Master Curriculum Map
A complete, guided path from "never touched a controller" to controls developer — plus specialty tracks for engineering, sales, project management, and security. Built brand-agnostic, grounded in real-world field practice.
Three principles behind every course
1. Brand-agnostic core. The 100–400 series teach concepts that transfer across any system — Niagara/Tridium, Distech, Honeywell, ABB, Johnson Controls. Vendor tools appear only as examples of universal ideas. (The 500 series is the deliberate exception: platform certification prep and protocol training are vendor-specific by nature.)
2. The 6 Questions every BAS answers. Every course ties back to the TTS framework: On or Off? · More or Less? · Where? · When? · Why? · How? It gives beginners one mental model that scales all the way up.
3. Career-aligned. Each series ends with a clearly defined, hireable skill level. A student always knows what role the next certificate qualifies them for.
The career ladder
Each series is a rung. Finish the series, earn the role. Specialty courses branch off once a student has the 100-series foundation.
Start here — no experience needed
Diagnose and fix live systems
Build the sequences, not just fix them
Specialize and lead
Parallel track: The 500 — Platforms & Protocols series runs alongside the ladder for BAS techs and beginner developers. These are the deliberate, platform-specific exception to our brand-agnostic rule: vendor certification prep and the real-world protocols you meet on existing buildings.
How each course is built
Every course in this program ships as two paired deliverables, consistent with what you've already seen in BAS-101:
1. A web-based slide deck (self-contained HTML in TTS branding) the student watches — navigable, with key-term cards, review questions, and a hands-on activity.
2. A word-for-word instructor script the on-camera instructor reads for the live video recording — written out fully, slide by slide, so any instructor can deliver a consistent class.
100 Series — Fundamentals
The foundation everyone starts with. No prior controls experience assumed. Builds the vocabulary, the mechanical and electrical basics, and the jobsite habits needed to be useful on day one.
Exit credential → Install ApprenticeIntroduction to Building Automation Systems
The story of building controls and the core language of the trade.
- History of building controls (Drebbel → pneumatics → DDC → BACnet → smart buildings)
- The 6 Questions every BAS answers
- Inputs & outputs; binary vs. analog
- The four point types: BI, BO, AI, AO
HVAC Fundamentals for Controls
You can't control what you don't understand — the mechanical systems behind the points.
- The refrigeration cycle & basic thermodynamics in plain English
- Air-side equipment: AHUs, RTUs, VAV boxes, fan coils
- Water-side equipment: boilers, chillers, pumps, cooling towers
- Airflow, dampers, valves, economizers & how they're controlled
Electrical Fundamentals & Control Circuits
Voltage, current, and the control circuits every BAS device lives on.
- Volts, amps, ohms & Ohm's law; AC vs. DC
- 24VAC / 24VDC / 120VAC / 240VAC control circuits
- Transformers, relays, contactors & lockout/reset logic
- Using a multimeter safely
Sensors, Actuators & Field Devices
The physical hardware behind every BI/BO/AI/AO point.
- Temperature, humidity, pressure, CO₂ & occupancy sensors
- Signal types: dry contact, 0–10V, 4–20mA, thermistor/RTD
- Actuators & valves: on/off, floating, modulating
- Matching a device to its point type
Reading Control & Mechanical Drawings
How to find what you need on a set of prints.
- Mechanical drawings, control drawings & electrical schematics
- Point-to-point & wiring diagrams; risers
- Symbols, abbreviations & the points list
- Submittals & spec sections (Division 23/25) — what they tell you
Jobsite Safety, Tools & Professionalism
Showing up ready, safe, and trusted on a live jobsite.
- PPE, ladders/lifts, mechanical-room hazards, lockout/tagout basics
- NEC awareness for low-voltage work
- Hand & power tools of the trade
- Documentation, photos & communicating with the lead/other trades
Trade Math & Units for Controls
The everyday math the trade runs on — no calculator anxiety.
- Fractions, decimals, percentages & ratios
- Unit conversions; temperature, pressure & airflow units
- Ohm's law & basic electrical math
- Area, volume & reading scales/gauges
Electrical Safety: NFPA 70E, Arc Flash & Lockout/Tagout
Staying alive and uninjured around live electrical equipment.
- Electrical hazards: shock, arc flash & arc blast
- NFPA 70E basics; approach boundaries & PPE categories
- Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) done correctly
- Working in panels & near motor starters safely
- OSHA 10/30 awareness (card pathway)
200 Series — Installation
Turns an apprentice into a productive installer: NEC-compliant wiring and conduit/raceway, mounting, terminating, addressing, and documenting a clean install — run straight, level, and to a workmanlike standard.
Exit credential → BAS InstallerLow-Voltage Wiring, Cable Practices & NEC Standards
Pulling, running, dressing, and terminating control wiring to code and to a workmanlike standard.
- Cable types & selection; plenum (CMP) rating
- Applicable NEC articles for control wiring (incl. Class 2 / Art. 725)
- Workmanlike installation: cable run straight, level, square corners & properly supported
- Pulling tension, bend radius & separation from line-voltage
- Stripping & terminating; landing wires on a controller
- Labeling standards & cable management
Conduit, Raceway & NEC Compliance
The electrical craft skills for running raceway to code.
- NEC fundamentals for the installer: how to navigate the code book
- Raceway types (EMT, flex, etc.) & where each is allowed
- Conduit bending: 90s, offsets, saddles & stub-ups
- Conduit & raceway fill calculations (NEC Ch. 9 tables)
- Wire/box fill & derating basics
- Supports, straps & mounting raceway straight and level
Controller & Panel Installation
Mounting and powering controllers and control panels.
- Enclosures, DIN rail & panel layout
- Controller mounting & rough-in
- Power & transformer wiring; grounding & bonding per NEC
- Panel-to-field terminations
Field Device Installation & Mounting
Correct placement and mounting of sensors, actuators, valves & dampers.
- Sensor placement for accurate readings
- Mounting actuators, valves & damper linkages
- Flow, pressure & duct/pipe-mounted devices
- Wiring devices back to the controller
Network Cabling & Device Addressing
Wiring the communication trunk and giving each device its identity.
- MS/TP & RS-485 daisy-chain wiring; polarity & EOL
- Ethernet/IP cabling basics
- Device addressing & MAC/instance numbers
- Avoiding the common comm-trunk mistakes
Installation Quality, Labeling & As-Builts
The documentation and quality habits that make a service tech's life easy.
- Red-lining drawings & producing as-builts
- Labeling & tagging conventions
- Install checklists & QA
- Photo documentation & handoff package
Point-to-Point Checkout & Commissioning Support
Verifying every point reads and commands correctly before programming.
- Point-to-point verification method
- