Gökhan Oruç on becoming a Wind Turbine Technician
Have you ever looked up at a wind turbine and wondered what happens when it has a fault and who maintains it?
Onshore and offshore, there are groups of Wind Turbine Technicians working in the field at great heights.
Gökhan Oruç is an Offshore Wind Turbine Technician based in Pforzheim in Germany. He has shared his journey in this interesting profession.
Background and path to becoming a Wind Turbine Technician
Could you give a brief description of your background and what led you to work as a Wind Turbine Technician?
I graduated in Mechatronics. I started as a Field Service Technician in 2016 with Nordex. Now I am working as an Offshore Wind Turbine Service Technician on the Arcadis Ost 1 Offshore Wind Park.
Before I started my adventure in the renewable business, I was working as an Installation-service Technician on tower cranes.
After I learnt about renewables, I imagined being on top of the wind turbine generators. I always love to watch the world from the highest points and then decided to find a way to take my first step into my dreams.
Typical day
What’s your typical day like?
It depends on what kind of project and what kind of tasks you have on the sites. When you are on offshore projects you are working usually on a 14 day on / 14 day off rotation.
How much of your time is spent ‘in the field’ – working on the wind turbines?
If the weather conditions are good, we on the turbines for the maximum hours every day. There could be a change to the daily working plan particularly if weather conditions change.
How much of your day is spent on checking data and admin?
There is always a team lead who is the person to check working processes and documentation.
After the shift all data needs to be handed to the supervisors.
How much travel do you do?
We travel twice per month but sometimes when we have work related training we can travel on our off shift as well.
What is a plus of the job?
There is always a chance to improve your skills and personality. In addition,
you meet with many people from other countries.
Most challenging part of the job
What has been your most difficult job so far?
I have found that there is never a difficult job if you are part of a good team. If you have a good and conscientious team it means you will be so happy when you are at work and also at home…
Have you ever arrived on site and found that it’s been much easier than you expected? For example, that you just needed to make a small adjustment?
Sometimes we can find that there are software problems when we had thought that we just needed to replace some components. In those cases, all we need to do is to reset after checking the system and parameters.
Making a winner
What sort of person makes an excellent Wind Turbine Technician?
In the wind turbine industry you must be really healthy and fit – physically and mentally.
How important is ongoing training?
Ongoing training is a key part of our business. It helps to keep your knowledge fresh and makes you feel more confident.
New people starting a career in the field of wind turbines
What advice would you give to someone who has just started their first job?
They need to be ambitious and to keep learning.
What are the three most important skills to have as well as a strong technical background?
Self-motivation
Strong communication skills
Respect for all people even those who are new in the business
There is further information from these associations.
The European Wind Energy Association
World Wind Energy Association
German Wind Association
https://www.wind-energie.de › english › association
You can watch action on wind turbines here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drCyzOf4WpI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwHpGw665NA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcV3Q_hJ4CI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUDslHMtaTY
Further reading
Begum Demirtas is the first woman to join the wind turbine support team at Vestas, Skane, Sweden. She shares her story.
A new Wind Turbine Technician – Rachell Coffey
Responses