Learn Essential Motor Control Skills with DAC Worldwide’s Hands-On Training Systems
Industrial machinery requires a wide variety of different types of motors to function efficiently and effectively. Whether they’re powering a compressor, pump, fan, or conveyor, three-phase induction motors keep operations at industrial facilities moving steadily.
Many induction motors require significant power given their heavy-duty applications. Moreover, they draw a high electrical current upon start-up. In fact, start-up current can sometimes be as much as 5-6 times what they draw at normal operating speed. This is why they require a special device called a motor starter.
If industrial motors relied solely on circuit breakers or fuses, those would trip or blow every time the motor started. That’s obviously unacceptable in an industrial setting. Instead, specialty motor starters start and stop induction motors using manual or automatic switches. They also protect motor circuits from excessive heat caused by overloads during normal operations.
Motor starters consist of two primary parts: (1) an electromagnetically operated set of contacts (called a contactor) starts and stops the motor by beginning or ending the flow of electrical current; and (2) an overload relay that protects the motor from drawing too much current and overheating.
Likewise, motor starters usually consist of two circuits: (1) a power circuit that transmits the primary voltage to the motor via the starter contacts and overload relay; and (2) a control circuit that manages the contactor coil that creates the electromagnetic field that operates the power contacts.
Because there are so many different types of industrial applications that require induction motors, there are likewise a wide variety of different types of motor starters. One common type is the reversing magnetic motor starter. Reversing starters, as their name implies, are specifically designed to efficiently reverse shaft rotation of a three-phase induction motor.
Reversing starters work by interchanging two contactors supplying electrical current to the motor, as well as having both a forward and a reverse starter. To ensure that only one of the starters can be engaged at any particular time, reversing starters feature both mechanical and electrical interlocks for enhanced safety.
Industrial maintenance technicians must be familiar with all sorts of induction motors and their motor starters. Hands-on training in electrical maintenance can elevate your technicians’ skills to the next level.
For example, if you want to ensure your maintenance technicians have the skills to work with reversing magnetic motor starters, DAC Worldwide’s 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter (423-000) offers comprehensive training in the operational principles, wiring, fault troubleshooting, and application of industrial three-phase, reversing magnetic motor starters.
The 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter is self-contained, allowing for individual study by a single student or a small student group. While often used independently, the training aid can be integrated with other optional products relating to programmable controllers, pilot devices, and motor-driven mechanical systems.
This electrical trainer includes a variety of industry-standard components, including: a three-phase induction motor; reversing magnetic motor starter with auxiliary contacts, mechanical and electrical interlocks, and overload relay; on-board wiring devices including Hand-Off-Auto (HOA) control station, manual control station, and automatic timer; color-coded, shielded banana-jack receptacles for all motor leads, supply connections, and control components; circuit breaker with lock-out/tag-out; keyed power switch; pilot light and emergency stop switch; and four instructor fault switches to create common component faults for troubleshooting instruction.
The 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Magnetic Starter is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many electrical training systems. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other electrical training systems, such as the Three-Phase, Squirrel Cage Rotor, AC Motor Training System; 1-Phase Motor Control Training System with Manual Starter; DC Permanent Magnet Motor Control Training System; and many more!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide Offers AC Motor Training in a Compact, Convenient System
Today’s industrial facilities feature a wide array of different types of machines, from simple pumps to complex automated robots. One of the most common machines you’ll find in any industrial setting is the electric motor.
Simple, versatile, and available in many different configurations, electric motors carry the burden of converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. At the most basic level, electric motors can be distinguished based upon their power source: direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC).
For industrial use, the most common type of electric motor is the AC induction motor (also known as an asynchronous motor). The name “induction” is used because electrical current is induced in the rotor rather than supplied externally. The popularity of the AC induction motor stems from its simplicity, relatively low cost, and excellent reliability in a wide range of applications.
Induction motors can be further divided into two primary types: single-phase and three-phase, depending upon the type of electricity used to power them. The most-used electric motor throughout industry is arguably the three-phase squirrel cage induction motor.
Squirrel cage motors rely upon electromagnetic induction to create motion by converting electrical current into rotational energy. AC current travels through the stator, the stationary portion of the motor that consists of the housing and a series of windings (usually copper). The three-phase AC power energizes the windings, creating a rotating electromagnetic field.
The rotating part of the motor, known as the rotor, sits inside the stator. It contains a squirrel cage and bearings mounted to a stainless-steel shaft. The squirrel cage consists of circular end caps with rotor bars covered with steel laminations between them. The electromagnetic field generated by the stator fluctuates around the rotor, inducing opposing magnetic fields in the lamination-covered rotor bars, creating rotational motion.
The “squirrel cage” terminology comes from the fact that the rotor’s shape resembles a squirrel cage. If you haven’t seen many caged squirrels, then this may still cause some confusion. Apparently, long ago, squirrels were frequently kept as pets and would get exercise on a spinning wheel in their enclosure. Perhaps a more modern term for this type of rotor would be “hamster wheel” instead of “squirrel cage,” but we don’t expect the three-phase hamster wheel induction motor to catch on anytime soon.
Why is the three-phase squirrel cage induction motor so popular? It has quite a few advantages, including relatively low cost, ease of installation, high efficiency, low maintenance, and durability. These advantages are the reason that experts estimate that as many as 70% of industrial machines are driven by these motors today.
These popular induction motors can be found in just about every industrial setting you can imagine. Of course, they’re particularly useful in applications that require a low maintenance, constant-speed, low-torque motor that’s also self-starting, such as: machine tools (CNC and lathes); generators; fans and blowers; industrial drives; and centrifugal pumps.
