Implementing complex hydropower projects in faraway countries and foreign cultures – a commissioning engineer’s job is both fascinating and challenging. Simon Walch works as Head of Commissioning for Voith Hydro in Heidenheim since 2018. From there he coordinates the work on hydropower projects in Western Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, among other tasks.
Mr. Walch, through your work on numerous international projects, you have first-hand knowledge of the profession of commissioning engineer. What do you find so appealing about this job?
There are several things. One is the technical challenge – you gain a
comprehensive overview of the entire plant in a very short time, which
hardly anyone else has. From the generator to the turbine, auxiliary
systems, auxiliary plants and control technology, at some point you know
the entire power plant like the back of your hand and yet still learn
something new every day.
Moreover, it is a very demanding profession in terms of the actual
tasks. We need to solve problems and fix errors or malfunctions, often
improvising and finding a neat and cost-effective solution as quickly as
possible, even under time pressure. This means you are pushed to the
limit right from the start.
Simon Walch joined Voith Hydro in 2013. After various assignments as a turbine commissioning engineer, Walch was appointed commissioning manager for the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme project in South Africa.
The Ingula Pumped
Storage Station plays an
important role in
stabilizing the country’s
power grid.
Read more about Ingula
Planning
Each commissioning project is preceded by a thorough review of the contract and consultations with designers, installers, and the customer.
Control
Still in the office, the commissioning engineer defines the scope and sequence of testing and selects the measuring instruments and tools.
Trial Runs
Depending on the type of power plant and scope of supply, tests are carried out over several days or weeks. First the individual systems are commissioned “dry,” i.e., at a standstill. When all of the systems are ready, the wet commissioning process begins. This is the first time the generator set is turned on.
Reporting
After commissioning, all of the departments involved receive feedback. The feedback helps employees learn from any mistakes and further optimize the systems.
Have you ever found yourself in a sticky situation?
Yes, in Iceland we got caught in a heavy snowstorm on the way home. Visibility dropped to zero and two out of four vehicles got stuck. We had to pull together and fight our way through the last 30 kilometers, which took more than three hours. The next day, the sun was shining brightly and the customer’s employees pulled our vehicles back onto the road. We thanked them with a few beers after work. We generally also work in locations where the situation on the ground is precarious or a medical facility is far away. That’s why Voith draws up safety concepts and can evacuate employees or postpone operations in an emergency.
An acoustic monitoring
system based on
machine learning and artificial
intelligence has
been used for predictive
maintenance of the Búðarháls
Hydropower Plant
since 2018.
Read more about Búðarháls
Does this extremely close collaboration with customers help you develop your own professional and interpersonal skills?
Yes, definitely. You’re often confronted with things that you’d never encounter in a normal office environment. Sometimes you’re on your own when a problem arises in the field. There often isn’t much time for discussions or back-and-forth questions. It’s the commissioning engineer’s responsibility to find a solution, make a decision quickly, and then implement it. This can be very demanding and stressful. But I also love it, because you get to see the results of your work immediately.
While working as commissioning engineer at Voith, Simon Walch already participated in various projects abroad. In 2017 he managed the commissioning of the Lam Ta Khong project in Thailand.
As part of an expansion project,
Voith doubled the capacity of the
Lam Ta Khong pumped-storage
power plant to 1,040 MW.
What role do language skills and intercultural understanding play during assignments abroad?
English is the primary language spoken on many of our job sites, which means you have to speak it to communicate and do your job. Portuguese and French are other languages spoken on many sites. In many cases, you’ll also work with local staff who don’t speak any foreign languages, so you have to use body language and gestures to communicate.
Self-confidence, open-mindedness and team spirit – according to Simon Walch, apart from the professional skills, these are the characteristics required to get a commissioning engineer’s job done.
What was your greatest moment of happiness so far after successfully completing a commissioning project?
That was after the Ingula contract in South Africa, which was a complex project involving many different trades. I had just recently taken over as Head of Commissioning and had 40 colleagues from 20 different countries on my team. The dry commissioning phase was very challenging. When we finally turned on the first turbine and everything worked perfectly, that was just an amazing moment for the whole team and for the customer. We all toasted to it – with non-alcoholic champagne.
