[FARC] NBC on Towers

Tue Jul 22 20:45:51 EDT 2008

Thought I would pass along comments via the PVRC reflector referencing 
"Tower Dogs"...

Those deaths referenced on the program were just trained tower climbing 
professionals.
Many tower companies became very alarmed when that spell of deaths ran its 
course.
For what it is worth the critique of the program at work this morning was 
not very good either.
Those I work with had many issues on what was aired. If you paid attention 
when the rope was dropped off the tower striking the Dateline program 
producer, he was not even wearing a hard hat in that work area. In my 
opinion the is the direct fault of the crew chief (who always has 
responsibility for safety) on site. You could point the blame at either the 
tower companies crew chief or the tenant/tower owner who was on site with 
these crews when the work was being performed.

 It is difficult to work quickly and to comply to safety regulations 100% of 
the time.

 It was a shame that NBC basically selected the lowest end of the talent 
pool of this profession, excluded some very talented and very professional 
people to perhaps make the program into a one hour version of the "Deadliest 
Catch" or "Ax Men".
FYI the reference made to the tower industry having the highest per capita 
death rate is a fact. Department of Labor statistics should confirm the 
statement. Now I do believe that those who fish for King Crab and cut timber 
have a higher percentage of injuries while on the job. I have no sea legs, 
don't like icy surfaces and hate chain saws anyway.

 Dan
K3SKE

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Boyd" <richardlboyd at gmail.com>
To: "Alfred Laun" <hs0zar at gmail.com>
Cc: "PVRC Email Reflector" <pvrc at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 04:24
Subject: Re: [PVRC] NBC on Towers

>I agree.  I could heardly believe it when I heard that guy, Ernie,
> gets paid $14 an hour and he's their best!  I was thinking, "Did I
> hear that right!?"
>
> Amazing.  He should be getting at least $50 an hour I'd say. In my
> experience, professional tower companies charge $75-$120 an hour per
> man, often with a minimum of a "three man crew."
>
> 73 - Rich  KE3Q
>
> On Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 11:53 PM, Alfred Laun <hs0zar at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Thanks to the heads-up from members of more than one list I subscribe
>> to, I did watch the NBC Dateline program featuring "Tower Dogs".
>>
>> My only observation is that the company featured on the program
>> apparently tries to low bid against other companies in the same field,
>> promising to do the job for a fixed amount if they win the bidding.
>> Apparently cost-overruns are a no-no, unlike, for example, in the case
>> of Pentagon contracts.
>>
>> All I can say is this is not the way any of the people I have hired to
>> do tower work at my place do the job.  You never know how much the job
>> will cost until the work is done, and I wouldn't have it any other
>> way.  As was hinted at in the program, the fixed-price bid game can
>> encourage undue haste which can lead to very real danger.  Though in
>> the jobs shown proof-of-performance was apparently built into the
>> contracts, in my own case a fixed price could also lead to the cutting
>> of quality corners which I would not be fully equipped to evaluate.
>>
>> The fact that the company's most proficient climber only makes $14 per
>> hour was also a bit of a shocker.  Can there really be that many
>> companies out there in the business that telecommunications companies
>> can get people that cheap by playing them off against each other?
>>
>> Just my $0.02 worth...
>>
>> 73, Fred, K3ZO
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Rich Boyd
> 301-430-5296 regular phone
> 301-980-7424 cellular
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>

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