Qualifications Needed by Certified Verification Agents - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 105

6
Qualifications Needed by Certified
Verification Agents
As discussed in Chapter 5, the certified verification agent (CVA) is
responsible for ensuring that the design, fabrication, and installation of
offshore wind turbine facilities are in accordance with accepted and
approved plans and compilations of national and international stan-
dards, rules, industry guidelines, and recommended practices (referred
to here as “packages of Guidelines”). To perform this work, the CVA must
have certain capabilities and experience. This chapter explores qualifica-
tions required of third-party reviewers, evaluates various approaches
to accrediting a CVA, addresses the qualifications necessary for an
offshore wind turbine CVA, and discusses the potential gaps in the
process in the initial years of CVA implementation in the U.S. offshore
wind industry.
SURVEY OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR
OTHER THIRD-PARTY REVIEWS
Third-party reviews and verification activities are undertaken for var-
ious engineered systems, among them offshore oil and gas, marine,
and land-based structural design (including wind turbines). This sec-
tion explores the qualifications necessary for organizations undertak-
ing these verification activities to provide a background for evaluating
what qualifications should be required for the offshore wind turbine
industry. The qualifications described in this section are presented as
examples from other third-party review systems, which have informed
the committee's deliberations on the recommended qualifications
for CVAs.
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