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Wind turbine maintenance technician

Wind turbine maintenance technician

Engineering and manufacturing

Level 3 - Technical Occupation

Install, service, maintain and repair wind turbines used for generating electrical power.

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Reference: OCC1455

Status: buildOccupational standard in development

Technical Education Products

ST1455:

Wind turbine maintenance technician

(Level 3)

Development stage

Employers involved in creating the standard:

, East Durham College, Equinor, Maersk, Newcastle college, Orsted, RWE, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, Siemens Gamesa, Vattenfall, Vestas

Summary

This occupation is found in the power generation industry. Wind power generation is a vital part of the government’s target to decarbonise the UK power system by 2035. Wind turbine technicians install, service, maintain and repair wind turbines that are used for generating electrical power on sites such as wind farms which may be located either on or off-shore. Employers within this sector are usually large, multinational organisations.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to test and inspect wind turbines and associated equipment and carry out preventative and corrective maintenance and servicing on mechanical, electrical and hydraulic components as required to ensure that turbine availability and power generation is maximised. A wind turbine technician is responsible for carrying out inspections and using computer-based diagnostic systems and techniques to locate faults. They decommission equipment and repair or replace components before recommissioning. They are also responsible for ensuring that service and maintenance records are completed. Wind turbine technicians usually require a driving licence to travel between sites. They must be comfortable working outdoors in all weathers and working at heights. They usually work shifts and perform stand by duties to keep equipment working when required.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with other technicians, they work with minimal supervision and typically report to a site manager.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for following health and safety procedures to ensure the safety of themselves and their colleagues in this high risk environment. They are responsible for ensuring that maintenance tasks are completed within timescales to minimise turbine downtime and maximise production.

Employers involved in creating the standard:

, East Durham College, Equinor, Maersk, Newcastle college, Orsted, RWE, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, Siemens Gamesa, Vattenfall, Vestas

Typical job titles include:

Service technicianeco
Technical support engineer - windeco
Wind turbine maintenance technicianeco
Wind turbine technicianeco

Keywords:

Electrical Power
Maintenance
Wind Farm
Wind Turbine
Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

