Basic Technical Training standard launches

The updated version of GWO Basic Technical Training (formerly known as the Basic Maintenance Training standard) will bring even more efficiency to basic technical training.

Training Providers that are certified to deliver the BMT are automatically approved to deliver the BTT, and are asked to update their training course content according to the new standard.

John Barrie, Head of the GWO Training Committee and Senior Director, Technical & Safety Training at Vestas Wind Systems says: “the new GWO BTT offers a lot of opportunities. A significant proportion of safety incidents can be attributed to the incorrect use of tools and equipment, having a recognised industry standard will drive greater consistency and quality in the training provided”.

The BTT replaces OEM specific training and standardizes the training across the industry. At Vestas, Mr. Barrie states that “the BTT will reduce the amount of duplicated training and facilitate the transfer of skills across organisations. At Vestas, we anticipate that the Standard will replace 50% of our current Basic Service Training and around 30% of our Basic Installation Training.”

Ann Duedahl, Head of Global Training Excellence at Siemens Gamesa, agrees “the implementation of the BTT in Siemens Gamesa will help standardize and localize the delivery of our training portfolio, while ensuring uniformity and quality across regions. Siemens expects the standard training to provide 50% of the basic technical training in the future”.

Bente Boa, Senior Learning & Development Specialist, at Ørsted, stresses that “the flexibility [of the modular approach] help reduce the time from recruitment to the point where a technician is “fit for purpose”.

Read the Basic Technical Training standard here

Practical details

The Basic Technical Training standard is optimized in several areas resulting in an overall reduction in training time to 31 hours and 20 minutes by rearranging modules and removing redundancy. In addition, it now includes bolt torque and tension.

BTT is now organized as three modules that may be delivered independently of each other and are recorded separately in WINDA. Existing BMT records have already been converted to three records Mechanical, Electrical and Hydraulics.

Recognition of existing qualifications

Technicians that are already qualified or have similar experience to the BTT will be able to have their existing qualifications transferred to a BTT training record in WINDA. This may be done through the recently released merit process.

A new section on “Understanding GWO Learning Objectives” incl. Taxonomy table has been added as well as a section on “Conformity with other training” which allows for other similar training to be delivered simultaneously.

GWO extends its appreciation and gratitude to the participants of the Basic Technical Training standard working group for their contribution in developing and updating the standard. The commitment, flexibility and cooperation from everyone involved in the working group have significantly contributed to GWOs mission to strive for an injury-free work environment and reduce safety issues for personnel working on site in the global wind industry.