Festo is a global leader in engineering and manufacturing, and prides itself on maintaining a team of expert trainers that serve its customers worldwide. Their diverse portfolio seamlessly integrates training courses with tailor-made assessments, e-learning modules, and hands-on learning systems. This holistic approach enhances the effectiveness of learning, optimises outcomes, and maximises knowledge transfer. At the heart of their training philosophy lies a simple yet profound benefit: equipping participants with more excellent knowledge, and an increased hands-on skill set. This, in turn, directly translates to increased productivity, energy efficiency, and reduced downtime. Festo’s comprehensive portfolio reflects its commitment to empowering industrial staff. These courses are meticulously designed to address the evolving needs of the industry, and equip learners with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in their roles.
Maru Etsane, Festo Industrial Workforce Development Coordinator, shares his knowledge and experiences, and further highlights customer testimonials from various industries.
“As we all might know, pneumatics lies at the heart of countless industrial applications, powering machinery and processes with precision and efficiency,” says Etsane. “Festo’s Pneumatics Level 2 course delves deeper into this vital aspect of industrial automation, focusing on fault finding, troubleshooting, and maintenance. During this course, participants learn to identify and rectify common pneumatic system issues, ensuring optimal performance, and minimising downtime. With hands-on training and practical insights, attendees acquire the skills to maintain pneumatic systems effectively, enhancing operational reliability and efficiency,” he added.
“We recently assisted a maintenance manager in the canning industry who identified that his team was taking too long to solve breakdowns due to varying levels of industry experience, and the absence of a standard process for resolving issues. We advised that he enrol his team in the Pneumatics Level 2 course, as we knew that this course would help the team adopt a standardised methodology for efficiently identifying and addressing production issues. This standard approach streamlined their troubleshooting process and significantly improved their overall performance, demonstrating the course’s value in real-world applications,” Etsane shared.
Hydraulics Level 2 (Advanced)
Festo’s Hydraulics Level 2 course delves into advanced hydraulic principles and applications, equipping participants with the expertise needed to design, troubleshoot, and maintain hydraulic systems effectively. Through hands-on exercises and theoretical instruction, attendees gain a comprehensive understanding of hydraulic components, control systems, and circuit design, empowering them to tackle complex challenges confidently.
Recently, a company that specialises in rail infrastructure registered their team for the Hydraulics Level 2 course, and their learning development manager had this to say: “I identified a significant skills gap in resolving hydraulic system issues, which extended beyond basic product training. Since hydraulics is a dangerous production technology, understanding how to identify and resolve issues is critical to employee safety and passenger security. Realising that my team’s basic hydraulic knowledge needed a significant boost for troubleshooting and resolving hydraulic breakdowns in production, I looked for training institutions that offer hydraulics training. Due to Festo offering the Hydraulics Level 2 course, providing the necessary advanced training to bridge this gap effectively, I registered them with this company for training.”
By enrolling in the Hydraulics Level 2 course, the team could train in a controlled environment, safely identifying faults and gaining practical experience. This advanced training provided the necessary skills to handle hydraulic systems efficiently, ensuring safety and improving maintenance practices. The course enabled the team to optimise system performance, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance operational reliability, driving productivity and efficiency across their operations.
Programmable Logic Controllers Introduction:
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are the backbone of modern industrial automation, orchestrating complex processes with precision and efficiency. The PLC Introduction course provides participants with a comprehensive overview of PLC hardware, programming languages, and application scenarios. Through practical exercises and interactive sessions, attendees learn to program, configure, and troubleshoot PLCs, gaining valuable insights into automation control strategies and implementation best practices.
“I registered my new apprentices for an introduction to the PLC course after realising my team’s limited scope of experience in programming industrial PLCs. Festo PLC training allowed the apprentices to learn about different PLCs, and the structure of programming and applications. Following this training, the apprentices can now implement their newly found skills to ensure automated production runs efficiently,” said the production manager of a 24-hour automated facility.
This is a valuable three-day course, and it is advisable that participants complete Pneumatics Level 1 before registering for this course.
Mechatronics
The automotive industry relies on competent mechatronic technicians to understand the different technologies at play in the production of automotive components. Mechatronics is relatively new in South Africa, and Festo is one of the few industrial automation companies that have expertise in mechatronics. For this reason, Festo has developed apprentice knowledge and practical mechatronics skills for various automotive companies.
“Mechatronics represents the seamless integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering principles, powering various automated systems and devices. The mechatronics course teaches participants how to plan, assemble, program, maintain, and troubleshoot production systems at various levels of complexity. This includes innovative technology and systematic use of industrial components from different market leaders in automation,” explained Etsane. He added that through hands-on projects and theoretical instructions, participants gain the interdisciplinary skills to assemble and test basic mechatronic circuits (pneumatics, electrical, and software). “Festo recommends that participants have a basic knowledge of PLCs (Introduction to PLC course) and pneumatic control technology (Pneumatics Level 1) to have a seamless learning experience during this course,” he concluded.
Festo offers industrial staff a pathway to excellence, empowering them to drive productivity, cost saving, and innovation in their respective fields. With hands-on training, expert instruction, and a cutting-edge curriculum, Festo ensures that participants emerge as skilled professionals, ready to tackle the challenges of modern industrial automation head on. Their industrial workforce development specialists provide training on site and at customer facilities all over South Africa. Festo has branches in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Invest in automation training today and unlock the full potential of your workforce and operations.
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