OSHA has recently announced that it will be collecting information about the hazards faced by workers during the construction and maintenance of communication towers. With the rapid expansion of wireless communication over the past few decades, there has been an increasing demand for both constructing new communication towers and maintaining those already in service. These jobs can require workers to regularly climb as high as 2000 feet. Working at such great heights naturally presents the risk of not only falling, but also exposure to electrical hazards, structural collapse, and dangerous weather. In fact, fatalities resulting from work on communication towers in 2013 and 2014 was double what it was in 2011 and 2012.

With OSHA’s Second Annual Stand Down for Fall Safety Initiative right around the corner, OSHA is reaching out to wireless carriers, tower engineers, construction and maintenance companies, and tower workers themselves for input. OSHA’s goal is to gather information about both the various causes of tower worker injuries and deaths as well as the practices used within the industry to avoid them.

The deadline to submit information is June 15, 2015. Comments and other input may be submitted either electronically, by mail, or by fax. Electronic comments may be submitted directly at the Federal eRulemaking Portal. For more information about this request for action, as well as details on how to mail or fax comments, visit the Federal Register notice.