Electro-Mechanical Deductive Reasoning for Heavy Equipment Technicians

"I have gained the confidence in analyzing and learning how to find a problem, by not getting my mind stuck in one spot. Just that alone has already made me better at my trade. The amount I have learned during this course would have satisfied me by the end of the second day. So, having a full five days...

“As a maintenance electrician, I think the course was great and should be made mandatory for all journeymen. I will continue to use a consistent systematic approach when troubleshooting. Our instructor was very knowledgeable on the material presented, very patient, and made the course fun and entertaining.”

"I liked this class a lot. I liked the use of the different boards and how hands on the class was. The instructor, Joe Kiceniuk was very knowledgeable and clear on his points."

“My troubleshooting skills are better after finding a method to break apart electrical problems. This course shows you efficient ways to analyze information and plan tests.”

“I thought he did a great job presenting the materials and how to properly and efficiently troubleshoot electrical systems. I think that I can use the information I got to help me diagnose problems I may come across at work. I learnt that a system should be analyzed and a plan made before proceeding...

"This course was excellent overall. The equipment and tools provided were excellent. The instructor Ed Rideout, was clear and made you feel comfortable with the material."

“Very good to think of troubleshooting in a more effective manner and safer to record results and findings for information sharing’s and recording. WebCAT will send all people to course in electrical field.”

"I gained the ability to take my troubleshooting to the next level by doing it faster and safer. I believe I have the ability to troubleshoot any problem by applying the steps that I learned in this course."

“I found this instructor to be very knowledgeable and engaging. He presented the course material in an organized manner, making it easy to follow. The concepts presented will be of great benefit to troubleshooting. I would recommend this course and instructor.”

“This course was a great learning tool and it's hard at times but it was great, good job.”

It was a good course for learning how to troubleshoot systems with a process and direction in mind, by using that process, it becomes clearer what the cause of the problematic symptom is, and in turn to know what should be repaired/replaced. Lots of hands-on experience, troubleshooting was a great way...

“This course and the instructor were both exceptional and I highly recommend this course to anyone in the electrical trade.”

"Course teaches and dictates the importance of keeping focused on issue and document info. Plan a strategic execution of analyzing data, record info, isolate problem areas and control amount of excess testing with meter to minimize false readings.

“ I enjoyed it. It was very mixed. You were not overdoing just one aspect but always covering something new. I like the troubleshooting tools…thinking, observing, analysis, then test!”

"Although I experience many similar troubleshooting scenarios at work, this course helped develop the proper way. Planning, diagrams, a proper course of action that could help me be more effective in the field."

“ If you want everyone playing on the same team to work correctly and in an efficient manner, do this training”

“Had a good time learning about troubleshooting. The instructor was good and answered all of my questions. He showed us how and where to begin troubleshooting so we didn’t have to go through the whole circuit. I would tell anyone to take this course as it was very helpful.”

"This course is an excellent tool for anyone who will be doing troubleshooting on equipment or a plant."

The course and instructor were really good, very well-formatted to keep on topic and moving forward. It was all-around excellent, really opened my eyes to ways of troubleshooting problems I had never thought of asking before, and moving forward, can use in all sorts of different troubleshooting.

"This course will pay for itself the first time a critical motor is down. If it saves one hour of downtime that is $100,000.00"

“Instructor was very knowledgeable and the course was great. The course was very hands on which made it easier to learn.”

“Enforced the importance of good documentation, know what to expect from meter readings before the readings, understanding the problem, get all the available info, if stuck on a problem, take a short break.”

"This course will pay for itself by the time I repair my first piece of equipment. Ed Rideout is an excellent instructor with a lot of actual hands on experience. Top guy, top course. Material was clear and relevant."

“Was a good course. Enjoyed the challenges of troubleshooting with a different method. Would highly recommend.”

