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Richard Sykes

Operations & Maintenance Engineer

Equinor

I am the Balance of Plant Engineer for Dudgeon Windfarm, supporting and delivering projects to ensure the safe and efficient maintenance of cranes, lifts, transition piece assets and inter array transmission equipment.

I deliver the maintenance plan, retrofits and modifications for balance of plant assets throughout their allotted life cycle with a focus on safe operations through efficient planning, contract supervision, site audits and budget management.


The role is hugely diverse and can be fast paced but working with other members of the operations team and learning new skills every day is very rewarding. Having the ability to utilize skills from previous roles within wind, and earlier in my engineering career, has proved essential and the safe and successful delivery of projects is hugely satisfying.


I had a 30 year engineering career in the military before starting work in the renewables sector (initially as a wind turbine technician). Renewables seemed a logical fit after a career in the military with many systems (hydraulic, electrical, mechanical) being relevant to both sectors so the transition was not too difficult.


My previous qualifications in HSE were identified during my time working offshore and I was employed as an HSE Leader within the company for 5 years until returning to engineering recently.


A number of operators within wind are supporting apprenticeships and this route provides a fully rounded entry into a number of areas within renewables but there are also opportunities for more experienced entrants and, in my experience, an engineering background with an additional competence in safety is also a effective route into the sector.

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