Marine contractor Van Oord and heavy lifting specialist Mammoet are partnering with smart technology company Verton Australia to develop a new, safer lifting method for installing offshore wind turbine blades.
Verton has developed technology called R-Series for all crane operations with a remote-controlled load-management system that eliminates the need for human held taglines, keeping people out of harm’s way.
The device, which uses gyroscopic modules to rotate a suspended load, is integrated into a lifting yoke for installing wind turbine blades.
The partners aim to shorten the installation cycle times for turbines, while making it safer for operators.
Both Van Oord and Mammoet have committed to engage in the first of three phases of the development.
The first phase is the kick-off stage to have technical assessment and requirements developed.
Vestas will provide the project partners with the technical information and expertise required for the development of the new product.
Verton chief executive Trevor Bourne said: “This has been a fantastic year so far for Verton and one of the highlights has been our involvement in the PortXL accelerator program where along with other scale-ups and start-ups we have benefitted from the mentorships from companies such as Van Oord and Mammoet.
“We are very excited about partnering with these two great Dutch family-owned companies to develop a new and safer method for installing wind turbine blades.
“The world-first technology which has created the R-Series is revolutionising suspended load-management for the transport, construction and mining industries and also many other sectors.
“It provides unprecedented safety for crane operations as it eliminates the need for tag line use and associated workloads. Workers will no longer be near or under moving loads thanks to the R-Series.”
Van Oord offshore engineer Wouter de Wildt said: “The system allows operators to rotate and install heavy loads without using tag lines. Not only is this safer for operators but it also shortens the installation cycle times.”
Mammoet director market development and innovations Jacques Stoof said: “We are pleased to collaborate with other organisations in the same field, so we can jointly develop new tools and equipment to help the world of renewable energy to work safer and more efficiently.”
Vestas functional lead Jakob Sorensen said: “We are determined to develop a solution for safe and efficient wind power plant installation worldwide.”