It’s critical for any modern industrial maintenance technician to be thoroughly familiar with three-phase squirrel cage induction motors. How can educators and employers ensure that their workers possess the skills they need? DAC Worldwide offers a wide variety of electrical training systems specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master different types of electrical motors, transformers, and more!
For example, DAC Worldwide’s Three-Phase, Squirrel Cage Rotor, AC Motor Training System (412-000) provides hands-on experience with a squirrel cage induction motor. Learners can use this training device to practice motor wiring by using banana jack receptacles on the control enclosure’s front panel face, study the motor’s construction, practice industrial motor maintenance skills by using fault insertion switches for hands-on troubleshooting training, and practice lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) procedures by using the system’s master circuit breaker.
DAC Worldwide’s training systems feature heavy-duty construction with real industrial equipment. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s Electrical & Electronics Training Systems and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide Makes Industrial Maintenance Training Easy!
Industrial maintenance training for technicians in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries must teach them fundamental knowledge of and hands-on skills related to a wide variety of different types of valves that keep fluids flowing through vast networks of piping.
For example, different types of check valves help to prevent the reversal of fluid flow in piping systems. One specific check valve — the piston check valve — can often be found in systems that experience frequent changes in fluid flow direction.
Maintenance technicians will find piston check valves in all sorts of common applications, including: water, steam, and air systems; feed water control in nuclear facilities and steam power generation plants; freshwater supply; wastewater treatment; monitoring and sampling systems; dump lines; food and beverage processing; air conditioning systems; and pharmaceuticals and chemicals manufacturing.
Piston check valves contain a dash-pot with a cylinder and weighted piston or disc. These valves are activated by fluid flowing through a system. The pressure of the flowing fluid opens the valve, which allows unobstructed flow in one direction while fluid flow pressure remains constant.
When pressure decreases as fluid flow slows or reverses, gravity forces the piston to close the valve, preventing backflow. While piston check valves primarily rely upon gravity, the weight of the piston, and back pressure to force closure of the valve, some models also incorporate springs to assist with valve closure.
Piston check valves are popular because of their many advantages, including: durability; versatility; repairability; cost-effectiveness; efficiency; and ease of installation, maintenance, and repair. However, piston check valves are not suitable for applications requiring bi-directional fluid flow or pulsation fluid flow.
If you want to ensure your maintenance technicians have the skills to work with piston check valves, DAC Worldwide’s Piston Check Valve Cutaway (295-706) provides valuable classroom training in the operation, construction, and maintenance of industrial piston-type check valves.
DAC Worldwide’s valve cutaways use actual industrial valves that have been carefully sectioned and color-coded to expose and showcase the complete internal configuration of the valve. Seal features and hardware locations are retained, allowing for “hands-on” training in maintenance.
Moreover, common valve makes and models are chosen to ensure industrial relevancy. All cleaning, priming, and painting uses a high-durability urethane coating to ensure this training tool will last for years.
DAC Worldwide’s Piston Check Valve Cutaway features a welded-bonnet, socket-welded valve exactly like those commonly used in high pressure oil & gas production applications, providing unparalleled training to those involved in oil & gas production operations and maintenance training.
The Piston Check Valve Cutaway is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many oil and gas training cutaways. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other oil and gas training tools, such as the Diaphragm Dump Valve Cutaway, Oilfield Backpressure Regulator Cutaway, and many more!
- Published in News
Safety Leaders Reveal Most Significant Challenges in the Workplace
What would you consider to be the most foundational skillset in the industrial workplace? If you did not answer “safety,” there are safety leaders everywhere who would like a word with you. In fact, you may be part of the problem!
Safety leaders are tasked with making sure the industrial workplace is as safe as possible for workers. There’s no greater threat to industrial efficiency and productivity than workplace accidents that injure workers and cause costly delays and downtime.
As more and more advanced automation technologies enter the workplace, safety leaders constantly face new challenges to keep workers safe as they work alongside new machinery. But safety shouldn’t just be the concern of a few leaders. All employees need to make safety a top priority.
According to a recent EHS Today article by Dave Blanchard and Nicole Stempak, “EHS Today’s National Safety and Salary Survey 2023 invited respondents (all of them EHS professionals) to share comments regarding their job situation, the safety profession, and the biggest professional challenges that they face.” Here are some of the top challenges identified by the nation’s safety leaders:
- Finding qualified employees
- The transition from a human-based workforce to a technology-based workforce
- Safety buy-in from the younger workforce
- Senior leadership buy-in
- Mental well-being
- Too many rules and regulations
- Profit over safety
- Training and job knowledge
- Employee turnover
- Older supervisors are retiring faster than we can train replacements to take their place
- Employee complacency
- Doing too much too fast
- Finding employees with the proper skillsets
- Keeping the workforce actively engaged in their own safety
As you can see, safety leaders face a wide variety of challenges in the modern industrial workplace. What can be done to improve a workplace’s safety culture? How can leaders influence others to prioritize safety, leading to fewer accidents? One solution is to implement a quality safety program that teachers workers the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe in the workplace.
One of the most basic—and important—areas to focus on is the control of hazardous energy, often known by its more popular moniker “lock-out/tag-out or LOTO.” According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “[e]nergy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy can result in serious injury or death to workers.”
“Workers servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled…Injuries may include electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, lacerating, amputating, or fracturing body parts… Craft workers, electricians, machine operators, and laborers are among the millions of workers who service equipment routinely and face the greatest risk of injury.”
Fortunately, “[p]roper lock-out/tag-out practices and procedures safeguard workers from hazardous energy releases.” Teaching workers hands-on LOTO skills will help them to understand how to properly control hazardous energy and maintain a safe work environment.
