October 15, 2019

North America group makes strong start

North America’s leading wind energy employers came together for two and a half days of work at the GE Renewables Learning Center in Niskayuna, NY.

North America’s leading wind energy employers and training providers have completed the first stage of a project to adapt GWO training so it meets both local and international standards.

Led by members of the GWO North America Committee, the intent is to enable technicians to train to a single set of GWO safety standards across the U.S. and Canada, while delivering benefits of safety, productivity and standardization across the industry.

A key pillar of GWO's Global Alignment Project, the result will be an updated suite of standards adapted the suit the needs of North American employers ready for release in 2020.

Representatives from 10 manufacturers and wind power owner operators make up the GWO North American Committee. They are supported by a working group that includes 12 subject matter experts from those companies as well as eight training providers from the U.S. and Canada.

Brian Walencik, Chair of the GWO North America Committee

Brian Walencik, Americas Wind Environmental, Health and Safety Director at GE Renewable Energy and Chair of the GWO North American Committee, said, “GWO made great strides forward because of all of the collective observations and insights by the committee and the working group. This is the most progress we made since the North America committee was formed just seven months ago. I look forward to strong future for GWO with established goals and standards customized for North America.

“I’m especially excited that we leveraged our collective brainpower to thoroughly review the GWO training,” he adds, “because safety is personal and without borders.”