Month: December 2019

Happy Holidays! Looking back on 2019

Happy Holidays to everyone we’ve worked with and met through 2019.

2019 has been a hectic year so we thought we’d run through some of the highlights and take a sneak peak at what’s in store for 2020.

Major highlights in 2019 have included.

Opening a new GWO training facility in Kansas City

Mid way through 2019 we brought on a new facility in Kansas City to deliver GWo working at height. This forms part of our coninued expansion of facilities to service customers throughout the major wind centers of the USA.

Passing the 500 technicians trained mark for the first year in the USA

Whilst our parent company Safety Technology has been training technicians since GWO started we have only been operating in the USA for a few short years. This years was our first to pass 500 technicians trained across our facilities in Iowa, Texas, Kansas City and onsite.

Gaining full onsite certification a USA first

We were extremely proud to have been awarded the onsite certification from GWO in the USA this year. We are now the first and only officially accredited training provider in North America to be able to offer onsite GWO training. For STL USA this was an imperative in 2019 and we look to service clients top to bottom and east to west across the country. The sheer size of the USA presents certain logistical challenges for both us and HSE managers and feedback had indicated that an onsite service was in high demand. So far this year our trainers have travelled from the Pacific North west to the East coast and covered virtually every inch of Texas!

Expanding our team with amazing new hires

Ben Dickens has joined the STL USa team to head up the Sales & Marketing operation and oversee the companies growth. Ben’s got a clear remit to make STL USA the number one training provider in North America. Brandon McKelvain joins us as a new GWO trainer based out of Sweetwater, Texas. Brandon has a host of working at height experience and joins our roster of USA and international trainers delivering courses across the country and world.

Attending O&M Safety exhibition in San Diego

Our biggest exhibition of the year took place in San Diego at the AWEA O&M Safety conference. The event brought both US based companies and international businesses together to talk safety, safety innovations and meet collegaues with an interest and remit for technician safety. It was a great opportunity to meet up with our existing customers and build new relationships throughout the industry. We will be attending again in 2020, come and say high.

Looking ahead to 2020

2020 looks set to be the year of offshore, it’s a key area of focus for STL USA. Expect to hear more about developments in offshore training in the first half of the year.

The STL USA team will continue to grow into 2020 as we recruit more trainers to cover the demand for courses across our facilities.

STL prides itself on its ability to form strong strategic partnerships. Expect to see announcements as we work through the supply chain.

Wind will continue to grow fast in the USA. Given the economics now in play the development of wind energy facilities in only set to increase.

For more information on STL USA training get in touch here:

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New Year, New Year GWO courses.

New Year GWO courses will be coming along soon. The program starts mid-January in Iowa and Texas.

Next year’s New Year GWO courses start on January 14th in both Iowa and Texas. Both course are GWO Basic Safety Training Refreshers running over three days and starting the week on a Tuesday.

From this point the course schedule take in a full GWO BAsic Safety Training in Texas and then runs through February, March and the rest of the first half of the year with a minimum of 1 full course and 1 refresher per month at each site.

Whether you need to refresh your certificates or take the course for the first time you will study the following modules:

Fire Awareness
First Aid
Manual Handling
Working at Height

Courses generally start 8:00am daily at both of our training centers. Each has center has some of the best training facilities in the USA with simulated nacelles, climbing structures and classroom facilities.

The full program is:

Sweetwater, Texas:

January 14^th to 16^th: GWO BST Refresher

January 21^st to 24^th: GWO BST

January 27-31^st GWO BST

February 10^th to 14^th: GWO BST

February 18^th to 20^th : GWO BST Refresher

March 9^th to 13^th: GWO BST

March 16^th to 20^th: GWO BST

Estherville, Iowa:

January 14^th to 16^th: GWO BST Refresher

February 10^th to 14^th: GWO BST

February 24^th to 28^th: GWO BST Refresher

March 9^th to 13^th: GWO BST

March 23^rd to 25^th: GWO BST Refresher

To book a course and for more information click below.

GWO First Aid Course

The GWO First Aid course covers the key aspects of first aid in a rescue or injury scenario. The First aid course teaches trainees how to manage a first aid situation and apply first aid in the correct manner.

The GWO First Aid course forms a core component of GWO Basic Safety Training. Alongside Fire Awareness, Manual Handling and Working at Height most technicians choose to take the four core onshore modules in one chunk. The course comprises two days of GWO First Aid, two days of GWO Working at Height and then a half day each for Fire Awareness and Manual Handling.

Alongside the Working at Height First Aid is a vital component of the GWO Basic Safety Training course.

Once completed technicians will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

the importance of carrying out first aid in a safe manner in accordance with the legislative requirements of their geographic location and according to ERC and AHA guidelines.
to identify and explain normal function, normal signs and symptoms of serious and minor injuries and illness related to the human body.
the correct order of management in an emergency in a WTG environment.
correct use of lifesaving First Aid using the Primary Survey A–B–C
correct use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED)
correct use of Ordinary First Aid, the Secondary survey
correct use of First Aid equipment in a First Aid scenario

Safety Technology USA emphasise the GWO First Aid element as a vital tool for technicians who encounter a rescue, injury or first aid scenario. We don’t underestimate the dangers that technicians face and as with all GWO memeber organisations and training providers safety is the beginning, middle and end of everything we do.

If you’d like to find out more about the GWO First Aid course as part of the wider GWO Basic Safety Training please get in touch via the link at the bottom of this blog.

Whilst most techs take first aid as part of the full course it can also be delivered as a stand alone module over 2 days for new trainees and 1 day for refreshers. STL USA are fully accredited to deliver GWO courses onsite as well as from our facilities in Texas and Iowa.