Learning and development for Wind Component Makers: welders, lay-up crews and crane operators
Wind parts are large and jobs run for days, so the skills that matter are welding, lay-up and rigging. Learning and development brings juniors up to the senior hands before those hands tire or leave.
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Share your requirementsWhy learning and development matters in wind component makers
The senior welders and fitters on tower sections and the lay-up leads on blade shells carry knowledge nobody wrote down. A junior learns by standing near them, and a single error in a long cycle job may only be noticed days later. Crane and rigging work depends on a few operators, and when one is away the job waits. Lay-up crews work with resin and dust and learn mixing and placing by habit, so results differ by crew.
Good looks like a structured path for each craft. A junior welder starts on simple seams under supervision and moves on as each joint type is signed off. Lay-up crews learn resin handling, ply placing and mould preparation with a lead who checks the work. Riggers and crane operators are trained on signals and load handling and have a back-up. Skills are recorded, and no job depends on one name.
How to set it up
1. List the crafts and who holds them
For welding and fitting, lay-up, mould preparation, rigging, grinding and finishing, and coating, write who can do each at full standard. Mark any craft held by one or two people.
2. Break each craft into steps with sign-off
For a welder, list joint types and positions. For lay-up, list mixing, ply placing and mould preparation. A senior hand signs off each step after watching the work.
3. Pair each junior with a senior
Give the senior time in the plan and recognition for teaching. Our learning and development support can help set the pairing rules and the checks.
4. Train rigging and signals formally
Teach crane signals, load checks and sling use to everyone who works near lifts. Name and train a back-up operator for every crane.
5. Review the skill record each quarter
Update who can do what and who is signed off for which step, plan the next steps and check that no key job depends on one person.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- List each craft and count how many people can work at senior level.
- Check whether juniors have a written list of tasks and sign-off dates.
- Ask riggers and crane operators who covers them when absent and whether that person was trained.
- Look at rework in the last long job and trace it to the skill or step that failed.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Break the job into stages and have a senior hand check at set points. Use a smaller part or a practice piece for first attempts so the first learning is not on a costly part.
Plan it into the job. A senior who teaches should have fewer tasks of his own for a time, and the teaching should be recognised in pay or grade.
Yes. Mixing, ply placing and mould preparation vary by crew when taught by habit, and a short, shared method reduces that variation.