Wind Today - Q4 2008 - (Page 16) Brown explains that by applying one to three stall strips—12-inch long strips of plastic applied to the back side of the blade a couple of inches from the leadings—operators can create a turbulence in the air coming across the blade so the blade doesn’t take the full impact of the wind. “As it gets warmer, we’ll remove the stall strips so the turbines can achieve higher production with less wind,” says Kolitz. Component Supply Responsibility for stocking materials such as stall strips belongs to Dennis Hauf, a 19-year wind industry veteran, “We also sometimes have old units decommissioned at other California sites from which we can pull parts or control components from those units,” says Brown. When a gearbox needs repair, Hauf’s group rebuilds it themselves. “It takes 30-40 hours to rebuild a gearbox,” says Hauf. That includes taking the gearbox apart, cleaning it, putting bearings back on, and reassembling. Generators are sent out for rewind at a local repair shop. Shafts and housings are also sent out for reconditioning. The fabrication technicians do their own mechanical, welding, lathe, and mill work, according to Brown. Employ Employee r T aining Progr ogram Program Micon 600 wind turbines in Palm Springs, CA. “In terms of EEAP,” says Brown, “we want well-rounded technicians so they all learn electricity, gearbox, mechanical aptitude. Things like that are part of the job—right down to the print reading and computer use.” Christensen says employees advance as far and as quickly as they choose. “This is not just written testing,” say Christensen. “Employees have to also show they can do certain tasks hands on.” Brown says the skills confirmation part of the program includes the more practical side of wind farm work such as alignment, oil change, blade removal, and gear box setting. Christensen says technicians assigned to different turbines must demonstrate expertise with those styles of turbines. “We design different test levels for different jobs,” says Christensen. She explains that employees are not all turbine technicians. Different tests are designed for shop technicians, purchasing and warehouse staff, electronics techs, the facilities techs, and highvoltage electricians. “Each job has a different testing curriculum,” she concludes. Christine Coates, editor WIND TODA Y Fourth Quarter 2008 More 3,000 More than 3,000 wind turbines sited at San Gorgonio comprise 40 different wind farms. differ erent farms. and his team in the purchasing, warehouse, fabrication, heavy equipment and electronics department at the Palm Springs facility. “Our warehouse is set up with rows of parts and tools dedicated to different wind projects,” says Hauf. Even the many varieties of lubricants have their own section. Hauf’s team also maintains the facility’s maintenance trucks, crane, and boom trucks; and re-conditions or re-engineers components for the wind turbines. Brown explains that some of the turbines at the Palm Springs wind farms were built in the 1980s and their manufacturers have gone out of business. If the turbine’s technology is no longer supported, says Brown, the fabrication and electronics technicians can re-engineer some of the parts by taking off a functioning unit and remaking it. 16 Brown says the variety of wind turbines represented at the Palm Springs wind farms requires that team leaders and technicians become experts on the machines they work on, while having a good, broad understanding about wind farm work. “Our Palm Springs facility is a proving ground for a lot of technicians who learn the job here, then go to our other projects across the country,” says Brown. He says AES maintains its own employee training program, the Employee Education and Advancement Program (EEAP), which keeps company-wide testing consistent. “EEAP allows our employees to voluntarily grow and learn,” says Brown. “As people go through the training, they advance, starting at ‘DTech’ level and progressing to ‘A-Tech,’ he says. Jo Christensen, executive assistant and special programs administrator, manages the training program for AES technicians.
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