For companies looking to improve their safety training, a thorough review of current training materials is a great place to start. Do employees have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure the continued safety of the workforce.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers a safety training system specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lock-out/tag-out skills. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System and contact a DAC Worldwide representative to learn how you can improve your training today!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide Provides Unique Oil & Gas Training Tools
From operators and technicians to mechanics and engineers, oil and gas workers need knowledge and hands-on skills related to a wide variety of common industrial components they’ll encounter in the field. For example, a typical oil and gas worker will interact with a range of pumps and valves on a daily basis.
One such component workers will need to understand is a type of valve known as a back pressure regulator. Back pressure regulators are normally closed valves that precisely control and limit the upstream pressure in a system.
Back pressure regulators maintain a steady upstream pressure of any fluid, gas, liquid, or mixture in a system. They regulate system pressure by adjusting position, widening or narrowing to relieve or increase pressure. Usually installed at the end of a line or process, back pressure regulators ensure that all equipment used before the back pressure regulator receives the correct pressure, maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the process.
When used in a well head, back pressure regulators control the flow of fluids or gases in the well. The back pressure regulator opens or closes with changes in the pressure of the fluid or gas, preventing overpressure within the well and protecting equipment and personnel from damage or injury. A wellhead back pressure regulator can also be used to maintain a specific pressure in a well for production or injection operations.
To teach oil and gas workers about these common components, DAC Worldwide’s Wellhead Backpressure Regulator Cutaway (295-703) is a sectioned specialty regulator sample that provides convenient classroom and laboratory training in the operation, construction, and maintenance of three industrial back pressure regulator (BPRs), as used in gas and oil service in the oilfield.
These common regulators are often used to maintain steady pressure on an oil column or to assure continuous flow of a producing low pressure well. They’re also regularly found in Xmas tree assemblies in the oilfield.
Through carefully planned sectioning and color-coding, the complete internal configuration of the regulating valve is exposed and showcased. Seal features and hardware locations have been retained, allowing for hands-on training in maintenance. These valves, commonly used in oil & gas production applications and commonly encountered in production wellheads and Xmas trees, are an essential part of comprehensive oil and gas production training.
The Wellhead Backpressure Regulator Cutaway is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many oil and gas training tools. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other oil and gas training aids, such as the Diaphragm Dump Valve Cutaway, Piston Check Valve Cutaway, Vertical Separator Trainer, and many more!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide Training Tool Provides Unique Insight into Common Valve
Today’s oil and gas workers need in-depth knowledge of and hands-on experience with a wide variety of different types of industrial valves commonly used in the oil and gas sector. When problems arise at an oil refinery, for example, you want skilled technicians able to troubleshoot and repair systems quickly to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.
One of the most common process controllers you’ll find in oil and gas facilities is the liquid level controller. This key device maintains the level of oil or gas in a container by opening or closing a valve known as a liquid dump valve.
Since the liquid dump valve is located near the level measurement device, it’s possible to use mechanical linkages to coordinate the position of a liquid level float in an oil and gas separator with the position of the liquid dump valve.
In a typical mechanical liquid level controller, the liquid level float that sits atop the liquid is connected to a rod that, in turn, connects to the liquid dump valve. As oil or gas level increases or decreases, the float moves the rod that then opens or closes the liquid dump valve.
For example, if the level of oil in a separator increases, the float will rise, causing the rod to open the liquid dump valve to release oil. Then, as the liquid level decreases and the float lowers, the rod will cause the liquid dump valve to begin to close to decrease the rate of liquid release.
Lever-operated dump valves can be found in a wide variety of oil and gas production containers, including separators, accumulators, treaters, and free water knockouts. To teach oil and gas workers how to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair these common valves, DAC Worldwide’s Lever-Operated Dump Valve Cutaway (295-705) is an actual industrial lever-operated oil dump valve that has been carefully sectioned and color-coded to expose and showcase the complete internal configuration of the valve.
Seal features and hardware locations have been retained, allowing for hands-on training in maintenance. Moreover, common valve makes and models are chosen to ensure industrial relevancy. All cleaning, priming, and painting uses a high-durability urethane coating to ensure this training tool will last for years.
The Lever-Operated Dump Valve Cutaway is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many oil and gas training cutaways. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other oil and gas training tools, such as the Diaphragm Dump Valve Cutaway, Piston Check Valve Cutaway, Oilfield Backpressure Regulator Cutaway, and many more!
- Published in News
Routine Maintenance Extends Life of Semi-Hermetic Compressors
Do you live in an area that has experienced some of the sweltering heat waves that have plagued the United States the last several years? While scientists and politicians may squabble over the causes of and solutions to the record temperatures we’re seeing, it’s a simple fact that the last few years have been some of the hottest on record.
While increasing global temperatures present a whole host of problems, there’s one industry that’s staying busier than ever when the heat is on. That’s right. We’re talking about the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry, more commonly referred to as HVACR.
HVACR professionals, from installers to technicians, keep the machines that make our lives comfortable and enjoyable running smoothly. From the central air conditioning unit that keeps your home cool to the industrial refrigeration units that chill your foods and beverages at the local grocery and convenience store, it’s hard to imagine modern life without the convenience of a wide variety of HVACR equipment.
Unfortunately, the HVACR industry is dealing with the same shortage of highly-skilled workers that manufacturing and dozens of other industries across the country have been facing for years. There simply aren’t enough qualified workers to fill the open positions available in the HVACR industry.
That’s why highly-skilled HVACR technicians are in such great demand these days. Today’s HVACR technicians need expertise with a wide variety of common HVACR components. For example, when dealing with large air conditioning systems or commercial refrigeration units, in-depth knowledge of and experience with compressors is essential.
