General Electric’s (GE) 2MW wind turbines platform. Photo: GE Renewable Energy

[Via Satellite 12-01-2016] Globalstar Europe Satellite Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, announced that General Electric is deploying its Spot Gen3 safety device to track and protect GE Wind Energy (GEWE) workers as they install, operate and maintain onshore wind power installations in emerging markets across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia regions.

Globalstar’s value added reseller, Crambo Wireless, initially provided GEWE with more than 70 Spot Gen3 devices to safeguard crews working at wind power installations in Pakistan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, among other locations.

As GEWE expands into new territories it will deploy Spot Gen3 devices to protect its workers in Ghana, Kenya, and elsewhere in Africa, as well as Central Europe and the Balkans. By mid-2017, GEWE personnel working at approximately 70 wind farms in EMEA and Asia are expected to use Spot devices.

In the event of an emergency, Spot instantly sends the user’s GPS coordinates to alert first responders through the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC).

“Our staff sometimes works in very challenging circumstances; wherever they are, we need to know they are safe and are connected. We must be confident in our workers’ security before we undertake any new wind energy development. Spot is an important part of GE’s abiding commitment to providing the best possible safety and working conditions for our valuable crews,” said Carlos Chivite Trincado, Onshore Wind Energy Environment Health and Safety (EHS) leader at GEWE.