[FARC] NBC on Towers

Thu Jul 24 08:55:50 EDT 2008

The last DoL stats I read were for highest per-capita deaths
among powerline highwire riggers and test pilots. Fewer in
total numbers, so not of as much interest to NewsHawks? K2AVA
and I *worked* in TV news. I don't know about Herman, but I
*never* watch the stuff since I know how it's made: to shock,
not to inform.

73

Roy
___BATES

> Dan, I turned the program off after about 15 minutes as my
> feelings were very similar to yours. Tooooo bad, it could
> have been good and an educational one. Jim Devilbiss WA3FUJ
>
>
> On Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:45:51 -0000
>  "K3SKE Dan Szymanski" <k3ske at edurostream.com> wrote:
>> 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
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> PVRC mailing list
>> >> PVRC at mailman.qth.net
>> >> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pvrc
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Rich Boyd
>> > 301-430-5296 regular phone
>> > 301-980-7424 cellular
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > PVRC mailing list
>> > PVRC at mailman.qth.net
>> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pvrc
>> >
>>
>>
>>
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