Safety measures for the Antennas Mounted at the Edge of the Rooftop (on Monopole or RT Tower)

1.         Poles less than 5m height will be equipped with step irons or a removable ladder system. Some form of attachment point for safety belt/harness will be installed.

2.         Poles higher than 5m are to be considered masts or towers and the standard recommendations as required during erection of towers needs to be applied, as mentioned below

i)          Lightening arrestor to be installed on legs adjacent to ones where BTS equipment is placed.

ii)        Fall arresting system (a system for the safety of workmen who are climbing the tower) must be properly installed.

iii)       Rest platforms must be installed at the specified heights as mentioned tower’s assembly/erection drawings

iv)       All the tower bolts must conform to the allowable torque limits as recommended by tower designer

v)         Torque test would be applied after finishing of tower erection by sub-contracting company in front of vendor’s Site Engineer (CW representative)

Protective and Safety Measures for Accessing Rooftop Structure Wall Mounted Antennas

Sometimes as per requirement by RF, height of antennas to be installed is such that they need to be installed on the walls of available structures. Care must be taken for fixing mounting poles have to be installed such that no permanent damage is being made to existing structures.

1.    Fixation of anchors has to be made on RCC (either on column or on slabs), must not be on brick/blocks  

2.    Access can usually be handled safely with a portable ladder if there is no inherent fall risk.

3.    If there is a potential fall risk, a permanent ladder with safety system will be installed.

4.    Working in a two-person team is a general rule of thumb whereby one worker can support the ladder of access for another worker.

5.    The ladder has to be of good quality according to local requirements.

Safety measures to be Adopted for Rooftop Structures and Wall Mounted Antennas

·         Access can usually be handled safely with a portable ladder if there is no inherent fall risk. If there is a potential fall risk, a permanent ladder with safety system will be installed.

·         Working in a two-person team is a general rule of thumb whereby one worker can support the ladder of access for another worker. The ladder has to be of good quality according to local requirements.

Safety Measures to be Taken Care of for Access to Antennas

Walkways:

·         Only trained personnel with proper certification shall access the antennas. Recommendation is accessing the antennas from rear where applicable.

 Exclusion Zones:

·         The minimum exclusion zones have to be in accordance with valued international regulations, or where not applicable, according to local standards. Personnel should not work on, or remain within exclusion zones. However passing and climbing through them should not present any hazard.

·         If the rooftop is to used by the owner for any purpose, or if the rooftop has public access, an exclusion zone must be clearly marked. Further, if within a public zone, the site must also be physically secured form unauthorized personnel.

·         A warning sign board should be placed on every roof top pole sites below the antennas, with written Caution!  “Please do not stand in front of antennas”. The size of sign board will be 3ft X 2ft which will contain both local and English text, back ground will be yellow whereas texts will be red,  aluminum or G.I sheet (both are non ferrous), thickness of sheet will be 3mm.

·         Radiation and exclusion zones related to microwave antennas should be according to local standards.

Note: ESM/Radiation exposure risk evaluation is to be done on a project specific basis where the output and frequency is known, in accordance with local regulations.

Safety Requirements Associated With Individual Types of Machinery and Equipment Used in Construction Works

   Lighting:

·         Shelter or equipment room shall be equipped with a permanent fluorescent light mounted on the ceiling of the room.

·         On a site-specific basis existing building with complex access routing will need emergency lighting. Further, it is recommended that shelters which would not immediately adjacent to access points have a light fitting near the shelter door installed.

    Hoisting:

·         Possible point of placement for a mobile crane for material lifts shall be marked on the site drawings. This point is for material lifts only and the lifting point for access to antennas via a cherry picker must be marked separately if applicable.

·         When hoisting/erecting is ongoing, safety areas and exclusion zones must be clearly indicated.

Safety Measures to be Taken Care of for Equipment Used in Construction Work on a Telecom Site

For construction of and GSM cell site following equipments is often in use

·      Batch Mixing Machine for concrete Mixing (Normally full load, 50Kg Cement, Machine is asked to be used)

·      Vibrator for Concrete compaction

·      Vibratory Plate or Reverse Vibratory Plate compactors for Soil Compaction

·      Crane for Tower Erection at some places

·      Chain Pulley for Tower Erection at some places and for lifting material like Generator on Rooftop Sites

·      Fast Moving Concrete Lifts for transporting concrete on Rooftop Sites

To use these equipments on site effectively and to have precautionary measures for any unforeseen risk of life or property following safety measures needs to be taken care of and adopted, with regard to use of equipments.

1.    Before start of work ensure that all equipment is in good working condition

2.    The moving or motion-transmitting components of any machinery and equipment used in construction works should be protected in a suitable manner.

3.    The electrical systems of machinery used in construction work should be properly earthed.

4.    Only trained staff is allowed to work on construction equipment.

5.    Staff using the equipment should be wearing respective personal protective equipment, and especially no operator with loose cloths is allowed to work on equipment

6.    Make sure that staff operating the equipment is alert all the time.

Safety Measures to be Taken During Demolition Work

Sometimes demolition and flattening of existing structures also need to be done which were either already built on site or come in the way of site hindering standard clearance way. Following are a few safety measures to be adopted during these destruction/demolition works.

1.       Perform only the demolition works mentioned in DEDs (Detailed Engineering Documents, e.g. Detailed Site Drawings and/or in TSSR (Technical Site Survey Report). Because these are the one for which necessary approvals and (structural and cost) analysis has already been made. And if it found to be some extra works needs to be done by Site Engineer, this has to be immediately reported to immediate manager and concerned department (e.g. Site Design, Site Acquisition etc.)

2.       Demolition works may only be performed under supervision of authorized and qualified personnel.

3.       Debris or waste materials, such as masonry, bricks or concrete chunks, resulting from the demolition work should not be piled and left to lie on the floors of the building. Such materials have only to be moved down from floor to floor after taking necessary safety measures.

4.       The part of the structure which would has be taken down as a whole cannot be demolished until safety of workers near or under that part has absolutely been ensured.

5.       A safety area will be formed around the part of the structure to be demolished, with dimensions at least twice as large as the height of the structure itself, which area should be barricaded with a guarding fence or atleast with safety strip.

6.       Building elements like glass doors, window panes or mirrors, which may prove to be dangerous during demolition work, should be dismantled, removed and moved away to a suitable location before start of the work.

7.       Workers to take part in the demolition should be provided with personal protective equipment such as goggles, hardhats, masks and steel-toed boots.