Do you work in the telecommunications industry? If so, you understand that safety is our top priority. If you can provide a safe workplace for your employees, you can reduce expenses, reduce injuries, and reduce employee turnover. As a result, you can increase your performance, and prove your productivity, and protect the reputation of your brand. This is a critical part of corporate responsibility, and you need to make sure you work with an experienced company that will prioritize the safety of your telecommunications team. What type of equipment do you need to make sure your workplace is safe? There are several important points to keep in mind.
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1. Fall Protection
A lot of people who work in the telecommunications industry have to operate from a significant height. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that falls are among the most common risks for individuals who work in this field.
There are a variety of reasons why someone may suffer a fall injury. For example, someone may not be appropriately trained to use the ladder. They may not have the right safety device or telecom equipment. There are several important pieces of equipment that companies need to have to reduce the risk of suffering a fall injury. These include:
- Individuals need to have access to self-retracting lifelines.
- Everyone should have a harness that fits.
- There must be reliable equipment hoists present.
This basic equipment can go a long way toward reducing the chances of someone suffering a fall injury. In particular, OSHA recommends that anyone who is working more than four feet off the ground have access to fall arrest and travel restricting equipment. This can reduce the risk of suffering a serious injury and can protect the company against significant fines and sanctions.
2. Electrical Safety
Electrical safety is another significant concern among individuals who work in this field. Because towers and electrical equipment go together, workers need to have appropriate training to handle electrical equipment safely. This is particularly important when there is hazardous weather or if there are exposed wires. Because long-distance transmissions carry a significant amount of voltage, a single shot can be fatal.
The most important safety measure when working with electrical equipment is distance. It is important for there to be plenty of clearance when it involves buckets and power lines. Employees need to be trained appropriately on how to work with electrical equipment, and it may be helpful to use rubber equipment that can protect someone from getting injured.
3. Inclement Weather
Another important piece of safety equipment is an action plan to deal with inclement weather. It is a bit ironic that a lot of communications workers are required to work in hazardous weather to make sure everyone else is safe from harm. All employees need to be trained on how to use the NOAA website to read the reports and predict how weather conditions are going to impact a potential job site. Furthermore, workers should not be required to climb in the air when there is lightning in the area.
4. Structural Collapse
A potential structural collapse is another significant safety concern in the telecommunications industry. In particular, platforms can buckle as they get older, and deterioration can be accelerated by the rain. A few important safety measures and pieces of equipment that companies need to have include:
- Someone who is adequately trained has to be around to investigate the supporting structure to make sure it is in good condition and has been properly secured.
- Employees need to wear appropriate fall-arrest equipment in case the structure collapses.
- Employees could also have access to the equipment they can use to finish guying or bracing the structure before they climb them.
Importantly, employees need to avoid timing on structures that have not been properly secured. If the conditions are not safe, employees should not be up there.
Additional Tips for Employee Safety
These are just a few of the most important regulations that everyone has to understand when it comes to safety in the communications field. A few other safety measures that need to be followed include:
- All employees need to assume that power lines in the area are live until their voltages have been tested. This means that employees need to practice good electrical safety until the wires are confirmed to be inactive or low voltage.
- Any worker who is going to be for parent communication systems has to be appropriately qualified. This includes following minimum approach distance, being trained in first aid, and having access to appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Employees need to have access to the tools they need to appropriately ground all communication systems and lines to keep them safe.
- Employees should not be climbing off the ground unless there is a rigid, fixed barrier in place.
- All employees should have access to electrician gloves that can reduce the chances of suffering a burn injury or a shock injury.
- All employees need to make sure they wear a hard hat. They need to have the appropriate ANSI rating, and they need to protect employees against exposure to significant voltages.
- Any employee who will be working more than four feet in the air has to have access to a comprehensive personal fall arrest system. This includes lifelines, lanyards, harnesses, anchor points, connectors, and anchorages. All companies should work with a provider that can take care of all of these needs.
If you can keep these tips in mind, you should be able to reduce the chances of an employee suffering a serious injury while on the job.
Always Put Safety First
In the end, the communications industry is vital; however, there are also a lot of safety risks that come with working in this field. It is incumbent on every company to make sure they give their employees the safety measures that are required to minimize the risk of suffering a serious injury. That is why businesses should always work with a supplier such as Destiny Solutions that can handle all of their safety equipment needs.
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