Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Benchmarking Human-Free Lifting Solutions in the Offshore Wind Energy Environment
by
Mark Richmond 1,*
, Toby Balaam 2, Paul Causon 1, Debora Cevasco 1, Mareike Leimeister 1,3, Athanasios Kolios 1 and Feargal Brennan 1
Mark Richmond 1,*, Toby Balaam 2, Paul Causon 1, Debora Cevasco 1, Mareike Leimeister 1,3, Athanasios Kolios 1 and Feargal Brennan 1
1
Offshore Energy Engineering Centre, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK
2
Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ, UK
3
Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2018, 11(5), 1175; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11051175
Received: 19 March 2018 / Revised: 3 May 2018 / Accepted: 4 May 2018 / Published: 7 May 2018
With single components weighing up to hundreds of tonnes and lifted to heights of approximately 100 m, offshore wind turbines can pose risks to personnel, assets, and the environment during installation and maintenance interventions. Guidelines and standards for health and safety in lifting operations exist; however, having people directly beneath the load is still common practice in offshore wind turbine installations. Concepts for human-free offshore lifting operations in the categories of guidance and control, connections, and assembly are studied in this work. This paper documents the process of applying Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), using experts’ opinions for the importance of defined criteria obtained by conducting an industry survey, to benchmark the suitability of the concepts at two stages. Stage one streamlined possible options and stage two ranked the remaining suite of options after further development. The survey results showed that criteria such as ‘reduction of risk’, ‘handling improvement’ and ‘reliability of operation’ were most important. The most viable options, weighted by industry opinion, to remove personnel from areas of high risk are: Boom Lock and tag lines, a camera system with mechanical guidance, and automated bolt installation/fastening for seafastening. The decision analysis framework developed can be applied to similar problems to inform choices subject to multiple criteria.
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Keywords:
multi-criteria decision making; Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS); offshore wind turbines; health & safety; offshore lifting operations
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MDPI and ACS Style
Richmond, M.; Balaam, T.; Causon, P.; Cevasco, D.; Leimeister, M.; Kolios, A.; Brennan, F. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Benchmarking Human-Free Lifting Solutions in the Offshore Wind Energy Environment. Energies 2018, 11, 1175.
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