In summary, you take the training from the comfort and convenience of your workplace or home. Over an eight-week period you are trained via our computer-based training product, assisted on-line by our expert instructors, and at the end you can optionally take the certification exam. You do not need to travel. You can learn at your own pace. You get help from our instructors.

You can learn much more at http://www.ilearninteractive.com/dl

If you have never trained yourself, then perhaps you feel that the only way to learn is in a classroom. But why don’t you give it a try? We are confident that you will succeed because:

1. Our narrated training makes the learning process easier and more enjoyable. Reading is tiring, and it is easy to lose track and lose focus (and interest). So each of our slides has just a small amount of information, and the text is read to you.

2. We use lots of animations, but we also use simulation programs. These are small programs that pop-up and require your interaction. They require you to turn and know, click a button, listen to a sound, or perform some other action. You will find that these programs make it far more enjoyable, and far easier to understand the topic.

3. We set weekly goals, and you have a personal trainer assigned to you to ensure that you stay on target. If you have other commitments and cannot perform the required training one week, that’s fine; it is easy to make it up the next week. But if it is motivation or discipline, your personal trainer will help you to get back on track.

4. We also provide activities (some in a game format) and quizzes which are not only enjoyable and challenging, they also help you to gauge your own progress.

One benefit of classroom training is the opportunity to speak with other budding vibration analysts – see if they are facing the same challenges as you, share experiences, and so on. In a distance learning class, you can do the same things, but you do them via our forum and via e-mail contact with your fellow students and instructor. We do encourage you to make contact with the other people in your class.

Of course, if you are willing to travel, you may consider visiting a maintenance conference to get the same experience. At a trade conference you will receive a far broader range of technical presentations; you will get the chance to learn about what’s new in the industry (new products and services); and you will get to meet other people just like you.

There is very little difference – except that we offer distance learning, with interactive training and demonstrator programs, with the assistance of expert trainers, for a lower cost. Like the Mobius Institute, Technical Associates has structured their training to comply with SNT-TC-1A:2001, and they have a Written Practice.

Technical Associates of Charlotte provides very good classroom courses and they can come to your site. They have very experienced instructors.

On a personal level, certification is simply a means to judge how well you understand the topics that you have been taught, and as a way to gain recognition for your hard work and experience. In addition to the signed certificate that you should proudly hang on your wall, we give you a silver lapel pin and keychain pendant. These two items show what level you have achieved, and should be worn and used with pride.

On a professional level, in some organizations and industries, certification can be a requirement of employment, and can lead to improved salary conditions. Managers prefer certified technicians/analysts because it offers certainty as to the knowledge gained. It also provides a growth path.

We will ship a CD containing the training material and a USB software security key (LPT keys/dongles are also available). The security key protects the license – so that only one person may use the system at a time.

If you order the certification option, you will also receive a Webcam (with a built-in microphone). The Webcam allows us to “monitor” the certification exam. We need to ensure that the correct person is sitting the exam, and that no assistance is being received. The Webcam is yours to keep.

The following is a table of the course prices, in US Dollars. (Shipping costs extra.)

Category I: $1450
 + Certification option: $250
 + Professional upgrade: $1395
 + Interpreter upgrade: $695

Category II: $1650
 + Certification option: $300
 + Professional upgrade: $1395
 + Interpreter upgrade: $695

Category III: $1850
 + Certification option: $350
 + Professional upgrade: $1395
 + Interpreter upgrade: $695


* Professional option: Adds all of the iLearnVibration [Professional] modules - normally $1795

* Interpreter option: Adds the iLearnVibration [Interpreter] analysis tool – normally $995.

As you may be aware, we have a vibration training product called iLearnVibration [Professional]. This product includes all of our training material (from beginning to advanced), the Reference Center, a library of fifty case histories, a “virtual test rig”, a machine modeler (drag and drop machine components to study forcing frequencies and vibration patterns), and a signal generator demonstrator program. This product normally sells for $1395.

When you sign-up for the Distance Learning course, you receive the training slides that you require for your course, and you receive the Reference Center. These resources are yours to keep. During the course you will have access to our various training tools and resources (including the case histories, machine modeler and other components, as required to complete the training and weekly activities), however once the course is complete, you will no longer have the freedom to use these resources. We have done this to reduce the cost of the courses. If you purchase the “Professional option”, you will receive the complete iLearnVibration [Professional] package.

iLearnVibration [Interpreter] is a special tool that provides direct analysis assistance. Even after all of your training you will still come across complex spectra that take time to analyze, and skill to interpret. You have to find the patterns, and then relate those patterns to the common fault conditions. iLearnVibration [Interpreter] will help you to perform this function.

