| Comparisons to ... ...other countries would be interesting. Orange, Deutsche-Telekom, Virgin...
"more than half of the tower fatalities we examined, workers were free-climbing" Well, that isn't surprising. When you see how little they (subs) are paid, time in money.
Did you read the comments at the end of that (article) link? Looks like the spouse of the main victim puts the blame on ATT (not the sub's sub, nor the victim's failed equipment. I am sorry for the loss, but blame isn't going to get people back. Awareness, safety and legislation just might save future lives). But we here know how "legislation and telcos works...) 
I wonder how many towers are owned/operated by ATT to compare. I mean, it ATT has 150K towers, losing 15 lives over 8 years is really small loss (but still a loss).
Then look at companies like American Tower (owns 30K towers in the US). They likely sub out to others too.
"New entrants into the market have also preferred to use infrastructure rented from dedicated infrastructure service providers or from larger operators. Virgin Mobile for example uses the network of mobile operator Tata Teleservices, while Etisalat's Indian joint venture plans to use the infrastructure of Reliance Infratel, a dedicated infrastructure services company, for its rollout of mobile services."
(everyone leases, no one really owns...no tax burden and when it comes due, they sell off as loss or refurb/lease again... )
See! This is the problem I have with outsourcing. It save money to the share holder (profit), but at cost to the personnel (human factor).
Not getting me up there. Bet the pucker factor is 10. 
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Splat |
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 VegasManAre We There Yet?Premium
join:2002-11-17
Schaumburg, IL | said by cableties: Looks like the spouse of the main victim puts the blame on ATT (not the sub's sub, nor the victim's failed equipment. I am sorry for the loss, but blame isn't going to get people back. Awareness, safety and legislation just might save future lives). But we here know how "legislation and telcos works...)
I noticed that also. My first question was why doesn't she blame him? He is the moron that didn't use his safety equipment. Laws and regulations don't stop anything, it's compliance that stops the fatalities.
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In need of a Vegas vacation.
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Samwoo
join:2002-02-15
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | I wonder if one could blame time pressures. Safety equipment makes things slower. Being slow probably means being unemployed. I wonder what expectations are on these climbers for speed and "efficiency". |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | said by Samwoo:I wonder what expectations are on these climbers for speed and "efficiency". Probably a little less than the company's desire to pay out death benefits. |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| reply to VegasMan
It sounds like the incentives aren't set up properly. The companies who are hiring should have a policy that the climbers will be fired on the spot if they aren't using the safety gear properly, OSHA-compliant, etc. There is no reason for a falling death on a tower, the climbers should be using dual-clip harnesses all the time, so that they are always tethered at one point. |
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| reply to cableties
said by cableties:See! This is the problem I have with outsourcing. It save money to the share holder (profit), but at cost to the personnel (human factor). If you want the truth then follow the money.
The "outsourcing saves money" is a lie. However, outsourcing is a great way to transfer large sums of money from publicly held corporations to private companies.
The people really getting hosed by the outsourcing scam are the stock holders. |
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bemis
join:2008-07-18
Reading, MA Reviews:
·Comcast
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply to cableties
In the case of Foxconn's supposedly bad working conditions, people keep saying why blame Apple? All OEMs like Apple buy from ODMs like Foxconn. Foxconn may even be one of the better companies in terms of treatment, but because they have 100K employees and the focused spot beam of being the Apple supplier, they get the attention.
On to my point, "blaming Apple" has resulted in tangible action from Foxconn, it also results in tangible action from other ODMs who would want to supplant Foxconn and get a contract with Apple.
Much in the same way I feel that blaming AT&T for workers' deaths will help to put the spotlight and pressure where it needs to be. No one is going to give a damn about one family's court case against TowerCom Inc., but if they're suing AT&T it gets more attention.
It's also very possible that it can be proven that AT&T created an unrealistic contract where the only way it can all be done is if short cuts are taken.
A successful case against AT&T means that they actually will be held accountable for safety of those they contract to do the jobs they need done. They can no longer sit back and dictate contract prices while legally washing their hands of whatever sorts of a shortcuts and horror stories result from the subs attempting to eek out their profit while being squeezed by AT&T.
It's a shame these things happen, but anyone who has worked in an environment where you must produce results, and are under the time gun, will understand why this happens... you do an action dozens of times per week for months, maybe years on end. By taking a short cut you are able to meet your quota, maybe even go home early to see your family. It's the same reason you see roofers up there w/o fall arrestors on--it takes so much time to setup, it impedes your work, and 99/100 times you're fine, and often enough that 1/100 will only be an 'oh shit' moment... but every now and then you're going to hear about the one where that 1/100 resulted in their death or serious injury. How many times do you see someone working and not wearing eye or hearing protection? Yeah OK, not quite the same as climbing those towers, but when your job is to climb the towers day in and day out it becomes second nature to you. |
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