Engineering Homework Help

Write the thread

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

From the pro-tips document, choose 2-3 “nuggets” and expound upon how these can be useful in understanding the troubleshooting process.  Evaluate where these integrate into the troubleshooting models we examined in weeks three and four.  Add insight from your experience that enhances the importance of the chosen nuggets. 

The student will create a thread in response to the provided prompt in the Discussion. Each thread must demonstrate course-related knowledge. The thread must contain at least 500 words. For each thread, the student must support his/her assertions with at least two scholarly citations in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the most current sources you can find which likely means the Internet. Make sure to cite all facts in text.

Pro-Tips for Troubleshooting document

This list is a compilation of quotes and advice from various maintenance technicians who have graciously shared their experience. These lessons were learned through research, frustration, and even pain. The hope is that you will glean from other’s experiences and be able to apply their hard-earned knowledge to your own troubleshooting. At the end of this course, you will have a chance to add your experience to this list to help technicians.

1) KISS it – Keep It Simple Stupid. Often, we like to overcomplicate the simplest of tasks. Start with the simple and work your way towards the complex.

2) Don’t make things more complicated than they are. It is in our nature to complicate things—look at what Judaism did to God’s desires. Boil things down so that you can focus appropriately.

3) Know your systems. Are there schematics? Are there troubleshooting flow charts? What helps are already available to increase your efficiency?

4) Does the better you understand “normal”, help you recognize “abnormal”? There was a time in Venezuela when another mechanic calls me over to show me something he didn’t understand. Even though he didn’t understand, he knew it didn’t look right. That is an excellent starting place

5) Ask for help. Do not be afraid you don’t know something. 

6) If something that normally never breaks, or causes problems—yet now you find it broken—don’t just replace the part—ask yourself “why did this thing that never breaks break?”

7) If something’s loose that is not supposed to be loose—don’t just tighten it. Stop and ask yourself “why is this thing loose?”

8) A person will be hard pressed to do troubleshooting if they don’t approach it in a logical way, and don’t have good critical thinking skills. Some of this is innate and some is taught / learned.

9) Be willing to consider all the options. Think outside of the box. It is easy to have tunnel vision when you troubleshoot something.

10) When there are multiple things that could cause the problem start with the easiest and least invasive solutions first. Is it plugged in, did a circuit breaker pop, does it need restarting/rebooting, does it have fuel?

11) Do you understand the system. It’s very challenging to troubleshoot if you don’t know the how it works. Read to book/manual, study the subject, Google it, find a YouTube video of someone knowledgeable (filtering out bad info is another topic . . . ).

12) Ask for help. Who do you know that has expertise in this area? This could be a co-worker, an online site of the manufacturer, help desk, etc.

13) Know your strengths and weaknesses. It may be better to start fresh if you are fatigued. How do you perform under pressure?

14) What the most likely thing to fail? Figuring this out may take a combination of experience, common sense, asking somebody knowledgeable, checking the history of the problem, finding reliability ratings of the item.

15) Only change/adjust/replace one thing at a time. Avoid the shotgun approach where you change everything.

16) At times it is good to replace/repair things since you put a lot of time getting it open. This might be more applicable to repairs than troubleshooting. Is there future Mx that would require you to open this again in the near future?

17) Take photos to document problems and the disassembly process

18) Take the situation/scenario to extremes when you are learning something new or trying to figure out a cause/effect relationship 

19) Test everything you can before turning on the power or booting up a system (after a repair or the first time on a new system). This could prevent you from causing damage or repeating the original problem.

20) Sleep on it or take a break. Come back later. There is scientific proof that our minds are working on things as we sleep. Often, I will have some new, fresh ideas in the morning.

21) Use the internet to find help. In today’s age, know where to go. There are lots of helps out there from people who have had the same issue before.

22) Follow the manual. Modern aircraft have Fault Isolation Manuals…they are to help you.

23) Take notes and document the steps you took to rectify any issues. 

24) Admit when you don’t know. Be willing to research the issue, even if that takes more time. Systems knowledge is foundational to troubleshooting.

25) Ask what is working correctly. Identifying where the problem isn’t can help you find where it is.

26) Ask good questions. I’ve heard it said that there are no stupid questions, only stupid people. Be sure that you’ve done your research first before asking for help.

27) Consider environmental contributions to your fault. Could the fault be temperature, humidity, or altitude related? If so, how will you reproduce this issue on the ground? 

28) Compare with a known good component. If available, compare two aircraft and examine what is different between them.

29) There is more than one way to fry an egg. There’s no singular approach to solving every troubleshooting issue. It may be best to work backwards in the system (ground to power) one time, and to take another approach the next.

30) Have a plan before you start. Troubleshooting without a plan is inefficient. Knowing your system and approaching it logically will save everyone time and aviation monetary units (money). 

Read chapter 4 & 5

https://pdfroom.com/books/troubleshooting-a-technicians-guide-second-edition/8Pe5xr0ZgnN