Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
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16 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com K evin MacNeil is nearly 300 feet up in the air. He looks down at the forest beneath him — the trees look like pinecones from his vantage point. His clothing ripples in the wind and a fl ock of birds fl y past him, undoubtedly confused by his presence. He uses his impeccable balance — with the help of his personal fall arrest system — to walk along a guardrail for a few feet. He conducts his work with 14,000-pound blades all around him. He then swings himself into a small hatch, climbs steadily down a long ladder and reaches the ground safely. Then he does it all over again. MacNeil is the EHS co-ordinator and maintenance manager for RMS Energy, which owns and operates wind farms in Nova Scotia. Its largest project is the Dal- housie Mountain Wind Farm in Pictou County, N.S., which became operational in 2009 and has 34 turbines. "We're doing basic electrical, mechanical maintenance to equipment but we're doing it 262 feet in the air," says MacNeil. "It's basically how the guys start every day: You come into the offi ce and you go to work up tower," says Reuben Burge, president of RMS Energy. His workers — and most wind energy workers across the country — are getting busier every year. Many provinces have set targets for renewable energy and as a result, wind energy is growing rapidly all across Canada. According to 2013 market statistics by the Global Wind Energy Council. Canada recorded exceptionally strong growth in 2013 with a record of close to 1,600 MW of new wind energy capacity installed. Canada ranks ninth in the world in total installed capacity with more than 7,800 MW of wind energy in operation — provid- ing enough power to meet the annual needs of two million homes. In 2014 Canada will set a new record for annual installations of wind energy as new projects are under construction across the country, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association. With the increase in the number of wind farms, there is increased scrutiny on the companies that are putting them up. Ensuring workers wear proper fall arrest systems and understand fall protection procedures on wind farms is a necessity. "In most industries, when they're relatively small, the risk of injury is low, so they gain less attention. As the industry grows… there is increased scrutiny on worker safety, there are more employees, and the higher the likelihood that an injury can take place," says John Kirby, plant manager at Erie Shores Wind Farm, located Wind energy workers rely heavily on fall protection systems to do their dangerous jobs safely AIR AIR UP UP AIR UP AIR by Amanda Silliker IN THE