Vibration Institute

Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III

Credential: Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III  ANAB (ANSI) resource
Credentialing Agency: Vibration Institute

Renewal Period: 5 years

The Vibration Institute, Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III is an advanced intermediate-level credential for professionals who specialize in machine and equipment maintenance, troubleshooting, and engineering. Certified Vibration Analysts certified at the third level establish, direct, and perform programs for condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines including spectral, waveform, and orbit analysis. Category III Certified Vibration Analysts perform minor corrective actions involving operating deflection shapes, single-plane balancing, and diagnostic testing. Applicants for the Category III Certified Vibration Analyst must hold certification at category I and II, meet education, training and experience requirements and are also required to pass an exam.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Attainability:    medium

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

  • Credential Prerequisite: Certified Vibration Analyst - Category II
  • Experience: 36 months
  • Education: Associates
  • Training: 38 hours
  • Membership
  • Other
  • Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for a Service member to meet eligibility requirements. Requirements listed here are based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

  • Exam
  • Written Exam
  • Oral Exam
  • Practical Exam
  • Performance Assessment

Exam Administration (View Details)

  • In-person exam
  • Remote proctored on-line exam
  • Third-party test vendor

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 5 years

  • Continuing Education
  • Exam
  • Continuing Education OR Exam
  • Fee
  • Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

Vibration Institute

2625 Butterfield Road
Suite 128N
Oak Brook, Il  60523

Phone: (630) 654-2254

Fax: (630) 654-2271
Email: information@vi-institute.org

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Applicants are required to hold the Certified Vibration Analyst - Category II.

Completion of two or more years of study in mechanical technology or mechanical engineering is recommended for Category III and Category IV. Applicants for Category III and Category IV are expected to be able to manipulate simple algebraic equations, use a basic scientific calculator, and be computer literate.

Applicants are required to provide evidence of a minimum of 36 months of experience in the field of machinery condition monitoring and diagnostics and electrical and mechanical technologies.

Applicants for the Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III must provide evidence of meeting the Vibration Institute training criteria as follows:

  • Provided by a training body that conforms to the requirements of ISO 18436-3
  • Based on the Body of Knowledge for each category (these are vibration principles, data acquisition, signal processing, condition monitoring, fault analysis, corrective action, equipment knowledge, and acceptance testing)
  • Included formal lectures, demonstrations, trainer-specified practical exercises, and/or distance controlled self-study
  • Met or exceeded 38 hours.
Details about required training can be found in the Vibration Analyst Certification Handbook.

Written Exam

  • Vibration Principles
    • Spectrum analysis harmonics and sidebands
    • Basic Motion
    • Period, frequency
    • Amplitude (Peak, peal-to-peak, RMS)
    • Measurements (Displacement, velocity, acceleration)
    • Units, unit conversions
    • Orbital and Frequency Domains
    • Vectors, modulation
    • Phase
    • Natural frequency, resonance, critical speeds
    • Force, response, damping, stiffness
    • Instabilities, Non-linear Systems
    • Mode Shapes
  • Data Acquisition
    • Instrumentation (and acquire readings)
    • Dynamic Range
    • Transducers
    • Sensor mounting, mounted natural frequency
    • Fmax acquisition time
    • Proximity sensor conventions
    • Triggering
    • Test planning
    • Test procedures
    • Recognition of poor data
    • Vibration System Calibration
  • Signal Processing
    • RMS/Peak Detection
    • Analogue/Digital Conversion
    • Analogue and Digital; Sampling
    • FFT Computation
    • Windows (Uniform, Hanning, Flat-top)
    • Filters (Low pass, High Pass, Band Pass, Tracking)
    • Anti-aliasing
    • Band-width, Resolution
    • Noise Reduction
    • Averaging (Linear, Synchronous Time, Exponential)
    • Dynamic Range
    • Signal to Noise Ratio
    • Spectral Maps
    • Run-out Compensation
  • Condition Monitoring
    • Computer Database Set-up and Maintenance
    • Equipment Evaluation and Prioritization
    • CM Program Design
    • Alarm Set-up (Narrowband and Envelope)
    • Baseline Assessments, Trending
    • Route/Task Planning
    • Alternate Technologies (e.g. Oil Analysis, Wear Debris Analysis, Infrared Thermography, Motor Current Analysis, Acoustic Emission)
    • Alarm and Trip Level Determination
    • Procedure Writing (and methods of working)
    • CM Program Implementation and Management
    • Integrated Health Analysis
    • Prognostics
  • Fault Analysis
    • Time waveform analysis
    • Phase analysis
    • Transient analysis
    • Orbital analysis
    • Shaft center-line analysis
    • Enveloping
    • Mass unbalance
    • Misalignment
    • Mechanical looseness
    • Rubs, instabilities
    • Bearing defects (Rolling element, journal)
    • Electric motor defects
    • Flow induced vibration, aerodynamics and liquids
    • Gearbox analysis
    • Resonance and critical speeds
    • Turbomachinery
  • Corrective Action Recognition
    • Shaft Alignment
    • Concentricity
    • Balancing
    • Machine Part Replacement
    • Flow Control
    • Isolation and Damping
    • Resonance Control
    • Basic Maintenance Action
    • Lubrication
  • Equipment Knowledge
    • Electric motors, generators and drives
    • Pumps, fans
    • Steam turbines, gas turbines
    • Compressors
    • Reciprocating machinery
    • Rolling mills, paper machines, other process equipment
    • Machine tools
    • Structures, piping
    • Gearboxes
    • Rolling element bearings
    • Journal bearings
    • Gearing
    • Couplings, belts
  • Acceptance Testing
    • Specifications and standards
    • Acceptance Test Reporting
  • Equipment Testing and Diagnostics
    • Impact testing
    • Forced response testing
    • Transient analysis
    • Damping Evaluation
    • Operating Deflection Shapes
    • Modal Analysis
    • Torsional Vibration
    • Axial Vibration and Thrust
    • Process Safety
  • Reference Standards
    • Relevant International (ISO, IEC), National and Regional Standards
  • Reporting and Documentation
    • Machine History Records
    • Vibration Diagnostic Reports
    • Vibration Prognostic Reports
    • Failure Investigation Report
    • Decision Making and Recommend Action
  • Fault Severity Determination
    • Levels (Overall, Narrowband, Component)
    • Spectrum Analysis
    • Time Waveform and Orbit Analysis
    • Severity Charts, Graphs, Formula
  • Theoretical Rotor and Bearing Dynamics
    • Rotor Characteristics
    • Bearing Characteristics
    • Rotor Dynamic Computation (using approved procedures)
    • Rotor Dynamic Fault Modeling
  • Field Balancing
    • Single-plane
    • Two-plane
    • Multi-plane

