How Our Automation Training Boot Camp Transforms Our Engineers 

engineers reviewing documents on a computer

While the Marines require 13 weeks of rigorous basic training in Paris Island, and the Army and Navy demand 10 and 8 weeks respectively, E Tech Group offers 4 weeks of Automation Boot Camp to prepare our recruits to become the best of the best in automation engineering. 

We like to think our Automation Boot Camp is just as transformative for our recruits, but without the screaming in their face and the exhaustive overnight hikes through the desert. It also produces a more competent and more confident automation engineer or project manager ready to take on the Life Science Industry. 

A Control Systems Integrator Focused on Continued Education

For over 30 years now, we have refined and improved our automation training program into 26 online modules within the company portal. These modules are followed by both recent engineering graduates and experienced engineers learning the peculiarities of the Life Science Industry, and contain embedded quizzes that help them soak in the information.

The self-paced program includes topics like:

  • Biotech 101
  • Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
  • Good Documentation Practice (GDP)
  • The essence of FDA mandated Validation
  • Project management techniques 

The technical modules our new recruits will complete throughout the course of Automation Bootcamp include:

  • Electrical panel design
  • Networking
  • PLC programming
  • Operator Interface creation
  • S88 Batching standards 
  • E Tech Group’s complete library of pre-validated software modules and validation templates

This provides our new automation engineers and future project managers with well-rounded background information and template starting points that will ease life considerably once assigned to a project. Soft skills also include customer relations, team work communication, appropriate documentation of meetings, and the proper follow up of customer needs. 

Applied Life Sciences Automation Training: Bringing it Into the Real World

With the same urgency that the Marines require 3 weeks of intensive, real life target practice with an M16 rifle and live ammunition, E Tech Group provides each recruit with a real batching project with a live PLC (ControlLogix or Siemens S7) and Operator Interface (Wonderware, Factory Talk, WINCC, or Ignition). 

As a final hurdle, each recruit demonstrates the functionality of their system with a formal, documented Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) with a senior engineer playing the part of the customer signing off and approving each process test and procedure. 

Automation Bootcamp is a Pivotal Moment for E Tech Group Engineers

It is said that Marine Boot Camp transforms the individual, we have found that our automation and project management training for both new recruits and senior engineers looking to join the Life Science Industry transforms the engineer. The information-and-action-packed program offers new skills, knowledge and problem-solving skills vital to creating comprehensive building automation systems for Life Sciences clients.

E Tech Group’s Automation Bootcamp also certainly improves participants’ career prospects. It is a proven, tested system that provides an understanding of validated projects, professional project management, and produces more competent and confident automation engineers.  And it’s certainly more fun than getting shot at or hearing reveille blast at 4:00 AM each morning.  

We are committed to empowering the manufacturing industry to operate at its highest capacity. A leading control system integrator covering all of North America, an integral part of that commitment is encouraging our engineers and project managers to be the best they can be. Here’s what a couple E Tech Group team members had to say about their Automation Boot Camp experience:

“I have had a very positive experience with the training program. The first week or so consisted of a lot of basic but necessary information and online quizzes on company procedures as well as safety measures. For the following couple of weeks, I was tasked with completing a “training project”. I attended a project kickoff meeting where I was presented with information on the project and given some insight on how a typical kickoff meeting would be structured for a real project. I was encouraged to collaborate with my fellow trainees, and if I ever felt stuck to reach out to a Senior Engineer for guidance. I was making good progress on my training project, and once my supervisor had determined that I was ready they assigned me to a real project. Now, I have been assigned an internal project for Superior Controls developing control modules using Siemens TIA portal, and more recently I have been assisting with a project for [a client]. I believe the training has prepared me for the project work I have been tasked with so far and will continue to benefit me for projects I am assigned to in the future. “– Alex Patrick 

“The training program was fantastic. I was coming in with no experience with ladder logic or HMI design, but in just a few weeks I gained a basic understanding of VMs, networking, PLC coding, HMI design, electrical design, documentation, and project execution. Although most of the time spent on the project was individual work – which is probably the best way to learn these things – we (all the new engineers) were able to work through some parts together and bounce ideas off each other, and when we really couldn’t figure something out, the senior engineers at Seabrook and our GEMS were always just a Teams message away to give us some pointers. I still have much to learn, but after the training project I feel that I am familiar enough with these concepts to be able to do meaningful work for our customers. “– Benjamin Balian 

We’re Always Hiring Top Talent

The heart and soul of our organization is our people. We’re a team of mission-driven engineers with a passion for purposeful innovation and collaboration to solve complex real-world challenges for our clients. We are always looking for like-minded talent!