A team of engineers from Dale Power Solutions have completed an intensive 4 day marine safety training programme, at Narec and South Tyneside College, to enable them to work safely when working on offshore wind sites.
Trainees undertook 2 days of Working at Height and Rescue Training on Narec’s 27m high Training Tower in Blyth and spent a further 2 days at the South Tyneside College – Marine Safety Training Centre.
At Narec, instructors from Total Access Ltd trained technicians on access methods when climbing a turbine using the vertical ladder and fixed vertical fall arrest system. The technicians also received techniques for self-recovery and casualty recovery.
Steven Caseley, Commercial Director, Narec said: “ Working at height and vessel transfer is an essential yet hazardous process when conducting vital operations and maintenance offshore. Our Training Tower is an open access facility and we are pleased to be working with South Tyneside College to support the training of technicians embarking on a career in the wind industry .”
The Working at Height and Rescue Training was part of a further 2 day Marine Safety Training – Vessel Transit and Transfer training course delivered at South Tyneside College – Marine Safety Training Centre and accredited by industry body, RenewableUK. This utilised the environmental pool which is able to simulate sea conditions likely to be experienced by technicians working offshore.
Graham Johnson, Head of School – Marine Safety Training Centre said: “ The partnership with Narec is a perfect fit; between us we are able to offer a complete solution to meet the turbine safety training requirements of the offshore wind industry. ”
Kevin Thompson, Service Operations Manager, Dale Power Solutions said: “ The training facilities and bespoke training package available as a result of the partnership between Narec and South Tyneside College has enabled us to provide the quality training we need to equip our engineers for working safely in the offshore renewables environment .”
[mappress] Offshore Wind Staff, February 8, 2012; Image : narec