Some of these systems may feature hermetic compressors, which seal both the motor and compressor inside a leak-proof welded steel shell. Unfortunately, this design makes basic repairs impossible. If the unit fails, it must simply be replaced.
That’s why the design of semi-hermetic compressors has become a popular choice for these systems today. Semi-hermetic compressors also protect the motor and compressor inside a sealed shell. However, unlike hermetic compressors, semi-hermetic compressors can be opened to provide access to many essential mechanical parts, so that they can be maintained and repaired rather than replaced.
Performing routine maintenance on semi-hermetic compressors can extend their service life by many years, saving thousands of dollars. With proper care and maintenance, semi-hermetic compressors can perform at peak efficiency for 8-10 years or more.
If you want to teach an aspiring HVACR technician how to maintain and repair a semi-hermetic compressor, DAC Worldwide’s Semi-Hermetic Compressor Cutaway (373-120) is an expertly-sectioned example of a common intermediate (1”-1 ½”) horsepower semi-hermetic refrigeration compressor that facilitates and supports practical training in compressor design, operating principles, and maintenance.
This unique training tool features a full longitudinal cutaway of a semi-hermetic compressor, which allows for full visibility of the compressor’s operating components, including multiple cylinders, valves, internal motor, and crank shaft. Multiple cutaways unveil all internal components, and cutaway surfaces are enhanced through painting, making the geometry of all components more clear.
The Semi-Hermetic Compressor Cutaway is only one of DAC Worldwide’s many HVACR training cutaways. Visit DAC Worldwide online to learn more about other HVACR training tools, such as the Hermetic Scroll Refrigeration Compressor Cutaway, the Open Drive Refrigeration Compressor Cutaway, the ACR Solenoid Valve Cutaway, and more!
- Published in News
DAC Worldwide’s Oil Cooler Cutaway Provides Unique Training Opportunity
Many manufacturing processes require the transfer of heat from one fluid (liquid or gas) to another, and most of those processes use heat exchangers to accomplish this task. In a heat exchanger, the two fluids do not make direct contact. Instead, heat passes from the hotter fluid to the metal isolating the fluids and then to the cooler fluid.
You’ll find heat exchangers in a wide variety of industrial applications, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; preheaters or coolers in fluid systems; radiators on internal combustion engines; and boilers, evaporators, and condensers used with fluids like oils, wastewater, hydrocarbons, biogases, etc. in industries such as oil and gas refining and power generation.
Heat exchangers come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. For example, a finned tube oil cooler is a specific type of heat exchanger used to cool fluids, such as oil. A finned tube oil cooler features a bundle of tubes with fins that increase the surface area usable for heat transfer.
The tubes in a finned tube oil cooler can be made of a variety of materials, including aluminum, copper, or stainless steel. The fins are often made of the same material, although they can be made from another material, like carbon steel.
A finned tube oil cooler cools oil by circulating the oil through the tubes while water or another cooling fluid flows over the fins. The oil’s heat transfers from the fluid to the fins first and then to the cooling fluid, which transports the heat out of the system.
DAC Worldwide’s Oil Cooler Cutaway, Finned Tube Bundle-Type (273-610F) is a desktop training tool for industrial heat exchanger training that supports operations and skills training relating to this common device found in process systems of all types.
Finned tube heat exchangers have a wide variety of applications in the oil & gas, petrochemical, and power industries. These heat exchangers offer reliable operation, low operating costs, and high performance.
Oil coolers have some specific advantages. Oil has a higher boiling point than water, so it can be used to cool items 100°C or higher. In addition, oil is an electrical insulator, so it can be used inside of or in direct contact with electrical components.
Multiple cutaways unveil primary details and features, including tube layout, tube sheets, aluminum fins, nozzles, flow path, and gaskets. The cutaway consists of an actual industrial, 2-pass, heat exchanger/cooler. Common makes and models are chosen for industrial training relevance.
Mounted on a powder-coated, formed-steel mounting stand and allowing mounting on standard DAC Worldwide display and storage products, the device will provide years of use in any industrial training program.
DAC Worldwide’s Oil Cooler Cutaway, Finned Tube Bundle-Type is a professionally crafted, heavy-duty, durably coated, and fully detailed teaching aid that will provide years of service in the training lab or classroom. Be sure to check out DAC Worldwide’s website to explore a wide variety of other hands-on cutaways that feature the real-world components workers will encounter in the field!
- Published in News
Focused Training Key For Industry
Is the pandemic over? Some days it’s difficult to tell, as the ripple effects of continued cases of COVID-19 continue to pop up and create problems for both workers and manufacturers. Although the severity of pandemic-related disruptions has certainly subsided, industries around the world are still struggling with the aftershocks of a tumultuous few years.
In addition to ongoing supply chain woes, manufacturers are also contending with a labor marketplace that has changed fundamentally as a result of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, industry was struggling to fill open positions with qualified workers. Today, these struggles remain and in many areas have gotten even worse.
As a result, industries are placing a great emphasis on skills assessment to ensure that new hires can hit the ground running. In addition, upskilling current employees has taken on new significance, as industries seek to make the most of available human resources when it’s difficult to hire qualified new workers.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the current skills gap, the type of skills assessment and training that industry needs, and how the training tools offered by DAC Worldwide can help employers and instructors assess and train workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
How Wide is the Skills Gap?
Now that the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us, things should be slowly getting better, right? Why then do manufacturers seem to be falling farther behind? According to an article by Alexandra Johnson:
“Before COVID, the situation was bad, but post-pandemic it has become even worse. Despite lockdown lifting, the industry is reporting over 515,000 jobs need filling, just to meet demand.”