When you have the spectrum on the screen, inside your normal vibration analysis software, you simply drag the hand icon from the toolbar to the spectrum. Interpreter reads the spectrum from the screen (it reads the pixels, not the database), finds the patterns, and then compares them to known patterns. You can optionally tell Interpreter a little about the machine (type, speed, transmission, etc.) and Interpreter will become more accurate. Interpreter is not an expert system, but it is a very helpful tool – it will reveal patterns and make suggestions that you may not have considered.

When you register for the course, the CD, security key, Webcam, will be shipped to you. The course begins on a specific date, however you can begin learning immediately.

Before you start we ask that you complete the “experience survey”, so that we know more about you, and your previous experience and training. We also ask that you sit a “pre-learning” test. The results of this test will tell us where you need most help. You will sit the same test at the end of the course so that we and you can measure the “knowledge gained”, and so that we can assess if you still have any weaknesses.

You will also be assigned to your “personal trainer.” Your personal trainer is an experienced vibration analyst and trainer. Your trainer will be there whenever you have questions during the course. We provide you with the ASAP software to enables you to “chat” and “meet” with your personal trainer.

You will also be put in contact with the other “students” on the course (unless you have requested anonymity). You can share questions and experiences with your fellow classmates.

We have used computer based training for a number of reasons:

1. It does not matter whether you have a dial-up connection or broadband, everything is instantaneous on the computer. When you are learning, the last thing you want is to have to wait while pages, animations, and narrations load (ours is the only course available with narrations anyway). We use large, detailed animations that would take a long time to load via the Internet.

2. We have developed over a dozen interactive programs that help you to better understand the world of vibration analysis, and to measure your progress, and to challenge you. Again, these programs are best delivered via computer based training.

3. You can take your lessons anywhere and any time, regardless of whether you have an Internet connection.

No, you do not. That is one of the benefits of the computer-based vibration training - everything happens instantly, and you can do it on a computer that does not have a connection.

Access to the instructors is achieved via the Internet, but a slow connection is fine.

If you will sit the certification exam, you will need a computer with an Internet connection; but a slow connection is fine.

When you read the course descriptions required for certification, both by ISO and ASNT, they cover the theory, and they cover the standard fault conditions, but they do not provide any way to teach/challenge the student with real world situations, or explain the field test procedures required to verify some of the fault conditions. And there is certainly no way to test your ability to actually solve machine faults as part of the certification process. The exams are all multiple choice questions with simplified spectra to review.

Unfortunately, conventional training and examination can be a better measure of a person’s ability to remember facts and figures, not their ability to be a vibration analyst.

So, we have created iLearnProblemSolving. This program combines the data from real case histories (and simpler data for the beginner) with a “challenge” mode that requires the budding analyst to make tough decisions about the field-tests to perform, and the corrective action to recommend. The more tests you perform (and information you gather), and any incorrect corrective action recommended will cost points.

The other point to make is that when you go to most courses, you walk away with a binder full of paper: slides, tech notes, etc. You do not have a resource that can help you to refresh your memory on specific topics; you have no way to re-take specific lessons – you really are on your own. So with each passing day, your ability to recognize and diagnose faults is diminished. With our training, you can retake any lesson, and use the system as a reference.

Yes, we have made a number of improvements.

1. Lesson plans have been developed that follow the ISO 18436.2 and the ASNT course structure.

2. Weekly plans have been added that describe what you should do each week. They include the training topics to be covered, and the activities that involve all of the demonstrator programs and challenges.

3. New quiz questions have been developed that help you and your instructor to monitor your program and prepare you for certification.

4. A number of new topics/lessons have been added that both enhance the product and meet the ISO and ASNT requirements

We have included a partial list of customers on our Web site. When you think about the major manufacturing, pulp and paper, mining, refining, transport, aerospace, military, and public utility organizations around the world, most of them will be iLearnVibration customers. A number of major universities and technical colleges use our product to teach their students – even commercial vibration training companies like SKF and Technical Associates of Charlotte use our product in their classes.

