Way OT: Technicain Test Creation

It has been decided that we need more manpower here on the maintenance team and I have been tasked with doing the hiring.
I need some ideas, help and advice on making some tests for these positions to weed out the people that do not fit as I have spent the last 3 weeks interviewing people that HR sent me and was a complete waste of my time.
We have 3 positions on the maintenance team
Mechanic / Primarily mechanical and hydraulic skills with light electrical such as replacing a motor or a solenoid coil, etc.
Electrician / Primarily all electrical but not PLC’s , Drives or HMI’s but lite PLC experience is helpful
Electronic Tech / Primarily PLC’s, Drives and HMI systems and Heavy electrical skills.
I am thinking of making a test for each position that has 100 questions @ 1 point each or 50 questions @2 points each
I am also thinking of giving all 3 tests for each position just to see where people are but also depending on how they do on the skills test for the job of whigh they are going for.
What are some good filtering questions I can use to get a idea of a persons knowledge in this field?
What would be a good Hire / No Hire range for the grade on the test?

I have looked and purchased several systems but was not very impressed with the questions

I have to do this fast and I am really under the gun on this one.

I would very much appreciate Any Tips, Help ,Advice anyone is willing to give.

Absent you buying some 'pre-made' testing solution (which I'm sure are out there)

I am envisioning a big excel spreadsheet with multiple-choice questions where the candidate fills in teh answer with a pen or pencil. Google "Scan-tron" if you arent old enough to remember this

Not sure if you could automate the grading process (other than a punch-card-like overlay) but the multiple choice .xls would make editing and printing pretty easy.

-John

Skills are necessary, but, over the years of hiring people, I found that attitude is a major player. The new hire must be able to interact well with you and the people they will be working with. Anything less will do more harm than benefit.

jrwb4gbm said:

Skills are necessary, but, over the years of hiring people, I found that attitude is a major player. The new hire must be able to interact well with you and the people they will be working with. Anything less will do more harm than benefit.

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I fully agree and the attitude and personality is a big part of what we are looking for but we also need people that can hit the ground running so to speak.

In the last 3 weeks we had many people with phenominal resumes but when you start asking things they should know for the position and I mean very basic things most were lost.

I know there is a certain amount of training that goes with any new hire. But I don't have time to teach supposed to be vet electricains how to bend conduit and size a fuse.

We have interviewed electronics techs with tons of AB experience from there resume and can't setup a DF1 driver or force a output in logix 500.

Thats what I am trying to filter. HR can administer and grade the test so that when I take my very very valuable time around here to interview someone that person is worth spending the time to interview.

The current process just is not working.

Throw a few relays, push buttons, a battery, and lights on a table, tell them to wire up a latching circuit to turn on the light and reset it.

Just my two cents here. 50 questions is a bit much for pre-interview. I've taken those tests in the past on previous jobs and they don't do any better to weed out poor performers than the 10 question test I answered at one place that had real world questions along with a mis-wired starter circuit that I had to troubleshoot with a multimeter.

Another good thing to do is have the candidate fill out a short questionnaire (half a dozen questions or less) on what products they supposedly have experience with. If the person can't talk competently about products they have used or been troubleshooting, it's not a good sign.

I think combining the tests are a good idea. I do think that 300 questions would be a bit much. I think 100 questions is a bit much. The test shouldn't require the qualified person to take more than 20 minutes to complete. Plus someone will have to grade those tests.

Also, I would not have HR review the tests. I would have HR forward the tests and that person's resume to you for review.


As for questions, ask what you expect a person entering to know. What would you expect a person to be able to do the first day on the job? I also would not make my questions multiple choice. I would make them answerable in either a sentence or a word. The reason for this is you can tell if a person has an idea of what they are talking about but do not know the exact correct answer or if someone is totally clueless. Multiple Choice gives to much opertunity to guess. Some basic math questions are never a bad idea either.

Clay B. said:

As for questions, ask what you expect a person entering to know. What would you expect a person to be able to do the first day on the job? I also would not make my questions multiple choice. I would make them answerable in either a sentence or a word. The reason for this is you can tell if a person has an idea of what they are talking about but do not know the exact correct answer or if someone is totally clueless. Multiple Choice gives to much opertunity to guess. Some basic math questions are never a bad idea either.

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Where I need help is getting questions that a trainable person should know. I am afraid if I go on what I think a person of that level should know then I may weed out some good people that are trainable and would be a good fit.

Learning this buisness has been very easy for me because I learn most anything very easily. If you count the time I spent as a kid carrying conduit on a jobsite for my grandpa during the summer break then I have been doing this stuff about 10 years but in a plant enviroment about 4 years. I think I am somewhat well rounded for the amount of time I have been doing it.

