Technician Newsletter January 2024

Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2024! A new year brings new changes, which includes the introduction of our brand new Technician Awards, as well as our regular updates from the team about everything going on at Boston Energy! 2023 was without a doubt a huge year for us, with significant investment from LDC allowing us to further expand our service offering to clients across the globe which in turn provided more opportunities and career progression for you as Boston Energy technicians. We’re determined to keep our foot to the floor in 2024 and are delighted to have you join us for what is shaping up to be yet another huge year for growth and expansion for all of us as a team.

Let’s kick things off with an update from our CEO, Julian Cattermole – happy reading!

 

 

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400

+

technicians deployed during peak period in 2023/2024.

100

+

new entrant technicians welcomed to the Boston Energy team since 2012.

£

700k

invested in technician training in 2023.

Technician Spotlight

Graham

My journey in the wind industry has only ever been with Boston Energy; they gave me the opportunity to get started which I am extremely grateful for. Everyone in the office I’ve worked with has always been really helpful and supportive and the opportunities are there for people to get into the industry and transfer from another industry. It’s great for young people to come in and carve out a career, but if you do come from a job with transferable skills the opportunities are there to progress too.

 

 

Women into Wind...

Rebecca

I’ve wanted this career for a while – It’s been about five years and up to now I’d never really had my chance to get my foot in the door of the wind industry. I’m quite a driven person and so I’d set myself a 10-year plan to achieve my goals, and when I finally got my GWO’s and was lucky enough to go to Denmark to do my SGTT training through Boston Energy, I knew I was finally getting the ball rolling to be exactly where I wanted to be.

I’ve always liked to challenge myself and put myself outside of my comfort zone having previously worked in stereotypically male-dominated environments, playing professional football and in my previous career. Not everybody wants to sit behind a desk, and I’m excited to prove that I am more than capable of rising to the challenge and being just as good as my colleagues.

 

Catching up with...

Frank

I’ve been in the wind industry since 2024, and I’ve seen a lot of development in my time, which is why it’s such an exciting industry to be in. Compared to when I first began this career the technology is so much more advanced, and the turbines are a lot bigger – especially the direct drive wind turbines. They’re only going to get bigger too. I think my favourite part about working in this industry is just being able to stand back and have that moment where you think “We put that turbine up, and its going to be there forever.” It’s a great sense of achievement. Especially when you’ve been in the hub for hours, you’ve tightened the last blade up and you’re able to stand on the top and look out at the view and think “We’ve built this.”

Now I’m working on LID and servicing the turbines I helped to build so it’s come full circle for me really and its these moments that make me realise I am in the right place.

 

 

Meet the team

Meet our new Head of Onshore, Anthony Waslin

We are delighted to welcome Anthony Waslin to the Boston Energy team as Head of Onshore! 😁

After beginning his career as a Service Technician in 2011, Anthony quickly developed in his role; building on his experience and expertise in the onshore wind industry and ultimately progressing on to Field Service Manager, earning the responsibility of managing the entire UK Onshore operations for Enercon.

“Boston Energy had an immensely successful 2023 across the organisation, and on the back of this I aim to take our onshore operations to the next level in 2024 – so for me the most exciting part about my new role is the change and growth, and building close relationships with our global customers and expanding our support for them going forward.”

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Pip Hamilton

Regional updates

An update from the UK

Our teams are delivering exceptional performances in wind turbine servicing, inspections, and installations. With a focus on safety and innovation, we’re making significant strides towards a sustainable energy future while maintaining our commitment to excellence in service delivery.

Our QSHE Officer, Alex and Project Coordinator, Tom Needler have been touring sites across the UK to catch up with our teams. It is fantastic to see everyone has been immersing themselves immediately into the safety culture on site and we received some positive feedback from both SGRE and SSE on how pleased they were to see this. It’s been a great start to the season for everyone and we look forward to working with you all in the coming months!

Dogger Bank has gone through a quieter period lately offshore, mainly due to the weather impacting operations, although two complete strings of the Haliade X WTG’s have now been installed and are at various stages of handover. As the weather improves, we are expecting a significant ramp up of installation, completion, and commissioning progress.

