Gross Automation Academy

Danfoss drive & PLC enablement built for OEM engineering teams

Advance commissioning, programming, and lifecycle operations with labs led by senior electrical engineers who deploy VLT®, VACON®, and the new Danfoss PLC every week. Mix onsite bootcamps, regional labs, and live virtual coaching tailored to your production roadmap.

  • UL508A Lab Bays
  • IEC 61131-3 PLC Clinics
  • DrivePro Lifecycle Coaching
260+ OEM engineers certified
96% Lab satisfaction score
12 Regional training hubs

Program catalog for drives, PLCs, and lifecycle teams

Layer certification-grade content across core Danfoss technologies so application, controls, and service teams scale together.

Drives

VLT & VACON commissioning bootcamp

Two-day lab aligning parameter sets, harmonics studies, and DrivePro® tools for production start-ups.

  • Hands-on motor tuning with live load stands.
  • IEEE 519 compliance planning with filters and AFEs.
  • Alarm triage drills using DrivePro® Remote Monitoring.
PLC

Danfoss PLC application studio

Engineer reusable motion, safety, and analytics libraries adapted from Danfoss HVAC PLC templates for OEM machines.

  • IEC 61131-3 programming across ladder, ST, and function block.
  • Safety controller validation with STO/SIL workflows.
  • Secure remote diagnostics using MQTT and Danfoss dashboards.
Lifecycle

Drive lifecycle reliability workshop

Build sustainment roadmaps covering spares, analytics, and command center escalation aligned to your fleet KPIs.

  • Reliability-centered maintenance plans with Danfoss DrivePro® tiers.
  • Condition monitoring dashboards for vibration, thermal, and power quality trends.
  • Warranty, spares, and depot governance scorecards.
AI Enablement

Knowledge ops & copilot clinic

Operationalize Danfoss documentation, PLC code, and service logs into governed LLM copilots for field teams.

  • Data sanitization, redaction, and ingestion pipelines.
  • Prompt and guardrail design for troubleshooting scenarios.
  • Adoption metrics, feedback loops, and model refresh playbooks.

Upcoming sessions

Filter by format, region, track, or certification level to plan OEM team participation.

In-person lab

VLT AutomationDrive commissioning lab

Live start-up, parameter tuning, and harmonics mitigation exercises with UL508A panel bays and load stands.

Dates
June 12-13, 2024
Location
Gross Automation HQ · Germantown, WI
Prerequisites
Drive fundamentals or equivalent
Virtual webinar

VACON active front end design clinic

Model harmonic performance, mitigation options, and IEEE 519 compliance for conveyor and pumping systems.

Date
June 27, 2024
Format
Live stream with Q&A
Prerequisites
None
Regional lab

Danfoss PLC application studio

Program the new PLC with motion templates, safety routines, and OPC UA telemetry mapped to your machines.

Dates
July 17-18, 2024
Location
Atlanta Innovation Lab · Norcross, GA
Prerequisites
IEC 61131-3 familiarity
Virtual roundtable

DrivePro lifecycle strategy forum

Align operations leaders on spares staging, analytics dashboards, and SLA governance for OEM fleets.

Date
August 22, 2024
Audience
Operations & service leadership
Prerequisites
Lifecycle roadmap or DrivePro plan
Depot lab

Field service readiness bootcamp

Commissioning simulations, troubleshooting labs, and escalation drills for field technicians supporting Danfoss fleets.

Dates
September 10-11, 2024
Location
Toronto Command Center · Mississauga, ON
Prerequisites
Drive start-up experience
Virtual clinic

LLM knowledge ops accelerator

Design guardrails, ingestion pipelines, and feedback loops for Danfoss-focused copilots supporting technicians.

Date
September 26, 2024
Format
Interactive workshop
Prerequisites
Structured data and security policies

Certification roadmap

Progress through Gross Automation’s four-stage path to certify OEM teams on Danfoss drive and PLC deployments.

