Equipment exposed to the environment can have an effect on technician safety, effective use, and longevity. The focus of this Planning Advisory Notice is best safety practices for slings, ropes, harnesses, and hard hats to help technicians identify and prevent environmental exposure and ultraviolet degradation.
Sunflower Effect on Monopoles
Many of us have seen and experienced the “Sunflower Effect”. Most of us remember the first time we pulled up to a monopole and saw a severe case of it. It seems as if the pole is leaning or is damaged in some way. However, upon further assessment it appears that there is no damage and as the day goes on the pole seems to magically straighten out, almost as if the pole has a mind of its own. Why is this happening, does it cause harm to the structure, can it be avoided? This PAN seeks to address these questions and raise awareness about the thermal growth effect of steel.
Considerations for Remediating an Overstressed Mount
This PAN describes considerations that should help in making informed decisions about increased equipment loads and required additional structural capacity for both towers and mounts.
Climber Rescue
This PAN is intended to provide an overview of why rescue planning, communication, and training is a critical skill set that tower climbers need to possess and utilize.
RF Safety
The FCC has established guidance for occupational and non-occupational exposure to Radiofrequency Energy (RF). This PAN is focused on occupational exposure for individuals engaged in the deployment of telecommunication infrastructure.
Rigging Loads and Forces
Rigging activities are one of the most critical activities in telecommunications construction. Rigging commonly involves the lifting or lowering of a load, which regularly occurs during customer installations, structural modifications, maintenance and many other construction tasks in a scope of work (SOW). The focal point of this PAN is to ensure proper planning is conducted in accordance with the ANSI/ASSP A10.48 and other standards or regulations that may apply.
Horizontal Lifeline
Our industry is very familiar with temporary vertical lifelines and vertical safety climb systems installed as a part of climbing facilities on the antenna supporting structures that are utilized to provide telecommunications service throughout the country. Another option that many are not as familiar with is the use of horizontal lifelines.
Twist, Plumb and Tension for Guyed Towers
Guyed tower maintenance has been and always will remain an area of telecommunications that requires competent and well-trained individuals
Risk Categorization in Accordance with ANSI/TIA and the 2018 IBC
The ANSI/TIA-222 Standard and the IBC have traditionally adopted the methodology of the ASCE 7 Standard for determining the minimum loading requirements for new and existing structures. The ASCE 7 Standard has evolved since the publication of the ANSI/TIA 222-G Standard (Rev G). The release of Revision H of the ANSI/TIA-222 Standard (Rev H) in January 2018 and the publication of the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) brings these standards up-to-date with the latest ASCE 7 Standard (ASCE 7-16).
Mount Classification System
The TIA-TSB-5053 Bulletin on Mounting System Classification is a comprehensive document. This PAN delves into the different uses for this Bulletin and the benefits it provides to all stakeholders in the telecommunications industry. TIA-TSB-5053 was initiated by a team of people assembled in February of 2014 at a meeting in Champaign, Illinois at the request of some of the industry’s carriers, which included four of the major mount manufacturers: CommScope, Rohn, Sabre and Valmont.
Step Bolts
To raise awareness of the design, performance and intent of step bolts, a testing paradigm and process was underwritten by NATE and supported by many others in the industry. This test provided accurate data to verify the existing engineering design methodology is in fact valid, and supported enhancements to the climbing facilities section of the ANSI/TIA-222-H Standard.
Rigging Fundamentals 101
When it comes to load handling activities which includes lifting, individuals assigned to the various load handling tasks should at minimum know the basic rigging fundamentals before using rigging hardware such as shackles, hooks, links, rings, wire rope clips, turnbuckles, snatch blocks and slings. Knowing the fundamentals is critical to ensuring that those individuals working in and around telecommunication structures go home safe at the end of the day.
This report consists of a series of rigging fundamental questions to answer before the load handling activity begins, while at the same time imparting some standard
information pertinent to the industry.