Mechanical Maintenance Skills

MECHANICAL MAINTENANCE SKILLS
COURSE 700: 4 DAYS
This course provides personnel with the necessary skills to perform mechanical maintenance, including the removal and replacement of equipment (pumps, gearboxes, motors and power transmission systems) and identification and rectification of bearing faults within these systems.
PARTICIPANTS
Designed to benefit anyone required to undertake mechanical maintenance on production/process equipment. This course is equally suitable for production operatives or for craft personnel already involved in maintenance activities.
COURSE PRESENTATION
The course format is very much 'hands-on' - the emphasis being on the development of sound practical skills within the context of safe working practices. COURSE OBJECTIVES
On completion of the course, participants will be able to

• apply safe working practices and understand the principles of preventative and first-line maintenance
• safely isolate mechanical systems when necessary to prevent danger
• correctly diagnose a range of mechanical faults and plan a suitable course of action
• understand the principles of power transmission systems; recognise, remove and refit taper-lock bushes, keyed shafts, belts, chains & couplings; install & align shafts; tension drive train components
• understand the function of lubricants and how to select correct lubricants for specific applications
• correctly remove and refit various types of bearings (roller, ball, etc) identify various bearing types, understand their typical applications & recognise common defects
• correctly remove and replace seals, gaskets and gland packing
• correctly use measuring equipment to identify different types of screw threads by means of outside diameter, inside diameter, thread form and pitch
• understand the operation of various pumps (positive displacement, centrifugal, hydraulic and air) and state typical faults and their symptoms
• understand the operation of various gearboxes, (helical, spur and worm-wheel) and state typical faults and their symptoms
• understand the operation of variable speed drives
• correctly dismantle and replace drive belts
• recognise various types of conveyor systems and their main components
• identify typical faults and correctly remove, replace and track a conveyor belt.

Successful completion of the course leads to the award of Amicus / Technical Training Solutions competence certificate 700: Mechanical Maintenance Skills.

This course is particularly suitable for our on-site consolidation scheme, which enables candidates to practice their newly acquired skills in the workplace. For more information on the scheme, please contact us. What do candidates on the Mechanical Maintenance Skills course actually do?
The mechanical maintenance skills course begins by providing the candidates with an understanding of fault diagnosis by analysing various symptoms. These symptoms include excessive heat, vibration, smell or changes in speed. The aim is to make the candidate aware of the possible outcomes if action is not taken once a fault has been discovered. Because safety is always of paramount importance within our training methods, candidates are taught to write their own method statements for working on moving machinery. The instructor works with the groups to ensure all instructions are clear, short, and safe.
Candidates are provided with comprehensive course notes, which include the important technical reference material
Throughout the course the technical instruction is interspersed with many practical exercises. The first of these is the manufacture of gaskets to fit between machined faces. Candidates are shown the various techniques and materials used to produce engineering seals within the workshop.
A wide range of bearings are provided along with suitable lubrication regimes.
Candidates will practice removal and refitting ball races using pullers and correct engineering procedures. With the emphasis on practical skills, candidates will use special rigs to practice the alignment of shafts, motors and pulleys. Because poor shaft alignment results in early bearing failure and cracked castings, candidates are taught to shim and align moving parts to a high accuracy using traditional engineering methods. Torque wrenches are used to tighten critical parts, as well as discovering what setting were used on existing component parts. The alignment rig incorporates a chain and sprocket drive, Vee belts and timing belts, all of which provide the candidate with an opportunity to practice the correct tensioning of the various drives.
Candidates practice adjusting the length of simplex and triplex chains by adding or removing links.
Wheels and pulleys are fitted to shafts using keyways, taper-lock bushes and flanges. The correct methods of removal and refitting are demonstrated and candidates practice these skills to gain sufficient understanding.
Candidates are given a range of industrial pumps and gearboxes to examine and repair once faults have been diagnosed.
These faults are introduced by the instructor so that a practical assessment can be made of the candidate's progress. Once these exercises have been completed, the candidate will replace and refit and re-track a conveyor belt. In order to do this, they have to complete a safe isolation procedure (for mechanical maintenance purposes), using the mult-function motor isolator, which simulates early-break or normal contacts.