“This course was a great eye opener on how planning before troubleshooting, will save you a lot of pain and time. As anew worker to the industrial workplace it is a great way to boost my troubleshooting skills. The instructor was great and made sure we all got the points before we moved on and gave...

"This is an excellent course. I learned a lot of valuable information, especially regarding the application of thinking and learning patterns. Draw out your problem area and focus on the underlying issue."

I think the course was useful because it taught me how to plan my troubleshooting. It was a lot of hands on tasks which was good. It gave me a lot of testing experience and the ability to experiment, going about problems in a different way. The instructor, Terry Yonkheym was knowledgeable and kept the...

“I think the course was very well presented and helped emphasize the use of a meter and how to interpret the readings you get.”

“The first day I thought I should get a little more instructions, but I got into it and I started to see the objective, what the objective was to get me thinking and figuring out methods to improve my troubleshooting. In the beginning I was frustrated but as my troubleshooting improved, frustration...

“ Very effective and efficient way of how to solve a problem…from start to finish”

“Using logic and better testing (meter) techniques, I am now a much more effective and efficient trouble-shooter.”

“I think that after taking this course, I will become a faster and better trouble-shooter. The instructor was very well informed and came across so that I could understand it easily.”

“This course was very beneficial, learning and brushing up on old skills. The testing boards/equipment is all set up very well. I would certainly suggest this to any and all colleagues. Two thumbs up.”

“The course was an extremely valuable tool to any electrician. Experienced troubleshooters can refine existing skills and less-experienced will gain knowledge that isn't the overly obvious unless taught.”

“This is an excellent course to build confidence in troubleshooting, building a solid base from which to troubleshoot. The instructor, Terry Yonkheym, sets a good pace, is knowledgeable and is easy to understand.”

“The course will help me a lot in troubleshooting. It made me learn to troubleshoot quicker and able to split the problem in half the time. The instructor was really good at what he teaches and that made the course better. Thanks.”

"This was by far the most practical electrical course I have taken so far. The instructor was excellent and very knowledgeable in his field. I wish I had taken this course 20 years ago."

“The instructor let us know the focus of the course and really showed us the method which we were to follow. Easy to talk to and made you think through the problems.”

This course is an excellent learning tool for troubleshooting. The way it was taught was excellent for getting though the information. For personal gain this was a very good experience. The hands on showed me a ton of new useful information. Ed Rideout was a great teacher, clear and thorough.

“Very fun course with a wide variety of equipment. Good practice for troubleshooting, unfamiliar equipment also good practice for using your logic for solving unknown electrical problems. The instructor was very helpful and made the course very interesting.” Roch Lavergne, Norbord

“ Excellent content with plenty of hands-on troubleshooting and demo-circuits to use/test the techniques.”

"Thought the course was very informative. It taught extra ways of thinking to use for problems. The instructor, Ed Rideout was very experienced and showed poise when asked to go over/show different ways of explaining a problem to the class."

I enjoyed the course. It refreshed things that I have not had to troubleshoot in a long time. I will recommend this course to everyone in my shop. Thanks for the knowledge Joe Kiceniuk.

The course was a good refresher. It had good analysis sharpening skills. Also, the switchboards, laptops, and programs helped break down circuits.

“This was a great course; I had no experience on troubleshooting prior to the start of this course. Now I feel comfortable. I'm glad it was available for me and it will greatly help me in the future.”

“I really enjoyed my practical class. Thank you for sharing your expertise, I hopefully will be able to implement it further into the field. Thanks.”

“I would recommend this course to all electrical workers. This course helps you go through the process on what and how to troubleshoot electrical systems. I believe that this would help people troubleshoot electrical problems faster.”

"Very good tips on how to break down a problem into manageable steps. And on eliminating problem areas to break down problems. Good teaching."

I found the instructor to be very clear with the information in the course and very helpful with understanding the process of deductive reasoning. This course was very good at helping you work through the problem by writing down or documenting your steps

“The information was good. There was lots of hands on, which was excellent. The instructor kept things moving at a good pace. He was knowledgeable about aspects of the course material. The equipment used worked well with the troubleshooting objective. Definitely learnt something.”

