Leading international renewable energy consultancy, Natural Power, and marine, engineering and offshore specialists, SeaRoc, have jointly published an article on learning safety lessons from the European offshore wind industry in the offshore supplement of North American Wind Power. The article goes into depth about how North America can learn from the European experience, focusing on items that will be particularly important to the US industry as it matures in time; from vessel inspection to personnel competency.
“Learning Safety Lessons from the European Experience” was written by Jim Adams, President of North American Operations at Natural Power, Eric Briar, Chief Operating Officer and Toby Mead, Head of Offshore Development, both from SeaRoc – part of the Natural Power group.
To help alleviate some of the current HSE concerns related to offshore wind farm construction due to a rise in incidents over the past 18 months the article emphasises:
*Vessel inspection: the international Marine Contractors Association has developed a common marine inspection document relevant to a range of vessels
*Operating procedures: the importance and quality of operating procedures cannot be overstated in safety projects
*Multiple interfaces: hundreds of personnel interfaces required conscientious management and co-ordinated planning
*Communication: with inevitable multinational offshore teams, it is important that the working language is maintained
*Equipment testing: potential failures in equipment should be identified during planning, development of methods or evaluation processes
*Personnel competency: inexperienced personnel offering low-cost solutions may look attractive, but generally cost more when scopes have not been understood
Commenting on the matter, Jim Adams said: “ It is important that North America leverages from the European offshore experience so the industry can be ahead of the curve as offshore wind projects come to fruition. Developers need to make sure that everything is being done to ensure that competencies are adequate, assessed, monitored and revalidated.”
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Source: Natural Power, August 01, 2011;