Commonly known as the “skills gap,” there remains a sizeable disparity between the supply of highly-skilled workers and the demand for these workers in today’s industrial labor market. In fact, experts predict the skills gap is going to get even worse in the foreseeable future.
A study conducted by Deloitte for the Manufacturing Institute estimates that, over the next decade, almost 4.6 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled. However, because of the skills gap, as many as 2.4 million — more than half! — of those jobs could go unfilled.
In a recent Forbes article, author Graham Glass notes that “[n]early half (46%) of learning and development (L&D) leaders say the skills gap is widening in their organization, and 49% say executives are concerned employees don’t have the right skills to execute business strategy, per findings from LinkedIn Learning’s ‘2022 Workplace Learning Report.’”
What is industry to do? Glass advises that “organizations need to emphasize employee upskilling, reskilling and right-skilling — and anticipate the skills employees need to succeed in their positions…By assessing the business’s needs pre-training (to develop training content) and post-training, companies can work to bridge skills gaps and create training programs that are impactful and useful to employees and the organization alike.”
Skills-Based Hiring
What’s the best approach for industry to take to bridge the skills gap? Should industry simply hire anyone they can get their hands on and then train them to do the jobs they need done? For many reasons, that strategy is probably not the best solution.
Industry is already struggling with a host of issues left over from the pandemic. Most companies don’t have the bandwidth to babysit new workers while they acquire the training they need. Many also don’t have either the personnel or the tools to effectively train new workers.
That’s why, in an article in the Harvard Business Review, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky advocates for a new skills-based approach to hiring. Roslansky urges employers to “[f]ocus on the results you’d like to see, rather than the type of qualifications that you think could deliver them. Highlighting the desired skills — the candidate’s ability to perform certain tasks — gets to the same results without creating an unnecessary barrier to entry, like a requirement for a four-year degree.”
In an article by Adina Miron, the author agrees:
“Skills-based hiring enables employers to hire for the skills gaps that exist within their organization. Rather than focusing on experience, education, or certifications, companies should focus on identifying candidates with the needed skills to fill open positions.”
Roslansky echoes these thoughts:
“Shifting to a skills-focused approach is a viable solution to an evolving workforce dilemma…Stay focused on skills — and the assessments that can measure them…there are plenty of ways to gauge a candidate’s ability to perform without relying on their education or experience as proxies.”
How do employers shift to a skills-based hiring approach? Unfortunately, generalized assessments and comprehensive training systems can be difficult to use in the context of hiring new workers in industry. Why? The answer can be found in the concept of specialization of labor.
According to an article by Sampson Quain:
“Specialization of labor…refers to a process in business in which large tasks are divided into smaller tasks, and different employees or different groups of employees complete those tasks. Specialization is highly desirable in large-scale operations such as…manufacturing because it allows workers with specific skill sets to efficiently perform a specific task.”
For example, a manufacturer may need to hire someone with a specific skillset related to the operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of mechanical belt drives. A prospective candidate might claim to have general mechanical knowledge and skills, but how can the employer know whether the worker has the specific belt drive skills it needs?
To effectively use a skills-based hiring approach in manufacturing, employers need focused assessment and training tools that can be used to adequately determine a potential worker’s skills in a very specific area.
Training at the Speed of Industry
Industry must also dedicate resources to ongoing training for current workers. The need for ongoing training is real and cannot be ignored. Industries today need to attack the skills gap with a combination of skills-based hiring and instituting training of current workers that is practical and effective.
In his Forbes article, Glass argues that “a personalized approach to training can also be useful to employees and companies.” However, he acknowledges that, “[i]n large companies, especially, creating individualized learning paths manually can be time- and resource-intensive.” He also points out that “employees need training that fits into their workflows.”
Most companies cannot afford the luxury of sending workers off-site for a week or more at a time for in-depth training. Instead, they need focused, skills-based training that allows workers to obtain the hands-on skills they need while minimizing the effect on production of time away from the workplace.
Fortunately, a variety of training tools exist that can offer industries time-saving, cost-effective solutions for focused skills assessment and hands-on training. In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at DAC Worldwide’s range of single-topic trainers that can help industry move to a skills-based hiring model and also upskill current employees.
DAC Worldwide Offers Focused Assessment & Training Tools
DAC Worldwide offers training systems for a variety of industry sectors, including advanced manufacturing, process/chemical manufacturing, marine, military, oil and gas, and power generation. These training systems also cover many different technical topics, such as electrical and electronics; heat transfer and steam; mechanical drives; oil production; process control and instrumentation; and pumps, compressors, and valves.
Rather than broad-based training in multiple areas, DAC Worldwide’s training systems provide hands-on training focused on specific tasks. This makes them particularly helpful to employers for skill assessment (either pre-employment or for upskilling purposes). For example, DAC Worldwide offers training systems targeted specifically at key mechanical maintenance skills:
Belt Drive Training System
The Belt Drive Training System (201-000) allows for convenient assessment and training in the identification, installation, tensioning, and alignment of common belt drives types found in industry. Featuring hardware for applications related to multiple matched belts, fractional horsepower belts, positive drive belts, and variable pitch sheaves, the system provides a variety of training and assessment applications in one benchtop piece of equipment.
Coupling/Shaft Alignment Trainer
The Coupling/Shaft Alignment Trainer (208-000) allows for realistic training and assessment in shaft alignment. Designed based on the dimensions of a common ANSI centrifugal pump, this trainer can assess and train workers on all common alignment techniques and tools. Training and assessment topics include using a dial indicator in coupling/shaft alignment, the reverse dial indicator method, fabrication of shaft keys, and installing a flexible disc coupling.
