Industrial Machinery and Controls Technician Program – Now Enrolling at WTC

Withlacoochee Technical College (WTC) is currently enrolling students for the Industrial Machinery and Controls Technician Program. The program will provide the technicians with the skills necessary to enter a career in the Manufacturing, Distribution, and Process Control fields.

Employer Benefits: The skill sets the students will possess upon completion of the program are practical knowledge of the functions of industrial and automated controls. Armed with this knowledge, they will only have to learn how the functions are utilized in a particular process. This will reduce training time and improve technician productivity for the employer.

Career Benefits: The skills learned in the program are transferrable throughout the student’s career. These portable skills afford increased employment opportunities as business sectors cycle. If a particular industry sector experiences a slowdown, another sector will experience a surge. The same controls and equipment are used throughout different industries. The difference is how the controls are utilized in the process. The skills learned in the Industrial Machinery and Controls Technicians program will make that transition smooth.

The program will utilize the Amatrol Skill Boss Logistics Trainer for student certifications through Supply Chain Automation Training and Assessment and the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC). The students can earn three industry recognized certifications in supply chain management: Certification in Equipment Maintenance (CTSCA-EM), Certification in Equipment Repair (CTSCA-ER), and Certification in Network Repair (CTSCA-NR).

The program will cover the following topics:

  • Safety- OSHA 10 Hour Training
  • Safety awareness and risk assessment
  • Electrical Fundamentals – AC power, DC power, Ohm’s Law, overcurrent protection, and series and parallel circuits
  • Meter knowledge: voltage, current, and resistance checks
  • Motor Controls: Relay logic and contactors and reversing contactors
  • Input and output devices: push buttons, switches, lights, signal devices, sensors, solenoids, actuators
  • Measurement and Sensors – level, temperature, pressure, flow, distance
  • Types of Control – on/off vs PID control
  • Current loops – 4-20 mA, 0-10 VDC, and 0-5 VDC
  • Process Control devices – temperature controllers, process controllers, PLC, HMI and VFD
  • Pneumatic and Hydraulic Fundamentals – filters, regulators, and types of valves
  • Mechanical Fundamentals – drilling, tapping, cutting, pulleys, bearings, and gears
  • Analytical troubleshooting and problem solving
  • Practical troubleshooting skills such as determining the area of the process with the problem, divide and conquer, signal substitution, and signal injection

Students that complete the program will have the opportunity for jobs that are in demand today and in the future. There are scholarships available for students, so it will cost them little out of their pockets. WTC is still accepting students for the program.

Interested students can contact the WTC Student Services Department, and one of their Career Advisors, will guide them through the registration process. The contact number for Student Services is 352-726-2430 extension 4301.