Safety is high priority at the top: LTC wants to be regional center for wind tower rescue training

By: Charlie Mathews, Herald Times Reporter

CLEVELAND — Hand over hand, Jennifer Heinzen quickly scampered up the lattice steps of Lakeshore Technical College's 110-foot-tall "small" wind tower Wednesday afternoon.

"I have muscles I never thought I had before," said Heinzen, LTC's lead instructor of its Wind Energy Technology course, on day eight of a 10-day "Wind Turbine Access & Rescue" training program.

Performing maintenance and repairs on "utility scale" wind towers and turbines rising more than 300 feet in the air, including blades, is high-risk work Heinzen said.

LTC had three graduates complete its two-year certification program in May, with 20 set to enter a growing wind energy work force in 2010. September enrollment is full with 18 students ready to take classes and more on a waiting list.

"We don't want any of them to be cowboys up there," Heinzen. "They should never climb alone and always be in constant communication with their partner."

Exhaustion can be a primary cause of a wind tower worker getting into trouble, said Rob Siegel, an instructor with Waukesha-based ENSA Access and Rescue.

"They work long hours, often 12 hours a day, climbing 300 feet three or four times," said Siegel.

Workers go through pre-employment climb testing, to ascertain fitness level, but extreme heat or cold at the wind farm can lead to hypothermia or dehydration. High winds can buffet the tower, creating unstable working conditions.

Siegel said no towers have internal elevators though some have a rope and pulley motorized system that simulates taking about 80 pounds off a climber's weight as he ascends step-by-step.

He said wind tower workers may be performing greasy work doing oil changes and replacing hoses and fittings on turbines 100 yards up in the air at the top of "tube towers."

Siegel said workers can slip and bounce into the walls of the tower that are approximately 12 feet in diameter at the base and six feet at the top.

Wednesday afternoon, Siegel continued to reinforce safety measures with Heinzen and EMS instructor Ryan Skabroud as part of the "train the trainer" contract ENSA has signed with LTC.

Heinzen said she has climbed LTC's tower scores of times with no fears.

A combination of heavy-duty clips is part of a "vertical fall arrest" system, including a steel cable that runs from ground to tower top.

But it is still crucial to know how to help a buddy who has gotten into trouble, maybe has even gotten upside down. Consciousness can be lost in less than 15 minutes.

A self-rescue plan is crucial because most wind farms are in rural areas. It may take volunteer fire department personnel considerable time to respond with a rope system capable of reaching the wind tower worker.

Midwest training center

"We would like to be a regional training center for access and rescue training," said Brian Lilyquist, LTC training director.

Lilyquist would like to see LTC draw from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa wind tower students and workers for the safety component of their instruction and occupation.

LTC was the first of Wisconsin's 16 technical colleges to offer a wind energy technology associate degree and installed its own turbine in 2004.

The college correctly predicted the need for skilled technicians for operations and maintenance in an industry experiencing annual growth of about 25 percent.

Lilyquist said ENSA and LTC will share training revenue and responsibilities as they offer licensed professionals giving mandated instruction.

The American Wind Energy Association says wind power created 35,000 jobs in 2008 despite the economic downturn. New wind projects installed last year represented an investment of $17 billion.

The U.S. has passed Germany with nearly 26,000 megawatts of wind-energy capacity.

One Texas wind farm has more than 400 mammoth towers.

"Each one costs about $2 (million) to $3 million," Lilyquist said. "When the towers' blades aren't turning, they're not making electricity and not making money."

Wanting to minimize down time on an increasing number of towers drives the demand for new wind tower technicians with the proper training, including mechanical and electrical.

Among the topics of the three-day wind turbine access and rescue certification course are:
·  Describe the main dangers and risks of working at high height.
·  Describe governmental regulations that govern work at height.
·  Describe dangers, symptoms and correct response to suspension trauma.
·  Describe emergency evacuation techniques.
·  Demonstrate correct fitting of full-body harness.
·  Climb and work at height using lanyard.

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