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Risk assessment of hazards due to the installation and maintenance of

onshore wind turbines

Conference Paper · February 2018

DOI: 10.1109/ICASET.2018.8376789

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 Risk Assessment of Hazards Due to the Installation
and Maintenance of Onshore Wind Turbines

Albara M. Mustafa Aziz Al-Mahadin

Institute of Building, Energy and Material Technology Aviation Engineering Department, DBM
Uit the Arctic University of Norway Higher Colleges of Technology
Narvik, Norway Dubai, UAE
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract— In this work, an assessment of four types of risks is another part called the nacelle. The nacelle holds the needed
carried out for wind turbines during four phases, namely: equipment to convert wind energy into electricity, such as
transportation, installation, operation and maintenance. This gearbox, braking system, generator and yawing mechanism to
work mainly focuses on onshore type of wind turbines and briefly correct the direction of the nacelle to face the wind direction.
mentioning the offshore wind turbines. The introduction gives an The wind turbine blades are connected to the nacelle through a
overview of the main parts and components of wind turbine, in hub. Generated electricity is transferred via cables to a step-up
addition to discussing the process of risk assessment and the transformer located at the base of the wind turbine [3].
procedure to be followed in this study. The paper focuses on the
following four risks: the risk of transporting large-scale wind Wind-turbines are constructions that are susceptible to
turbine parts and components, the risk of workers slipping, windy conditions and they have many mechanical and
tripping and falling during installation and maintenance of wind electrical moving parts and instruments. Therefore, there is a
turbines, the risk of working in confined spaces, and finally the great need for awareness of the types of hazards that workers
risk of ice accretion and irregular shedding when the wind might face when dealing with wind turbines. This research
turbine is in operation phase or even when it is stationary. The aims towards investigating the hazards that might take place
last type of risk is highly observed in cold climate regions. The during the installation and maintenance phases of mainly
four mentioned types of risks are the main ones out of the many onshore wind turbines by utilizing risk assessment
risks that could appear during transporting, installing, operating methodologies to identify the probable hazards, their level of
and maintaining wind turbines. The main aim of this work is to
risk and ways of mitigation and control.
contribute in the proper risk assessment of potential hazards,
which enhances the ability to devise passive and active protection
measures to reduce the effects of a catastrophic event. II. RISK ASSESSMENT
According to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
Keywords—risk assessment; hazard identification; risk
Z1002 Standard "Occupational health and safety – Hazard
analysis; risk evaluation; wind turbine
identification and elimination and risk assessment and control",
the following terms used in the risk assessment procedure are
I. INTRODUCTION defined as follows [4], [5]:
There is a rising commitment towards utilizing clean  Risk is identified as the combination of the likelihood of
energy across the world. Wind turbines happen to be an the occurrence of a harm and the severity of that harm.
efficient choice to meet some of the demand for electricity. A
group of wind turbines connected to each other by electrical  Risk assessment is the overall process of hazard
cables forms a wind farm. A wind farm produces 17 to 39 identification, risk analysis, and risk evaluation.
times the power it consumes, which is more efficient when
compared to other forms of energy such as nuclear power (16  Risk assessment provides an understanding of risks,
times) or coal (11 times) [1]. their causes, consequences, and their probabilities.

