TO: All fluid power institutions, instructors, trainers, and consultants. FROM: The Fluid Power Safety Institute™. SUBJECT: Fluid power maintenance personnel have been left to learn how to service, repair, maintain and troubleshoot fluid power systems by trial-and-error. The time for change is now! What's the problem? Re-bar is a steel bar or rod that is used to reinforce concrete. Regardless of how much concrete one pours into a foundation, its ultimate strength, durability and longevity lies in one critical ingredient - the re-bar! No structure of any significance is ever built without it! Pioneers like Blaise Pascal, Joseph Brahma, Archimedes, et al, in many respects lay the foundation for what has become one of the mightiest "structures" ever built; the giant fluid power industry. However, while the fluid power industry benefited immensely from the collective efforts and accomplishments of these fine gentlemen, one critical ingredient was neglected in the building of the foundation upon which this giant industry was built - safety! And let's not forget that safety is the "re-bar" of any industry! The net result! The fluid power industry can be looked upon as a giant structure with a hint of re-bar, but certainly not enough to give it everlasting strength and durability. Thus, the fluid power industry has evolved into the only major industry that is, for the most part: 1. Without safety rules and regulations. 2. Without defined safety standards. 3. Without defined test standards. 4. Is not a defined occupational hazard. 5. Is not accountable to OSHA or MSHA - in fact, it is accountable to no-one! 6. Employs uncertified instructors, maintenance personnel, engineers, salespersons, technical writers, safety inspectors, etc. The fallout from this oversight has left a gaping hole in the safety net of almost every entity involved with fluid power, especially in the maintenance arena! The past, and current, generations of fluid power maintenance personnel have been left to learn how to service, repair, maintain and troubleshoot fluid power systems by trial-and-error. The vast majority haven't even had the opportunity to attend the most basic of training, and the argument that anybody cares, will not hold water! The test procedures that these poor individuals have composed by trail-and-error, are, for the most part, downright hazardous, and generally lack merit and credibility. The information they do receive from sources such as service manuals and factory service personnel is generally written or voiced by people who have little or no technical background in their subject. To add fuel to the fire, the people who edit the service and repair manuals are themselves, invariably untrained. The problem is serious, and the time to fix it is now! What role have technical schools and colleges played in creating this problem? While it would be unfair to lay all the blame on the shoulders of our educational institutions, they are either directly or indirectly to blame for many of the problems. Here is a list of the problems that we at the FPSI™ have identified: 1. Technical schools and colleges, generally speaking, do not have a universal, defined fluid power curriculum. Thus, the level of knowledge students have varies vastly from one student or college, to another. 2. The classrooms in the majority of technical schools and colleges do not have standardized teaching aids. Colleges in the centers of commerce seem to have state-of-the-art teaching aids, while as the distance grows from these centers and spreads to rural areas, the furnishings in the classrooms seem to diminish. 3. There is no universal, standardized certification program in place for fluid power instructors. Thus, many of the instructors in our technical schools and colleges are not suitably qualified, or competent, to teach fluid power. The knowledge a student gains in his or her field of endeavor is largely commensurate with the knowledge of the instructor. 4. There is no central organization that edits and evaluates the books and manuals that find their way into the classrooms. The net result: in many cases, especially with respect to troubleshooting, students are learning hazardous procedures. 5. Students, who graduate from our schools and colleges as maintenance professionals or technicians, are generally not able to: a. Work safely, or promote safety in the workplace. b. Troubleshoot ALL fluid power components safely and effectively. c. Implement a first-class proactive maintenance program for a fluid power system. d. Perform an adequate lockout on a hydraulic machine in accordance with OSHA's standard 3120 "Control of Hazardous Energy." e. Identify potential safety hazards, and correct them. f. Apply theory to actual machinery. g. Read and draw a fluid power schematic. h. Write basic repair and troubleshooting procedures. i. Adjust and set all pressure control valves. These skills are the very least a competent maintenance professional should have. Besides, why are we taking their hard-earned money if we are not giving them the product they purchased? 6. Students graduating from our technical schools and colleges have to pay additional money to get "certified" under the umbrella of an independent organization. However, while they are duly certified, they are still unable to perform the majority of aforementioned tasks (listed under item 5)! What can the technical schools and colleges do to right this wrong? We at the FPSI™, would like to offer the following proposals: First, you need to face the fact that there is a problem, and you have to be prepared to do something about it. Next, you must realize that you did not create the problem, the industry did. Also, you must understand that it took years of neglect to create the problem, therefore, it is going to take time to fix it. While we must not give up on the current generation of maintenance technicians, we must focus our efforts and energy on future generations. Almost every industry needs safety conscious, exceptionally well-trained fluid power technicians, and it is the responsibility of our schools and colleges to fill this need, and do it well! We must act swiftly to change the current image of the industry and encourage high school and college graduates to make a career in fluid power. The critical maintenance jobs have gained the reputation of being associated with dirt, oil, and grime, rather than one of sophistication, leading-edge technology, and pride. You, the mentors, have the power to initiate this change, and you must begin now! We at the FPSI™ have a deep sense of the problems you are facing! 1. You generally have extremely poorly funded budgets. Which means you have old, dilapidated simulators and models. You also spend endless hours generating handouts, and looking for new and exciting projects for your students. 