The props/test equipment makes it easier to understand and learn. Computer apps were an interesting challenge. Even with years of experience, it is helpful to see troubleshooting from another structured perspective.

“I found the method of troubleshooting presented to be very helpful in solving the problems during the course. After 2 days the time to solve each problem was reduced significantly. I will try to apply this method with similar problems on the job. I found the day 5 troubleshooting board to be most...

“The course was very helpful in developing a better technique to approach troubleshooting faults, thinking more about the test you are going to perform. I would recommend this course.”

“He was amazing from the beginning till the end for his in-depth knowledge of the course materials. He speaks in a tone that could be understood. If you call his attention on any topic, he spent time with you and made sure you got it. I loved the course.”

“This course was very beneficial in helping you to think about how to breakdown problems to reduce troubleshooting time. The idea of documenting everything so that others can pick up where you left off will help with cross shift issues.”

"The hands on work was well organized and the computer word was a nice change from the norm, both of which made you think. This is a must have course for technologists."

I did enjoy this course and liked reviewing what I already learned back in trade school. The instructors were very knowledgeable and helped me through parts of the course in which I was a little rusty.

The course was effective at teaching the importance of proper documentation of problems and how to narrow down a problem area.

“The most useful and helpful electrical course I've ever done with Syncrude. Every electrician should take this course at some point in their career. Makes you think about the problem on a larger scale, then narrow down that your testing area.”

“Wish I had been given the opportunity to take this training years back. Learning in the classroom, rather than learning in the field, costs the company less down time. This easily pays for the training. Thanks for letting me attend. I will be promoting this to have our 9 control techs take the training.”

“This course gave me a better understanding of how to analyze problems and minimize time in troubleshooting.”

“This course made me look at the big picture, then find my way to the problem faster by not doing unnecessary testing and checks. Having to write a bubble around the problem area made it easy to reason and test my way through to find the problem quicker and easier.”

“The instructor was knowledgeable on course content. He kept everything in informal and made it fun. Emphasized the process on how to solve problems.”

“The instructor was very knowledgeable, able to convey the message to the students so they understood. Hands on problem were similar to real-world problems, good layered track approach didn't intimidate students. Gave students confidence to take a good approach to troubleshooting.”

Excellent course, Joe Kiceniuk did a great job presenting the material. This was a very good refresher for those of us who have experience troubleshooting electrical/electronics and excellent foundation for those us who did not.

"I believe this course will help decrease downtime if we document, analyze and have a plan before we start arc testing."

"The course was effective at teaching the importance of proper documentation of problems and how to narrow down a problem area."

"This course was fun and challenging at the same time. Instruction was clear, done in a comfortable environment."

“The course was well thought out, had good equipment, good pace, and relevant training material. The instructor was friendly and relatable, good instruction, good at presenting ideas in different ways to help with understanding.”

“I thought the course was very well done. I liked the hands-on approach. The instructor was very knowledgeable. I would recommend to coworkers. We work on generator systems, kitchen equipment, industrial, overhead crane VFD’s, HVAC Systems on the base, overhead doors, fire pump diesel and electric.”

“ Good course content and lots of hands on to solidify the theory. This course will pay for itself in two weeks”

“I found the course and the instructor challenged me in ways that revealed my weaknesses and provided the skills and system to overcome them. Well worth it!”

"Great instruction, I learnt a lot of troubleshooting skills. It was a very informative course!!"

“Very knowledgeable instructor with a good attitude explains the hazard material thoroughly. The course teaches you an analytical approach for problem solving that can be applied basically to everything in life, recommended to everyone.”

“The instructor was very knowledgeable in troubleshooting and course content very interesting and worthwhile course.”