An onshore wind turbine sits on a structural support usually  Hazard identification is the process of finding, listing,
made of concrete, called the Foundation, the importance of a and characterizing hazards.
foundation is to transfer the horizontal and vertical forces  Risk analysis is a process for comprehending the nature
acting on the wind turbine to the surrounding ground. Whether of hazards and determining the level of risk.
the case is offshore or onshore, a wind turbine would
essentially consist of the same parts. The first component of a  Risk evaluation is the process of comparing an
wind turbine is the tower whose height varies depending on the estimated risk against given risk criteria to determine
site and the available wind speed. Going from bottom to top, the significance of the risk.
the cross section of the tower becomes narrower. Normally, a
A decision is taken based on risk evaluation in order to
ladder is mounted inside of the wind turbine’s tower. However,
mitigate or control the risk. This step is known as Risk Control.
modern towers have lifts [2]. On the top of the tower, lies
Before implementing risk control measures, the level of risk III. RISK OF TRANSPORTING LARGE-SCALE WIND TURBINE
has to be determined in order to decide which hazard to start COMPONENTS
treating [5]. One of the conventional methods used to rank or
prioritize risks is the Risk Matrix shown in Table I, where the A. Hazard Identification.
vertical column shows the likelihood of the risk to take place Wind turbines differ in sizes and capacities. Generally,
and the horizontal row shows risk severity if it happens. The larger wind turbines are able to deliver more electricity at
combination between likelihood and severity in this lower cost. This is because some costs related to building a
qualitative method determines the level of the risk; wind turbine are independent of its size, such as the cost of the
consequently a decision can be made on which measures foundation, building new roads and electrical grid connections
should be taken in order to control and mitigate the risk. [7]. Transporting large components on roads can cause injury
The following sections discuss various types of risks during to people and damage to materials. The likelihood and severity
wind turbines transportation, installation, operation and of hazard may increase while transporting large wind turbine
maintenance. components in particular at narrow roads with heavy traffic, or
difficult road terrains.
Table I. Risk matrix showing the risk likelihood and severity [6].
B. Risk Analysis.
Transporting large wind turbine components faces many
challenges. As for onshore wind turbines, components might
have to be transported via existing public roads, which allows
for limited movement and poses high risk to vehicles on the
road when conveying such parts to the construction site. On the
other hand, marine transportation and installation equipment
allow better handling of larger parts, therefor, offshore wind
turbines tend to be larger than onshore ones [2].
As an example of large wind turbines parts, Siemens is
working with other partners to create 6MW offshore wind
turbines, the size of one blade of these turbines is a fraction
smaller than An A380's wingspan. Siemens says that one 6MW
wind turbine is enough to supply about 6,000 European
households with electricity. Fig. 2, shows a special vehicle
transporting a large-scale wind turbine blade at speed of 60
Kilometer per hour over a distance of 575 kilometers to the
construction site [8]. Another example is the widely used GE
1.5-megawatt wind turbine, which consists of almost 116 ft.
blade mounted on top of 212 ft. tower. The blade assembly of
that wind turbine weighs more than 36 tons and the tower
weighs about 71 tons [9].

Fig. 1. Risk assessment process [7].

Fig. 2. Special vehicle transporting large wind turbine blades [7].

