There are several factors which need to be taken into consideration before allotting budgets and resources for a wind O&M programme.

The staff can train with a wind maintenance service provider to learn the skills needed for the job. In terms of partnership, companies can also sign a contract that allows employees and a provider to team up on maintenance duties, and then the responsibilities can be transferred over a period of time.

The decision as to whether to perform services in-house or to outsource will depend greatly on the particular strengths of the company in question. In either case, according to Dr. Joanna McKenzie, Renewable Energy Consultant, SgurrEnergy Ltd, the same criteria will apply:
 

• Prior experience/qualification in same or similar industries is a must.
•  Industry standard or must have qualifications identified and rolled out to applicable vendors.
• In-house specific or unique training provided in-house, typically from on the job learning.
• Experience gained at differing sites, learning about the processes, problems and solutions therein.
• Recommend a trainee who has experience of and can input into all facets of a site’s lifetime.

Outsourcing

Specialists recommend that a qualified O&M provider should have in-house expertise for activities that occur on a regular or frequent basis, whereas occasional activities that require unique equipment or training may be subcontracted but managed by the O&M provider.

Assessing the same, Dr. McKenzie said the key is to strike a balance between the requirements of the warranty and the insurance provider to make sure routine maintenance and inspections are made. Within this procedure, key areas which require attention outwith scheduled maintenance may be highlighted. However, often more in-depth, routine monitoring is required to identify revenue-affecting issues, faults and components operating outwith their design or safety parameters. In this case the outsourcing of SCADA analysis or of condition monitoring systems can be highly valuable.

“As an O&M provider, we must ensure that our safety, standards and operating practices are as good as or better than our client whilst at the same time ensuring that our remit is fulfilled. By conforming to industry and international standards (such as ISO & OHSAS) we maintain a consistent vigilance that this happens,” said Dr. McKenzie.

“Unique service providers to the O&M industry will have a specific skill set and experience on their service. Whilst a regular maintainer will not be competent or experienced in these specific fields, cost against benefit should always be considered. Return may only be predicted by virtue that the benefit of paying for a service has prevented or reduced any costly downtime of lost revenue,” she said.

Planning

When planning maintenance activities, time is probably the most critical component, says Keith Plantier, program manager for Texas Wind Energy Institute at Texas State Technical College.

“The team should be afforded sufficient time to complete the task with anomalies that may occur,” said Plantier.

He added that this takes the burden off from the team which is trying to rush to finish a job. This rushing could compromise safety in doing so. 

“Allow time for such items as daily briefs both at the beginning of shift and the end of shift, turnovers, etc.  The briefs are critical to the daily activities for the planned maintenance and gets the team talking about the “what ifs” and how to react.  If no anomalies occur or are mitigated by good briefs and turnovers there should be opportunity to role the schedule in with the understanding that the next planned maintenance activity should still have the same original time line,” said Plantier.
 
Representation

A company has to ensure that there is a strong representation on and off site or a full site management.

“In any training environment, it is essential to provide a clear communication route; in this case this is true both during the training and beyond, where on-site personnel may need immediate communication with in-house staff. Similarly, the clear identification of key personnel who may be contacted in particular situations is required, as is a list of possible deputies who will answer in their absence,” said Dr. McKenzie.

Alongside this, clear induction into on-site procedures for incidence reporting, standard health and safety practices must be provided to all personnel, and in the case of incidence or health and safety procedures clear documentation must be provided in a clear and accessible location.

All safe systems of work and CDM or equivalent systems should be clearly listed and all personnel held accountable to maintain these systems.

Plantier believes that it is up to the industry to regulate itself and put a culture in place which does not sacrifice health and safety. 

“If smaller independent companies start trying to do it all on a shoe string budget and an accident occurs than all bets are off as to how the industry will be regulated,” he said. “OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) will step in and start forcing regulations, which will affect productivity and budgets in a short time.  Working in the wind industry is a unique experience and if a company cannot put into place a culture and attitude with regards to safety because of budgets, what message does that send to the public and OSHA?  If this happens the company should face penalty and prosecution.”