GWO – these three letters have transformed the international wind industry in record time and actually created a standard. Uniform safety training is saving companies lots of money and employees can work anywhere in the world.

Behind the three letters GWO is the Global Wind Organisation. It published its standard for health and safety (HS) training nearly two years ago and with its guidelines established the ­basis for uniform minimum standards for employee training. Meanwhile, the GWO standard is in its sixth revision.

The basic training is divided into five modules. In the field of onshore, they include the instruction blocks “working at height,” “fire awareness,” “first aid” and “manual handling.” In the offshore ­segment, additional skills are added, such as sea ­survival and how to exit a helicopter underwater. In addition, many training centres offer additional special ­certifications which, although important, are not part of the GWO standard; some examples are helicopter winch operator training, advanced hub rescue, and ­technician core skills.

Certification pays off

Although the non-profit organization GWO has only 12 members, its standard has spread rapidly. Currently, there are some 60 training centres worldwide offering training in full or partial compliance with the standard and certified in accordance with the criteria of the GWO. Most of these centres are located in ­Europe, but some are in the United States, South ­Korea and even New Zealand. The magic behind this is actually easy to explain, because through its corporate members the GWO represents a huge market force. For instance, companies that want to work for Dong Energy or Siemens, have no chance of setting foot on the job site without GWO-trained employees.

The result is a flourishing business for certified vendors. When formerly country-specific safety ­training certificates expire, for instance, opportunity knocks for the training centres. Everyone affected needs refresher training. The GWO basic course takes 6.5 days to complete all of the modules. In addition, the validity periods for the individual modules are limited. That means that regular refresher courses are on the programme to ensure that staff can ­demonstrate all the required and valid certificates. One of the first training centres ever to be certified by GL in accordance with the GWO standard was the Polish akademia_wiatru. Often, providers have to make an initial investment to meet the requirements. Such an investment may include climbing towers that meet the minimum height of 7 m. However, the ­efforts to get certified are worthwhile because manufacturers require their employees to be certified in ­accordance with the new standard. “We qualify ­employees for Siemens and Vestas, and offer all of the modules prescribed by the GWO standards,” says Dmitrj Smirnov, the Sales Manager at wiatru.

Work without barriers

The new standard helps the industry as a whole because for the first time it offers basic training which is accepted not only by individual manufacturers and other companies in the wind industry, but also by the authorities in the respective countries. In this area, in particular, difficulties have frequently arisen when different or additional occupational safety requirements were imposed. That made working abroad ­difficult.

“The GWO standard is universally accepted as a basis. That has eliminated these barriers. This helps the entire wind industry enormously,” says Jakob Lau Holst of the Danish Wind Industry Organisation. After all, the Danes are heavily invested in this business. “Another advantage is, of course, that the employees get the best training. That means they are tied up for a few days, but then the company does not have to pay for double training anymore,” he adds.

Working at high altitudes makes special demands on safety. Quality training for workers is all the more important.

(Photo: Mines Rescue)

Most of these GWO-certified training centres are located in the United Kingdom. Recently, the Mines Rescue Service, together with the manufacturer ­Senvion, commissioned a new wind turbine facility, including an MD 70 wind turbine in order to train service technicians for onshore facilities. Even ­Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing made sure not to miss the opening date. At the inauguration, he hit the nail right on the head. “The continued growth in the sector offers a great opportunity for companies such as Mines Rescue Service to expand and ­diversify, and this is helping to support employment and training throughout Scotland.”

However, most of the training centres are located on English territory. Mines Rescue now maintains six training centres, two of which are equipped with a wind turbine and specifically tailored to the wind industry. “Of course, the new centre in Crossgates helps companies based in Scotland to save on travel and accommodation costs for their employees. We now offer first rate training,” says Errol Parrish,  ­Operations Manager at Mines Rescue, looking at the practical side of the issue.

Chip card access

In any case, the companies in the British Isles seem to be capitalising quite well on the booming ­demand for specialised professionals in the wind energy industry. This is particularly true for the European offshore wind market. “Up to now, although the UK has no manufacturers or a large industry of its own, what it does have is a lot of experience in the construction and operation of offshore wind farms,” says Wim Keen, a managing partner and energy consultant at Antal International. He helps his customers keep an eye out for suitable staff. “Specialists are needed in all phases. This ranges from planning to site surveys, to construction. In these areas, in particular, many specialists come from Belgium, Holland and ­England,” he says. And this is precisely where ­English companies can show their good cards. “There were just a lot of wind farms built offshore all around ­England. So, of course, there is a ­correspondingly high level of experience here.”

Chris Streatfeild, the Director of Health Safety at the industry association RenewableUK also sees this as a trump card. But he does not necessarily want to shout it from the rooftops. “Basically, from the oil and gas business, we have a long maritime tradition and the UK is the largest market for offshore wind ­energy,” he says. The result is that even before the GWO standard came along, the English had already made considerable strides in terms of HSE.

The national skills of the Offshore Petroleum ­Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) are among the world’s best training ­standards for safer work at sea. All of its courses, ­certificates and training programmes completed by employees are stored on a special chip card. ­Technicians simply hold the card in front of a scanner located at a port or helicopter ­terminal and are cleared to work at a maritime ­construction site. Streatfeild is striving for something similar in the wind industry. “We’re working with the key ­companies from the wind industry toward a ­verification system and want to consider what kind of details could be stored on such a card starting in ­October. This is still an on-going process,” he says.

Just as important as safety, however, is the content of the training for service technicians. In that regard, the Training Centre for Renewable Energy (BZEE) has done real pioneering work in Husum, ­Schleswig-Holstein. The largest European and North American wind associations are part of the ­academy’s network. Together with local partners, the BZEE has already established skills training in Canada, the USA and several European countries. Just recently six new training centres have opened in France. “The ­demand for personnel in the wind industry is on the rise in Europe. At the same time it is difficult to find qualified electricians or mechatronics specialists. In countries, such as France, the unemployed are trained and after several months of courses get a second chance. In Germany it is becoming ­increasingly difficult to get enough participants due to the good economic climate and the increasingly ­stringent requirements of the employment offices,” says Beate Buhl of the BZEE.

Torsten Thomas