C. Risk Evaluation / Likelihood. IV. RISK OF WORKERS SLIPPING, TRIPPING AND FALLING
The probability that an accident would occur when
transporting large components of wind turbine depends on A. Hazard Identification.
many factors, such as the number of vehicles on the road, the Certain parts in a wind turbine will be in motion for long
condition of the road, whether the road has many twists and periods and others are exposed to harsh weather conditions. To
curves and the speed limit of the road. Furthermore, accident make sure the wind turbine stays functional; these parts have to
likelihood can increase depending on many other factors be well maintained. Regular maintenance to wind turbines
including: driver capability, weather, transported components includes maintaining air filters, brake pads, tower bolts and
size, shape and loading method. Referring to the risk matrix lubrication [1]. Most of the required maintenance is done to
shown in Fig.1, there is a possibility that an accident would main components located in the nacelle, on top of the tower,
occur when transporting large wind turbine parts. However, the such as the rotor, gearbox, yawing mechanism etc. Sending
degree of probability dependents on the above various factors. maintenance crews to do the required maintenance to these
parts may cause certain types of hazards, such as slipping,
D. Risk Evaluation / Severity. tripping and falling.
Accidents resulting from transporting large wind turbines
parts could cause serious damages to roads, other vehicles and B. Risk Analysis.
to passengers and pedestrians. The probability of accidents Climbing a wind turbine requires high stamina. As
taking place in similar situation depends on multiple factors. mentioned earlier the GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbine tower is
almost 212 ft. in height [9], which means that workers have to
If transportation is done via public roads, then accidents climb high altitudes using ladders mounted inside the wind
happening in this case are highly severe. Therefor drivers turbine tower. However, in some cases, modern wind turbines
should be highly cautious when driving nearby vehicles may have electrical lifts which can reduce certain types of
transporting such parts. Professionals who are responsible for hazard [2]. Maintenance crews are subjected to the risk of
such transportation should take all the necessary measures to slipping and tripping when climbing wind turbine towers. The
reduce the likelihood and severity of accidents such as risk becomes more prominent as they climb higher, since the
selecting transportation time, using the proper vehicles and cross-sectional area of the wind turbine’s tower becomes
skilled drivers, and cooperation with traffic police, etc. slightly narrower with height. However, ladders must have
landing platforms every 30 foot in case they were equipped
E. Risk Control. with cage or well. However, if they were not equipped with
In some cases, new roads are built so that wind turbines are cages or wells; the landing platform must be every 20 foot as
transported and to be installed in rural areas. However, in many per regulations of Occupational Safety and Health
other cases, there is still a need to use public roads to transport Administration (OSHA) [10].
large wind turbine components. Therefore, to control this kind
of risk, some measures should be taken, such as avoiding rush Moreover, workers are subjected to falling hazards during
hours and highly dense roads, avoid exceeding speed limit installation and maintenance of wind turbines. They may need
determined for this kind of transportation. Other measures to access different wind turbine sections at elevations above
include changing the layout of the road, such as widening 100 foot for welding, fitting, maintaining and installing test
equipment and electrical cables. Therefore, safety measures
narrow roads and straightening curved roads. Fig. 3, shows
become mandatory in order to avoid the risk of falling off high
analysis of this risk.
altitudes. This means ensuring equipment are suitable, stable,
strong, and maintained regularly. Workers should also receive
the required training and work only when their health and
psychological conditions are appropriate.

C. Risk Evaluation / Likelihood.

The likelihood of slipping, tripping and falling should not
be so high if the proper safety measures and regulations are
diligently considered. This includes utilization of the correct
resources, workers are trained, fit, and put on their Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE).

D. Risk Evaluation / Severity.

Severity of slipping and tripping while climbing up wind
turbine`s ladders should not be high. However, the risk of
falling off the wind turbine while carrying out the required
maintenance or installing parts is high. But the actual degree of
severity depends on the particular case and should be decided
after studying all prevailing conditions and influencing factors.
Fig. 3. Risk analysis of transporting large-scale wind turbine parts.
E. Risk Control. V. RISK OF WORKING IN CONFINED SPACES
When it comes to wind turbine maintenance, it is not
A. Hazard Identification.
feasible to send maintenance crews to check manually on each
wind turbine, the problem becomes more prominent in the case As per the OSHA, for a place of work to be defined as
of wind farms. Therefore, utilizing technological instruments confined space, it should have the following characteristics [11]:
for remote monitoring to provide information regarding the
 The worker can enter the space fully and perform
functionality of the wind turbine is a feasible and an efficient required work.
option. It reduces risk and costs of sending workers for manual
check of the wind turbines. As per OSHA standards,  The space is not designed to be permanently occupied
by the worker.
maintenance crews working in such environment and exposed
to fall hazards of 4 foot and more must be protected by railing.  Exit and entry out of and into the confined space are
If such railing is not available, workers must wear the proper limited.
PPE such as a personal fall arrest system or a safety net. Fig. 4, As mentioned earlier in the hazard identification part for the
shows risk analysis of workers slipping, tripping and falling. risk of workers slipping, tripping and falling, most wind turbine
maintenance work takes place for components located in the
nacelle, which lies on top of the wind turbine`s tower. All
nacelles configurations are classified as confined spaces for the
purposes of this study [11]. Within confined spaces number of
hazards may exist including: lack of oxygen, presence of gases
and fumes, hot conditions, etc.
B. Risk Analysis.
Wind turbine maintenance crews might encounter different
types of risks during their maintenance work in confined
spaces, mainly in the nacelle. Encountered risks might be due
to different reasons such as low oxygen environment, resulting
from poor ventilation, which can lead to asphyxiation, or
accumulated hazardous gases resulting from wind turbine
catching on fire. It is stated that wind turbines are natural
targets for lightning strikes [12], the rising current from
lightning strikes could lead to harm personnel, catastrophic
equipment damage, and even to fire [13]. Fire can be discussed
as a separate hazard; however, it is mentioned in this paper as a
related hazard to confined spaces in wind turbines. In addition
to lightning strikes, fire hazards can result from electrical parts,
insulations made of combustible materials and from lubricants
used for lubricating mechanical parts in the nacelle [14].

