Business View - December 2014 57
The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) is
the global leader in safety, standards and education
for the wireless telecommunications and broadcast
industries. NATE is dedicated to ensuring that its 735-
plus member companies and all industry stakeholders
have the necessary resources to be safe and produc-
tive. The work that the tower construction and main-
tenance industry carries out on a daily basis allows
for enjoyment of modern conveniences and ensures
citizens in rural and urban regions can access commu-
nication services in an efficient, timely and convenient
manner. This deployment of broadband and wireless
infrastructure technologies plays an invaluable role in
the nation’s economic well-being and global competi-
tiveness, and for upgrading vital services such as util-
ity and public safety communication networks.
This robust growth cycle in the industry has not been
without its challenges, however. Constructing and
maintaining communications networks has resulted in
accidents and, tragically, some fatalities. NATE is play-
ing a leading role on the Wireless Industry Safety Task
Force to achieve sustainable improvements in the in-
dustry and help solve the safety, quality and workforce
development challenges that confront the industry.
The Wireless Industry Safety Task Force consists of top
safety and operations executives representing wire-
less carriers, tower owners, OEMs, turnkey/construc-
tion management firms and NATE.
The task force includes Alcatel-Lucent, American Tow-
er, AT&T, Bechtel, Black & Veatch, Crown Castle, Erics-
son, General Dynamics, Goodman Networks, Jacobs,
MasTec Network Solutions, Motorola Solutions, Na-
tional Association of Tower Erectors, Nexius, Nokia So-
lutions and Networks, SAI Communications, Samsung,
SBA Communications Inc., Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cel-
lular, Velocitel, Verizon Wireless and WesTower Com-
munications.
To organize the task force in an efficient manner, par-
ticipants have been assigned to a Skills-Based Training
Subcommittee, a Standardization Requirements Sub-
committee, a Governance Working Group and a Manu-
facturing and Engineering Solutions Working Group.
The Skills-Based Training Subcommittee recently un-
veiled a comprehensive Skills-Based Training Compe-
tencies Matrix resource that the group has been work-
ing on for more than four months. The Skills-Based
Training Competencies Matrix is a document that out-
lines the minimum competencies and skills required
for five categories of workers in the industry: 1) Help-
CONSTRUCTION
