Wind Industry | Maintenance Technician Holds the Title for Fastest Growing Profession in the U.S.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2016, the operations & maintenance tech title is estimated to be the fastest growing profession in the U.S. in the next decade. (Courtesy of Creative Commons)[/caption]

Energy production in the U.S and the world, for that matter, is drastically changing. Aging coal plants are being phased out and renewable energy is making big strides in the U.S. In 2016, 75 percent of all new energy being added to the grid is from solar and wind technologies. Along with this new technology, investment will reach $32 billion dollars for upgrades to the distribution energy component in just this year.

Recently, Atlantic Magazine produced a profile of a wind turbine operation and maintenance technician in Colorado. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this job title is estimated to be the fastest growing profession in the U.S. in the next decade.

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With the addition of so many jobs, the operations and maintenance (O&M) technician category has a similar feel to the shale workforce with a bit more of a risk factor. The article provides some real insights into how workforce skills need to evolve and how older professionals are enjoying these new challenges:

Twice a year, every tower has to be visited and we do standard checks, like changing filters, greasing things, checking electronic equipment with the controller, and making sure that all the systems are getting accurate readings. When the turbines are broken, a crew of technicians goes out and the problem could be as simple a temperature sensor that’s bad, or more complex if a motor went out. Once we can get them running, then we can return to  routine maintenance.

This is a young industry but it’s another in a long list of manufacturing applications ready for predictive sensing and remote monitoring via cloud solutions.

>> Related Content: The Wind Power and Big Data and IoT Forum was recently held and presentations included Big Data and a Global Wind Fleet; model-based diagnostics; and overall system architecture based on IoT.

For more IIoT coverage in maintenance and operations, click here!