GWO is an acronym of the Global Wind Organisation which brings together manufacturers and owners of wind turbines. Its aim is to minimise any accident risk in the wind sector. The organisation has developed its own safety training programme (Basic Safety Training - BST) the completion of which equips a person in a turbine-related job with an ability to appropriately respond in the event of an emergency.
BST comprises five basic courses and five refreshers:
- First medical aid
- Fire Awareness
- Manual Handling
- Working at height
- Sea survival.
The Director of the Marine Rescue Training Centre at the Maritime University of Szczecin, Adrian Druchniak, came up with the idea of conducting wind energy-related trainings as early as in 2010. At that time the Centre managed to carry out trainings in Denmark for a wind turbine courses provider. The idea to implement the courses in the Maritime University of Szczecin was in its budding stage until 2014, when the Training Centre received its first accreditation to carry out trainings compliant with GWO. Because of strict GWO course requirements the Training Centre obtained at that time four accreditations to run the following courses: First medial aid, Fire Awareness, Manual Handling and Working at height. Commitment of all employees of the Training Centre and a wide promotional campaign resulted in such great interest in the new courses that in 2014 there were approximately a thousand graduates. Between 15-16 January 2015 Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) audited the Marine Rescue Training Centre at the Maritime University of Szczecin to validate extension of its activity and confirm that the courses for which the Centre has been licensed to run since 29/01/2014 are delivered in conformity with the GWO guidelines.
The staff of the Centre managed to perfectly prepare the Centre for the audit having renounced the long holiday break, working hard, showing commitment, and engaging in model cooperation with the Purchase Department, the Education Department as well as with wind-sector entities. In effect, the Maritime University of Szczecin has been licensed for carrying out the GWO-compliant courses (BST) as of 16/01/2015:
- First medical aid
- Fire Awareness
- Manual Handling
- Working at height
- Sea survival, as well as refresher courses on modules mentioned above.
The Director of the Centre responsible for the idea and project of incorporating the GWO courses to the offer of Maritime University of Szczecin, has been liaising with wind sector entities and fostering advancement of his project which enabled him to schedule the commencement of the first GWO-compliant courses on 19/01/2015.
The team of the Training Centre would like to thank the following persons:
- Andrzej Bąk, Vice Rector for Maritime Affairs for patience, thoughtfulness and support,
- employees of the Education Department: Elżbieta Wojniłko and Katarzyna Prill for valuable observations,
- Katarzyna Kotynia for assistance in fast and efficient purchasing the necessary specialist equipment,
- Marek Stępień, Jarosław Jarczewski, Jarosław Romacki, Maciej Zofiński, Przemysław Jaskowski for their help in enactment of scenarios during and prior to the audit,
- WOPR for leasing the equipment,
- all employees of the Training Centre, who, regardless of their other responsibilities and free days, made supreme efforts for advancement of the GWO project and further development of the Training Centre.
