Title: Troubleshooting Facilitator Notes (Unpublish. Not for Student Use.)
Course: Troubleshooting Labs > Section: Introduction to Troubleshooting (Essential Skills & Safety)

For this lab you will "break" the trainer by disconnecting certain connections. You will then walk the student through the troubleshooting methodology on a very basic level. After you have walked through one fault with the student, you will then introduce another fault and have them walk YOU through the methodology as best they can. This is not a test but an introduction.

Please refer to the options below. You may introduce one fault at a time.

Troubleshooting Script

These are the points we should go through with the student:

1. We are going to walk through the troubleshooting method together.
  1. You are going to go out of the room and I will create a fault.
  2. You will then come in and we will walk through each step together.
  3. You will then go out of the room and I will create another fault.
  4. You will then walk me through the steps like I am the "new guy".
2. *Student goes out and you introduce a basic fault*
3. What is Step 1?
  1. Step one "Gather Info" is used to answer the questions in the step.
  2. This will focus out efforts through the TS method.
  3. Our natural instinct
    1. We go to step 2 and look for something obviously broken, lose, on fire, etc.
    2. We then go to step 3 and start replacing things until it works
    3. This will work eventually but not very efficient
  4. What are some ways to gather info?
    1. Casual observation (not checking every wire)
    2. Asking people
    3. Testing it (if feasible)
    4. Looking at documentation (Manuals, schematics, Maintenance reports)
    5. HMI information (I/O screen)
  5. Have the student choose a way to start gathering info
  6. Once we can determine what exactly is wrong or where the problem may lie we can move on to step 2
4. What is Step 2?
  1. Step 2 is where we try to determine the cause
  2. If it is obvious, move on to step 3
  3. If it is not, we move down into the Step 2 wheel where we test different hypotheses
    1. Start with an educated guess on the cause based on the careful observation in Step 1
    2. Hypothesize what could cause that
    3. Use tools and testing to check that cause
    4. If it was not the cause - Move on to the next most logical option
    5. If it was the cause - move on to Step 3
5. What is Step 3?
  1. Once we have found a cause we must safely repair it
  2. This is often the place where LTV is needed
  3. If necessary, or time allows, go over the questions in Step 3 before you make the repair
6. Are we done? Can we go to lunch? (Trick question)
7. We need to test our repair
  1. Very often we can do a small test at the site of the repair to make sure we have changed it
    1. (If a contact was not closing, does it now close? Test with multimeter)
  2. Then test the complete process
8. Now are we done?
9. What is Step 4?
  1. Just like Step 1 focuses our efforts in Steps 2 & 3 and makes us more efficient, Step 4 gathers the things we have learned from the TS process to help us be better prepared for the next time around the TS wheel.
  2. What did you learn about TS or the machine that you could use next time?
  3. Was it a Maintenance or Engineering problem? (Was something misadjusted or was the system designed poorly?)
  4. If we took 4 hours to TS this would we want to to it again or just look it up?
    1. Be sure to document and disseminate what we have learned.

Pictures

Use these pictures for reference.

A. Disconnect the sensor.

B. Disconnect Auxiliary Contact

C. Disconnect Wire to Motor Contactor

D. Disconnect Wire to Motor

E. Change Tool Pressure

F. Disconnect Air Hose to Pneumatic Cylinder