Mitigation of safety issues in telecommunication towers

Abstract

Tbe mcrease in mobile phone use and newer technologies, like wireless email and web access, has created virtual explosion in tower construction Even though, there are labour legislations in Sri T-anka regarding safety issues still the state of affairs at sites are not favourable enough to safeguard the workers. There are evidences for occurring serious accidents, injuries at an alarming level in construction sites than in other industries during last few years. This research was carried out to understand the major safety issues in different stages and to create the knowledge among the community on how the people and environment get affected from the tower construction. This research was carried out mainly by collection of information and interviews on in-house issues. Further, a detailed survey was carried out on communication towers. It was noted that there are key issues, which are not addressed or rather not paid enough attention from relevant authorities; such as regular maintenance of steel structures, grounding, balancing of load, identification the role of each stakeholders, communication lapses, lack of professionals to manage the structures after erecting, etc. Based on all the key findings, a safety audit checklist was formulated for new and operating towers to improve the quality and safety of the structure.