Barnhart Crane Goes Sky High on ‘Dirty Jobs'

Enlarge Image Mike Rowe and the Barnhart Crane crew don safety gear before inspecting a wind turbine.

June 4, 2008 • Memphis, Tenn.-based Barnhart Crane was featured Monday night in a new episode of the Discovery Channel's number-one rated show, "Dirty Jobs." The show focused on Barnhart's work performing routine maintenance at a wind farm in Carnegie, Okla., near Lawton. Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs," lists this project as one of his top five most exhausting jobs.

The dirty job entailed climbing a ladder to the top of a wind turbine, more than 240 feet above the ground, to perform service work on the inside of the turbine. Because of the vertical distance required to climb, the crews climbed 80 feet at a time and then rested on a platform before climbing the next segment. Rowe said the ladder climb was a full-body workout.

 

Once the crews reached the top, they climbed into the nacelle, and then out on top of it to perform the inspection. Barnhart crew members emphasized safety, both during the ascent and during the inspection atop the nacelle. Workers are required to tie off 100 percent of the time. With 30 mph winds, safety lanyards are the lifeline for workers, and Rowe described the process as “pretty close to terrifying.”

Enlarge Image The Dirty Jobs film crew used a helicopter to get footage of the turbine inspection.

 

While atop the turbine, the crew checks bolts to make sure they are tight and inspects everything on the turbine including the wind speed and wind direction indicators and the anemometer. Once inspections are done, the crew climbed back into the nacelle to clean the inner workings of the unit to prevent a buildup of dust and debris. Fluid filters in the gearbox were also changed.

 

For more information about Barnhart's work in the wind energy industry, visit www.barnhartcrane.com.