THINGS NEVER GOT BORING THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PHASE OF THE PROJECT. "/ THINK IN THE END WE DID AN EXTREMELY
GOOD JOB IN SPITE OF SOME DIFFICULTIES." Dr. Jochen Dirksmeyer
This is in particular reflected by the fact that we didn't overrun
the budget", concludes the 41 year-old, satisfied after many
weeks of work often spent in the small harbour town of Havneby
on Romo, where wpd had established its operations centre for
Butendiek. Many days were also spent at sea, which were certainly far in excess of the regular 40 hours per week spent on the job.
Whilst ali the cabling work was as good as finished by the beginning of May 2015, the installation of the 80 offshore wind turbines had reached the final stage. At this time Siemens still had
to install 18 of its SWT-3.6-120 turbines in the remaining time
to ensure the handover of the turbines on schedule in July. But
there was scarcely any trace of nervousness in the ranks at Siemens. "The timeframe is certainly ambitious, but I think we can
make it", Alberto Vazguez Naya commented serenely. He was the
main responsible manager for installing and commissioning the
turbines for Siemens Wind Power, with the head office based in
Hamburg. "We are continually improving our processes", emphasises Naya. "There is still a lot to do, but we are on track to get to
where we are aiming for."
His statement related mainly to the marine logistics and less to
the components, which were fabricated at four locations in Denmark. Siemens casted and laminated the 58 meter long blades
in Aalborg, while the nacelles were produced in Brande. The hubs
were manufactured in Olgod and the towers in Rodekro. Heavy
haulage vehicles brought the components to the port of Esbjerg
where they were stored at the guayside pending transport to the
installation vessel. The jackup vessel was able to take eight turbines on board at a time and it usually took around 36 hours for
the loading operation. Subseguently the Bold Tern needed around
four hours to reach the construction site. If the swell was less
than 1.8 métrés, the captain would give the signal to lower the
four jack-up legs onto the sea bed in order to lift the mighty vessel out of the water.
The main limiting factor in the installation procedure was the
wind speed. When it was blowing more than twelve métrés per
second, it was impossible to lift any components off the deck.
However, when its almost completely calm, as it happened for
example in the middle of March 2015, and ail the processes are
perfectly attuned, the Siemens installation crew managed to
carry out the six crâne lifts reguired in less than six hours. "But
the risk of bad weather is entirely ours", says Sébastian Schüfêler
by way of clarification; as the Work Package Manager for wind
turbines for wpd offshore solutions he was in daily contact with
Siemens staff during the construction phase. At times he pointed
out problems in a cooperative mannerto the Siemens staff, as he
puts it, "a hand over doesn't mean a take-over".
Schüfëler regularly experienced that the mentality of a global coopération such as Siemens is completely different to the mindset in a mid-sized company. In the end, however, both partners
were always able to overcome disagreements. Although "It wasn't
always easy", Siemens man Naya concédés. Taking into considération the constant time pressure from the very first day onwards he adds forgivingly, "On the whole we worked well together".
20
GOOD JOB IN SPITE OF SOME DIFFICULTIES." Dr. Jochen Dirksmeyer
This is in particular reflected by the fact that we didn't overrun
the budget", concludes the 41 year-old, satisfied after many
weeks of work often spent in the small harbour town of Havneby
on Romo, where wpd had established its operations centre for
Butendiek. Many days were also spent at sea, which were certainly far in excess of the regular 40 hours per week spent on the job.
Whilst ali the cabling work was as good as finished by the beginning of May 2015, the installation of the 80 offshore wind turbines had reached the final stage. At this time Siemens still had
to install 18 of its SWT-3.6-120 turbines in the remaining time
to ensure the handover of the turbines on schedule in July. But
there was scarcely any trace of nervousness in the ranks at Siemens. "The timeframe is certainly ambitious, but I think we can
make it", Alberto Vazguez Naya commented serenely. He was the
main responsible manager for installing and commissioning the
turbines for Siemens Wind Power, with the head office based in
Hamburg. "We are continually improving our processes", emphasises Naya. "There is still a lot to do, but we are on track to get to
where we are aiming for."
His statement related mainly to the marine logistics and less to
the components, which were fabricated at four locations in Denmark. Siemens casted and laminated the 58 meter long blades
in Aalborg, while the nacelles were produced in Brande. The hubs
were manufactured in Olgod and the towers in Rodekro. Heavy
haulage vehicles brought the components to the port of Esbjerg
where they were stored at the guayside pending transport to the
installation vessel. The jackup vessel was able to take eight turbines on board at a time and it usually took around 36 hours for
the loading operation. Subseguently the Bold Tern needed around
four hours to reach the construction site. If the swell was less
than 1.8 métrés, the captain would give the signal to lower the
four jack-up legs onto the sea bed in order to lift the mighty vessel out of the water.
The main limiting factor in the installation procedure was the
wind speed. When it was blowing more than twelve métrés per
second, it was impossible to lift any components off the deck.
However, when its almost completely calm, as it happened for
example in the middle of March 2015, and ail the processes are
perfectly attuned, the Siemens installation crew managed to
carry out the six crâne lifts reguired in less than six hours. "But
the risk of bad weather is entirely ours", says Sébastian Schüfêler
by way of clarification; as the Work Package Manager for wind
turbines for wpd offshore solutions he was in daily contact with
Siemens staff during the construction phase. At times he pointed
out problems in a cooperative mannerto the Siemens staff, as he
puts it, "a hand over doesn't mean a take-over".
Schüfëler regularly experienced that the mentality of a global coopération such as Siemens is completely different to the mindset in a mid-sized company. In the end, however, both partners
were always able to overcome disagreements. Although "It wasn't
always easy", Siemens man Naya concédés. Taking into considération the constant time pressure from the very first day onwards he adds forgivingly, "On the whole we worked well together".
20