APQP4Wind is now cooperating with Industry Standards
Standardization has been identified as one of the levers for improving quality and lowering the cost of energy as it describes how suppliers and manufacturers can effectively cooperate, plan, and proceed during a project.
At Wind Energy Denmark 2018, Vestas and Siemens Gamesa presented industry standardization topics that could be processed together and decided to prioritize collaboration across the value chain to take the next steps in realizing cost reduction potential.
Offshore Research Manager at Siemens Gamesa, Per Hessellund Lauritsen, has been one of the project leads of Industry Standards since the idea of industry standardization needed to go from conceptualization to execution.
He explains that Industry Standards are a set of criteria within an industry relating to the standard functioning and carrying out of operations in their respective fields of production. In other words, they are the generally accepted requirements followed by the members of an industry. About the collaboration between the members of the industry, Per Hessellund Lauritsen says:
“Vestas and Siemens Gamesa have taken the initiative to write industry standards together with colleagues in our industry. We do that because we believe that industry standards are levers to improve quality and lower cost since we take out complexity by agreeing upon common standards.
Since then, primarily EU-based companies and organizations within the global wind industry have been invited into the writing process. A maintenance cycle and a maintenance team have been defined for each Industry Standard to ensure that the standard follows the developments in the industry.
To learn more about Industry Standards, you can read the new page ‘Industry Standards’ on our website.
Introducing the technical specification for fasteners
The first industry specification that is ready to be launched covers fasteners and it has been produced by a technical working group that represents all parties in the supply chain for fasteners used in wind turbines.
The technical specification for fasteners defines the naming convention and how to interpret the used syntaxes. This specification provides the possibility to cover all DIN, EN, and ISO standards related to fasteners, including bolts, studs, nuts, and washers. It covers dimensions, materials, coatings, supplementary requirements, identification/markings, certificates, packaging requirements, and key qualification deliverables.
The specification also provides a list of topics that need to be addressed during the qualification of new or existing suppliers. Requirements for friction-controlling topcoats applicable for zinc flake coatings, dry-to-touch lubricants for stainless steel products, and pre-lubricated products with a wet lubricant are also addressed. It furthermore specifies specific requirements for the type of product, e.g., geometrical requirements.
See the preview of the Industry Specification: Fasteners - Technical Specification, Version 1 – May 2022 on our new website page ‘Fasteners’.
Collaboration with APQP4Wind
Since it is APQP4Wind’s mission to provide standards, tools, and methods for the global wind industry, the new collaboration with Industry Standards makes perfect sense, says General Manager of APQP4Wind, Kim Nedergaard Jacobsen, and continues:
“APQP4Wind also wants to enable collaboration within the wind industry so stakeholders can continually improve the quality environment in which they operate and minimize risk. And since Industry Standards are driven by collaboration and coordination, we are happy to offer a platform for them to expand the portfolio of industry specifications and excited to see what the future will bring.”
If you want to purchase the first Industry Specification covering fasteners or have unanswered questions about Industry Standards, you are welcome to contact the APQP4Wind Secretariat via this email address: industrystandards@apqp4wind.org.
An Industry Standard is not an ISO or an IEC standard. On this website, Industry Standards are developed by technical working groups representing all parties of the supply chain; wind farm owners, manufacturers, and suppliers for the wind turbine business. All interested parties have released their creative ideas in the value chain and developed the industry standards in an open and transparent process. Together, they have agreed to push industrial standardization in the wind power industry.