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09/02/2003
From the NATE Office
As I write this article I am just concluding my preparation for the NATE Summer Conference. The Summer Conference is something of a marvel to me: NATE’s Board of Directors and Committee Members all gather together for a couple days to tend to the business of the Association. These men and women are all volunteers. They attend the conference at their own expense and donate their precious time in making sure NATE’s work is being accomplished. Frankly, I find the whole process remarkable.
But that is what you get from a collection of people who truly believe in what they are doing. It has been called to my attention recently that there is some confusion among non-NATE members over what NATE is and how we operate. There is apparently a misunderstanding that NATE is somehow a group separate from tower erectors attempting to impose its will from a distance. This is a misunderstanding I would like to clear up.
NATE is tower erectors, and the Association’s plans and efforts are directed by the people who are making or have made their living working hundreds of feet off the ground.
NATE is approximately 600 companies – both erectors and those in related industries – who believe that by coming together we are stronger. The effectiveness is beyond doubt. The industry is safer because the people who work on towers have assembled safety and educational materials that they agreed were the best practices. OSHA changed their rules and their attitude because the men and women who know towers have dedicated years to educating that agency through NATE.
A group of individuals who are competitors, yet are willing to set that aside and work for the good of the industry, is phenomenal. That is who NATE is and that is what NATE does.
This next year may well hold NATE’s most important impact on the industry to date. Through the development of the NATE Climber Training Standard, all training programs, whether in-house or commercial, will be able to prove their viability or have their inadequacy exposed. Quality training, regardless of the source, will be verifiable and recognizable.
As the leader in industry safety, NATE will also provide a climber training program to accompany the standard. This document will demonstrate the skills and abilities that climbers must acquire to be deemed ready to address specific climbing and rescue challenges.
The remaining months of 2003 hold other opportunities for NATE to have continued impact. For tower erectors to affect change however, you need a recognized voice. That voice is NATE.
If you want to make a difference, then I hope you will join the hundreds of other companies who make up the unified voice of this industry through NATE. If you are already a member, make sure and renew your membership by the end of this month.
The individual parts can never be stronger than the sum of the whole. I am looking forward to the continued accomplishments this association will achieve because tower erectors and those in related industries have bound together for the benefit of all.
By: Patrick Howey, NATE Administrator
Patrick Howey
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