C. Risk Evaluation / Likelihood.

There is a high probability that workers would face
confined space hazards when carrying out the needed
maintenance inside the nacelle. The hazards are caused mainly
by inadequate ventilation leading to low oxygen environment,
or toxic gases and fumes due to lubricants and fire caused by
different reasons as mentioned earlier.

D. Risk Evaluation / Severity.

Confined space hazards are highly severe. Such hazards can
lead to asphyxiation, toxicity and eventually to death if proper
Fig. 4. Risk analysis of workers slipping, tripping and falling.
safety precautions are not considered. In addition to toxic gases
resulting from fire hazards, fire can cause highly severe burns
to workers while working inside the nacelle, which is
recognized as a confined space.
E. Risk Control. VI. RISK OF ICE ACCRETION AND IRREGULAR SHEDDING
In order to control confined space hazards, different ON WIND TURBINES
measures have to be considered depending on the type of
hazard in the confined space. However, it is the duty of the A. Hazard Identification.
employer to develop a written procedure that details the steps Most of wind energy investments take place in the northern
that personnel should take to ensure working safely inside the part of Europe and the Arctic region, where the cold climate
confined space. Employees should also be trained and have affects the operability of wind turbines and poses serious
permit to enter confined spaces. As for low oxygen challenges to the wind energy industry through ice accretion on
environment or the presence of toxic or flammable gases in the wind turbine blades. The accreted ice is not uniformly
nacelle, workers can perform air sampling before entering the distributed over the blades of a wind turbine; it is observed that
nacelle. Gas Monitor Device is an important tool that should be more ice is accreted over the tip of the blades compared to the
available with workers when entering confined spaces [11]. root sections [15], [16]. Annual power loss due to ice accretion
ranges between 20% and 50% [17]. Ice fragments shed from
To mitigate fire hazards resulting from lightning strikes, a
wind turbines may cause injury to people and damage to
good grounding system is mandatory to protect electronic
surroundings including neighboring turbines.
equipment, blades and the nacelle from serious damages.
Spotting lightning strikes before getting to the wind farm is a
preventive way of protecting workers, which can be done via B. Risk Analysis.
utilizing advanced weather hazard real time warning systems The load of accrete ice can reach up to 50% of the weight
[12]. Moreover, workers must be trained to use portable fire of a blade structural weight [18], which poses serious risk to
extinguishers to deal with fire hazards. A fire extinguishing the structural integrity of the wind turbine and to the
system must be installed inside the nacelle. In addition, fire surroundings. Ice accretion and irregular shedding on blades
detection and emergency alarm systems should be installed can lead to load imbalance, increased fatigue loads, wind
inside the nacelle to provide early warning to workers to escape turbine vibrations [19]. Moreover, there is a possible danger
[14]. Fig. 5, shows risk analysis of working in confined spaces. that accumulated ice is thrown away while melting from the
blades during rotating due to centrifugal force.

