An important resource publication for the Canadian wind industry has been released on electrical safety for wind-farm operations across the country. The Canadian Wind Energy Association’s (CanWEA) Operations and Maintenance Program has been strategically developing health and safety materials to meet industry needs.
The latest addition to the library is entitled, Best Practices in Wind Power Facility Electrical Safety, and is one of the most substantial to date. It contains a range of resources for wind-farm owners, operators, equipment manufacturers, and service providers.
Although the contents are widely applicable to the global wind industry, the CanWEA Occupational Health and Safety Committee (OH&S) says it took the opportunity to create a home-grown initiative addressing this important topic from a Canadian perspective.
What’s inside…
The Best Practices guide is a compilation of topics deliberately selected by professionals involved in the daily operations of wind power facilities. An emphasis is placed on the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) anchor standard on electrical safety; CSA Z462. The guide goes beyond this standard, however, describing a wind industry approach to the topics covered by CSA and many others as well.
Here are the main sections aimed at providing safe work practices and tools to promote those practices in Canada’s various provincial jurisdictions.
- General Electrical Safe Work Practices
- Task-Specific Safe Work Practices
- Definitions
- Regulations
- Decision Matrix
- Electrical Worker Qualifications
- Standard Forms
One section that will be of particular interest to wind power facility operators is the Task-Specific Safe Work Practices. It covers major components of the facility from the substation to generators and everything in between.
- Generators
- Control Panels
- Slip Rings
- Batteries
- Capacitors
- Transformers
- Collector System
- Substation
- Test Equipment
CanWEA’s OH&S Committee selected Shermco Industries as the primary consultant to draft and advise on this work. Shermco’s leadership in wind farm electrical testing, maintenance, repair, engineering, and training services made them an exceptional fit for the project.
The Committee also provided significant input to ensure industry consensus throughout the development process.
Filed Under: News, Safety, Training
