Technical Training

Transportation Institute

General Information

What is the Institute?
The Transportation Institute is an outreach-training program designed to provide skill building repair seminars for trucks and heavy equipment. The program started as an MDOT program but has grown to serve MDOT, local municipalities, county garages, independent garages, and fleet operations.

What is Institute designed to do?
The Transportation Institute Seminars are designed to give theory and applications/skill building training in a variety of topic areas to mechanics, technicians, and supervisory personnel.

Why is it important to attend?
To upgrade skills and knowledge in a variety of topic areas.
To help prepare you for certification testing by obtaining knowledge in new areas as well as reviewing and perfecting current skills.

Who should attend?
Mechanics, Technicians, and Supervisors who need training or updating in the various areas of instruction.

Why is Ferris qualified to offer the Institute?
Field-tested instructors and modern up to date equipment in our labs allows us to keep programming up-to-date and applications based. Labs are equipped to give all participants hands on training.

Where are classes held?
Classes will be held in the Heavy Equipment Technology Center on the campus of Ferris State University, The address is 220 Sports Drive. Big Rapids, MI 49307

Who teaches the seminars?
Seminars are taught by hands-on oriented faculty members of Ferris who have practical work experience as well as teaching experience.

Special Notes for Participants:
Training for all workshops will be divided between classroom instruction, demonstration, and 'hands-on' lab exercises. Leather shoes / boots and safety glasses will be required during all demonstrations and exercises. Evaluations of workshop participants will be based upon a combination of written questions, night assignments, and performance of practical tasks.

Contact Information

Lodging Information

Transportation Institute Summer Workshop

(14hours) This seminar is designed to the basic theory of electricity and electronics as applied to the heavy equipment industry. Instruction will include use of instruments for measuring current, voltage, and resistance. Lab exercises will focus on calculating current draws, voltage drops, and resistances of series, parallel, and a combination of series and parallel circuits. Lab exercises will also include the construction and testing of series, parallel and series/parallel circuits. (Basic electronic systems)

TI-102 Electrical Circuits 2
(14 hours) This seminar is designed to teach participants to understand the relationship between voltage, amperage, and resistance. Instruction will include construction, testing, and troubleshooting of basic electrical circuits. Lab exercises will focus on the relationship of voltage, amperage, and resistance, along with diagnosing circuit conditions by interpreting voltage and voltage drop readings. Lab exercises will also focus on the construction, operation, diagnosing, and troubleshooting of cranking circuits and cranking circuit failures using up-to-date, hand-held and portable testing equipment.

TI-103 Electrical Circuits 3
(14 hours) This seminar is designed to teach the function and operation of charging circuits along with teaching participants to perform basic battery testing, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Instruction will include the testing and diagnosing of charging circuits that are used in a variety of diesel and gasoline powered vehicles. Lab exercises will focus on the disassembly of alternators, along with testing, troubleshooting, and diagnosing failures of charging circuits. Lab exercises will also include maintenance and charging, troubleshooting, and diagnosing failures of batteries used in the transportation industry.

TI-105 Air Conditioning Principles and Operation
(14 hours) This seminar is designed to teach air conditioning principles, and how to diagnose, troubleshoot, and properly maintain mobile AC systems. Seminar instruction will include AC systems using R-12 and 134a refrigerants. Instruction will also include the function, operation, diagnosing, and troubleshooting of the most common types of metering valves and control circuits used in today's mobile AC systems. Labs will focus on component identification and their function within the AC system. Labs will also focus on connecting and disconnecting of gauge sets, leak detection, refrigerant recovery and recycling, evacuation and dehydration, recharging, troubleshooting, and diagnosing failures of mobile AC systems. SE certification for refrigerant recovery and recycling will be available at participant's expense. ($28.00)

TI-106 Diesel Engine Operation & Tune-up
(14 hours) This seminar is designed to teach the principles of operation of the four-cycle diesel engine. Instruction will include the operation, tune-up procedures, and troubleshooting of electronic fuel injection systems used on the Cummins N14 (CELECT), and the Detroit Diesel Series 60 (DDECIII) diesel engines. Lab exercises will focus on the identification, location, and testing of electronically controlled diesel fuel system components. Lab exercises will also focus on the use of hand-held and laptop test units to troubleshoot and diagnose failures of electronic diesel fuel injection circuits.

TI-107 Fundamentals of Hydraulics
(14 hours) This seminar is designed to teach the theory and practical application of fluid power principles as applied to the heavy equipment industry. Instruction will include testing, diagnosing, and troubleshooting of mobile hydraulic systems and their components. Lab exercises will focus on reading and understanding hydraulic schematics and symbols, along with using pressure gauges and flow meters to test, troubleshoot, and diagnose failures of hydraulic systems.

TI-108 Electrical Power Generation I—Theory
(36 hrs.) This seminar will be principles orientated, focusing on the fundamentals of electrical circuits, single phase and three phase power. This seminar will consist of thirty-six hours of instruction and lab. It will be a prerequisite for the second electrical power generation seminar.

TI-109 Elec. Power Generation II—Application
(36 hrs.) This seminar will be application oriented, focusing on specific equipment and controls such as generators, electronic governors, voltage regulators, and automatic transfer switches. [INVALID]ed sections of the National Electric Code as it applies to generators will be covered. There will be thirty-six hours of instruction. Electrical Power Generation I is a required prerequisite for this seminar.

TI-110 Elec. Power Generation III— Controls
(36 hrs.) This seminar will be application oriented, building on the material learned in Electrical Power Generation I and II. Paralleling controls, Electrical Switchgear, and Multiple automatic transfer switches will be covered. The different uses for Generators like Hospitals, Peak shaving, Emergency Lighting and Cogeneration. There will be thirty-six hours of instruction and lab. Electrical Power Generation I & II are required prerequisite for this seminar.

TI-111 Basic Maintenance Welding
(16 hours) This seminar is designed to teach the theory and practical application of maintenance welding procedures. Emphasis will be placed on the theory, safety, and welding techniques required to make basic weld joints in multiple positions using oxy-acetylene, shielded metal arc, gas tungsten arc and gas metal arc welding. Lab exercises will focus on metal identification, joint preparation, oxy-acetylene cutting, and arc welding processes.

TI-211 Advanced Maintenance Welding
(16 hours) This seminar is designed to teach theory and practical application of advanced welding procedures. Emphasis is placed on the theory, basic metallurgy and out-of-position welding techniques of SMAW, GTAW, GMAW and FCAW on carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum and cast iron. A review of shop safety procedures and metal identification techniques will be included. Lab exercises will be focused on instructor demonstration of various welding processes, student hands-on material identification and student operation of various welding processes.