The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE), a non-profit trade association in the wireless infrastructure industry, is dedicated to providing a unified voice for tower erection, service and maintenance companies and is recognized as the tower industry leader in promoting safety, standards and education. Today the Association boasts over 630 member companies from the United States, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Guan, India, Jamaica, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Trinidad and the United Arab Emirates. NATE member companies consist of tower construction firms, general contractors, tower owners, wireless carriers, manufacturers and distributors.
NATE is excited to have recently entered into a joint marketing agreement with TowerXchange. The thought leaders and executives involved with TowerXchange are playing a critical role in providing emerging foreign markets with critical wireless infrastructure services and development. We believe this joint marketing agreement will be beneficial to both parties and will help NATE continue to expand our presence with international stakeholders engaged in the wireless infrastructure industry. There are many foreign and domestic companies that need access to the professional resources, education and best practices information that comes with a NATE membership.
As the Executive Director of NATE, I have the privilege of having conversations with our members and industry stakeholders on a daily basis. The movement to upgrade networks with 4G/LTE capabilities continues to keep tower owners, carriers, general contractors and tower firms busy. Many of our NATE members have informed us that their calendars are already full for 2014 due in large part to LTE related installation and maintenance work.
One of the hallmark tenets of NATE is safety. NATE continues to pursue opportunities to work with tower owners, carriers, general contractors and subcontractors to ensure that communication on job sites is given the proper focus and safety is not compromised with the flurry of work that is characteristic of multi-employer sites. With the record level of activity upon us, it is imperative that everyone involved in the wireless infrastructure chain put forth extra effort in order to ensure that safety remains the number one priority in this industry moving forward.
I want to make sure that TowerXchange readers are aware of some of the outstanding safety resources and programs NATE is promoting to help industry stakeholders perform quality work in a safe manner.
NATE’s Qualified Contractors Evaluation Checklist provides a road map of guidelines for everyone involved in hiring tower construction firms to follow in order to ensure that only qualified contractors are hired for work. With new companies springing up frequently in this industry, it is imperative that NATE’s checklist is adhered to by carriers, tower owners and general contractors. The NATE Qualified Contractors Evaluation Checklist can be downloaded and printed from this link.
The Association is also working hard to promote the NATE Tower Site Hazard Recognition Guide. Designed specifically for the on-site personnel of carriers, broadcasters, owners, operators, general contractors and any others responsible for activities on a tower site, the guide was developed to improve industry safety. NATE has long believed that education is vital to improving safety on tower sites and it is the responsibility of all tower construction companies, owners and operators to contribute to the safety of on-site personnel. The NATE Tower Site Hazard Recognition Guide is available online and serves as a step-by-step guide for project managers, site superintendents and other employees to recognize and effectively address potentially hazardous situations. The guide is free for everyone in the industry and can be accessed by visiting www.natehome.com.
Another program that continues to shape the industry from a safety standpoint is the NATE STAR Initiative program. The program emphasizes safety, training, accountability and reliability by asking participating companies to commit to requisite levels of training, site safety audits and the implementation of safety programs while adhering to industry best practices. NATE is proud to see continued growth in the STAR Initiative program and we believe that the record number of program participants will be leaders in 2014 and beyond by ensuring that a culture of safety permeates industry wide. Visit www.natehome.com to view a list of companies who are participants in this program.
NATE’s Tower Climber Orientation is another valuable online educational and screening tool for employers to use when providing prospective tower climbers important information on what a career is like in this field. The goal of this orientation program is to promote the profession in and out of industry circles and also to help employers determine which applicants are truly interested in this line of work before investing in training and preparing them to work on tower sites in the field.
The Association has recently launched an exciting new resource called the NATE Exchange. The NATE Exchange is a convenient, consumer-driven, “one stop shop” website platform for tower construction and maintenance companies and individual tower technicians around the globe to gain access to the most sophisticated and up to date training courses in the tower industry. Additionally, if you are a NATE member company, you qualify for discounted rates on designated training courses offered on this exchange portal. http://natehome.com/nate-exchange
Finally, I would like to invite everyone to attend the 19th Annual NATE UNITE Conference & Exposition which will be held February 24-27, 2014 in San Diego, California. NATE UNITE 2014 is shaping up to be the best annual conference and exposition in the industry to date! This is the place to be if you are involved in our diverse industry as a tower owner, carrier, general contractor, tower construction firm, tower climber, manufacturer, media member or an industry enthusiast! Visit NATE’s website to download the NATE UNITE 2014 Sponsor & Exhibitor Prospectus; view the event brochure; or to register to attend.
In closing, I encourage all tower industry stakeholders involved in foreign markets to take the opportunity to explore the possibility of having your company become a member of NATE. It is a high priority for NATE moving forward to continue our membership growth in foreign markets. Collaborating with the leaders and decision makers involved with entities like TowerXchange is a great opportunity to meet those objectives. After all, safety and education has no borders!
To contact a NATE representative, call the toll free number (888) 882-5865 (U.S.), 605-882-5865 or visit the NATE website at www.natehome.com