2. Your students are learning, or attempting to learn, with the aid of retired military equipment. You probably have an old rusty Allis Chalmers tractor out the back that most of the bolts are stripped on because the students have turned them in and out so many times over the years. Every so often you make a run past all the local rebuild shops to collect their old parts and pieces, the ones that were so badly damaged that they were too expensive to repair. You figured that if you got enough of them you will eventually have sufficient parts to build a complete unit. 3. The text books you use are written by manufacturers because their marketing departments were clever enough to realize that if they flooded our technical schools and colleges with their literature, the students would become biased, and later on in life they would purchase their products. The "troubleshooting" books you have probably show that to "test" the majority of fluid power components it is necessary to "blast" the oil into the atmosphere!" 4. Many of your classrooms look like a booth at a convention center promoting a manufacturer's products, because that was part of the agreement to get the complimentary stuff! How can one expect you to be motivated and proud to do your job when you have to beg and plead for almost everything you need to do your job with enthusiasm and pride. In addition, how are we going to get our sons and daughters to embrace an industry that is broken at its roots - in the classroom! We at the FPSI™ want to be your partners in this endeavor! Let's face it, there is an immense problem that, if left untamed, can only get worse. There is talk that if we don't do something about this problem, we will be importing technicians into our nation. If this ever occurs, it will be because industry and schools alike failed to exploit the talent that lies within our borders. Our schools and colleges MUST lead the charge for change. You are the institutions that have the power to breathe a new sense of safety and pride into the industry. You are the ones who can make or break the next generation of fluid power professional, regardless of his or her field of endeavor. In fact, the wheels are already in motion - let's hit the ground running! This is what the FPSI™ has done to help you - so far! 1. We have painstakingly designed a series of superb simulators designed exclusively for technical colleges. These simulators will brighten up any classroom! You will be proud to have them as a teaching aid, and the students will be proud, excited, and enthusiastic to learn on them. Here is a list of the simulators the FPSI™ currently has designed for you: a. A generic "mainframe" simulator that has all the basic components needed to teach; safety; basic fluid power principles and laws; how components work and interact; how to set and adjustment components; how to read schematics; safe troubleshooting skills; and, much more! An outstanding student workbook accompanies this simulator. b. A cavitation simulator that demonstrates, with transparent lines and tank, normal inlet restriction, abnormal high and abnormal low - students can actually see into the liquid and learn how and why cavitation occurs!  An outstanding student workbook accompanies this simulator. c. Generic pressure/leak simulator that will help students learn how to troubleshoot pressure control valves, directional control valves, cartridge valves, and check valves safely and effectively.  An outstanding textbook accompanies this simulator. d. Generic closed-loop (hydrostatic) simulator that will help students understand how a closed-loop circuit operates by actually seeing it work.  An outstanding manual covers this simulator. e. Generic pressure-compensated, and load-sensing simulator that will help students understand how this seemingly complex system works. This simulator interacts with the mainframe simulator. An outstanding manual accompanies this simulator. We are going to offer these simulators to you in various packages, so you can afford them: Package 1 - We will attempt to get as many schools and colleges together to combine one large order so we can build for the lowest cost. We will pass the savings on to you. Package 2 - We will break the simulators down into parts so you and the students can build them - you will benefit from the labor savings! Package 3 - We will lease them to you with a purchase option. Package 4 - We will help you get funds from your local or state governments, or local manufacturers, to purchase the simulators. Package 5 - In the cases where there are simply no funds at all, we will donate a simulator to your school (must qualify). To save you additional funds, we will construct a set of reusable shipping crates. Once you have received the simulators, we will ask that you return the shipping crates for recycling. 2. We have prepared a set of CD's (PowerPoint) that cover all the topics students need to know. We will pass these along to technical schools and colleges at an extremely reasonable cost. 3. We have prepared a full set of generic work books and handouts for you and the students so you can spend time in front of the class, not the copier! 4. We will give schools and colleges a license to photocopy the student workbooks and student manuals. 5. We have written college-level generic manuals for the following topics: a) Safety. b) Symbols. c) Closed-loop (hydrostatics). d) Filtration. e) Load-sensing. f) Troubleshooting. 6. For larger quantities of these manuals, we will private label them for you. However, all schools and colleges will qualify for an attractive discount price. 7. We have designed a certification course for instructors. Any college that seeks the assistance of the FPSI™ is required to have their instructor(s) attend our certification course. These courses are designed to help you teach "safety-based" hydraulics, and to achieve the maximum benefit from the simulators. NOTE: You do not have to purchase the FPSI™ simulators in order to attend these certification workshops. All instructors are welcome. 8. We will prepare monthly safety bulletins for instructors to share with their students. 9. If instructors have an annual convention, Rory McLaren will donate his time to speak about fluid power safety. In addition, Rory will be willing to talk to students at graduation ceremonies. Conclusion - We at the FPSI™ are standing at the ready to go into action. We have done our part in identifying the problem, and offering a solution. Now it's time for you to do yours - are you up to the challenge? Yes, we agree that there is a problem, and we need help. Please send us details. NOTE: This offer is valid for government and state funded institutions only. We will however, be ready to help any institution that is interested in advancing safety and education in the fluid power industry.