All I am trying to say in short is it's hard for me to tell what level of knowledge a person should have based on their years of experience because my years are not that long and my experience is very unique.

This is where I need help from more experienced people and I really have no one here that can help me with this in a specific fashion.

How about these? Or too simple?


Q1
Name two ways of operation for an electrical timer.
Q2
What is the difference between a bearing and a bushing.
Q3
Draw a sealing-in circuit using one relay, one contact and one pushbutton.
Q4
Increasing the size of a drive sprocket while keeping the driven one the same will ______________ the speed of the driven sprocket. (Increase, Decrease, Not change)
Q5
What color is "HOT" in household wiring.
Q6
What is a grease nipple?
Q7
What is three phase power?
Q8
A gearbox will _____________ speed, while ________________ torque.
(Increase, Decrease, Not Change)
Q9
What is the difference between a circuit breaker and a fuse.
Q10
Name these hand tools

_______ _______ ________ _______ _______
(Show simple pictures of handtools here, 5 or so)

Where I need help is getting questions that a trainable person should know. I am afraid if I go on what I think a person of that level should know then I may weed out some good people that are trainable and would be a good fit.

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That is one of the reasons I avoid multiple choice tests. Something as simple as a question that says "Draw a motor starter circuit" can speak volumes about a person.

Also, whatever questions you ask, need to be questions you understand completely. Like I said, pictue what you want these persons to be able to do when they hit the floor. Like you just sadi you want them to be able to size fuses. Ask if you have a 20 amp circuit what size fuse, what size wire. How many conductors can you fit into a 3/4" pipe..etc etc

Mech guy... draw series of interlocking gears and ask him if the first gear is turning clockwise what direction is the last gear turning. Ask which is larger 5/8" or 3/4".

Electrical basic knowledge: Ohm's law, reading electrical drawing, use lookup charts for wire, fuses etc.

PLC Tech: same as electrical plus basic PC skills and ability to read program (he should be able to look at the code and tell you what it does)

Mech Tech: Lefty loosy Right tighty, read a ruler, understand basic pnumatic drawings and hydraulic if that is used at your place.

Another thing I like to do is put all the answers on the test. IE like I would put draw a starter circuit and a few questions later I would say convert this start circuit into a ladder diagram.

I do this because I am looking for clever not an encylopida. I want someone resourceful who can think on their feet. If they can do that and are not a total a-hole then I can use them.

Andy6 is on the right track. It isn't program technique that is usually the hurdle, it is basics. I'd throw in a couple of unit conversions, like inches per second to feet per minute. I'd also add some safety stuff about lock out/tag out. Also something on comms - is RS232 a protocol, what is Modbus, etc.

Andy6 said:

How about these? Or too simple?


Q1
Name two ways of operation for an electrical timer.
Q2
What is the difference between a bearing and a bushing.
Q3
Draw a sealing-in circuit using one relay, one contact and one pushbutton.
Q4
Increasing the size of a drive sprocket while keeping the driven one the same will ______________ the speed of the driven sprocket. (Increase, Decrease, Not change)
Q5
What color is "HOT" in household wiring.
Q6
What is a grease nipple?
Q7
What is three phase power?
Q8
A gearbox will _____________ speed, while ________________ torque.
(Increase, Decrease, Not Change)
Q9
What is the difference between a circuit breaker and a fuse.
Q10
Name these hand tools

_______ _______ ________ _______ _______
(Show simple pictures of handtools here, 5 or so)

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As Tom said, these are right on track for a maintenance position.

Hey Kid, send me a PM with your email, I got a good test but is too big to be sent this way

widelto

I just sent you a PM.

That test would be a great help and starting point.

Thanks for the offer.

I think that you have to be real careful handing off a test and answers to HR. For one with a fill in the blank type question or open ended questions you have to make sure that HR knows all possible correct answers. A candidate could give an answer that while not the one you are looking for is correct. Writing good test questions (and answers) is not easy.


Another thing is that I think that a person who is 'trainable' is one that will know when to ask questions if they don't know the answer instead of guessing. I'd much rather have someone that will admit they don't know everything.


Lastly, I know some really smart people that just don't do tests well. Also, most tests I've been subjected to have dealt with theory instead of practical experience. I would be more concerned with whether someone could use the five hand tools pictured than know their names.


I hate to say it, but I don't think you can dump this back on to HR. They don't seem to be able to weed out the candidates for you. Which means you might have to get more involved and review the resumes yourself. To be perfectly blunt, I don't see how your time could be more valuable than to make sure you hire competent help.