Chain Drive Training System
The Chain Drive Training System (223-000) allows for in-depth assessment and training in industrial chain drives, heavy/silent chains, and sprocket set usage. Using industry-standard components workers will encounter on the job, this training system provides a complete training and assessment experience covering topics such as taper lock bushings, chain drive maintenance, installation/alignment of chains, and tensioning of chains.
Let DAC Worldwide Help You Fill Your Skills Gaps
The mechanical assessment and training tools highlighted above are just a few examples of the variety of technical training tools DAC Worldwide manufactures. In addition to training systems, DAC Worldwide also offers a wide range of industrial cutaways, detailed scale models, and sample boards featuring industrial components.
Contact a consultant with DAC Worldwide today to learn more about how their technical training tools can help you build the assessment and training program your company needs. Using DAC Worldwide training and assessment tools, you can transition to a skills-based hiring approach and fill the skills gaps in your organization!
About Duane Bolin
Duane Bolin is a former curriculum developer and education specialist. He is currently a Marketing Content Developer in the technical training solutions market.
- Published in News
Recognizing Red Flags: Training Workers to Prioritize Safety
Do you keep an eye out for red flags? If you’re still looking for that someone special, you might see red flags when their online dating profile indicates they’re unemployed and still living in their parents’ basement.
But those aren’t the red flags we’re talking about in this article. Red flags signify danger. They’re warning signs, and today’s workers need to recognize them in the workplace. Why? Their safety and wellbeing depends upon it.
Workplace safety remains a critical component of any industry’s success, yet it too frequently doesn’t get the attention it deserves. New technologies and the latest and greatest advances tend to capture the most attention, but the basics of safety can bring everything to a grinding halt if they’re ignored.
In this article, we’ll take a look at five red flags that workers must learn to recognize in order to make safety a top priority. We’ll also explain the importance of safety training and how the training tools offered by DAC Worldwide can help workers learn the skills that will keep them safe in the modern workplace.
5 Safety Red Flags Employees Must Learn to Recognize
How important is worker safety in your workplace? According to an IndustryWeek article by Matt Thiel and Dan Idzikowski, “nearly all [manufacturers] will say [safety is] a top priority…At the same time, the features and processes intended to keep people safe are rarely put to the test until a crisis occurs. It’s only when safety fails — when there is an injury or a near-miss — that companies question whether they are doing enough to protect workers.”
Modern industrial workplaces feature a wide variety of safety features designed to keep workers safe. Yet, workplace injuries remain a serious problem. For example, “more than 420,000 manufacturing workers were injured on the job in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accounting for 15% of all nonfatal injuries in the private sector that year.”
What can be done to improve workplace safety? According to Thiel and Idzikowski, “[s]afety planning starts by imagining the unimaginable…it’s critical to play devil’s advocate and ask what could happen that shouldn’t, and how both the equipment and the operator will respond if it does.”
Once safety risks are identified, workers must be trained to recognize situations in which particular care must be taken to avoid injury. Otherwise, “[w]hen safety is treated as an afterthought, it’s only a matter of time until a preventable accident happens.” Here are five specific red flags Thiel and Idzikowski belive workers must learn to recognize:
- Access: Workers must learn to recognize situations in which “[o]perators can access hazardous areas while the hazard is present. Systems that require hands-on operator involvement…have built-in risks…Making these systems safe may mean containing the hazard behind guards or designing the machine so it won’t run until the operator is clear. Whether the danger is readily apparent, like moving parts, or invisible, like electrical current, the best safeguards make it impossible for the operator to even get near.”
- Rules: Workers should be on high alert for situations in which “[p]eople are bypassing the rules.Safety depends on people choosing to follow the rules…Even well-trained people can be lulled into a false sense of security and start taking shortcuts to make work faster or easier…If people are looking for ways around a safety system, it’s probably not well aligned with the operation. Rather than disabling the mechanism or retraining the operators, analyze the entire system and find a way to marry safety with the way the process really works.”
- Alarms: Workers need to notify management when “[a]larm systems don’t distinguish between emergencies and non-emergencies…if the system treats everything like an emergency, workers will treat nothing like an emergency. Frequent false alarms will lead workers to ignore the warning signs or circumvent them.”
- Obsolete: Workers must learn to keep an eye out for “[s]afety features [that] are outdated.A test of older fail-safes may find they no longer work — if they ever did in the first place…Maintaining a safe work environment means ongoing risk assessment. Safety professionals should perform regular audits of the equipment on the shop floor and keep an eye out for advancements that could make it safer.”
- Routine: Workers should alert management when they notice that “[s]afety features are not regularly tested and validated…the systems that keep workers safe should be checked on a regular basis.”
If workers can learn to recognize these five red flags, safety will become a higher priority and everyone in the workplace will benefit. As Thiel and Idzikowski acknowledge, “[t]he return on investment in safety is hard to measure. If a company invests millions in safety upgrades and there are no near-misses, was it a waste of money or did the upgrades do their job? A better question is what might realistically happen without safety upgrades.”
Safety Training: Begin with the Basics
Basic safety procedures are essential to keeping employees from becoming injured on the job. While manufacturing jobs can be dangerous, instituting safety procedures and ensuring that employees are properly trained are critical steps that employers must take to minimize the risk of injuries or death.
Not only does proper safety training reduce the number of workplace injuries, but it also adds to a company’s bottom line by improving productivity and reducing downtime caused by employees who can’t work when injured. But where should an employer start? How about at the beginning?
