GWO safety training is beneficial for individuals in various industries. Check out today’s blog post to learn more about who could benefit from GWO training.
As the economic viability of renewable energy sources starts to outrank coal and natural gas supplies, green energy opportunities are soaring. This trend sees global companies piling investment dollars into the wind energy industry.
The wind power industry's incredible anticipated growth relies on maintaining safety standards throughout the industry. Therefore, wind industry markets must demonstrate reliability underpinned by safety standards.
Fortunately, the wind energy workforce has installed a reliable and accessible standard of training. Stakeholders are invested in setting and maintaining high safety standards to protect workers, material resources, and investments throughout the wind energy industry.
GWO training practically and efficiently enforces safety standards across wind industry settings by involving diverse stakeholders. As a result, industry technicians, turbine owners, training providers, and the broader community benefits from these standards.
The standardized training means workers onshore or offshore are equally protected from identified workplace hazards. Additionally, elements of GWO courses apply to other industries.
Training in comprehensive height safety, access, and rescues can be customized for the emergency services, manufacturing, construction, and construction industries and the oil and gas industries.
Are you wondering how the renewable energy industry prepares workers for emerging jobs? If you are curious about pivoting into the wind industry, this article will explain the advantages of joining its global safety body.
The Global Wind Organisation (GWO) is the wind energy industry's safety body. Created by wind turbine manufacturers and owners, the non-profit body promotes safe wind industry work environments via education, training, and monitoring procedures.
The GWO set international safety standards for all wind industry working environments.
By identifying common hazards and risks, the GWO can address these through appropriate and targeted safety training. The GWO also manages certification for providers to standardize training across the industry.
Because the GWO is informed and endorsed by industry leaders and workers, it ensures:
Organizations are vetted on four main criteria to become a certified training provider. These include the provision of an adequate physical training facility and staff resources and full compliance with GWO management systems and training and assessment procedures.
Once approved, GWO training providers are subject to regular monitoring and two yearly audits. In addition, training organizations provide training records to the GWO in its wind industry database, known as WINDA.
Working groups made up of professionals from GWO member firms establish the standards used in the wind sector. This is significant because these experts know the difficulties faced by technicians.
The expert panel also thoroughly understands the technology and components of turbines, including inherent dangers and hazards.Plus, they can advise on local laws and regulations to ensure every standard complies with applicable local, state, and federal laws.
According to the learning objectives of each standard, anyone possessing a GWO certificate in the Wind Industry Database (WINDA) is regarded as competent.
GWO members recognize the certificate as proof that the person has the necessary skills and knowledge outlined in the standard.
By undertaking industry-endorsed training, technicians can be confident of workplace safety standards and their ability to react appropriately in an emergency.
Additionally, operators can be assured that their technicians are fully trained in all safety aspects of their work environment.
The WINDA system brings various benefits to certified candidates. For example, it allows employers and workers to:
GWO first released the Basic Safety Training (BST) standard in 2012 in response to the need for a recognizable standard in the wind energy sector.
Since then, GWO has introduced several additional training standards that reflect the demands of businesses for employees performing various roles in the wind energy sector.
In the event of an accident, a first aid trainee can save lives and prevent additional harm. Participants are instructed on managing an emergency injury until the individual can be transferred to the next level of care.
Trainees must be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of life-threatening conditions and apply appropriate first aid in wind industry settings.
The objectives of the Sea Survival course are to equip learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform responsibly and safely in all elements of offshore operations. It applies to both routine operations and an emergency involving offshore wind energy.
The overall goal is to ensure participants have the skills necessary to behave safely and responsibly when working offshore, assuming responsibility for their coworkers' safety in both routine and emergency situations.
The purpose of the fire awareness module is to instill the skills necessary to avoid fires, evaluate flames appropriately, coordinate evacuations, and ensure everyone is safely accounted for in the case of an uncontrollable fire.
Participants should be able to put out an emerging fire with simple handheld firefighting effectively.
Other training elements include preparing participants to individually recognize fire risks and put out flames in a wind energy environment. This involves choosing the appropriate extinguishing medium in accordance with the different fire classifications.
In the event of an uncontrollable fire, the participants might assume responsibility for the evacuation of the staff and make sure everyone is securely accounted for.
The manual handling training is designed to reduce the risk of injuries on wind energy sites.
Participants must act responsibly to prevent injury. This means adhering to fundamental manual handling guidelines to avoid muscular or other injuries while engaging in physical work or recreation in and around wind turbines.
Manual handling training includes guidance on managing heavy equipment and assessing hazards on the worksite.
The purpose of this module is to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to work safely at heights, employ basic personal protection equipment, and conduct thorough basic rescues from height in a remote wind turbine environment.
The participants have the skills necessary to act safely and responsibly when utilizing basic personal protection equipment, working at heights, and executing thorough basic rescues from heights in a remote wind turbine environment.
In response to the growth within the wind energy industry and the anticipation of further expansion, industry leaders must ensure safe workplaces. By preparing the future generation of certified wind technicians through standardized safety training, the industry can meet demand while still expanding the labor force.
Standardized safety training in the wind industry also results in increased productivity and a more adaptable workforce.
Additionally, the GWO standards ensure employees are easier to hire and provide more value to their employers by maintaining safety standards.
In 2020, more than 10,000 GWO training courses were completed in North America, a 30 percent increase from the year before. More and more technicians are receiving basic safety training, which covers working at heights, first aid, manual handling, and fire awareness.
GWO training is a crucial investment because it allows all stakeholders involved in the development, installation, maintenance, and operation of wind farms to mobilize their workforce.
It supports efficient project turnarounds and gives clients assurance that their technicians are adhering to the highest safety standards.
The benefits of the standardized GWO safety training course make them applicable to a wide range of industries beyond wind turbines.
Training in comprehensive height safety, access, and rescues can be customized for the emergency services, manufacturing, construction, and construction industries, as well as the oil and gas industry.
The exciting opportunities offered by the wind energy sector make it an attractive option for employees. The wind energy industry is an opportunity to join an ethical industry and benefit from its inherent safety standards.
If you are interested in launching your career in the wind industry or pivoting from another sector, PCI training programs are an excellent way to prepare you for various entry-level options.
PCI is a trade school that offers online trade school programs for HVAC, wind turbine technicians, tower technicians, and wind energy technology. We also offer GWO safety training courses tailored to businesses for entire teams of employees.
PCI has been providing training for wind turbine technicians for over ten years. With PCI training, our students receive a comprehensive knowledge of the wind energy industry to meet the demands of this exciting and growth-oriented industry.
Contact PCI today and get your career in one of the most rapidly expanding renewable energy sectors underway.