"Hanging off a blade with 10 m/s winds sounds like the perfect place to have lunch "

Recently on The Offshore Wind Podcast, co-hosts David Lenti from Siemens Gamesa and Stewart Mullin from the Global Wind Energy Council interviewed Caroline Morrison, a Technical Supervisor for Rope Access at Siemens Gamesa. Caroline – or Caz as she prefers – provided a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible importance of safety, the demands of the job, and the impact it has on the personal lives of everyone involved.

“It is a tough job, but it is rewarding,” Morrison explained when she was asked about the job, before continuing, “You can be out on the ropes for up to four hours at a time, and you even take your lunch to the top and eat it out on the ropes.” When Morrison refers to being ‘out on the ropes,’ she references hanging securely outside the offshore wind turbine nacelle, some 60 to 80 meters above the waterline. Abseiling down the massive blades, inspecting them and making any necessary repairs, is no simple task.

“If you are completely relaxed about it, going over the edge, maybe you’ll be too complacent,” suggests Morrison to express the importance of being alert while out on the ropes. Morrison claims “there is still a bit of adrenaline, especially if the winds are up to 10 meters per second and that’s bustling around you,” explaining how she keeps alert.

 

“Sounds like the perfect place to have lunch,” Mullin responds amusingly, drawing attention to this unique insight into the job.

For Siemens Gamesa, safety is a prerequisite for all we do. Regardless of who you work for, what you do, or where, we make safety our choice, and expect everyone else to do the same. Across the entire wind industry, we strive to keep all persons safe: properly trained and properly equipped with the knowledge to proactively prevent accidents and being prepared to handle them if they occur. For Morrison and colleagues, remaining conscious of the risks surrounding their work is ever-present.  

Morrison reports that while she finds the job equally as feasible for women and men alike, it is not always easy to be a female working on-site. “There are various problems that come with being a female, and I do get looked at negatively sometimes. As a woman in the industry, you don’t always get the same respect, and you have to develop a thicker skin.”

While the day-to-day undertakings of offshore wind service technicians certainly provide more adrenaline than what most people experience, Morrison admits that the job “can be hard on family relationships because there are always people and families left behind.” Balancing the long working hours, including rotating shift patterns with several consecutive days on the job and travel - she cites considerable advantages to the job that make it a unique and fascinating occupation. 

“There are more good sides than there are bad,” says Morrison. “Sometimes it is crystal blue skies, flat seas, and sun in the sky, and those are the special days. And I love having several days off in a row.”