Where ControlsTrainer fits
Make the reasoning part of the training.
A technician needs to understand why a circuit behaves as it does, what a fault changes and what should happen next. Simulation gives you a way to work through those questions without operating production machinery.
Understand the circuit
Trace control wiring, inputs and outputs. Ask the learner to explain how a connection or logic change affects the machine.
Troubleshoot deliberately
Work from symptoms to possible causes. Have the learner explain what they would check and why, instead of guessing at a repair.
Check the restart
Explore stop, fault and recovery behavior. Ask what would happen when power returns or a start command remains active.
A practical example: “The motor stopped. What happens next?”
Use a motor-control exercise to discuss what stopped the motor, whether the circuit is still energized and what could make it run again. Then have a qualified supervisor connect that discussion to the actual equipment and procedures at your facility.
ControlsTrainer is the simulation part of this process. Workplace qualification, work authorization and equipment-specific safety procedures remain with the employer. See the training scope.
New-hire readiness
Identify skill gaps before assigning work.
Use role-specific knowledge assessments as one part of onboarding. Company managers choose relevant skill modules and issue a single-use access code. Candidates take the assessment on a computer, without an email login or a ControlsTrainer account.
Match the role
Select electrical, troubleshooting, pneumatic, PLC, HMI, drive or analog topics. Safety fundamentals are always included.
See where training is needed
Review scores by module, safety-critical missed answers, and related lessons. Keep the assessment record with the candidate’s name, position and session dates. If they are hired, link the original results to their employee account for later training reviews.
Confirm practical ability
Use the results to plan training and supervised hands-on verification before authorizing related work.
Available through an active company training license. This short knowledge screen does not certify competence, make hiring decisions, or establish a reduction in injuries or insurance premiums. Employers determine job requirements and verify practical skills using their own procedures.
Put it to work
Turn practice into a routine you can manage.
Start with one team and a relevant skill. Give the training an owner, a completion date and a follow-up activity.
Choose relevant lessons
Match exercises to the team’s work. Record who is participating, what they should learn and who will review it.
Review understanding
Use available progress and completion records to organize follow-up. Ask learners to explain their decisions and revisit difficult topics.
Document the follow-up
Have a qualified supervisor assess the relevant skills under your site’s procedures. Record remaining gaps and the next training action.
Measure the learning first: participation, lesson completion, the learner’s explanation and the supervisor’s practical assessment. Together, these show what was covered and what still needs work.
Insurance & training records
Show what your training program actually does.
For an employer or broker, the useful story is specific: who trained, what they practiced, how understanding was checked and what happened afterward.
ControlsTrainer can contribute the simulation practice and available training records. Your organization adds the job-specific assessment and follow-up. Bring that information to a discussion of your wider risk-management program, alongside maintenance, engineering controls and supervision.
Ask your broker: “Which training records and practical assessments would be useful to our carrier?” A premium reduction is not guaranteed; the carrier decides whether and how to consider the program.
A useful training record answers:
- Who participated, and when?
- Which lessons and skills were covered?
- What did the supervisor assess?
- What further training was assigned?
Combine available platform records with your own assessment notes. A completion record alone does not establish workplace competency.
Start with a focused team.
Tell us their roles and the controls skills you want to develop. We can help you identify relevant training to review with your training and safety leads.
Industry context
Why this deserves attention.
ControlsTrainer focuses on wiring, logic, troubleshooting and machine response. Start with equipment-related hazards: what can move, what stops it and what happens when power returns. The insurer data below show the cost of injuries involving equipment or objects; the other figures provide broader workplace context.
Injuries involving equipment or objects
Liberty Mutual links the caught-in category to moving or rotating machinery. Use that context to discuss machine motion, stopping behavior and energy isolation with your team.
United States · all industries · Liberty Mutual 2025 Workplace Safety Index (2022 data)
How this applies: Lesson 5 — Pneumatic Pick & Place Cell
Open Level 5: Pneumatic Pick & Place Cell. Before wiring or tubing work, the learner isolates, locks and tags the control-panel disconnect and the applicable air isolation points. They verify the electrical load-side and 24 V DC readings, dump the air supply, and bleed trapped cylinder chambers. The exercise checks individual gauges for 0 psi, then checks for pressure rebuilding after the bleeds close. The learner also supports the vertical axis and secures the part; zero air pressure does not remove gravity or spring energy. These actions connect the caught-in risk to controlling unexpected pneumatic movement. The exercise is a simulation, and the insurer category includes other equipment and objects.
Broader manufacturing and workplace context
These figures cover all causes. They explain the wider setting, not the share attributable to electrical controls.
332,600 manufacturing injury & illness cases
207,600 of these cases involved time away from work, restricted duties or a job transfer.
United States · private manufacturing · full year 2024
How this applies: Lesson 1 — Guided Motor Starter
Open Level 1: Guided Motor Starter. The learner commissions a transfer-pump starter: locks out and verifies the panel dead, lands the control wiring, restores power and programs the PLC. They operate Start, Stop, E-Stop and the overload to observe the circuit’s response. This gives manufacturing teams a specific exercise in tracing how wiring and logic affect motor operation. The national case count covers many other causes; it does not measure this lesson’s effect.
Fatal work injuries in manufacturing
Manufacturing fatalities declined in 2024, but hundreds of workers still died from work injuries.
United States · private manufacturing · annual counts
How this applies: Lessons 1 and 5 — Verify isolation, not just a stopped machine
Level 1: Guided Motor Starter requires simulated electrical lockout and voltage verification before wiring. Level 5: Pneumatic Pick & Place Cell adds a separate stored-energy problem: air can remain trapped after the supply is dumped. The learner verifies the relevant electrical readings and pressure gauges, supports the vertical axis and secures the part. Together, the lessons demonstrate why “stopped” does not mean isolated. Site-specific procedures and workplace qualification remain the employer’s responsibility.
Work injuries carry several kinds of cost
The cost of work injuries extends beyond medical care. These are selected national costs, not a forecast for your company.
United States · 2024 · selected societal cost components
How this applies: Lesson 2 — Troubleshooting
Open Level 2: Troubleshooting. The learner uses the simulated meter to diagnose a motor-control fault, isolates and locks out the panel, verifies zero energy with a live–dead–live meter check, replaces the failed component and restores operation. That sequence connects troubleshooting to a controlled repair instead of repeated guesses or unverified changes. A supervisor can review the diagnosis and repair steps with the learner. The national cost figures explain the wider consequences of injuries; the lesson does not calculate or guarantee savings.
These are national statistics across the populations identified in each chart. They are not results from ControlsTrainer users and do not establish an injury reduction or insurance saving from this platform. Sources checked October 2, 2026.
Sources
Reports behind the figures.
- BLS — Nonfatal injury and illness counts, 2024, Table 2
Manufacturing: 332,600 total recordable cases; 207,600 involving days away, restricted work or transfer. - BLS — Fatal work injuries by industry, 2023–2024
Private manufacturing: 391 fatalities in 2023 and 353 in 2024. - Liberty Mutual — 2025 Workplace Safety Index
Based on 2022 data: $2.2 billion for caught-in or compressed-by injuries and $5.8 billion for struck-by injuries involving equipment or objects. - National Safety Council — Work Injury Costs, 2024
Selected societal costs: $64.5 billion administrative, $54.9 billion wage and productivity losses, and $36.8 billion medical expenses.