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14th May 2021

AINSCOUGH CUSTOMERS BLOWN AWAY BY WIND FARM SOLUTIONS

Craig Ashford, Business Development Manager ‐ Wind Energy at Ainscough Crane Hire.

Green energy is an important topic for today’s business leaders. Following the announcement of the UK’s ambitions to reach net‐zero emissions by 2050 – and with Scotland targeting 2045 – the pressure is on for governments to speed up the transition towards renewable energy.

Wind turbines are a key part of achieving these goals. Because they require no fuel, wind farms have less impact on the environment than many other forms of power generation.

But there are downsides. Wind farms need to be built in remote, rural areas to ensure minimal disruption to the environment and an appropriate amount of space. Our clients have ambitious KPIs and are targeted to have 100% of their turbines operational at all times. They can even receive contractual penalties for turbines which aren’t functional. That’s why it’s important for us at Ainscough to work closely with our clients and help them achieve their goals.

As a company, our wind farm industry knowledge is unparalleled. We have two decades of experience in building and maintaining wind turbines and have worked on 90% of all the wind farms in the UK either through construction, major component changeouts, or decommissioning.

We have also been working to the Wind Turbine Safety rules since their inception and opened our own training facility in Falkirk in 2013, through which we have trained 850 operatives in training courses such as Working at Height & Rescue, First Aid, Fire Awareness, and Manual Handling.

Another advantage we have in wind farm solutions is our proximity. Onshore wind farms are strategically positioned all over the UK. Since we’re the only nationwide crane hire and lifting solutions provider our clients can experience a familiar, great customer service experience whether they have a wind farm site in John O’Groats or Cornwall.

Some of the niche requirements regarding documentation and best practice demanded by the wind energy sector mean careful consideration is needed to make working with us as easy as possible. If the required briefing is not supplied in the right timeframe, it can cause delays on site. Gaining a deeper understanding of our customers; their preferences and requirements; and even what their clients are looking for; all this is critical to delivering a seamless customer service experience and helping our customers to achieve their targets.

Often, clients can ask us to organise heavy crane projects in multiple locations at once. Ainscough Crane Hire’s typical approach to managing this would be for the contract lift manager who initially conducts the site visit to manage the project “from cradle to grave”, i.e. to visit site, generate paperwork and drawings, and execute the project. Our contract lift managers are highly experienced and technically excellent, with an average tenure of twelve years. But this approach doesn’t lend itself to centralised learning needed for niche documentation requirements, so we manage wind energy projects differently.

Regardless of where in the UK is or which of our contract lift managers has completed the site visit, we will always have someone from our dedicated wind energy team who generates the paperwork. This means we have the operational nimbleness to respond to short notice requests or/and manage multiple projects simultaneously, while clients retain the familiarity of a technical manager who understands their specific requirements. This also means a process of continual improvement is ongoing and delivered at any UK wind farm location.

At Ainscough, we strive to always deliver a flawless customer service experience regardless of a project’s schedule and budget. Our industry knowledge and expert team make us the go-to when it comes to wind farm projects. If you’d like to learn more about our wind farm solutions, call us today on 0800 272 637 or click here and we will call you.

Call Us today on 0800 272 637