1

Foundation alignment

Virtual primers covering Danfoss architectures, safety concepts, and project readiness checklists.

  • Prerequisite modules with knowledge checks.
  • Baseline equipment profiles for your machines.
  • Kickoff call with Gross Automation engineers.
2

Applied labs

In-person commissioning, programming, and validation labs with lab reports and punch list tracking.

  • Hands-on VLT®/VACON® panel bays and PLC racks.
  • Joint FAT/SAT simulation with project deliverables.
  • Application scoring rubric for each participant.
3

Operational coaching

Lifecycle, analytics, and service clinics to embed DrivePro® playbooks, depot coordination, and escalation workflows.

  • Reliability dashboards and alert runbooks.
  • Depot staging, kitting, and spare governance plans.
  • Leadership reviews with KPI scorecards.
4

Certification & continuous enablement

Final capstone, credential issuance, and quarterly refresh coaching with new Danfoss releases and AI tooling.

  • Capstone presentation with OEM project metrics.
  • Certification exam and practical assessment.
  • Quarterly release briefings and refresher labs.

Hands-on labs & digital classrooms

Choose the setting that fits your team—Germantown HQ bays, regional depots, or always-on virtual classrooms.

HQ Lab

Germantown command center

Five UL508A bays with Danfoss drives up to 500 HP, PLC racks, and DrivePro® instrumentation for FAT/SAT simulations.

  • Load banks and harmonic analyzers for live testing.
  • DrivePro® Remote Monitoring dashboards.
  • Video capture and playback for remote participants.
Regional

Atlanta & Toronto depots

Mobility-focused labs replicating HVAC, water, and material handling cells with Danfoss PLC controls.

  • Industry-specific rigs and fault injection modules.
  • Joint workshops with Danfoss field application engineers.
  • Local spare staging and service rehearsal kits.
Virtual

Always-on digital classroom

Live-streamed labs, recorded walkthroughs, and remote sandboxes for teams who can’t travel but need certification.

  • Cloud PLC simulators and drive digital twins.
  • Interactive workbooks and assessments.
  • Office hours with Gross Automation trainers.

Meet the trainers

Senior Gross Automation engineers leading Danfoss drive, PLC, and AI enablement cohorts.

Lead controls engineer

Maya Chen

Commissioned 450+ VLT® AutomationDrive systems and architects DrivePro® monitoring deployments for OEM fleets.

Focus
Drives, harmonics, lifecycle analytics
Certifications
Danfoss DrivePro®, UL508A, IEEE 519
Principal automation engineer

Aaron Schultz

Leads Danfoss PLC migrations from HVAC templates into OEM platforms with IEC 61131-3 safety and motion packages.

Focus
PLC integration, safety, OT security
Certifications
Danfoss PLC, TÜV Functional Safety, CISSP
Lifecycle & AI strategist

Priya Desai

Builds DrivePro® sustainment programs and AI enablement copilots translating service data into governed playbooks.

Focus
Lifecycle strategy, AI enablement, depots
Certifications
Danfoss DrivePro®, PMP, AWS Machine Learning

Need bespoke content or a private cohort? Our team will scope custom labs at your facility or on our virtual platform.

Design a private program

On-demand resources

Keep teams learning between labs with recordings, templates, and calculators curated by our trainers.

VACON® harmonics mitigation toolkit

Download calculators, single-line diagrams, and commissioning checklists used in the active front end clinic.

Access toolkit

Danfoss PLC lab recordings

Stream module-by-module walkthroughs with project files covering motion, safety, and analytics templates.

View recordings

Drive lifecycle ROI workbook

Model maintenance savings, uptime gains, and energy KPIs to justify modernization or service investments.

Open workbook

AI copilot governance pack

Templates for prompt libraries, guardrail policies, and evaluation scorecards aligned to Danfoss assets.

Download pack
Ready for certification?

Book your Danfoss training roadmap

Share your production schedule and required competencies—we will tailor labs, virtual coaching, and AI enablement around your OEM launch.