Kavaken wouldn’t be what it is today without our clients’ contributions. Not just their feedback on features or their patience with our early iterations, it’s their field experience that shapes how we understand wind farm operations. Every site has its own character, its own challenges, and its own ways of solving problems.
Gürkan Erkan, plant manager at Kavaklı WPP (owned by Briza Wind, a subsidiary of Erciyas Holding), taught us something valuable about staying hands-on with the assets you manage.
The Hydraulic System Flag Indicating an Oil Leak
September 16, 2025. Kavaken raises a hydraulic system flag for one of the turbines at Kavaklı WPP, a 52.8 MW power plant located in Balıkesir, Türkiye. The indicator sensor’s value is running 90.8% above the expected maximum calculated by Kavaken’s machine learning models and 930% above the farm average.
As with all flags, we automatically identify potential root causes to better guide our clients. In this case, there were clear signals of an oil leak with the listed root causes:
(i) Excessive hydraulic pump run due to yaw brake calliper oil leakage,
(ii) Hydraulic oil leak in the valves.
Besides, KEN, our AI agent, added its input derived from similar cases: “This situation may indicate the presence of problems such as leakage or pressure loss in the hydraulic system. The most likely root cause could be leaks occurring in the hydraulic hoses or connectors. The hydraulic system pressure and connection points in the wind farm should be checked, and if necessary, hoses and connectors should be replaced.“
Standard procedure would be to note it, notify the OEM’s service team, plan maintenance when appropriate, have the usual checks conducted, and work through the investigation.
Mr. Erkan had a different approach.
About Erciyas Holding
Briza Wind is part of Erciyas Holding, a diversified industrial conglomerate operating in over 90 countries since 1989. The group’s portfolio spans pipeline manufacturing, railway systems, power generation, and transportation industries, with a strong commitment to renewable energy investments. Erciyas operates 10 facilities worldwide, including Europe’s leading oil and gas line pipe producer, one of the region’s largest railway wagon manufacturers, and the Netherlands’ fastest-growing bicycle company and biggest e-bike supplier.
Binoculars
His trust in Kavaken, rooted in our track record with previous flags, combined with his instinct and extensive knowledge, prompted him to act as only true experts would, without waiting for the OEM inspection. He grabbed a pair of binoculars from his office and looked up at the turbine blades.
There it was, oil streaks on the blades! Even visible from the ground. He recorded a video with his phone through the binoculars and shared it with Ömer from our customer success team (see that video below, edited for publication). The whole office was hailing his way of thinking at that moment.
This wasn’t about specific tools or when to use them. It was about a plant manager who stays connected to his assets, someone who lives and breathes his wind farm.
By September 19, the maintenance plan was in place. The issue was traced to a leak detected in the hose between the hub and hydraulic system, and the hydraulic pump was also found to be malfunctioning. By September 25, pipe set o-ring replacement and hydraulic pump swap were complete.
“Kavaken provided us with the opportunity to examine, analyze, and interpret our turbines in more detail. While we were spending hours downloading hundreds of data points to create tables, formulas, and graphs, the platform enabled us to generate reports with a single click, saving time and reducing workload. Thanks to the Predictive Maintenance module, Kavaken helped us plan work during low-wind periods and minimize unexpected downtime, thus preventing invisible profit loss. KEN has become a useful teammate, since we started using it.” — Gürkan Erkan | Plant Manager at Briza Wind
Why We’ll Never Be “Just Another Anomaly Detection Tool”
Here’s the thing: Kavaken’s close relationship with site teams and operations shapes the quality of insights we deliver.
Without these close relationships, we’d be just another anomaly detection tool analyzing data with no real impact in the field. We’d raise flags, send alerts, and never really know if we have actual impact on the field, eventually affecting the company’s P&L. We’d miss the context that turns data points into actionable insights.
Mr. Erkan’s binocular check did more than verify a leak. It showed us how plant managers think, how they work, and what “field work” actually means in day-to-day operations. It reminded us that the best insights come from understanding not just the turbines, but the people who run them.
Thanks to this case, our team now half-jokingly considers adding “check the turbines with binoculars” to our recommended actions section for certain issue types. Because sometimes the most sophisticated predictive maintenance platform needs to learn from a pair of binoculars and a plant manager who simply cares.
Data Science + Strong Bonds with the Field = Unequivocal Gains
This case represents something more important than catching one leak. It’s about the relationship between technology and operations. Data science can detect anomalies, but it takes field experience to know what to do with that information. Otherwise, it’s barely helpful.
The best predictive maintenance doesn’t replace human expertise; it amplifies it. Kavaken raised a flag that conventional monitoring did not alarm. Mr. Erkan grabbed binoculars and verified it. With the support of the OEM service team, the issue was addressed before escalating. That’s the cycle working as it should.
Every interaction with our clients teaches us something new. Every flag, and we have 1,300 of them verified by clients and counting every day, that gets investigated adds to our understanding of root causes. Every field verification helps us improve our recommendations.
So here’s our thanks to Gürkan Erkan and the entire team at Kavaklı WPP for showing us what hands-on plant management looks like. Your field experience doesn’t just help you run your wind farm better; it makes Kavaken better for everyone.
