KickingHorse Training Progression

This progression turns the KickingHorse drill set into a staged path for newer technicians. The intent is to make them reliable with complaint classification and stop-rule discipline before they handle mixed-process or plasma complaints independently.

Scope

Brand family covered: KickingHorse service drills built around MA200TS and P40
Training goal: build clean branch separation between support power, torch or feeder path, and internal repair thresholds
Starting assumption: the trainee already knows safe meter use and the difference between MIG, stick, TIG, and plasma complaint patterns

Progression Ladder

Stage	Drill	Why it comes here	Skills the trainee must demonstrate before advancing
1	P40 no-HF drill	narrower subsystem map and faster symptom-to-proof loop than the multiprocess unit	distinguish air-path, torch-stack, HF path, and support-voltage branches without skipping the obvious external causes
2	MA200TS feed-on-power-up drill	higher complexity because feeder behavior, panel state, trigger path, and mixed-process assumptions can all mislead the trainee	prove support power first, isolate feed-command path, use substitution logic correctly, and escalate internally only after external proofs are exhausted

Mastery Gates

Stage 1 Gate: P40

The trainee proves air, torch stack, and support-voltage condition before discussing internal HF parts.
The trainee uses the measurement card and local reference manifest in the correct order.
The trainee can explain the difference between no HF, weak HF, and air-with-no-cut complaints.

Stage 2 Gate: MA200TS

The trainee proves whether wire feed is being commanded incorrectly or being driven incorrectly.
The trainee strips the complaint down to local control and known-good external hardware before escalating.
The trainee can point to the exact stop rule where board-level access becomes justified.

Common Training Failure Patterns

assuming plasma no-cut always means failed HF or power board
skipping torch consumable and front-end confirmation on the P40
treating full-speed feed as proof of a bad motor board before trigger-path or control-path checks
opening the machine before proving package mismatch or external hardware condition

Recommended Training Flow

Start with the P40 drill in tabletop mode.
Repeat the P40 drill at the bench if the trainee still wants to jump directly to internal HF repair.
Move to the MA200TS drill only after the trainee can state a clean external-first proof path on the P40.
Use supervised live units only after the trainee passes both drills and keeps the document order stable without prompting.

Readiness Markers Before Live Customer Work

the trainee always names the complaint family first
the trainee can say which external assembly is easiest to prove or substitute next
the trainee uses the packet, router, and measurement references in a consistent order
the trainee stops at the correct escalation point instead of forcing an internal diagnosis