The National Wireless Safety Alliance now has its leadership in place. The organization’s board chose Art Pregler, director of national cell site programs at AT&T to be its head man and Phil Larsen of Hazon Solution as vice chairman.
Pregler and Larsen were formally nominated and elected by the organization’s board of governors at the NWSA’s inaugural meeting in Denver, Colo.
The governing body of the organization will be made up of 28 representatives and tasked with developing policy and overseeing the activities of the various NWSA committees.
“Our elevated workers deserve the right to likewise expect and experience the benefits of a more capable and considered workforce paradigm,” Pregler said. “Through NWSA, we can formally acknowledge the demonstrated professional competence of our workforce by means of assessment, certification and credentialing of the comprehensive skills required by the many diverse technical positions in our industry.”
At AT&T, Pregler is in charge of policies, processes, systems and supplier management related to the deployment and modification of AT&T’s nationwide portfolio of 65,000 cell sites, according to Pregler’s Linkedin account.
“We have a moral obligation with profound responsibility to do everything within our power to enhance safety of our elevated workers; namely to develop certification programs that instill confidence and security with positive reinforcement,” Larsen added. “Today the wireless industry took the first real step into saving lives and started building that program; this day will be known as a historical milestone.”
The NWSA is a nonprofit created to standardize safety practices in the tower industry. The organization is working on a universal skills assessment and certification process for tower workers “to enhance safety, reduce workplace risk, improve quality, encourage training, and recognize the skilled professionals who work on towers and other non-standard structures.”
The task force that established the alliance consists of the five largest carriers in the U.S., the three largest vertical Realtors and all the prominent general contractors and OEMs, as well as the National Association of Tower Erectors and tower climbers.
Hear NATE Executive Director Todd Schlekeway talk about the organization in the video below.
The National Wireless Safety Alliance model will be based on free-market principles. Industry companies and workers will be encouraged to continue utilizing the training pathways of their choice, only now, the NWSA will serve as the official national assessment and certification arm after industry workers receive their training.
Participating members of the Wireless Industry Safety Task Force include: Alcatel-Lucent; American Tower; AT&T Mobility; Bechtel; Black & Veatch; BlueStream Professional Services; Crown Castle; Ericsson; General Dynamics; Goodman Networks; Jacobs; MasTec Network Solutions; Motorola Solutions; Members of NATE; Nexius; Nokia Networks; SAI Communications; Samsung; SBA Communications; Sprint; T-Mobile US; Velocitel; and Verizon Wireless.
