"Hanging off a blade with 10 m/s winds sounds like the perfect place to have lunch "
Madrid / 28 September 2021
Offshore wind service technicians often refer to their jobs of keeping enormous wind turbines running like clockwork as being as challenging as it is fulfilling. Putting safety first, colleagues from Siemens Gamesa scale impressive heights and quite literally put their lives on the line every day. Heading offshore, technicians in our industry carry out their daily work at sea: above the water, away from their families and friends, all in the drive to create a greener future for us all.
Beatrice Austin
beatrice.austin.ext@siemensgamesa.comAs an offshore wind service technician, climbing turbines with all of your equipment, working at incredible heights with heavy tools, big components, and high voltages, all the while out to sea and in high winds, is all in a day’s work. Morrison explains that the technicians are given a morning briefing and are kitted-up in their extensive safety gear before sailing on a crew transfer vessel to the site.
“You still have to get all the gear to the top of the turbine, and that’s just the start of the day,” Morrison goes on to say.
“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.
From day one, safety has been drilled into us. It’s my life. It is there to protect us and is 100% the most important thing. No money comes before safety aspects. These are big towers in the middle of the sea, and the sea can be quite stormy; you [also] have to be careful of lightning.
Siemens Gamesa believes that supporting greater diversity in the global wind industry is crucial to ensure future success. The variety of perspectives, experiences, and opinions that arise have been proven to increase team performance and individual job satisfaction.
“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.”