Become a Better Troubleshooter

Bring hands-on troubleshooting into your lab

Develop the advanced skills required to
or workplace with this realistic industrial troubleshoot complex industrial control systems.
control system simulator.
Troubleshoot actual faults on an advanced
control system simulation.
Develop and perfect safe work practices
while troubleshooting.
Learn new troubleshooting techniques and
processes for solving faults.
Over 30 challenging faults to solve.
Get detailed feedback on your troubleshooting
process and comprehensive evaluation of your
troubleshooting skills.
Instructor resources are available to help
integrate the software into a course.

Who Is It For?
This advanced troubleshooting program is
designed for students and electrical/
maintenance personnel who already have a
good understanding of electrical systems.
It is ideally suited for use:
Industrial control simulation of a typical fluid processing system
In organizations who wish to improve the
troubleshooting skills of their electrical and
maintenance personnel. Developed by:
In advanced electrical courses and programs Creators of the award winning
providing experience with complex systems. Troubleshooting Skills Series

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About the Simulation

This is a realistic simulation of an industrial
process for mixing and processing liquids. The
simulated system uses 480 volts AC 3 phase for
its power portion, consisting of:
Pump, Agitator, and Heaters.
Motors and Transformers.
Contactors and Overloads.

The control portion of the system consists of a

variety of components typically found in
industrial control systems such as:
Temperature, Float and Selector Switches.
Relays, Timers and Pushbuttons.
Solenoid Valves, Fuses, Indicators,
Wiring, Terminal Blocks and Wire Connectors.

This troubleshooting simulator has over 30

faults to solve. These faults simulate both
electrical and mechanical failures. Users
can interact with the simulation just like a
real system. They can:
Operate the system remotely or locally.
Take voltage, resistance and current
readings with a multimeter.
Inspect, repair and replace components.
Disconnect and ring out wires.
Main simulator window showing zoomed-in views
of some of the system components
This simulator is built with a tracking system designed to monitor and
evaluate all the activities performed by a user.
This information is used to:
Provide feedback to the user as they troubleshoot system faults.
Evaluate their process and identify areas for improvement.
Allow instructors to effectively focus the assistance required
by the user.

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Simulation Features
The simulation used is realistic and accurate.
It has many features that make it an excellent
tool for developing troubleshooting skills.
The simulation is lifelike and includes all the
tools normally used to troubleshoot this type
of equipment.
Realistic actions such as taking meter
readings, removing wires, and inspecting and
replacing components are all standard features.
Modeled on real equipment, the behavior of
the system and components is accurate
under normal and faulty conditions, and even
Disconnecting multiple wires in the
when wires are disconnected.
Heater Access Panel
Taking current readings in the
Power Circuit

More Features
Accurate equipment models ensure that
readings taken in the simulation are virtually
the same as readings taken on real equipment.
A powerful Observation tool allows for
comprehensive analysis of the system and
its operation.
Customizable regional settings for either
Using the wrench tool to inspect, North American or European standards,
repair or replace components including component ratings and circuit
Taking resistance readings in the drawings.
Control Panel

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European Standards Option

With customizable regional settings this program
offers the flexibility of two advanced industrial
control system simulations.

You can choose to operate the system with

either North American or European standards.

This option affects the design standards used for

the simulation, the system voltage levels, and the
circuit drawings found throughout the program.

Learn how the system works

Using the wrench tool to inspect,

repair or replace components
Disconnecting multiple wires in the
Heater Access Panel

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Troubleshooting the System Monitoring and Feedback

This simulation contains many types of defects
designed to give the user practice on a wide
range of potential problems. Typical types of
failures are:
Opens in components or wiring.
Shorts in components or wiring.
Defects in component mechanisms.
Overloaded and defective three-phase motors
and protective equipment.
Opens and shorts in three-phase circuits.
Defective mechanical components.
As faults are attempted, each step
the user makes is monitored for
safety reasons. Safety Error messages
appear when the user performs
unsafe actions that could cause
personal injury, break a safety rule,
or break safe work practices.
Safety Error Message The program also monitors testing
procedures, and provides tips or
warnings as required.

