Your Guide to Blade Repair & Blade Inspection

Wind Turbine Blade Maintenance

If you’re considering a career in blade repair and blade inspections for wind turbines, you have certainly landed in the right place. We’ve created a helpful guide outlining everything that you need to know about blade repair and blade inspection. 

There’s lots of opportunities when it comes to working offshore, and the manual inspection and repair of wind turbine rotor blades is one of them, it’s also an industry still very much in its infancy and rapidly growing! Working at heights, what’s it like, this is a career that requires a sound knowledge of the specialist access equipment used, as well as specialist training to ensure that all work can be carried out safely and accurately and the Global Wind Organisation or GWO as its commonly referred to are the body responsible for setting the standards.

What should be taken into account when inspecting a wind turbine?

In order to provide a seamless and accurate service when it comes to inspecting wind turbines, there’s a lot of factors that needs to be taken into account before delivering a project. For example, you must consider the following:

• The Location of the wind turbines - (onshore/offshore)

• The type of turbine 

• The type of blade

• The type of work

• Hub height

• Weather conditions 

• Access and Egress

• Work party skill set

Once all of these factors have been taken into account and carefully considered, a plan can then be made. 

What are the different inspection methods that can be used?

The course of action you should take when it comes to blade repair and inspection on any wind turbine depends on the factors above, although not limited to. Once these have been discussed, you will be able to identity the best course of action. 

There is a lot of methods that can be used to successfully repair and inspect a wind turbine, and its blades, including some of the very latest cutting edge technology Dangle are involved with. The following is a broad range of inspection methods:

Drones – As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented rate, there are now more opportunities than ever before when it comes to embracing a range of different devices and technology to enhance day to day operations offshore. And, one of these includes using drone pilots to inspect multiple turbines per day using high definition imagery.

Ground Based Systems  – It is also possible to inspect turbines from the ground too using high resolution cameras such as Cornis Panoblade or Intrablade for example. 

Rope Access – Finally, professional and experienced blade repair and IRATA certified Rope Access Technicians can access and assess those turbines that require a closer look. This is a highly skilled profession where rope access and blade repair training is required. Whether you require a rope access level 1, rope access level 2 or rope access level 3, there’s lots of opportunities available right across the world as a blade technician.

What happens once the inspection has been conducted?

Once a rope access technician has closely inspected a wind turbine at height, technical experts are then employed to collect and analyse the data gathered in order to identify any issues so that they can be resolved in the appropriate way, collecting data using an hands on approach can often mean gel coat around a damage can be closely inspected giving an much clearer picture of what is needed to remedy the repair, saving clients time and money. 

Fast blade repairs and thorough inspections are critical to a turbine’s performance and should be repaired as quickly as possible by an experienced team like Dangle. Today, cutting edge equipment is used to optimise performance and longevity across the sector, with Power Curve upgrades and Leading Edge Protection playing a pivotal role.

Rope Access Companies 

If you are considering rope access for your next project or you require an IRATA technician or simply just more information about how much rope access could save you in costs, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team today. 

About Dangle Rope Access

Here at Dangle Rope Access, we provide a variety of comprehensive inspection, access, coatings, and composite (IACC) industrial services. Our services are available to both the private and public sectors.

We offer high-quality proven solutions that will help reduce maintenance costs in both the long and short-term. We are based in Dundee, Scotland and also have offices based in Edinburgh, along with our newly established training centre in Northern Ireland Dangle Academy. Due to our company size and structure, we are able to offer a flexible and versatile approach to the way we run our business and the services that we offer our clients. And, as a leading painting company, we’ve worked on several renewable energy projects in the UK, Europe, and the US. 

We work with both on and offshore with wind farm operators, and asset owners. For offshore wind farm maintenance, to onshore building maintenance, we can cover both the East and West coasts. 

To find out more about how our team can help you contact us today. Our friendly, professional and helpful team is always on hand to help.