C. Risk Evaluation / Likelihood.

The likelihood of ice accretion and irregular shedding on
wind turbine blades is very likely, especially in the arctic
region due to the harsh weather in that part of the world.
However, the exact likelihood depends on number of factors
including the use of de-icing technologies.

D. Risk Evaluation / Severity.

Ice accretion on wind turbine blades imposes serious danger
to the surroundings in case ice falls off the blades of the wind
turbine. Ice shedding may cause injuries to humans and
animals. Housing complexes, agricultural infrastructure and
industrial plants are also prone to danger from ice shedding if
they were built within the range of ice falling from wind
turbine blades.

E. Risk Control.
Safety measures should include constructing of wind
turbines in uninhabited locations, and away from roads,
agricultural infrastructure and industrial plants. Moreover,
wind turbines must be built with safe distance between them to
avoid causing damage to each other. A distance of about 250
meters from the wind turbine should be left to minimize the
risk of being struck by falling ice during operation [20] and 50
meters when the blades are stationary [21]. Electrical heating
of blades can help in preventing or reducing ice accretion and
shedding. However, this means certain amount of power is lost
to overcome the icing problem. It is stated that a thermal anti-
icing system requires an amount of power equal to at least 25%
Fig. 5. Risk analysis of working in confined spaces. of the wind turbine maximum rated power to overcome the ice
accretion [22], [23]. Fig. 6, shows risk analysis of ice accretion surrounding area, and the neighboring wind turbines. This
and irregular shedding on wind turbines. hazard is clearly noticed in the arctic region and the similar
world-wide areas.
There are different measures that can be taken to control
and mitigate hazards. These measures include: the use of
proper technologies, adhering to regulations, using proper
equipment, ensuring the correct training, and most importantly
performing risk assessment per the particular case.
There are many other types of hazards that has not been
discussed in this work, among them electrical hazards, falling
objects, and noise hazards which can be areas for future
investigations. The following actions are recommended:
 Investigating other types of hazards that may happen
due to utilization of wind turbines.
 Carrying out risk assessment for any process that may
present hazard to people or damage to equipment.
 Utilizing the presented method in order to reduce the
risk that may accompany the use of wind turbines and
the similar systems.
 Utilizing other risk assessment tools to identify hazards
related to wind turbines, such as What If Analysis,
Hazard and Operability (HAZOP), Failure Mode and
Effect Analysis (FMEA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and
Event Tree Analysis (ETA).

VIII. CONCLUSION
Wind turbine transport, installation, maintenance and
operation may cause different types of hazards which should be
analyzed and managed in order to reduce the likelihood and
severity of incidents and accidents. There are different kinds of
measures that can be taken which help to contain hazards
within acceptable limits. The selection of proper measures are
dependent on the particular case and the prevailing conditions.
The systematic process of risk assessment provides clear
Fig. 6. Risk analysis of ice accretion and irregular shedding on wind understanding of the potential hazards and their causes. It
turbines. makes it easier to identify possible hazards, analyze and
evaluate the risks, and eventually lay out the proper measures
VII. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS to control these risks.
This paper has presented an assessment of different types of
risks that may be happening due to wind turbines utilization. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The investigation introduces a systematic methodology for risk The authors convey their gratitude to the support and
assessment of potential hazards in order to establish the encouragements received from Dubai Men’s College, the
required measures needed for risk prevention and mitigation. Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE, and the Institute of
The range of risks related to transportation, installation, Building, Energy and Material Technology, Uit the Arctic
operation and maintenance of wind turbines is wide. This paper University of Norway, Norway in conducting this research
focused on four types of risks affecting surrounding
environment and wind turbine workers. The risk of
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Engineering Research and General Science Volume 5, Issue 1, January-
February, 2017 ISSN 2091-2730.

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