Path To Go When Going From an Electrician to Work on PLC's ?

[MarlowParker]

Hi,

I am seeking some advice on the best route/path to go to be able to work with PLC's, i am a qualified electrician with very varied experience ranging from,

Domestic Work:New builds,Rewires,big av systems and multimedia for high price building projects. Led Lighting and Specialist outdoor Lighting
Commercial Work: Sport Floodlighting,Office blocks,Data Systems, Fire Alarms, Security Alarms, The General Shop Fitting Areas
Industrial Work: New IND Units, Waste and Clean Water Systems,

Recently i have been working for a water company doing multiple jobs on the water treatment plants but from the time ive spent on them its the PLC Commissioning i really want to get into, i have good knowledge of how they work/what they do and how they can be applied. also i am self teaching through various online videos of how to programme and how to install them. how to write binary and how to write ladder-logic.

Now as a Sub Contractor it is hard to get the on site experience working with PLC's as the company i work for has there own commissioning engineer who is always on a different site.

What i need to know is what is a suitable qualification that a company would look for when offering PLC work to a contractor?
What other ways of getting the training is there?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated as i'm only 21 and moving up into the big works with more responsibility is a big change from the usual works i've been doing.

Marlow Parker (Electrical Contractor)

 

[Farmelectrics]

Have you any certificates on pls work or have you been on any plc courses I would of thought that's what an employer would ask for good luck though

 

[babylonsBurning]

What maybe useful for you is an HNC in electronic/electrical engineering, not specifically for PLCs I know (although there was a module in this when i done it) but it definitely helps if you want to go down the commissioning route. I started off as a sparky but was working in an industrial engineering environment and felt that there was a lot of gaps in my knowledge. The HNC definitely helped with all aspects. They are available part time at most tech colleges. It certainly helped me with my career, dont think I would have worked as a commissioning engineer without it

 

[SirKit Breaker]

As above, go down the HNC route, you can get student loans for it as well, which is good as it costs about £5000 for the 2 year course.

As for working with PLC's, the best experience is hands on, as you have probably worked out for your self. I had some software that ran in MS word, and i could play about with it on my PC without doing any harm. When i did work with them i used to back up the programme, and then play about and alter things to see what happened in real life, but only on things that weren't in production, then i could reload the original programme when i had finished.

 

[Knobhead]

Experience is the key. Unfortunately it’s the chicken and egg situation.

If you enter in to an established company that is already using PLC’s or what ever, I’m sorry but you’re in at the deep end. Most companies will put you with an experienced guy for a while. If he’s any good he will take a back seat as soon as possible, just giving you hints when you’re going off course. The last one I was with took it to the extreme, he stayed in the mess room drinking tea while I was doing the blue arsed fly impression.

One of the most important things is to learn the process. As with any process the operator can be you’re best friend or sworn enemy. Those that will give the right information and those that want to sit on their arse while you flounder around.
To go in to industry now and PLC’s are a fact of life, how far you go with them is between you and the company. Some will have Fred in the office that does all modifications, others like the last one I worked for will give you more than enough rope to hang yourself.

 

[Smudge]

I agree with Tony. I haven't done a HNC, as i was advised that experience was more important. I work in a factory, and luckily, my boss (one time electrician), is showing me everything. Everything from minor alterations to the process, to fairly large scale process projects. I will hopefully one day get round to a HNC, but at present , my priority is to get experience. Again, luckily, my boss is good and paying me accordingly for the extra duties with the PLC and SCADA work i've taken on. The glass half empty people will say he is maybe doing that so i don't go for the relevant qualifications so therefore won't be appealable to other companies, but i'm fine with that for now.

Through my ramblings, my advice (in my opinion of course), would be try get yourself in with a brewery, dairy, bottling plant or something similar for electrical work and show a willingness to get involved that way. As wrong as it may be, when we receive CV's sent to us, it is more often than not the experience we look at rather than the qualifications.

 

[WaterSparky]

The way I'm getting into this sector, is that I'm currently doing an 3 year apprenticeship in Electrical/ICA so I'm mainly getting trained for dealing the instrument and control side of things also with the HNC in electrical engineering bolted on the end of it, it's really good and has been rather interesting for me. I work for a water company as well and they regularly advertise for Electrical/ICA maintenance roles! And take on experienced electrians but not as experienced ICA men. (Seems like not too many around) But I was lucky I got my apprenticeship when I was 19 so just managed to get funding! Hope you get in there!