At Winterwind International Wind Energy Conference 2016, Lloyd's Register Consulting's Terje Nilsen addressed the issue of safety and asset performance
in cold climates and explained how the right assessment techniques can help to improve maintenance and ultimately enable wind operators to optimise their assets. The presentation also looked at two case studies focusing on how the wind industry can draw from experience in other industries.
Operation in cold climates represents a significant challenge to safe operations and asset optimisation. Snow and icy conditions introduce various risks to wind farm operations: the possibility of ice falling or being thrown from wind turbines, slippery conditions during maintenance work and production downtime due to asset failure. In a worst case scenario, such conditions may cause a significant risk to personnel operating the wind farm, or to third parties nearby.
One of Terje's conclusions was that with the ever-changing business environment, organisations are required to optimise asset performance to meet market specific requirements. In a time where resources are limited and market pressure constantly increasing, operation and maintenance programmes must be carefu