Great instructors, very knowledgable, willing to slow down and go over the material as many times as it takes, very patient. Course Covers a lot of relevant info.

“The course demonstrated the importance of taking notes, which became apparent to prevent yourself from going in circles and checking equipment previously checked. Splitting the circuits into sections is something I will take away from the course and use extensively in the future. I view this as a...

“Good hands on training in a controlled setting. Trains you on an approach to troubleshooting. Proves that the importance of documenting your finding, shows how to divide and conquer the problem. Lots of different troubleshooting problems to work on so there is something for everyone.”

"This is a great course. I learnt lots about how to organize and prepare for troubleshooting. Well worth attending."

The course was interesting and the instructors were knowledgeable, approachable, and kept things interesting. Fault loading on the boards and the use of the computer programs helped build proficiency in the techniques.

“The instructor Ed Rideout, presented the course content in a clear efficient manner. New troubleshooting techniques were well presented and received. By the end of the course I had noticed overall improvement in circuit troubleshooting ability.”

“ Excellent, an invaluable troubleshooting tool.”

"Excellent course. The content and the instructor exceeded my expectations, I have new tools in my toolbox. Most importantly, a new way of thinking. How to come to an issue? How to gather "helpful" info? How to zero in on the problem? The hands on was an invaluable learning tool."

“ Documentation is the key to successful troubleshooting. Excellent job! I will be recommending to my supervisor that the other techs take this training”

“The instructor was very knowledgeable about the course material. The content of the course was very interesting and valuable for my personal benefit as well as the company. I had very little exposure to prints and troubleshooting before the course and I feel now way ahead in this troubleshooting than...

"The props and test equipment make it easier to understand and learn. Computer apps were an interesting challenge. Even with a lot of years experience it is helpful to see troubleshooting from another structured perspective."

“I found that I should be able to find faults much, much faster now. Thank you tremendously.”

"I think this was a great course. I haven't done a lot of troubleshooting up to this point but certainly feel better prepared to do so now. Joe Kiceniuk is a great instructor and he is very knowledgeable."

"The course did a great job in teaching me how to approach troubleshooting a piece of equipment that I'm not familiar with. It taught techniques and provided lots of practical and hands-on practice using those techniques. The classroom exercises were all very different from each other and all were similar...

"Excellent course and knowledgeable instructor. Relaxed learning pace with no limits on fault findings. The test equipment and labs were easily understood and were easy to operate. Documentation provided was clear and accurate. It changed my process for fault findings."

“I personally enjoyed this course. It helps me a lot when troubleshooting any electrical system. How to break down a circuit and where to pinpoint a problem, it was challenging at times, but that's the valuable part of the course. It really makes you think. The instructor was very informative and knowledgeable...

HATCES “I would recommend this course for anyone who was looking to upgrade or start on their troubleshooting knowledge. The structured system taught is a very helpful tool to help pinpoint the problem efficiently. The instructor is very knowledgeable and will help you along without pointing out the...

“Everything was great; this course will help me very much to troubleshoot better.”

"Joe Kicenuik left lots of time to review all the classroom material. He was very helpful in answering any questions and was effective in explaining what troubleshooting techniques work best for each particular problem. This course will improve your way of approaching future problems in your job field."

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It had lots of hands on exercises, which is the best way to learn. Ed Rideout was very knowledgeable and obviously had a ton of practical experience. Great instructor!”

“The instructor has lots of experience and demonstrated the information very well. I will make use of the information presented. Great course.”

“I thought this course was a great approach to improving troubleshooting skills. Ed Rideout did a great job instructing, was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. I could see my skills improving as the week went on. The test sets used for the course were great, as well as the software. All in...

“The course was useful in the sense that it teaches the importance of finding your starting point and staying calm while troubleshooting. The course would be best suited for apprentices, journeymen with little or no troubleshooting experience. There are lessons to be taken from it and about the mental...

"This course gets your mind working so you can look at a problem in a different frame of mind."