The GL ISO 9001 and GL OHSAS 18001 Certifications are granted to Availon GmbH (Germany,) the parent company of Availon North America.
Release Date: 09/22/2010
Location: Husum, Germany
PIONEER IN INDEPENDENT WTG SERVICE
Availon United Wind Service is consistently expanding its quality management and WTG portfolio
Availon, formerly known as SSB Service, is currently underlining its pioneer position in regards to quality assurance for independent WTG maintenance services. In a Certification Report issued during Husum WindEnergy 2010, GL Renewables Certification (GL) has once again validated the introduction and implementation of further quality assurance measures in operational management for the integration of Vestas® turbines in existing processes.
As part of the current certification, GL analyzed the maintenance and service strategies, fault and repair processes and qualification of Availon personnel for Vestas® turbines based on the “GL Wind Technical Note, Certification of Service Providers in the Wind Energy Industry.”
“What GL are actually examining are our comprehensive work instructions for mechanical and electrical maintenance, including our control scheme and troubleshooting routines for type V66, VCS, V80 and V90 2.0 MW turbines,“ explained Olaf Kleesch, Head of Technical Support and Engineering, Norderstedt, near Hamburg.
An audit carried out by GL in August focused on staff qualification as well as the Availon training concept, which now covers all WTGs containing Vestas® converters (except for V90 – 3.0 MW) and the fleet of GE 1.5 MW turbines. “Our training concept consists of different modules, which contents we would like to have certified independently. Our staff is thus qualified to carry out servicing and repair work on turbines of two major WTG manufacturers. Availon is thus the first reference customer for GL,” added Kleesch.
“We believe that it’s our duty to our customers to introduce strategies and processes that ensure a sustained higher availability of their turbines. The planned certification by GL once again demonstrates that our company places highest importance on quality management and certification to external standards. Our customers will benefit from the additional competence and reliability,” said Ulrich Schomakers, Availon CEO, upon receiving the Certification Report from Christian Nath (Vice President GL Renewables Certification) and Dr. Michael Broschart (GL Project Manager responsible for Availon) at Husum WindEnergy.
In 2008, the current Availon GmbH, which then operated under the name of SSB Service GmbH, received Certification Reports from GL for its qualification of personnel, troubleshooting and repair processes for the GE fleet. Shortly after, the independent service provider commissioned GL to audit the control and implementation of servicing work as well as its analysis and documentation. In addition, all business processes were certified to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008 by DQS GmbH at the end of 2009.
This news release, including photos, can be downloaded via the following link: www.availon.eu/press.
Media contact:
Ms. Dagmar Hammudeh-Keil
Phone: +49 5971 8025-291
Email: dagmar.hammudeh-keil@availon.eu
About Availon GmbH:
In September 2010, SSB Service GmbH was renamed Availon GmbH. This was the Rheine company’s reaction to its growing commitment in the international WTG servicing business, consistently extending at the same time its global strategic position as an independent WTG service provider. The name “Availon“ was derived from the term “Availability“. In order to ensure a high level of availability and thus yields for WTGs in the long-term, the independent worldwide service partner must offer permanent operational readiness – i.e. a high level of availability.
Since its formation in 2007, the current Availon GmbH has established itself as the leading independent provider of WTG maintenance services. At present, the full-service company operates more than 170 employees in Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the USA.
Availon GmbH currently maintains more than 1,000 MW worldwide.
The company´s proactive, complete service for worldwide WTGs includes the entire value-added chain, including remote monitoring and maintenance, the provision of spare parts, troubleshooting and the optimization of wind turbines. And all this is monitored by a DQS-certified quality management system.
Availon GmbH is the first independent WTG service provider to be fully certified by the Germanischer Lloyd in all processes required for the servicing operation.
About GL Renewables Certification (GL):
GL Renewables Certification (GL) is one of the leading international certification companies for wind farms, WTGs and their components. GL also offers type certification for WTGs (onshore and offshore) as well as project certification (onshore and offshore). In addition to production monitoring, GL’s tasks also include commissioning and periodic testing. GL Renewables Certification is furthermore actively involved in the development of national and international standards.
