Just over two years to go, then the 140 offshore wind turbines of Vattenfall Wind Farm Hollandse Kust Zuid will generate green electricity for 1-1.5 million households. The farm is being built subsidy-free. This type of wind turbine consists of a turbine, a mast and a foundation. As a specialist in the field of Offshore Wind Turbine signage and markings in turbulent environments and signage in the maritime and offshore sector, we were asked by Van Ginkel Group, a coating specialist, to provide the monopiles in this project with the desired signage on the Sif Group site.
The starting points for the implementation of the marking and signage are based on rules, regulations and norms. The foundations (monopiles) will be placed in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, so the following laws, regulations and standards apply:
A number of general safety rules and instructions in the form of safety symbols are required on the monopiles in accordance with statutory regulations.
This results in markings and signs that communicate, among other things, that the monopiles must not be anchored, that unauthorized persons must not enter the monopiles, that high voltage is present and that a video surveillance system is in place.
Given the ‘rough’ environment, where weather, wind and seawater have free play, there is an absolute focus on an optimal product in terms of quality and durability. In order to achieve this optimum result, Blomsma worked with 3M™ product specialists to test the adhesion of the signs to the monopiles’ coating.
The monopile markings and signs are made from a high-quality 3M™ self-adhesive and PVC-free film with a protective laminate.
With a tight production schedule for monopiles, paint drying time and the skill required to apply large format decals, it is a challenge. The timely training of our 3M™ Certified Sign Installers™, the updating of necessary safety instructions and working methods, and a dynamic working environment with large equipment and numerous transport movements require a great deal of dedication and increased focus from the team, especially the project engineer who has to manage all processes. From test runs, approvals and continuous production to work instructions, planning changes and quality checks. And all that in the middle of a period with resource scarcity and consequences of measures and alternative methods of communication and work in the fight against the coronavirus. In short, the definition of a challenging project.
Offshore wind monopile markering en signalering Van Ginkel Groep door Blomsma Signs & Safety full image
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Blomsma Signs & Safety is responsible for the engineering of the signage plan, the production and delivery of all signage and the on-site installation support for several substations. This includes the substations of the Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha & Beta, Hollandse Kust Noord and Borssele Alpha transformer stations. These offshore platforms 'collect' the electricity from the wind turbines of the wind farm and convert it into electricity which is transported to land via submarine cables.
The monopiles will be placed by installation vessels of Subsea7. The monopiles vary in size and weight, depending on the locations where they will be installed. The heaviest and largest monopile weighs 955 tonnes and is 75 metres long, while the lightest and shortest monopile weighs 735 tonnes and is 62 metres long. Fun fact: once the installation vessel arrives at the site at sea, it is positioned at the exact location. The ship’s crane then lifts the monopile into the water and lowers it until it reaches the seabed. Once the monopile is in the correct position, a hydraulic hammer is used to drive the pile into the ground to the desired depth. This project proves that this type of hydraulic hammer can also be used as a gigantic ‘measuring rod’ by means of high-quality foil applications.
More about Van Ginkel Groep: https://vanginkelgroep.nl/
More about Sif Group: https://sif-group.com/en/
More about Vattenfall Hollandse Kust Zuid: https://vattenfall-hollandsekust.nl/
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