K1: Wind turbine maintenance technician, role, responsibilities and escalation procedures.
K2: Planning, prioritisation, organisation, and time management techniques.
K3: Health and safety regulations and legislation relevant to the wind turbine maintenance technician's role. Management of health and safety at work regulations and health and safety at work act – roles and responsibilities. Safety briefings. Manual handling. Safety signage. Emergency stop procedures. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. Safety data sheets. Situational awareness, Housekeeping and slips, trips and falls. Noise regulations. Fire safety. Working in confined spaces. Access and egress.
K4: Risk assessments, hazards and risks. The hierarchy of control.
K5: Safe systems of work that are applicable to the wind turbine maintenance technician's role.
K6: Safe isolation of plant and electrical equipment in preparation for maintenance work. Permits, safe isolation policies and methods, lock off systems. Electrical safety, earthing, static electricity, stored energy. Proving dead.
K7: Safe isolation and depressurisation of mechanical plant and equipment in preparation for maintenance work. Permits, safe isolation policies, lock off systems. Proving zero energy.
K8: Personal protective equipment. Selection, use, inspection, maintenance and fitting.
K9: Working at height requirements and fall prevention procedures. Set up and use of equipment and restraints for working at height.
K10: Emergency and evacuation procedures, first aid, rescue and lifesaving devices. Firefighting devices.
K11: Safe transit to and from turbine.
K12: The UK’s net-zero commitment, principles of sustainability.
K13: Environmental and sustainability regulations and guidance. Environmental Protection Act. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE). Hazardous waste regulations.
K14: Mathematical principles.
K15: Mechanical engineering principles, aerodynamics, wind speed and direction, force and torque. Materials and their properties, units of measurement, friction, pressure, pascal's law.
K16: Single phase and three-phase equipment, plant, and systems, the operation of motors and generators, and the use of monitoring and protection equipment.
K17: Electrical engineering principles: circuit terminology, direct and alternating current, Ohm's Law, transformer theory, and power calculations. Low voltage and high voltage systems.
K18: Instrumentation and controls engineering principles, terminology, and calculations. Open and closed loop.
K19: Operating procedures for instrumentation and control devices: flow, level, pressure, and temperature instruments, analysers, transducers, transmitters, gauges, and pneumatics.
K20: Mechanical maintenance hand tools, power tools and measuring equipment. Pre-use check and calibration requirements. Equipment application, operation and care.
K21: Electrical maintenance tools, measurement and test equipment. Pre-use check and calibration requirements. Application, operation, and care requirements.
K22: Lifting operations practices. Lifting plans. Lifting equipment safety and LOLER regulations. Slinging and shifting practices, cranes and hoists pre and post use check, set up and operation. Mechanical handling aids, pre and post use check, set up use and storage requirements.
K23: Systems, components, function, application and operation of wind turbines. Drive train, generator, braking system, yaw system, cooling system, lubrication system, pitch system and converter system.
K24: Hydraulic systems, pipes, hoses and connections, pumps, valves, actuators and accumulators. Oil and filters.
K25: Principles of mechanical systems: pneumatics, hydraulics and pressure systems, gearbox ratios, flow ratios, step-down ratios. Machine specifications. Stored energy. Pressure relief valves.
K26: Bolted and welded connections, components. Installation and inspection methods, types of connection.
K27: Electrical components, resistors, batteries, switches, contactors, relays, diodes, bridge rectifiers and inverters, capacitors, transformers, generators, motors, fuses, circuit breakers and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs).
K28: Cable types and termination methods. Low voltage and high voltage.
K29: Sensors: wind sensors, temperature sensors, position sensors, pressure sensors. Calibration methods and requirements.
K30: Field instrumentation, communication devices and equipment used in system and process control. To include: Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, back up procedures. Protection devices.
K31: Inspection and testing practices and techniques: hydraulic systems, electrical systems, mechanical systems.
K32: Awareness of preventative and corrective maintenance requirements and approaches. Condition based monitoring, risk based inspections.
K33: Installation, commissioning and decommissioning of mechanical, electrical and ICA systems and equipment. Practices and techniques.
K34: Electrical plant, equipment, and systems maintenance requirements: preventative maintenance, repairing and replacing parts, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, and functional testing.
K35: Instrumentation and control equipment and control systems maintenance requirements and methods: preventative maintenance, repairing and replacing instruments and sensors, cleaning, setting up, calibration, and functional testing.
K36: Mechanical and hydraulic maintenance requirements and techniques: preventative maintenance repairing and replacing parts, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, and lubricating.
K37: Company policies, procedures and quality assurance requirements. What they are and why they are important
K38: Mechanical diagrams, schematics and symbols.
K39: Electrical diagrams. Types of diagrams used to represent circuits; symbols and abbreviations used to represent components in electrical schematics.
K40: Manufacturers instruction manuals, work instructions.
K41: Problem solving, root cause analysis and fault finding techniques, diagnostic tools.
K42: Continuous improvement systems and techniques.
K43: Teamworking principles.
K44: Principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.
K45: Written communication and documentation requirements. Test results, inspection results and service schedules.
K46: Non-written communication methods and techniques. Engineering maintenance terminology. Communication equipment and protocol. Signals used to direct and guide the movement of plant and equipment.
K47: Information technology and digital systems to support engineering maintenance. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and cyber security.

