To track GWO certificates across a wind workforce, you need one record per technician that holds each GWO module (First Aid, Manual Handling, Fire Awareness, Working at Heights and, for offshore work, Sea Survival), its completion and expiry date, and evidence you have checked. Then you need to see, per project and per role, who is in date, who is about to expire and who needs a refresher before mobilisation. CertCase does this in one place, with the technician keeping their own certificates up to date.
This guide explains what to track, where spreadsheets usually break down, and how CertCase turns a list of tickets into a clear answer to the question that matters: who is ready to deploy?
What you actually need to track
GWO Basic Safety Training (BST) is made up of separate modules, and each has its own certificate valid for 24 months. Refresher courses renew them every two years, and a refresher taken up to two months before expiry keeps the original certificate date. A technician can be in date for Working at Heights but out of date for Fire Awareness, so tracking "BST" as a single line hides real gaps.
For each wind turbine technician, a useful record covers:
- Each GWO module held, with its completion date and expiry date.
- Other wind tickets the role needs: GWO Basic Technical Training (BTT) mechanical, electrical and hydraulic, medicals, and electrical authorisations for HV work.
- Whether each certificate has been checked against evidence, or is still awaiting verification.
- Whether the technician is working onshore, offshore or both, because offshore work adds Sea Survival and an offshore medical.
- Availability, so you know who can actually take the next rotation.
Why spreadsheets stop working
Most wind teams start with a spreadsheet of names, modules and dates. It works for a handful of people. As the crew grows, and especially once subcontractors are involved, the same problems appear: copies of the sheet go out of date, nobody is sure which certificates were actually checked, expiry dates are typed in by hand, and working out whether a person meets a specific project's training matrix means reading across many columns by eye.
The bigger problem is that a spreadsheet tells you what someone holds, not whether they are ready for a particular role on a particular project. That second question is the one planners and HSE teams are asked every week.
How CertCase tracks GWO certificates
In CertCase each technician has their own free profile. They upload their certificates (a photo or PDF is enough) and CertCase reads the certificate name, provider, number and dates automatically for them to check. Certificates are then verified before they count as proven. Anything uploaded but not yet checked shows as "awaiting verification", never as met.
Technicians get reminders 90, 30 and 7 days before a certificate expires and on the expiry day, so refreshers are booked earlier. Expired certificates stay visible — they cannot be hidden from an employer the technician shares with.
On the employer side, technicians you work with are checked against published role standards, for example Wind Turbine Technician, Wind Turbine Service Technician and HV / Electrical Technician. Offshore items such as Sea Survival and an offshore medical are added when the project is offshore. Where several medicals are acceptable, CertCase treats them as "any one of" so a technician is not marked missing for holding a valid alternative.
From certificates to deployment readiness
For each project, CertCase shows a requirements matrix: one row per person, one column per requirement, with each cell showing whether it is valid, expiring, missing or awaiting verification. People are reported as ready, awaiting verification or not ready, with the exact items that block them. Recommended items, such as BTT for some roles, are shown as "Recommended – not held" and never stop someone being ready.
You can also import a client's HSE training matrix. CertCase reads it, suggests which certificates each row means, and asks a person to confirm uncertain matches before anything counts towards readiness. The matrix can be exported to Excel for audits.
When people need training, CertCase builds a training needs list from the gaps and upcoming expiries, which you can turn into requests to training providers.
A simple routine that works
Ask every technician to keep their own CertCase profile up to date, review the projects due to mobilise in the next 90 days, and act on the expiring and missing items first. Because the technician owns the record, you are not chasing copies of certificates by email every time a project starts.
Frequently asked questions
How often do GWO certificates need renewing?
GWO Basic Safety Training (BST) is made up of separate modules, and each has its own certificate valid for 24 months. Refresher courses renew them every two years, and a refresher taken up to two months before expiry keeps the original certificate date. GWO Basic Technical Training (BTT) is different: it does not expire and needs no refresher. CertCase tracks the expiry date of each module separately.
Can CertCase track onshore and offshore requirements separately?
Yes. Offshore items such as GWO Sea Survival and an offshore medical apply when the project is offshore. Technicians targeting onshore work are not marked down for them.
Does an uploaded certificate count straight away?
No. An uploaded certificate shows as awaiting verification until it has been checked. It does not count as met for deployment readiness until then.
Do technicians pay to use CertCase?
No. CertCase is free for technicians.
See how CertCase handles your own crews and projects.
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