Tower workers: Are you using safety sleeves correctly?

Dayton, OH — Communications tower workers using cable safety sleeves for fall protection must make sure the cable is secured and properly tensioned before starting work.

The reminder is part of a new video from NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. The video highlights the continued collaboration between NATE’s Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee and the University of Dayton’s Structures and Materials Assessment, Research, and Test (SMART) Laboratory. Together, the groups test equipment – under real-world conditions – that meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute.

The team performed more than 150 test drops. Its biggest takeaway?

“If you do not have tension on the wire rope, some of the sleeves will not function at all and may fall,” Joey Deuer, president and founder of Deuer Development, says in the video.

Other recommendations:

• Only use the sleeve according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
• Ensure the user’s harness or body doesn’t contact the sleeve while climbing.
• Don’t park unsecured sleeves on a cable while not in use; they may fall if the cable starts shaking.
• Undamaged sleeves can be reused for rescue retrieval.