Lightning Protection and Earthing Training

Expert training for the engineers, facility managers, and operations teams responsible for protecting high-value and critical infrastructure.

Lightning protection is too often taught as a compliance exercise rather than an engineering discipline. Standards tell you what to install. They do not tell you why a design fails in service, how to read an earthing measurement that does not match the model, or what separates a facility that survives a direct strike from one that loses its control system.

Aetheric's training practice closes that gap. Our programmes are designed and delivered by practitioners with more than 35 years of field experience across oil and gas, energy, data centres, and critical infrastructure in New Zealand, APAC, MENA, and West Africa. Content is grounded in completed projects, real measurement data, and the failure modes that appear on operating assets, not textbook idealisations.

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Programmes are being scheduled now. Tell us about your team and we will notify you ahead of the next intake.

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Built on Operational Experience

Most lightning protection training is delivered by trainers working from the standards alone. Aetheric's is delivered by engineers who have designed, tested, and remediated protection systems on live assets in demanding environments.

  • Practitioner-led. Instruction draws on real project work, not generic course material. Worked examples come from completed Aetheric engagements.
  • Judgement, not box-ticking. The focus is on applying the standards to your own assets and recognising where compliance on paper does not equal protection in service.
  • Tools in context. Participants see how risk assessment is carried out on the LRAplus® platform, using real scenarios rather than abstract inputs.
  • Sector relevance. Examples are drawn from oil and gas, energy, data centres, and critical infrastructure, so the content maps directly onto the facilities participants are responsible for.

A Two-Tier Pathway

Aetheric offers a structured pathway from foundational competence to advanced practice. Each tier concludes with an assessment and a credential that documents structured professional development.

Foundational Programme

Lightning Protection and Earthing for Critical Infrastructure

A comprehensive grounding in the full lightning protection and earthing discipline as it applies to high-consequence facilities. Participants work through risk assessment methodology under IEC 62305, protection system design, surge protection coordination, and earthing system design and measurement, alongside the standards framework that governs hazardous and critical environments. The programme uses worked examples from completed Aetheric projects, including a walk-through of a risk assessment on the LRAplus platform.

Who it is for: design engineers, facility and reliability engineers, HSE and QHSE managers, and operations personnel who specify, review, or manage lightning and earthing protection.

Credential: Aetheric Certified Practitioner, on successful completion of the end-of-course assessment.

Advanced Programme

Advanced Lightning Protection Engineering for Critical Infrastructure

An intensive for engineers who have completed the Foundational Programme and want to extend into complex facility design, hazardous atmospheres, and forensic interpretation. Content covers advanced surge protection coordination for control and instrumentation systems, design for explosive atmospheres under IECEx and ATEX, portfolio-level resiliency planning, and forensic analysis of lightning incidents at a level appropriate for asset owners engaging forensic specialists rather than performing the analysis themselves.

Prerequisite: completion of the Foundational Programme.

Credential: Aetheric Certified Advanced Practitioner, on successful completion of the end-of-course assessment.

More Than a Certificate

Every participant leaves with a working command of the governing standards, the judgement to apply them to their own assets, and a credential that documents structured professional development hours for self-reporting to engineering bodies including Engineers Australia, Engineering New Zealand, and the IET.

Programmes include all structured instruction, a course workbook drawn from real project material, lunch on each day of attendance, and a time-limited trial of the LRAplus risk assessment platform. Travel and accommodation are not included.

Anchored to the Governing Standards

Instruction is anchored to the standards that govern lightning and surge protection for critical and hazardous facilities, including:

IEC 62305Protection against lightning
API RP 2003Protection against ignitions from static, lightning, and stray currents
IEC 61643Low-voltage surge protective devices
IEC 62793Thunderstorm warning systems
IECEx / ATEXEquipment for explosive atmospheres
IEEE 81Measuring earth resistivity, ground impedance, and earth surface potentials

How Programmes Run

Programmes are delivered in person, in Auckland and Brisbane, with cohorts announced ahead of each intake. Each is co-facilitated by Aetheric's founders alongside a visiting subject matter expert delivering selected modules. Cohort sizes are kept deliberately small to preserve the workshop format and the quality of discussion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should attend?

The Foundational Programme suits design engineers, facility and reliability engineers, HSE and QHSE managers, and operations staff responsible for lightning and earthing protection. The Advanced Programme is for engineers who have completed the Foundational Programme and work on complex or hazardous facilities.

Do I need the Foundational Programme before the Advanced one?

Yes. The Advanced Programme builds directly on the Foundational content and assumes that grounding.

Is there an assessment?

Yes. Each programme concludes with an assessment. Passing it is the basis for the Aetheric Certified Practitioner or Certified Advanced Practitioner credential.

Will the training count towards my professional development?

Each programme issues a certificate documenting the structured contact hours completed, which you can self-report to bodies such as Engineers Australia, Engineering New Zealand, and the IET. Aetheric is not a registered provider for any specific body; the certificate supports your own self-reporting.

Where are programmes held?

In Auckland and Brisbane, with the venue confirmed for each cohort. We can also discuss delivering a programme on-site for a single organisation's team.

What does it cost, and when is the next intake?

Cohort scheduling and enrolment details, including fees, are released directly to registered enquirers as intakes are confirmed. Register your interest and we will send you the detail for the next available cohort.

Built on Aetheric's Consulting Practice

The training draws on the same expertise behind Aetheric's consulting services. Participants who want that capability applied to their own assets can engage us directly:

Register Your Interest in Aetheric Training

Tell us about your team and the facilities you are responsible for. We will add you to the notification list and send programme detail and scheduling for the next intake.

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