One of the most basic—and important—areas to focus on is the control of hazardous energy, often known by its more popular moniker “lockout/tagout.” According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “[e]nergy sources including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources in machines and equipment can be hazardous to workers. During the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment, the unexpected startup or release of stored energy can result in serious injury or death to workers.”
“Workers servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled…Injuries may include electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, lacerating, amputating, or fracturing body parts… Craft workers, electricians, machine operators, and laborers are among the millions of workers who service equipment routinely and face the greatest risk of injury.”
Fortunately, “[p]roper lockout/tagout (LOTO) practices and procedures safeguard workers from hazardous energy releases.” Teaching workers hands-on LOTO skills will help them to understand how to properly control hazardous energy and maintain a safe work environment.
DAC Worldwide Offers Superior LOTO Training
For companies looking to improve their safety training, a thorough review of current training materials is a great place to start. Do employees have access to hands-on training with actual components they’ll encounter on the job? If not, partnering with established companies to provide industrial-quality training systems that will stand the test of time will help ensure the continued safety of the workforce.
Employers don’t need to recreate the wheel to move toward a skills-based approach to hiring. DAC Worldwide, an industry-leading manufacturer of technical assessment and training tools, offers a variety of solutions to the problems employers face.
For example, DAC Worldwide offers a safety training system specifically designed to give employees the hands-on experience they need to master lockout/tagout skills. DAC Worldwide’s Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System (811-000) features a realistic, simulated working process environment that facilitates introductory training with hands-on activities related to the process of identifying and locking out sources of dangerous potential energy in an industrial setting.
Since technical training is most effective when learners can gain hands-on practice with industry-standard components they’ll encounter on the job, the Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System features a wide variety of common, industrial-quality components to provide learners with a realistic training experience that will build skills that translate easily to the workplace.
For example, the Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System features:
- two PVC process tanks with removable covers, vents, drains, and process connections;
- PVC process network with block valves, 3-way valves, figure-8 blinds, and descriptive valve tags;
- fractional HP magnetic drive centrifugal pump;
- drain collection and distribution tubing network with valved central collection manifold;
- electrical controls, with provision for lock-out, including primary service disconnect, motor starter switch, in-line GFI protector, and system plug connection; and
- a comprehensive lock-out/tag-out tool kit with color-coded locks, tags, multi-lock hasps, specialty electrical locking devices, valve locking devices of multiple designs, and a dedicated toolbox.
The Lock-Out/Tag-Out Training System’s courseware consists of a training manual and hands-on exercises. These can be used as part of either an instructor-led course or self-directed study. A final performance assessment exercise is also provided, allowing the system to be used in an alternate configuration for testing purposes.
Contact a consultant with DAC Worldwide today to learn more about how their technical training tools can help you build the assessment and training program your company needs. Using DAC Worldwide training and assessment tools, you can transition to a skills-based hiring approach and fill the skills gaps in your organization!
- Published in News
What is Process Technology and why is it so important right now?
Process technology employees in the United States are the highly skilled operators of oil refineries, and the positions they hold require distinct training. Process technicians are responsible for monitoring and maintaining the production processes in a facility. They monitor equipment, operation, and safety systems, and are occasionally involved in the installation and repairing of equipment, like pumps, compressors, and electric motors. Students pursuing a career in process technology can often expect a good salary, job advancement opportunities, and an interesting, sometimes challenging, role using technology in manufacturing.
What is going on in the oil production industry?
Despite slowing growth, US oil production is on track to reach and all-time high in 2023. Output is expected to expand at an average rate of 840,000 barrels a day next year, down from a prior forecast of 860,000, according to the Energy Information Administration.
A reduction in supply from the United States could exacerbate an already fraught situation, in the midst of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and subsequent sanctions and trade embargos. Previously the US was relied upon as a key ancillary producer, that can subsidize the global supply as demand increases. The US has an immediate need for properly trained Oil Industry professionals, in order to ramp up domestic oil production.
In an effort to attract the skilled workforce of the future, The American Petroleum Institute (API) announced a new initiative encouraging veterans and transitioning service members to apply their skills in the oil and gas industry. Per worldoil.com; ‘participants obtain professional credentialing through API’s Individual Certification Programs (ICP).’ API plans to develop additional programs and tools to help transitioning service members and veterans. More information can be found here.
A great deal of workers left the Oil industry following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there are still roughly 100,000 fewer oil and gas workers now in the country than before the pandemic despite the U.S. unemployment rate has falling to 3.6%, slightly above the pre-pandemic low. Companies such as Patterson-UTI raised wages last year because of competition from retailers that historically paid less than the oil industry.
Rystad forecasts that U.S. oil and gas employment is expected to recover this year (2022), and surpass pre-pandemic figures to an oilfield workforce of almost 1.1 million by the end of 2027. By the end of this year, U.S. oil and gas employment is expected to expand 12.5% to almost 971,000.
Specialized workers are key to restoring the workforce needed to ramp up production. DAC Worldwide’s process control and instrumentation products provide hands-on training for multiple tasks including those associated with flow, level, and temperature controlled processes.
DAC Worldwide’s Vertical Separator Trainer (295-101) is a reduced-scale, three-phrase vertical separator that mimics its real-world counterpart by using alternate production stream components, refined oil, air, and water.
https://dacworldwide.com/product/vertical-separator-trainer/
DAC Worldwide’s Vertical Separator Training System Plus (295-101-PAC) is a realistic working demonstration separation system duplicates the process at a reduced scale using alternate production stream components: refined oil, air, and water. Three-phase separators, both vertical and horizontal, perform a fundamental purpose in oilfield production operations. Using very basic physical principles of gravity separation, the device efficiently separates mixed raw oil and gas production streams into their component parts: crude oil, gas, and water.
https://dacworldwide.com/product/vertical-separator-training-plus/
More Oil and Gas training solutions from DAC can be found here.