Our onshore teams haven’t been hindered by the weather to the same degree and it is really pleasing to receive great positive feedback from our customer and our “one team” partners on site. Their “readiness for load out” status is such that when the offshore weather improves, we’ll be in a position to keep the installation vessel well supplied with fully prepared components.

We also want to give a shout out to Pip Hamilton who has recently been promoted to Troubleshooter for SGRE, the first ever Troubleshooter appointment across all their contractors. Pip joined us in March 2023 through our new entrant scheme and within just 18 months has worked his way through CT to MT and now to a Troubleshooter. Congratulations!

The good news doesn’t stop there. In March, Boston Energy were awarded the Strategic Partnership Health and Safety Award a SGRE’s Service Supply Chain event. We were recognised as one of their top 20 suppliers, for zero incidents, zero safety deviations and proactive safety reporting and activity. We would like to extend this honour to you all, who help us to achieve these brilliant results and ensure that safety is our top priority whilst working on site.

Jakub Dąbrowski

Regional updates

What's going on in Europe?

Our pre-assembly team at Baltic Eagle has really gathered pace with us now having 54 technicians working on site and operations in full flow. One of our long-standing technicians Arturs Lauberts has recently been promoted to Site Supervisor which is a great recognition of his ability and how in partnership with Vestas, we look to support the development and upskilling of our technicians.

Neil Harvey, Head of Pre-assembly, Construction and Commissioning, recently visited the team on site at Bornholm Island, Denmark, along with Project Manager, Lavinia Tofan, where they were able to meet and chat with the team and site management. Neil said, “It’s very important to be able to talk with our technicians face to face, to understand their team and individual circumstances and give them the opportunity and be heard and appreciated properly”.

As our operations in Europe continue to grow, it’s essential for us to strengthen our support team and ensure that we have the right people in place to maintain our momentum and give you the best support possible. In April, we welcomed Project Coordinator, Magdalena Stiburska Yaman (Magda) to our European operations team. Magda will be based in Poland and will work closely with Jagoda and Monika ensuring that our projects are executed efficiently and effectively. Magda brings with her a wealth of experience and expertise in the wind industry and no doubt will be a great asset to the team.

Follow Boston Energy on LinkedIn for further insights, career opportunities, and updates from our teams across the globe.

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North America updates

Boston Energy Wind Power Services

Boston Energy Wind Power Services enters 2024 having achieved a strong start and eagerly anticipates a substantial growth spurt in the middle of the year. With plans for four major construction projects in June 2024 and further possibilities on the horizon, BEWPS is poised for significant expansion across the US. To support this growth, we are dedicated to investing in the professional development of our technicians by providing tailored training and addressing individual needs to ensure progression meets the needs of both the technician and project requirements.

Since 2022, we have been working closely with the Community College of Rhode Island as consultants to support the development of their new training program which will prepare Rhode Islanders to begin their careers in offshore wind. Our training team has been working closely with the college to develop on the GWO Basic Safety Training program curriculum and facility build-out. The new facility officially opened in March.

“Thank you to our partners at Boston Energy for providing guidance and expertise throughout this project and its ongoing phases. A special thanks to Andy Suthern for traveling to RI countless times to support every aspect of the project.”

We look forward to an exciting 2024 and are pleased to have you with us on the journey ahead!

Looking for a new role? Check out the latest opportunities on our vacancies page.

View our roles

Photo Competition Winner

Congratulations to Arturs Lauberts! 🎉

Congratulations to Arturs for winning the first photo competition of 2024! As voted by our social media followers across Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, Arturs won the most votes with this fantastic shot from Baltic Eagle. Likened to the Japanese Samurai Swords, the huge blades in the photo eerily poking out through the thick fog gives an idea of the sheer scale of the Pre-Assembly project based out of Bornholm Island, Denmark.

It’s been great to see such a positive response to the competition and we’ve loved hearing which photo has been your favourite and why. Please join us in congratulating all of our entries on their fantastic photographs of windfarms from across the world. (Scroll below to see the entries) If you would like the chance to be entered into our next competition, find out how to send your photographs in to us below.

Want the chance to be entered into our next photo competition? Send in your photos from site to marketing@bostonenergy.co.uk!

Send them in!

Drum roll please....

