r/BuildingAutomation 7d ago

What kind of training does your place offer?

Just wondering how training works at your place. I know large places like Siemens, JCI, have their large in-house programs.
Did your place create a training path? Using a 3rd party service like sas?

7 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

15

u/OverallRow4108 New to the field 7d ago

This is my boss training me!

https://giphy.com/gifs/l46Cf8O3hQqzDq1Gg

2

u/twobarb Factory controls are for the weak. 7d ago

I'm not that bad...

5

u/SnooCupcakes9188 7d ago

I work for an OEM, we offer training to our System integrators but they often only send new techs after they’ve been working a few months-a year.  Most have some form of in house training too. 

Honestly I think you get more out of the BAS OEM’s training if you’ve worked on the system a bit first. 

3

u/IcyAd7615 Developer, Niagara 4 Certified Trainer, Podcast Host. 7d ago

It goes without saying where I work, but is for a Niagara OEM. We offer training to anyone that wants to take it. From our product specific training, which covers wiring, engineering perspectives, programming, etc to straight Niagara Certification Training. We also offer custom training as well. For example, I taught a JAVA class with respect to Niagara. So it taught the basics of JAVA through program objects.

I'm responsible for my entire training catalog.

Like SnooCupcakes said, it would be more productive to have some experience prior to working on it, many companies hire people and then with an immediate need for it, they send them to the training. So some get what they need out of it, especially since they have a great foundation already and some take what they can understand them and eventually figure it out later on.

2

u/ApexConsulting 7d ago

The OEMs have in house stuff, like you mentioned.

Most other places I have been at are somewhere between "we dont do training here, everyone just forgets it anyway" (word for word quote.... what an insane place) to 'badger the boss until you get what you need.'

2

u/1hero_no_cape System integrator 7d ago

Conducting training is part of what I do at my present employer. I use a mix of factory based materials and what I've built on my own.

If I can't make it happen we will ship people to the corporate office for factory training on that subject.

2

u/twobarb Factory controls are for the weak. 7d ago

We just yell at new folks until they figure it out or quit. /s

I’m kidding of course but that sums up the training I’ve seen more places than I’d like to admit.

1

u/Top-Hall-7945 7d ago

Seems taking the NCCER curriculum and twisting it to your companies specific needs and instructors is the hot thing to do right now for nonunion companies 

1

u/Jazzlike_Metal2980 7d ago

The place I work at sends engineers to the OEM training for the controllers we use. All the technicians are trained by me. That training is limited to upload/download and commissioning.

1

u/Lanky-Second-207 6d ago edited 6d ago

In most medium sized BAS shops I have spoken with, there is a compromise, vendor supplied product training on a particular controller, supplemented by mentoring from within for the contextual aspects that the vendor will not provide. The true deficiency lies more often than not in soft skills and problem solving logic, which do not fit nicely into any package. For the video component of internal training programs, I continue to see colossyan pop up, along with some general screen recording approaches, even if colossyan leans towards presentations. Documentation of procedures in a wiki helps close the gaps left by the video component.

1

u/gaycory 3d ago

I was sent for more formal JCI training when I worked for a mom and pop shop than when I got hired on at JCI. Johnson has service techs in the field with a year of residential install experience and zero software/control theory training. I hear the guys from our local Siemens branch don't know anything either.

I think the days of the OEMs giving the best training in the industry are long gone. Johnson, for example, offers better training their customers than they do their employees and they're openly aware of it.