Our customers include: ABB, Siemens, General Motors, Ford, NASA, BHP, International Paper, Western Mining, Boeing, Penn State, Bayer, Merck, Eli Lilly, US Navy, Rockwell, Norske Skogg, Kellogg Brown & Root, York, Alcoa, Honeywell, General Mills, Daimler-Chrysler, Florida Power & Light, Westcoast Energy, GE, RR Donnelley, Duke Engineering, Nestle Purina, Miller Brewing, US Borax, DuPont, Georgia Pacific, Whirlpool, Abbott Laboratories, Framatome, Nissan, Fluor, Weyerhaueser, Monash University, Eastman Kodak, Nucor Steel, Rolls Royce and many, many more…

Follows ISO 18436.2:2002 Category I and ASNT SNT-TC-1A:2001 Level I

Individuals certified as Vibration Technicians Category I may be authorized by their employers to carry out single-channel machinery vibration measurements. They shall not be responsible for the choice of sensor, vibration analyzer or analysis method to be used, nor for the assessment of the test results. They shall be qualified to:

1. Operate portable data collectors and pre-assigned routes.

2. Acquire readings from permanently installed instrumentation.

3. Input results into a database and download routes from a computer.

4. Conduct testing under steady-state operating conditions following predefined procedures.

5. Recognize when no signal is present.

6. Compare overall or signal value vibration measurements against pre-established alert settings.

There is a detailed list of the topics covered in the “Course Description Matrix”.

There are no special requirements in order to be eligible for this course.

Course content is in accordance with American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) “Recommended Training for Level I Vibration Analysis” per ASNT SNT-TC-1A recommended practice and the applicable Mobius Institute written practice.

Follows ISO 18436.2:2002 Category II. This course is a prerequisite for ISO 18436.2:2002 Category III and ASNT SNT-TC-1A:2001 Level II.

Individuals certified as Vibration Analyst Category II are fully qualified personnel who may be authorized by their employers to perform and/or direct industrial machinery vibration measurements and vibration analysis for single-channel measurements, with or without phase trigger signals, according to established and recognized procedures. Personnel classified as Vibration Analyst Category II require all the knowledge and skills expected of Vibration Technician Category I and shall also be qualified to:

1. Select the appropriate machinery vibration measurement technique.

2. Setup instruments for basic resolution of amplitude, frequency and time.

3. Perform basic vibration analysis of machinery and components such as shafts, bearings, gears, fans, pumps, and motors using spectrum analysis.

4. Maintain a database of results and trends.

5. Perform basic (single-channel) impact tests to determine natural frequencies.

6. Classify, interpret and evaluate the test results (including acceptance tests) in accordance with applicable specifications and standards.

7. Recommend minor corrective actions.

8. Understand basic single-plane field balancing concepts, and

9. Be aware of some of the causes and effects of bad measurement data.

There is a detailed list of the topics covered in the “Course Description Matrix”.

There are no special requirements in order to be eligible for this course, although the “student should have some prior experience with vibration data collection and analysis.

As this course is a prerequisite for the Mobius Institute Vibration Analyst Category III course, the course content is in accordance with American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) “Recommended Training for Level II Vibration Analysis” per ASNT SNT-TC-1A recommended practice and the applicable Mobius Institute written practice.

Follows ISO 18436.2:2002 Category III and ASNT SNT-TC-1A:2001 Level II.

Individuals certified as Vibration Analyst III are fully qualified personnel who may be authorized by their employers to perform and/or direct industrial machinery vibration measurements and vibration analysis according to established and recognized procedures. Personnel classified as Vibration Analyst III require all the knowledge and skills expected of personnel classified as Vibration Analyst II and shall also be qualified to:

1. Select the appropriate machinery vibration analysis technique.

2. Specify the appropriate vibration instrumentation hardware and software for both portable and permanently installed systems.

3. Measure and perform diagnosis of single-channel frequency spectra, as well as time domain plots such as waveforms and orbits, under both steady-state and unsteady operation conditions, with or without a phase trigger.

4. Establish vibration monitoring programs, including determination of machines for periodic/continuous monitoring, frequency of testing, route plans.

5. Establish programs for the specification of vibration levels and acceptance criteria for new machinery.

6. Measure and analyze basic operating deflection shapes.

7. Understand and be able to direct the use of alternative condition monitoring technologies, such as acoustic emission, thermography, motor current and oil analysis.

8. Recommend field corrective actions, such as balancing, alignment and replacement of machine parts.

9. Use acceleration enveloping (demodulation).

10. Perform basic single-plane field balancing.

11. Report to management regarding program objectives, budgets, cost justification and personnel development.

12. Prepare reports for appropriate personnel on machine condition, recommend corrective action and report on the effectiveness of repairs.

13. Provide instructions and technical direction to vibration trainees.

There is a detailed list of the topics covered in the “Course Description Matrix”.

Participants for this course must have either successfully completed Mobius Institute Vibration Analyst Category II course, or an acceptable equivalent.

Course content is in accordance with American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) “Recommended Training for Level II Vibration Analysis” per ASNT SNT-TC-1A recommended practice and the applicable Mobius Institute written practice.