Leading renewable energy consultancy and service provider, Natural Power, has completed a series of emergency rescue training exercises at three major wind farm sites in Scotland with the global training expert, Maersk Training.
As a core element to Natural Power’s HSEQ strategy that runs throughout the business, the emergency rescue training took place at Fred.Olsen Rewnewables’ Brockloch Rig Wind Farm in Dumfries, Crystal Rig Wind Farm in the Scottish Borders and Rothes Wind farm in Morayshire.
The training, delivered by Maersk Training, included a review of the rescue concept for specific wind turbines outlining recommendations for improvements and in conjunction with the practical training exercises that followed in site.
In addition to revision on the rescue and evacuation equipment and principals, the training also included an evacuation from the nacelle, a ladder rescue and an assessment of the emergency drills and emergency rescue procedure.
James Hamilton, Service Delivery Manager, Site Operations & Asset Management/Sean Dryburgh, Health, Safety & Environmental Manager at Natural Power, said: “Health and safety are at the core of our business and influence everything we do. We are continually looking at ways to ensure our customers’ sites provide a safe working environment for everyone.
“Live training like this is essential to the on-going asset management services we provide globally, and it was a really positive experience to work with the training experts at Maersk to deliver a high level of training to our team at these three critical sites.”
Alister Newlands, Safety & Survival Instructor at Maersk Training, said: “The team at Natural Power has been a pleasure to work with. They provided complete transparency for the review of the rescue concepts and were incredibly receptive to feedback, a refreshingly pro-active approach to the management of emergencies.
“The challenge of applying rescue principles to a bespoke environment is one that any wind turbine technician may face in an emergency. The practical training exercises have provided invaluable experience and, very importantly, the self-belief that they are capable of rescuing their colleagues from a wind turbine environment.”
