As the pace of technology continues to accelerate, the demand for more in-depth technical training increases. Many companies and educational institutions realize that to teach the most advanced technology, the most advanced educational tools must be used. Indisputably, the PC is the vehicle for this training.
The traditional teaching-based classroom is rapidly giving way to the learning-based classroom. The use of computers aids its progress. By embracing the power of computer software and hardware, today’s students have greater control over the pace at which they acquire their skills as well as the capacity to test and prove their comprehension of the material.
This learning-based approach greatly improves the industrial training environment, where individuals such as field service engineers must routinely update their knowledge as products are upgraded and enhanced. Even when basic technical proficiency must be acquired, computer-based training (CBT) again establishes the computer as the prime teaching aid.
Computers, however, do not merely drill students and hold information. The advanced CBT programs available today provide up to four times the learning efficiency of traditional teaching-based methods. They also provide consistency in the information provided to trainees, unlike the lecture-based classroom.
Today’s training departments are charged with the task of distributing a higher level of information about rapidly changing products to their field service engineers. To meet this challenge, many field service training departments rely on the features of a CBT system that uses a PC-based instrumentation set.
By using CBT systems with PC-based instruments, each service engineer can be given an instrument set in a portable computer, use the instruments to get hands-on experience during the training sessions, and then take the instrument set back to the field. As an added advantage, service personnel are trained on the actual instruments they will use in the field.
A PC-based system typically costs less money and is more convenient for the service engineer to carry. For example, using a lunch-box computer, a field service engineer can carry a four-channel oscilloscope, a DMM, a function generator, a fax/modem card for sending information back to the factory, and a CD-ROM to store service manuals in one package.
With the advancements made in PC-based instrumentation during the last three years, more and more field service managers find that they can outfit their organizations with PC-based instruments and reap the benefits from having their instrumentation and computers closely coupled. Here are some instruments available in the form of PC cards.
· 5½-digit DMMs.
· 300-MHz oscilloscopes.
· 30-MHz function generators.
· 50-MS/s arbitrary waveform generators.
· 1-GS/s transient recorders.
· 1.6-GHz spectrum analyzers.
Field service managers can also mix and match an instrumentation set that is fine-tuned for the types of measurements required for their products. For example, a typical Windows user interface can control three different instruments: a 200-MHz oscilloscope, a 4½-digit DMM and a 5-MHz function generator.
Additional benefits of a CBT system include:
Networking: In an educational or training environment, networking facilitates a more efficient learning-based environment. For example, an instructor can post assignments to the server, have the students download and complete the assignment, and then have students upload their results to the server. The server can also store reference waveforms and other information that students can use to complete their assignments.
CD-ROMs: By providing field service manuals on CD-ROMs, a company solves many problems. The CDs eliminate the printing costs and time involved in creating and updating manuals. Large field service organizations routinely send CDs containing the latest field service manual updates. As an added benefit, once the manuals are on CD, information can be located much more quickly by using the hypertext capability.
With the explosion of multimedia presentations on CD-ROM, expect to see industrial CBT programs that incorporate video, audio, text, animated graphics and illustrations to train field service engineers in areas ranging from basic electronics to product updates. Instead of laboriously reading through a service manual, the engineer can take a quick look at a graphic representation accompanied by text callouts or audio to locate test points and make adjustments.
Knowledge-Based Software: Many companies provide knowledge-based software systems. A knowledge-based system contains debugging information and a structure for the field service engineer to follow while servicing the customer’s equipment. These software systems provide an expert’s level of knowledge in the field service engineer’s computer.
Simple Convenience: In the past, if a field service training department had to update its field staff on several new products, that meant transporting the service staff to the factory for extensive, lecture-based demonstrations. Most likely, the company did not have enough extra instruments lying around for the training department to use, so the field people had to bring all their large, heavy, box-based instruments.
All is not wine and roses, however, when a field service department switches from box-based instruments to PC-based instruments. The field service engineer who learns on and uses PC-based instruments must have additional skills, including:
· The ability to swap instrument cards into and out of the computer. If an engineer’s computer has only an oscilloscope card but a DMM is also needed, the engineer must know how to install the DMM card in the computer.
· The ability to reconfigure the software to recognize newly inserted PC-based instrument cards. Many PC-based instrument manufacturers make this task as automatic as possible by providing hardware-installation software that assists the engineer in the installation process. These installation routines automatically find the instrument’s base address, and some have a graphic that indicates the proper DIP switch settings.
Some instrument manufacturers provide cards that adhere to the plug and play standard supported by the new computer operating systems. This new standard puts the burden of assigning base addresses, interrupts and DMA channels onto the operating system, virtually eliminating the need for the engineers to reconfigure their computers.
As technology advances, so must the methodology of technical training. Only through the use of computer-based training equipment can students get the experience they will need to move forward in such a rapidly changing environment.
About the Authors
Sheila Cohill is the Multimedia Project Director at Lab-Volt Systems. Previously, the freelance writer was a computer science instructor and a technical editor. Ms. Cohill is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania. Lab-Volt Systems, P.O. Box 686, Farmingdale, NJ 07727, (908) 938-2000.
Stuart Streiff is the President of PC Instruments. He received his BS-ECE degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1978 and has spent his career designing and marketing instrumentation. PC Instruments, 9261 Ravenna Rd., Building B11, Twinsburg, OH 44087, (216) 487-0220.
Electronics Training Program
FACET, the fault-assisted circuits for electronics training system from Lab-Volt Systems, provides training in more than 25 areas of electronics, from basic AC and DC circuitry to transducer technology to advanced analog and digital communications. With FACET, trainees use DOS- or Windows-based instructional software integrated with a circuit board relating to the specific electronics subject, a base unit and optional PC-based instrumentation.
Using this integrated equipment, trainees study the theory behind a particular electronics subject and then apply that theory with hands-on practice by taking measurements, modifying circuits, inserting faults and troubleshooting those faults. Student measurement results can be entered manually through the keyboard or can be cut from the PC-based instrumentation display and pasted into the FACET instructional software.
Trainees receive feedback to all of their responses, ensuring motivation and comprehension. From this interactivity and the self-paced learning through illustration and practice, trainees can predict outcomes and observe results that will prepare them for field work.
With a networked system, an instructor can observe a trainee’s progress in real time by using FACET Manager, software which is capable of generating customized student reports that help oversee and maintain the educational process. The FACET Authoring System allows educators to revise the instructional software according to their needs. Questions can be altered or theoretical explanations can be customized to particular scenarios. Practice procedures based on the circuit board and its modification capabilities also can be developed.
Copyright 1995 Nelson Publishing Inc.
December 1995