OK, a car mechanic, do you think they just specialize in the air or oil filter?  Of course not. What about the ignition system? NO - they understand how the whole car works. They understand and appreciate that not all problems can be tied down to one fault, there could be several reasons. So they need to understand the basics before they learn the specifics.

So it makes total sense to learn the basics, right?

Ask yourself this - "why do you have a compressed air dryer?" - if you answered - "to remove the water from the air" - you need to learn the basics.

Consider this, before a doctor gets to the stage of specialising in Cardiology or Dermatology, don't you think they need to understand the basics first?

How it all fits together, how one part can affect another, not directly connected part. It takes 6 years for a doctor to qualify at the basic level, before going on to do his/her specialised field.

We are not saying that drying compressed air is as complicated as the human body, far from it.

What we are saying, is that without the basics you will struggle to understand the impact and effect that each component has.

One of the most frequent statements I hear when I talk about training, particularly in the Middle East, is

"I just need to learn about the valves or the instrumentation". 

Another statement

I regularly hear,

again, generally

in the Middle East -

"We don't need classroom training, we need field training." 

Kind of makes sense if you think about it, that's where the dryers are, that's where you will have to operate the dryer, diagnose any problems, and maintain it. All in the field.

Well, the practicality is, generally the utilities areas, where the dryers are usually situated, are noisy, uncomfortable places. Not the best classroom environment in which to learn the basics and specifics of compressed air drying and dryers.

Apply some logic to this, and learn the theory in the most comfortable and learning-friendly environment possible, before heading out into the noisy, dusty, rainy noxious environment of a plant/refinery.

Our dryer training courses, usually structured specifically around the dryers you have on site, would normally include a 1/2 day period in the field. Where the students get to apply and ask questions in relation to what they have learnt in the classroom.