GWO Blade Repair Starter Package

The Blade Repair Starter package will allow delegates to gain essential safety and technical skills, opening the door to further on-site training or direct employment with leading global blade repair firms, including Altitec. We recommend this to those who are new to the industry.

We partnered with Belay Rope Access to provide this course package to qualify Blade Technicians at accessible prices compared to booking each course individually.  This means that some of the training will take place in the training Centre Newhaven, South East England, which can be easily accessed via train.

Course instruction will cover 4 courses:

1. GWO blade repair training (10 days)
2. GWO Basic Safety Training (4.5 days)
3. IRATA rope access Training (5 days)
4. ActSafe ascenders training (0.5 days)

The key topics addressed in this package includes:

1. IRATA rope access Level 1:
   Characteristics of a safe system of work, including equipment, legal requirements, objective hazards, risk assessment and method statements, conformity and certification, inspection, emergency considerations and rescue procedures. Basic principles of movement on ropes – ascent, descent, changing from ascent to descent, changing from rope to rope, crossing a knot, aid climbing and transversing, passing re-belays and deviations, use of a back-up system, elementary rigging and rope management, elementary rescue.
2. GWO Blade Repair training:
   Course delegates will have a foundation of skills to complete repairs to damage on the blade surface, trailing edge, leading edge, sandwich panel and bond line. The GWO blade repair training course is intended as an entry level course and therefore the delegate will not be expected to perform repairs in major structural elements of blades like spars, spar caps and carbon fibre.
3. The key topics addressed in this course include Composites and Blade Construction, Health and Safety, Materials, tools and equipment, Basic Lamination, Blade inspection, Lighting Protection system, Grinding and sanding skills, Laminate repairs and filling, Core material replacement up to 200cm², surface repair to paint and gelcoat.
4. GWO Basic Safety Training
   All 5 Modules: Working at Heights, Sea Survival & Vessel Transfer, First Aid, Manual Handling and Fire Awareness.
5. ActSafe ascenders training – Training using the ActSafe Ascender end-user, and will cover safe work practices for battery and petrol-powered ascender systems, and also demonstrate the latest rope access methods for wind turbine inspection. This is usually be done on the Saturday of the 1st week of training and is subject to availability of a Skylotec certified ActSafe trainer.

At the end of this course, you will be able to work safely with composite materials while conducting inspection and basic blade repair procedures.

Secondly, you will also be able to support an overall improvement of the safety of personnel working on composite repair work and blade inspection in the wind industry.

Thirdly, you will also learn Basic safety and how to administer effective First Aid, perform  Manual handling tasks safely and get Basic knowledge on fire awareness in the wind turbine Industry. In addition, you will be capable of performing a limited range of rope access tasks (depending on IRATA LEVEL).

Finally, You will learn how to use the portable power ascenders tool, a state-of-the-art equipment for rope access maintenance, inspection, rescue and lifting procedures.