Though towers are built to withstand gale-force winds, massive ice loads, damaging hails and the worst Mother Nature can throw at them, accidents do occur, sometimes taking lives or causing serious injury. With the advent of cellular, PCS and digital phones, along with digital television, the need for new towers has risen sharply in recent years and continues to grow at an impressive rate.

As the number of new towers increases and existing towers age, the issue of tower safety - already critical in our industry - has become even more important, not only to tower builders like us but also to the tower owners who must monitor and maintain their investments.