UPDATE Sioux Falls Tower & Communications is preparing for planned visits from U.S. Congresswoman Kristi Noem of South Dakota and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr today, for a tower climb and a chance to speak with tower company representatives. The company said Noem will climb the facility’s training towers and tour the facility so she can get a sense of the upcoming 5G tower work.
Carr, meanwhile, will be taken up the 2,000 ft. tower for KDLT-TV, in Brandon. Sioux Falls Tower assisted when the tower was built in 1998. KDLT-TV is owned by Red River Broadcasting, which also owns the tower. Inside Towers reported Carr wants to get a sense of the broadcast repack work, up close. Carr previously climbed a nearly 50-foot communications tower wearing full safety gear in June.
The KDLT tower has an elevator; a ride up or down takes about 25 minutes. This NATE Broadcast Repack video shows the tower and elevator Carr will be on.
Here are some of the safety precautions Sioux Falls Tower will provide Carr, especially if he decides to climb on the “stick” at the top of the structure. Company President/CEO Craig Snyder and Director of Safety & Training Todd Thorin, provided this list:
- Donning a fall protection harness to make sure it fits over the Commissioner’s warm clothes.
- Going over winter-wear while working on towers. It’s going to be cold and most likely windy on the tower. He’ll need to be trained in what to wear and how to stay warm in cold weather conditions. Sioux Falls Tower will provide the clothing.
- 100 percent fall protection. During his time on the tower Carr will always be practicing 100 percent fall protection using his fall protection lanyards (affectionately known as “monkey tails”) and positioning lanyard.
- Carr will also wear industrial hard hat similar to a mountaineering hard hat.
- Sioux Falls Tower will also have placed, in advance, designated Fall-protection Anchorages so that Carr will not have to pick and choose his own, both in the elevator and at the elevator to platform transition at the top of the tower.
Noem’s climb will take place in the company’s new 25,000 square foot corporate office and state-of-the-art training center. Carr’s previous climb first included safety education and a short climb in the training center.
Snyder said the U.S. winning the race to 5G “can’t be overstated. We are very happy with what Senator John Thune and Commissioner Carr are doing to clear the path for this revolutionary update.” Carr’s climb coincides with a field hearing on 5G Thune plans to hold this afternoon in Sioux Falls.
October 12, 2018