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III examination:

An additional resource is O'Reilly Learning Safari Books Online, a searchable digital library that provides online access to thousands of books, training videos and conference sessions. See the Educational Resources section on the Related Sites page here on COOL to learn how to get free access.

Testing Information

  • Exam Administration

    Credential exams may be administered in-person at a testing site, proctored on-line remotely, or have options for both. If an exam is administered through a test vendor, the third-party test vendor box will be checked. The following test administration options apply to the Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III credential where checked:

    • In-person exam
    • Remote proctored on-line exam
    • Third-party test vendor

  • For more information on the Vibration Institute testing process, visit the agency website.

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III

Renewal Period: 5 years

The Certified Vibration Analyst - Category III credential has the following recertification information:

  • Certification as a Vibration Analyst - Category II  is valid for five (5) years from the date of current certification level. After five years, certified Vibration Analysts are required to recertify. Recertification requires earning 29 CEUs or taking the associated Vibration Analyst exam.
  • Note: Marine Corps COOL will only pay recertification fees for the current year, no arrears will be paid. Voucher requests for recertification fees must be submitted with proof of the current status of the certification (for example, a screen shot of your credentialing agency dashboard or a copy of a current fee receipt).

In Demand

This certification is considered in demand. The U.S. Department of Labor sponsored CareerOneStop's analysis indicates the certification is frequently mentioned in online job postings.

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Some

Credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (at least one critical task but less than 80%)

Most

Credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%)

Other

Credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will likely require additional education, training, or experience

CA Eligible

This certification is eligible for CA.

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Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted E1 through E4

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E5 through E6

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E7 through E9

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted “A” School through E5

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E6 through E7

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E8 through E9

Early Career

1-6 years experience; Officer O1 through O2

Mid Career

6-12 years experience; Officer O3 through O5

Late Career

12+ years experience; Officer O6 and Above

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Reimbursement for exam fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill.

Note: GI Bill approval data is updated quarterly. For the latest information, visit the WEAMS Licenses/Certifications Search page. Make sure to select "Both" in the LAC Category Type drop-down before searching.

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Low

May be difficult to attain: minimum education requirement is a Bachelor's degree, and/or minimum experience is 10 or more years.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

Medium

Moderate ease of attainment: minimum education requirement = Associate's and/or prerequisite and/or minimum experience = more than 2 years and less than 10 years of experience.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

High

Highly attainable: minimum education requirement = HS or less and/or minimum experience = 2 years or less experience and no additional requirements.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

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Updated: January 29, 2021
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