BEHIND THE SCENES AT LEITWIND
Interview with Remo Sanna, Customer Support technician at LEITWIND
Remo Sanna, originally from Sardinia (ITALY), grew up in Vipiteno (BZ), and has now been working for six years as a maintenance technician in the LEITWIND Customer Support Department at the company's main site in Vipiteno.
Remo Sanna, originally from Sardinia (ITALY), grew up in Vipiteno (BZ), and has now been working for six years as a maintenance technician in the LEITWIND Customer Support Department at the company's main site in Vipiteno.
What do you do…. Remo Sanna, Customer Support Technician, LEITWIND
Remo Sanna grew up in Vipiteno (BZ) but was originally from Sardinia, and has now been working for six years as a maintenance technician in the LEITWIND Customer Support Department at the company’s main site in Vipiteno.
What does a customer support technician do?
As a customer support technician, I am responsible for providing support and maintenance for the various systems. I have some regular jobs I need to perform, such as routine maintenance, but I am also always available if there is a problem or unexpected issue at a site, because these situations need to be resolved quickly.
Some of the activities involved in the commissioning of the wind turbines are also performed by our technicians. I find these turbines incredibly interesting: working on them is exciting and I never get bored. My job also gives me the opportunity to travel widely and explore new places and cultures.
What does a customer support technician do when not in the field?
Even in the office, the work is really varied: I juggle drafting reports on completed operations and preparing for upcoming service runs in the field … I organize retrofits, prepare material, and answer emails and phone calls dealing with a huge range of issues.
But while I’m in the office, it is the preparation for the next operation that takes up most of my time: everything needs to be planned a long time in advance, so that I can do the best possible job. This is the way I have always worked. In fact, I love mountains and climbing: the same principle applies here, you need to have planned for every eventuality in your mind beforehand so you have everything you might need to be able to finish the circuit without any stress or problems.
What role does safety play in your work?
The issue of safety is very important, especially for customer support technicians. We don’t work at standard sites, especially when we’re dealing with wind turbines, where we are exposed to a range of risks: high voltage electricity, moving mechanical parts, the heights we have to work at, heavy weights. You could almost say that we sometimes work at the very limit. In some circumstances, even the tiniest mistake can cost lives, which is why technicians must always work in pairs: if one stumbles and falls from the top of the tower, he’ll just hang there and can’t climb back up. After 30 minutes, even if he’s uninjured, there is a serious risk of hanging trauma”. The blood vessels in the legs are compressed by the harness and the entire body is in a position that puts the internal organs under stress. The other technician must quickly set up the evacuation kit (cable and abseil device) and reach the victim so they can get back to ground together.
It’s a bit like ski mountaineering: if you’re alone and you’re hit by an avalanche, even a small one, who can help you other than a companion?!
What can you tell us about safety courses?
In addition to an annual medical check-up, our support technicians are required to complete three different safety courses each year. All technicians must perform the abandon procedure from the exterior of the wind turbine at least once a year. LEITWIND has offered me the opportunity to become a certified instructor for one of these courses.
What are the characteristics that a LEITWIND support technician should have?
Obviously every support technician or installer must be ready for and open to travel. You might find yourself away from home for weeks at a time.
Finally, how would you describe LEITWIND and the team in three words?
YOUNG, INNOVATIVE AND AMBITIOUS; we want to keep improving so that we can better meet our customers’ needs.
Remo Sanna grew up in Vipiteno (BZ) but was originally from Sardinia, and has now been working for six years as a maintenance technician in the LEITWIND Customer Support Department at the company’s main site in Vipiteno.
What does a customer support technician do?
As a customer support technician, I am responsible for providing support and maintenance for the various systems. I have some regular jobs I need to perform, such as routine maintenance, but I am also always available if there is a problem or unexpected issue at a site, because these situations need to be resolved quickly.
Some of the activities involved in the commissioning of the wind turbines are also performed by our technicians. I find these turbines incredibly interesting: working on them is exciting and I never get bored. My job also gives me the opportunity to travel widely and explore new places and cultures.
What does a customer support technician do when not in the field?
Even in the office, the work is really varied: I juggle drafting reports on completed operations and preparing for upcoming service runs in the field … I organize retrofits, prepare material, and answer emails and phone calls dealing with a huge range of issues.
But while I’m in the office, it is the preparation for the next operation that takes up most of my time: everything needs to be planned a long time in advance, so that I can do the best possible job. This is the way I have always worked. In fact, I love mountains and climbing: the same principle applies here, you need to have planned for every eventuality in your mind beforehand so you have everything you might need to be able to finish the circuit without any stress or problems.
What role does safety play in your work?
The issue of safety is very important, especially for customer support technicians. We don’t work at standard sites, especially when we’re dealing with wind turbines, where we are exposed to a range of risks: high voltage electricity, moving mechanical parts, the heights we have to work at, heavy weights. You could almost say that we sometimes work at the very limit. In some circumstances, even the tiniest mistake can cost lives, which is why technicians must always work in pairs: if one stumbles and falls from the top of the tower, he’ll just hang there and can’t climb back up. After 30 minutes, even if he’s uninjured, there is a serious risk of hanging trauma”. The blood vessels in the legs are compressed by the harness and the entire body is in a position that puts the internal organs under stress. The other technician must quickly set up the evacuation kit (cable and abseil device) and reach the victim so they can get back to ground together.
It’s a bit like ski mountaineering: if you’re alone and you’re hit by an avalanche, even a small one, who can help you other than a companion?!
What can you tell us about safety courses?
In addition to an annual medical check-up, our support technicians are required to complete three different safety courses each year. All technicians must perform the abandon procedure from the exterior of the wind turbine at least once a year. LEITWIND has offered me the opportunity to become a certified instructor for one of these courses.
What are the characteristics that a LEITWIND support technician should have?
Obviously every support technician or installer must be ready for and open to travel. You might find yourself away from home for weeks at a time.
Finally, how would you describe LEITWIND and the team in three words?
YOUNG, INNOVATIVE AND AMBITIOUS; we want to keep improving so that we can better meet our customers’ needs.