Introducing Boston Energy's Technician Awards!

Top Technician

This award is for the technician who goes above and beyond in their role, demonstrates all the company values, is a supportive team player and is a pleasure to work with on site!

Safety Focused

Awarded to the technician who upholds Boston Energy’s high Health and Safety standards on site and strives to always keep themselves and team safe.

Rising Star

This award is designed to shine light on our new entrant and basic technicians who have not been in the wind industry a long while but have hit the ground running in their new position and have demonstrated a high level of skill, commitment and determination to succeed and progress in their career.

Top Technician 🎉

Arturs Lauberts

Arturs currently works as an Installation Supervisor at Baltic Eagle with Boston Energy. During his time on this project and with Boston Energy on a whole he has shown excellent customer contact skills and regularly recommends high quality, reliable technicians to join our team. His skills and experience do not just cover wind turbines, but every aspect of his role; he takes care of technicians on site as well as PPE and other duties. He presents the values of Boston Energy in the best way and we are incredibly proud to have Arturs on our team!

Safety Focused 🦺

Andrew Simpson

Andy has shown huge dedication and commitment to Health and Safety during his time at Boston Energy. Working as a Troubleshooter at London Array, Andy consistently shares and reports safety information with the team at Head Office to ensure we are always improving and developing our Health and Safety strategy. Andy has also received recognition from the team on site for a safety observation he put in regarding a loose helicopter lollipops on the helideck. Not only is he passionate and determined to do well himself, Andy challenges us to do better as a team on a regular basis and he is one of the only Shift Lead to attend nearly 100% of meetings regarding Health and Safety. Congratulations Andy – extremely well deserved!

Rising Star 🌟

Kenton Baker

Kenton started with us back in July 2023 at Dogger Bank as a New Entrant Technician, having transitioned from a career in the military. He hit the ground running immediately and receives amazing compliments regarding his work ethic, attitude toward managers and colleagues, and his eagerness to learn. The Dogger Bank team are extremely proud of Kenton’s development and the client has repeatedly fed back on his fantastic work on site. Well done & keep up the good work, Kenton!

Your Health & Safety Update

Welcome to our latest health and safety update with QSHE Manager, Katie Monk! As we navigate through another period of dynamic challenges and opportunities, our team has been working to ensure your feedback is heard and implemented across all key areas, and we are commitment to ensuring your safety and promoting engagement on site and with the Health and Safety team.

Excellent progress is already being made, and we’d like to take this moment to congratulate Andy Simpson for being recognised by RWE for noticing an issue with loose helicopter lollipops on the helideck and removing the hazard, as well as taking the time to ensure a RITAS safety observation was submitted. It’s this kind of proactive reporting and communication that allows us all to make continuous improvements and create a safer environment for us all working in the wind industry.

In this edition, we’ll delve into recent developments and provide valuable resources aimed at enhancing your overall safety and well-being. Your dedication and professionalism are vital to our success, and together, we will continue to uphold the highest standards of health and safety across all our operations.

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What's new

Upskilling & New Entrant Recruitment

We have been welcoming new entrant technicians into our workforce since 2012, having over 100 join the growing Boston Energy team in that time. We first began our New Entrant Recruitment scheme by transitioning those from the Armed Forces into a new career in the wind industry. However as our reputation for providing highly skilled and dedicated new entrant technicians grew stronger and as our relationship with customers and clients developed in this area, we are delighted to share our New Entrant Recruitment Scheme is evolving!

As we continue to support our clients demands we are pleased to announce our Women into Wind and Transferrable Skills recruitment schemes have already allowed us to welcome some fantastic new additions to our team – so without further ado, find out more about our new entrant recruitment schemes in our latest update!

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Look after your mental health

There are many ways in which we can look after our mental health. We have Mental Health First Aiders on hand to guide you in the right direction to receiving the support you need. For more information on Mental Health services in the UK and further afield, read our guide on mental health and key contacts.

Keep your eye out for your mental health contact & Information keyrings that we will be rolling out in the coming weeks – this is just one of many initiatives we are currently working on to best support you and your mental health.

 

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Our Mental Health First Aiders

Margo Jagiello

Head of Technician Development and Retention

Laura Botham

Head of People