Faults are organized into Basic, Intermediate and

Advanced difficulty levels. Each level has three
types of faults: Guided, Practice, and Skill Test.
Guided faults coach the user through the most
effective and efficient process for troubleshooting
faults. This is a great place for learning valuable
tips and techniques.
Practice faults help improve the user’s
troubleshooting techniques by providing hints
before starting the fault and feedback once the
fault has been attempted.
Skill Test faults put the user’s skills to the
test without any assistance during the Troubleshooting a
Guided Fault
troubleshooting process. These faults are
evaluated and are reflected in the user’s
Overall Skill Rating.
Fault Selection Screen

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Evaluating Skill Overall Summary

The program evaluates a user’s troubleshooting Once completed, the program
skill for each fault attempt as well as provides summarizes all the user’s results and
Level Summaries and an Overall Summary provides an Overall Summary of their
evaluation. results. The Overall Skill Rating takes into
account the difficulty of each fault
Fault Evaluation completed. The more difficult a fault the
Each attempt to solve and repair a fault is more it impacts the Skill Rating.
evaluated based on a set of criteria, including:
Amount of time taken. Also shown in this summary is a list of
Process errors made. the major errors made. This information
Number of meter readings. is important to help determine the areas
for improvement.
Successful Fault Completion Criteria
Fault must be correctly repaired.
No safety errors occurred.
No components unnecessarily replaced.
Fault Evaluation
Fault repaired within time allowed.
Fault repaired within allowed troubleshooting
process rating.

If the criteria are not met, the fault is marked incomplete

and the fault will have to be attempted again. The reasons
for failure will be displayed.

If the criteria are met, the fault is marked complete and a

rating is shown for the attempt. The Skill Rating takes into
account the results of the current attempt plus the results
of any previous attempt of that fault. Overall Summary Screen

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Learning How It Works

The Troubleshooting Industrial Controls program
contains sections devoted to learning how the
system in the simulation works.

The image below is from the System Overview

section. This section shows how the process
works, and points out components that affect
the operation of the system at key points in the
process.

Learn how the system works

A detailed step by step sequence shows the operation of

all electrical components in the system.
The image above is one of a series of 17 screens that explains
step by step the system function from the moment the system
receives a start signal to the end of the cycle. This is done
through the use of the main schematic diagram and images
of the key system indicators.

For each step of the process, live portions of the circuit

are highlighted with newly energized sections shown
Get an overview of the system
in a different color. As relays become energized, they,
and their corresponding contacts, are also highlighted.

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Resources
The program contains resources to help
understand the troubleshooting process
and troubleshoot the system including:
System Operation Manual.
Schematics and Wiring Diagrams.
Troubleshooting Flow Chart & Worksheets.
Comprehensive Help System.
Instructor Resources (available with
Enterprise Edition): Administration
Program, Instructor Guide, Reports,
and Certificates of Completion.
For More Information Visit:
www.TroubleshootingSkills.com
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Available Editions
The Student Edition is for use by one person only,
and is most appropriate for individuals who have a
limited budget or a limited amount of time to use the
software.
The Expert Edition is also for use by one person only,
and is most appropriate for individuals who want
more hands-on practice troubleshooting faults.
This edition is an ideal tool for maintaining
troubleshooting skills as it includes 50% more faults
than the Student Edition.
The Business Edition is for use on standalone PCs,
offers unlimited enrolment, and is most appropriate
for small groups of users where minimal monitoring
is required. Users have access to the complete fault
set, and can print out a Progress Report as well as a
Certificate of Completion.
The Enterprise Edition can be installed on a server or
on standalone PCs, and is priced per concurrent user
or standalone PC. This edition also includes Instructor
Guides and the Simutech Course Manager. It is most
appropriate for where an instructor or supervisor will
monitor and manage the users' progress. Several
types of reports and can be either exported or
printed, and course options can be modified through
the course management software.
Simutech Multimedia Inc. Toll Free: 1-866-942-9082
1306 Wellington Street, Suite 303 Tel: (613) 722-1230
Ottawa ON K1Y 3B2 Canada Fax: (613) 722-2043
www.simutechmultimedia.com info@simutechmultimedia.com