Competency in Industrial Data Communications

Overview

Modern industrial control and information systems employ a proliferation of technologies, including various hardware standards and protocols. For many of the personnel working with these systems, the technologies are ‘plug and play’ and are just there to be used. The problems arise when decisions have to be made regarding the most suitable technologies for a given application, or when things go wrong, and troubleshooting has to be performed. Without a thorough grasp of the working of the technologies involved, and without the availability of (and the ability to use) suitable diagnostic tools, this becomes a formidable challenge.

The world of industrial communications abounds with three-letter acronyms, protocols, layered communication systems, fieldbuses, and device networks. There are numerous networking and industrial bus standards, synchronous and asynchronous protocols, baseband and broadband systems, bus and star topologies, connection-oriented, and connectionless protocols. In addition, there is a pronounced migration towards the use of Ethernet and TCP/IP.

This Competency in Industrial Data Communications  course from the Engineering Institute of Technology  demystifies the jargon and places the most popular systems, technologies, hardware standards, and protocols in an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) perspective. It explains how these technologies operate, and equips participants with the tools and skills to do basic hardware and protocol-related troubleshooting on both serial (RS-485) and Ethernet type networks.

Certification 

To obtain a certificate of completion for EIT’s Professional Certificate of Competency, students must achieve a 65% attendance rate at the live, online fortnightly webinars.  Detailed summaries/notes can be submitted in lieu of attendance.  In addition, students must obtain a mark of 60% in the set assignments which could take the form of written assignments and practical assignments. Students must also obtain a mark of 100% in quizzes.  If a student does not achieve the required score, they will be given an opportunity to resubmit the assignment to obtain the required score.