Dan’s right:
what do we want them to know or be able to do when they come thru the door
you can’t write the test until you’ve nailed down exactly what skills you need ... the two that I’ve written for local plants were both “practical” hands on ... naturally I can’t post the specifics - these tests are still being used ...
basically they put the applicant in a room with a random stack of PLC hardware and some spare buttons, lamps and wires ... also a computer with the appropriate version of RSLogix and the necessary cables ... books with wiring diagrams for the modules, etc. are also available ... the test instructions are along the lines of: “hook up a start and stop button and make these two lamps go off and on” ... like I said, I can’t be too specific but that’s basically part one ...
for part two, the test moves on to basic analog ... something like: “hook up this potentiometer to provide a 4 to 20 milliamp signal ... bring the input signal into the processor - and then send a 4 to 20 milliamp output signal to this little meter ... call us when you’re done ...
there’s at least one major downside to this purely practical “hands-on” testing approach ... the applicant either sinks or swims ... there’s no really good way to give a 75% or 85% grade ... this was fine for the companies that I wrote the tests for ... they were sick and tired of hiring people who could pass a “paper” test - but then couldn’t do the “real world” job ... this might not be ok with your company ... in some locations, you have to hire the “best” you can get - and then try to bring them up to speed ... a lot depends on your local job market ...
you might want to keep in mind some things that my customers demanded (right or wrong is not for me to decide) ... the tests that I wrote had to be “culture neutral” so that ANYone who really KNOWS what they’re doing will be able to handle the test conditions ... you can (or so I’ve been told) run into legal problems with written tests that tend to favor one particular group of people (say native English speakers) over other cultural groups ... that’s not my department - I only deal with the PLC end of things ... still you might want to get your plant’s human resources people involved in this testing project from the beginning ... there are reportedly some things that you CAN - and can NOT - legally do in this testing area ...
along the same lines: I’ve heard of other companies going another route ... they hire all of their new technicians through a temporary employment agency ... the temp service does the initial screening based on specifications from the plant ... the “new hires” work in a day-by-day “trial” capacity - and deal strictly with the temp agency for their wages, insurance, etc. ... if things work out, the plant gives the workers an offer of permanent employment ... if not, the company just tells the temp agency “send us somebody besides Goofus next week” ... like I said, I’ve only heard rumors of this approach so I personally don’t know of any “success or failure” stories to give you ... the guy that mentioned it to me said it was an effort to prevent hiring someone who “tested well” - but then couldn’t handle the real-life conditions on the shop floor ... many large (read “deep pocket”) plants are reluctant to hire - and then have to fire - people because of law suits for “wrongful termination” and other lawyer jive like that ...