATE has designated a number of future benefit projects, including a pooled insurance program, member company referral listings, training seminars on specific products or processes and a library, which would include tower industry-related publications and articles.
Members fall into two categories. “General voting members are companies whose primary business is erecting, servicing and maintaining towers and similar structures for radio, television and broadcast communications,” said Brotzman. These members pay $1,000 in annual dues.
Support members comprise the other category, which includes manufacturers; affiliate members, including tower site owners and Federal Communications Commission license holders; and associate members, including academia, law firms, consultants and engineering groups. Annual dues for manufacturer and associate members are $1,250 for companies with gross revenues below $10 million, and $2,500 for companies with $10 million or more. Affiliate members pay either $1,250 or $2,500 based on whether they operate fewer or more than 25 tower sites.
Carolyn Douglas heads the membership committee. An exact count of current members was not available, Brotzman said, but 45O existing members and targeted member companies fill its database. Initially, representatives of 61 companies came together in Dallas last March to organize NATE.
Ken Meador of TWR Telcom heads the trade show committee, which will organize and direct the group’s annual meeting and conference/exposition. NATE plans to meet Feb. 6 in Orlando with the affiliated trade show, NATE ’96, scheduled for Feb. 7-9 at the Hyatt Orlando.
The new tower organization also produces a monthly newsletter, Tower Times, which includes industry-related news, updates on committees’ progress reports, references to educational services, product reviews, a membership application and a letter from the chairman, Kevin Hayden of Hayden Tower Services.
