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Teaching Multimeters to Industry
If you work with electrical components, you know how important it is to check how power flows through equipment. Too much or too little current, the wrong voltage or poor resistance can affect the way machines operate and even make them dangerous.
For years, analog meters were used to test specific aspects of electrical current. One meter would test voltage, another resistance, and another current. Today, however, most operators use a digital multimeter (DMM) to perform these tasks. A DMM is programmed to handle all three tests and give you a digital reading on a LCD or LED display rather than a graphic scale. This is much more accurate and much easier to read. Nevertheless, despite their accuracy and easy reading, there are some important skills required to operate them properly.
Joliet Junior College (JJC) has a long history of teaching meter skills with open enrollment courses and customized classes for industry clients. A recent example is the multimeter seminar JJC delivered at Argonne National Laboratories in Argonne, Illinois.
Argonne wanted to train 95 of their mechanics and utilities mechanics in the proper use of multimeters to satisfy a Department of Energy (DOE) initiative. "The DOL has been mandating that employers teach best practices to industry workers as a way to insure job safety and more efficient energy usage," said Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community Services for JJC. "Argonne called us to do the training because we have a long history of providing the kind of training solutions that work well for them."
The training was conducted over a three week period that began on September 9 and ended on September 24. The instructor was JJC's Technical Department Chair, Glen Mazur.
"We did seven classes over the three week period," said Mazur. "During that time frame, we taught the Argonne staff how to use the meter for a variety of purposes."
All JJC's multimeter courses teach students how to use the meter to read current, voltage and resistance, but there is also time spent on how to avoid mistakes. One example is the most common mistake of not switching the test leads when changing from sensing current to sensing voltage or resistance.
Mazur also covers the concept of impedance in meters, equipment and circuits. Impedance is the amount of operating resistance in a meter. A (lower) high resistance will increase the current in a circuit. Since meters literally become part of the circuit current draw, an increase in current can sometimes damage the equipment you are testing. For that reason, the best meters have an impedance rating of at least 10 megaohms which makes their current so low it becomes invisible.
The approach to teaching this class is not just a PowerPoint and some handouts. The class is designed to be hands-on and practical. "We know that it is important to actually do testing with these meters if we want students to internalize the knowledge and learn the skills," said Mazur.
One student, John Lega agrees. "Not your typical eight-hour class," he said. "Not dry, it was engaging and hands on. I got a lot out of it.
Mazur doesn't stop with teaching students how to use a DMM; he also teaches them how to use one safely. "We teach them to use meters on circuits that include low voltage and high voltages and the proper way to assure a safe measurement on high energy source when power is applied," said Mazur. "Even simple things like replacing the battery as soon as the meter's indicator light goes on can help a worker avoid possible electrical shock and personal injury."
"We work hard to make our mulitmeter courses relevant to the people who use these tools," said Murphy.
Proof of that can be found in the remarks of Argonne mechanic Geoff Cook who said, "I learned quite a few new things that are relevant to my job." That sentiment makes the training a success.
Language Classes Help Everyone
For immigrants, English is essential to getting a job and functioning on a basic business level in this country. For U.S. citizens, learning a second language is essential to helping immigrants learn English.
Joliet Junior College (JJC) offers courses in both English as a Second Language (ESL) and Conversational Spanish. The ESL class focuses on what foreign-speaking students need to function effectively.
Helen Longe recently completed a JJC ESL class at Provena St. Joseph Hospital that was delivered from July 7 to August 6. "I liked learning the correct pronunciation of a word and how to listen to what is being said," said Longe. "The class and my instructor have helped me improve my English speaking and pronunciations."
Another student said it "benefits us to have better communication skills. Learning proper pronunciation will benefit my profession in dealing with our patients."
Learning conversational Spanish poses a different set of problems for the learner. Here, the goal is to teach the student what they need to communicate effectively with Spanish-speaking individuals.
Currently, JJC is conducting a conversational Spanish class for educators at Troy Hofer Elementary School where school teachers and other employees are learning to converse with Hispanic families.
"This course is providing me the opportunity to be able to communicate more effectively with the parents in our school district," said Lori Johnson, RN. "As the school nurse, I need to be able to talk to the student's parents, and learning Spanish will definitely help."
JJC Receives $81,000 ETIP Grant
As part of its on-going effort to help companies remain competitive, expand into new markets and introduce more efficient technologies into their operations, the State of Illinois has provided an Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) grant to Joliet Junior College's Corporate and Community Services.
The Employer Training Investment Program helps keep Illinois workers' skills in pace with new technologies and business practices, which, in turn, helps businesses increase productivity, reduce costs, improve quality and boost competitiveness. ETIP grants can reimburse new or expanding companies for up to 50 percent of the cost of training their employees.
"We're honored to have received a grant in the amount of $81,000," said Amy Murphy, director of corporate and community services. "The ETIP grant provided us the opportunity to provide training reimbursements to 20 different companies in the area. We trained 192 new employees and 735 retrained/upgraded employees."
Among those companies receiving grant reimbursement were Alcan Packaging, Aux Sable Liquid Products, Bridgeview Aerosol, Citgo Petroleum, Clearwater Paper Products, D & H Distributing Company, ExxonMobil Refinery, Forbo Adhesives, Johns Manville, Kelloggs, Lyondell, Matheson Gas Products, MCL Inc., Oxbow Midwest Calcining, Pelron Industries, Reichhold Chemicals, Stromberg Allen & Co., Toyal America Inc., Uniqema, and Walco Tool & Engineering.
Joliet Junior College's Corporate and Community Services is your local training provider. To learn more, please visit www.trainingupdate.org.
Bolingbrook Distributor Becomes ETIP Recipient
D&H is one of the nation's leading technology distributors with facilities located throughout the country including Bolingbrook, Illinois where Joliet Junior College delivered a half-day program in Powered Industrial Truck (forklift) Train-the-Trainer training.
"As an employee owned company, we placed a great deal of emphasis on proper training and development of our co-owners," said Human Resource manager Carole Thoele. "JJC's Train-the-Trainer program provided a great combination of professional service and high quality, safety-oriented training that perfectly fit our needs."
An added benefit to D&H was the ETIP check they received that funded 50 percent of the training cost.
Top 25 Penalties Issued by OSHA
On September 17, The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the top 25 penalties of all time.
They are shown below with initial and final penalty figures. Final figures reflect the reduced amount after settlement or appeal. The DOL, however, was unable to confirm settlement amounts.