- Published in News
Fundamental Electrical Skills Training: Powering the Path to Success
No matter their experience, skill level, or desired specialty, all individuals aspiring to become electrical professionals need the same fundamental electrical skills. These include understanding the basic principles of electricity and working with common electrical components, such as wiring, motors, and circuits. By mastering core skills like these, learners can help ensure they work safely and efficiently in whatever specified path they choose, whether that is industrial, commercial, or residential electrical careers.
As with any discipline, learning fundamental skills establishes a foundation from which a learner can build more complex concepts and skills. An electrician who now wires entire buildings for manufacturing processes was once a student learning about electric current. Furthermore, that same electrician could choose to expand their skills into more advanced or niche areas, such as performing industrial maintenance for the robotic arms they run power to, which would require that they rely on their understanding of basic PLC operation to progress to the complex coding needed to ensure manufacturing level precision.
Additionally, an electrical technician’s understanding of basic concepts and their abilities helps build confidence that translates to efficiency. For example, an HVAC technician is able to quickly restore air conditioning to a home because they understand how the circuit board, fan motor, compressor, and other components work both individually and together to create a working system. However, if the technician did not have a knowledge of wiring practices, the job would move much more slowly and, if done wrong, could even be dangerous.
In the same vein, industrial workers that know the do’s and don’ts of electrical practices can help recognize and prevent risky electrical setups. This makes a workplace safer for everyone and can help a company avoid downtime. In essence, fundamental electrical skills help prepare future technicians of many career paths to handle any job they will face in the field and provide the first step in pursuing a successful career in the electrical field.
DAC Worldwide’s Electrical Training Systems
DAC Worldwide offers many training systems that teach learners the fundamental electrical skills they need for a successful career. Each trainer is compact and sturdy, allowing for ease of relocation and longevity of use. By using these systems, learners will practice crucial hands-on skills related to focused electrical topics. Below, we’ve included a sampling of our most popular electrical trainers.
400-PAC – Modular Basic Electricity Training System Plus
The 400-PAC covers basic AC and DC electrical principles, including installation, operation, and troubleshooting for multiple applications. Learners can expect to gain a greater understanding of how electricity is used for power and control in industrial, commercial, and residential settings.
This trainer uses 43 activities to engage learners in lessons covering topics such as terminology, background theory, component examination and testing, circuit design, and more. A built-in circuit breaker, transformer, and internal power supply create working voltages of 24VAC/24VDC. This allows learners to gain hands-on experience with skills like calculating and regulating voltage in a circuit, operating a clipper circuit and full-wave bridge rectifier, loading dry cells, utilizing indicator lamps and toggle switches, and much more.
420-000 – 1-Phase Motor Control Training System with Manual Starter
The 420-000 is a single-topic trainer that allows learners to focus solely on navigating the operation, wiring, troubleshooting, and application of an industrial single-phase AC motor with a manual starter. With redundant safety systems provided and a keyed instructor power switch, learners can safely study individually or in small groups.
The system also comes equipped with a motor, manual motor starter, circuit breaker, electrical interlock, pilot light, e-stop switch, and four instructor fault switches. Learners use shielded banana-jack connections to wire the motor. While self-contained, the trainer may be expanded with supplemental components, such as a piloting switch module and a motor loading device, to teach additional topics.
422-000 – 3-Phase Motor Control Training System with Manual Starter
Like the 420-000, the 422-000 is a self-contained, single-topic trainer that allows for independent or small group study. Multiple components, such as a keyed instructor power switch, permanent internal grounding, circuit breaker with lock-out/tag-out, and a large emergency stop switch, ensure learner safety. All equipped components are UL and CE certified.
This trainer offers 21 activities for learners to practice hands-on skills for operating, wiring, and troubleshooting an industrial three-phase AC motor with a manual starter. Some examples of these skills include wiring a three-pole pushbutton motor starter as a motor controller and employing the instructor fault switches to troubleshoot a drum-type reversing switch manual starter.
429E – AC Variable Frequency Drive Training System Plus
The 429E uses industrial-grade components, such as an industrial 3-phase motor and an Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 40 variable frequency drive, to teach AC drive programming, system troubleshooting, control wiring, and other industry-relevant skills. Various inputs and outputs and a programmable acceleration/deceleration with an on-board PID control loop allow learners further practice in understanding voltage, relay, resistance, and amperage.
Other course content includes topics like minimum and maximum frequency, jog parameters, skip frequency bandwidth, and checking and setting acceleration and deceleration timing. Eight fault insertion switches provide thorough real-time troubleshooting practice.
461-000 – Basic PLC Training System (AB Micro850)
The 461-000 provides a wealth of information for learners to develop a firm understanding of industrial PLCs, with emphasis on the current generation Allen-Bradley Micro850. This trainer features eight DC input switches, eight DC output LED lights, two 25-pin D-Sub input/output connectors, multiple safety components, and more. Eight fault insertion switches are also built into the system to help learners increase their proficiency with PLC troubleshooting.
An optional textbook offers more study for relevant topics, such as introducing Boolean algebra and Veitch diagrams, understanding logic gates, creating subroutines and sequencers, and much more. The trainer can also be expanded by connecting it to other training systems that teach process control, sensors, motor control, fluid power, and more.
Boost Your Electrical Training Program Today
We aim to make training more memorable and effective so future electrical technicians can thrive in their chosen career paths. For more information on which training aide may best fit your needs, contact a DAC Worldwide consultant today.
- Published in News