Diploma course in feed milling technology

Goal and purpose of course

The Swiss Institute of Feed Technology offers high-level specialized training while minimizing the trainee‘s absence from their workplace. In two four-week intensive courses, professional employees from the feed manufacturing industry and related industries receive the necessary training and education. This practically oriented specialized training enables students to understand and to operate state-of-the-art production plants and processes. Experiments with or without material processing establish a direct link between theory and practice.

Course structure

Preparatory correspondence course

A preparatory course of two 12-weeks sections precedes each of the intensive courses and starts approx. three months in advance. It is designed to refresh existing basic knowledge and teaching new aspects. The weekly workload required for thorough familiarization with the course materials is about 10 hours, with the documents being mailed to you at the beginning of the preparatory courses. Students are committed to send part of their work according to a time schedule to the course-management.

The course program covers plant layout, the individual process sequences from reception of raw material to finished products, feed science and animal nutrition, and the fundamentals of electrical engineering and specialized mathematics.

The knowledge gained during the preparatory courses serves as a basis for the subsequent intensive courses.

Two four-week intensive courses

In the intensive courses, the students receive selective training in all important areas of modern feed manufacturing technology. The emphasis of training is on process technology and flow sheet design. The practical training offered in addition to theory enables students to understand the working principle of machinery, to discuss test results, and to familiarize themselves with modern laboratory methods.

The course program also includes electrical engineering, controls (PLC and relay systems) and automation. An overview is given of the wide variety of raw materials used in the feed manufacturing industry and their influence on animal nutrition. Also quality control and quality management will be an integral part of the course.

During the course, written examinations are held in order to measure the success of learning. Course participants successfully completing their studies, are awarded the „Diploma for Feed Production Engineer“.

Topics

• Basic concept of feed & premix manufacturing plants
  State of the art plant layouts. The main process stages and their equipment.
• Modern Process Technology
  From the reception of raw materials to the shipping of the finished products, with an emphasis on the handling and storage of bulk materials; aspiration, proportioning and weighing; size reduction, blending and mixing, and liquid addition; conditioning, hygienizing and compacting, as well as cooling and drying of compound feeds; machine and process control systems.
• Hands-on Training in the Training Center
  Knowledge of machinery; working principle of equipment; operation, maintenance and safety precautions.
• Hands-on Training in the Test Laboratory
  Practical tests, in grinding and mixing; conditioning, hygienizing and compacting.
• Electrical Engineering and Automation
  Basic knowledge of electrical engineering; starting procedures of electric motors; relay- and PLC-based control systems; process automation.
• Hands-on Training in the Electrical Engineering Laboratory
  Wiring and troubleshooting of relay racks, basics of PLC programming.
• Feed Science and Animal Nutrition
  Knowledge of raw materials, chemical composition of feeds and their conversion; least-cost formulation and quality management.
• Hands-on Training in the Chemical & Macro Laboratories
  Analysis of test results for determination of nutritional value and quality aspects.
• Applied Specialized Mathematics
  Formula conversion, calculation of surface areas and volumes, power transmission and technical calculations related to feed production.
• Field Trips, Plant Tours
• Visits of feed mills and related plants

Audience

Plant and Production Managers, active Operating, Service and Maintenance Staff.

Professionals with commercial or technical background in feed related industries, provided they have sufficient knowledge and/or practical experience in feed manufacturing.

Course dates

• Preparatory course
  January – March (correspondence base)
  June – September (correspondence base)
• Intensive course
  February – March
  September – October