SAFETY ON WIND TURBINE OPERATION BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

WIND TURBINE SAFETY OPERATION
How to stay safe in operating wind turbines?

• When working on wind turbines, technicians and workers are subject to a number of hazards. These hazards are mainly due to the height, the confined environment, the electrical equipment, and the possibility of turbine motion.

• Falling from a height is the most serious hazard. The number of workrelated fatal occupational injuries in 2008 in the United States due to falls from height was 700.

• Human error or lack of knowledge and ignoring safety rules are among the other causes of accidents.

• It is necessary that technicians learn about safety rules and follow them carefully. Training for safety and rescue is provided to workers by employers.

• It is the responsibility of an employer to provide a safe environment for the workers. Because of the hazardous nature of work on wind turbines, moreover, it is a worker’s responsibility to care for his or her safety as well as the safety of other workers.

• Safety regulations are set and monitored by authorities in each country. In the United States, these regulations are set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

• A mindset for a good technician is that “safety is rule number 1, always.”

• For any job that involves hazards, personal protection equipment (PPE) is to be used in order to reduce the risk of having accidents. PPE is not the same for all jobs and depends on the nature of a hazard(s) involved in a job and the work environment.

• For working on wind turbines, PPE comprises climbing gear, a hard hat, and fall arrest equipment. In the simplest version, climbing gear includes a harness to wear, a cable grip, and a locking carabiner. The fall arrest gear is a lanyard with which a worker can hook himself or herself to a secure point during work.

• Long-sleeve shirts and pants, with no jewelry or unnecessary items on the body (or in the pockets) are part of the proper clothing that a wind turbine worker must bear in mind. A pair of gloves is often very useful when climbing a ladder.

• PPE must always be checked before each use to make sure it is in perfect order. A periodic professional inspection, for instance, a yearly inspection, may also become necessary, depending on the frequency of usage.

• A good safe action is to respect tagout and lockout practice at work. Tagout implies putting a note on a device or equipment, notifying others about a hazard or danger. Lockout implies that equipment or a device, or a place containing such a device, be physically locked to prevent it from being accessed.

• In addition to training for safety, a technician working on wind turbines receives training for self-rescue in case it becomes necessary to escape from a turbine without using the ladder inside the tower.

• It is also essential that a worker learns how to rescue a colleague who might get involved in an accident. A fi rst rule to follow is that one must never put his or her safety at risk in such a rescue mission.