S1: Escalate issues outside limits of responsibility.
S2: Use planning, prioritising, organising, and time management techniques to plan tasks.
S3: Identify and organise resources to complete tasks. For example, components and consumables.
S4: Prepare and maintain the work environment.
S5: Comply with safe systems of work and electrical safety requirements.
S6: Comply with working at height and fall prevention procedures and requirements. Set up and use working at height equipment and restraints.
S7: Check, set up and use cranes and hoists.
S8: Apply slinging and shifting practices.
S9: Identify hazards and apply the hierarchy of control.
S10: Select, inspect, use, maintain and fit PPE.
S11: Follow emergency and evacuation procedures.
S12: Travel to wind turbine.
S13: Isolate and depressurise mechanical plant and equipment in preparation for maintenance work. Prove zero energy.
S14: Isolate electrical plant and equipment in preparation for maintenance work. Prove cables are dead.
S15: Follow environment and sustainability regulations and guidance and apply principles of sustainability.
S16: Apply mathematical principles to work tasks.
S17: Select, check, use and store powered tools, hand tools and equipment.
S18: Select, use, check and care for measuring instruments.
S19: Check, set up, store and use mechanical handling aids.
S20: Repair or replace cabling and terminate using specified method.
S21: Carry out inspections and testing on wind turbine systems, plant and equipment: hydraulic systems, electrical systems, mechanical systems.
S22: Apply preventative maintenance practices and techniques to hydraulic, electrical and mechanical systems.
S23: Repair or replace electrical parts.
S24: Repair or replace instruments and sensors.
S25: Repair or replace mechanical or hydraulic parts.
S26: Install, commission and decommission systems. Clean, lubricate, set up, calibrate and perform functional testing.
S27: Restore the work area on completion of the activity.
S28: Interrogate different types of intelligent control equipment. To include, PLCs, HMIs, Intelligent Starters, Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs).
S29: Follow company policies, procedures and quality assurance requirements.
S30: Interpret and follow engineering drawings, diagrams and schematics.
S31: Read, interpret and follow information, for example manufacturer’s instruction manuals, work instructions.
S32: Identify a mechanical problem, investigate problem to identify the underlying cause. Identify a solution.
S33: Identify and rectify electrical faults using diagnostic tools (root cause analysis).
S34: Apply continuous improvement techniques to identify improvement suggestions.
S35: Carry out and record learning and development activities.
S36: Apply teamworking principles.
S37: Follow equity, diversity and inclusion policies.
S38: Communicate in writing and complete documentation. For example, maintenance logs and quality assurance reports.
S39: Communicate with others to give and receive information. For example, colleagues, customers, and stakeholders. Use communication equipment and follow protocol.
S40: Direct and guide the movement of plant and equipment.
S41: Use information and digital technology. Comply with GDPR and cyber security regulations and policies.
S42: Collect, interpret and use data and information.

B1: Take personal responsibility for and promote health and safety.
B2: Considers the environment and sustainability when using resources and carrying out tasks.
B3: Take ownership for the delivery and quality of own work. For example, self-motivated, disciplined in the approach to work tasks, and work carried out in line with standards.
B4: Committed to continued professional development to maintain and enhance competence.
B5: Team-focus to meet work goals and support inclusivity. For example, support others, show respect to others, and create and maintain productive working relationships.

Duties

Duty D1

Maintain and promote workplace health, safety and environmental compliance and respond to emergency situations.

Duty D2

Plan and prepare the work area, equipment and materials for maintenance work, taking into consideration sustainability requirements.

Duty D3

Provide technical information, advice and work updates to colleagues and other stakeholders, using digital systems.

Duty D4

Inspect and test plant and equipment.

Duty D5

Diagnose faults on a wind turbine’s electrical, hydraulic and mechanical components.

Duty D6

Conduct planned, preventative and reactive maintenance work on electrical, hydraulic and mechanical components.

Duty D7

Repair and assemble mechanical plant and components.

Duty D8

Install, commission and decommission plant and equipment.

Duty D9

Complete paper-based or digital maintenance documentation and records.

Duty D10

Contribute to continuous improvement activities.

Duty D11

Maintain tools and equipment used for maintenance tasks, for example safety equipment.

Duty D12

Plan, schedule and organise maintenance work to maximise turbine availability.