The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a notice to offshore and onshore wind developers after a turbine technician was injured by a service lift.
The HSE said the technician suffered “serious injuries” when his hand was trapped between fixed and moving parts of a service lift.
The worker was able to place his hand into an open space while sending the lift down using the ‘one touch to operate’ external controls, the HSE said.
The external controls were positioned on the moving parts, and the design of the landing gates and guards did not prevent him reaching the moving lift car, which crushed his hand against the gate.
The HSE said an absence of defined industry standards for the safe design of service lifts within wind turbines has “resulted in discrepancies in the application of required safeguards by designers and manufacturers”.
This poses a “potential risk to users”, the safety watchdog said, and a new safety standard for wind turbine lifts is due to be published.
The HSE said duty holders who operate wind turbines and employers of maintenance workers “should immediately check the design of gates, associated guarding, and the position of the external controls of lifts in use”.
If the existing guarding or position of external controls is inadequate, operators should install sufficient guarding or reposition controls, the HSE said.
Wind sector safety
The offshore wind sector recorded close to 350 safety incidents in 2022, according to a report by industry health and safety organisation G+.
The Rail Maritime Transport (RMT) union has also raised concerns about the number of HSE staff assigned to the rapidly growing industry, with just four dedicated inspectors covering offshore wind.
Last year, an engineer who lost his arm while working on a North Sea wind turbine won a payout of nearly £1 million in a case against his employer.
Recommended for you
