The International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) has recently upgraded its Electronic Controls Specialist Certification.

The ECS Certification is designed to review and test understanding, specification, and application of the full breadth of electronics used in the fluid power industry from simple sensors and limits to HMIs, controllers, and networks.

With support from the fluid power community, many companies and individuals spent countless hours researching, constructing, and financing the certification to reflect this technology. The development process included a rigorous psychometric evaluation and beta testing.

“The IFPS strives to keep pace with changing fluid power and motion control technologies and the development of the ECS certification is a prime example,” said Rance Herren, CFPECS, CFPSD, CFPMT and IFPS President. “Many companies and individuals have spent countless hours researching and constructing this certification to reflect the technologies that dominate the advanced control of fluid power in a wide variety of applications throughout industry.”

The newly revised accompanying study manual not only helps certification test preparation, it is also a stand-alone reference guide. It contains vital and practical information on best practices for anyone responsible for designing, analyzing, or selecting components for the electronic control of fluid power systems.

A few things included in the manual are:

• An overview of applicable pneumatic and hydraulic principles
• In-depth examples of electronics for mobile and industrial fluid power equipment
• Summarization of applicable pneumatic and hydraulic principles

Candidates may register for the Electronic Controls Specialist Certification test by visiting ifps.org . This Certification requires successful completion of a three-hour written test.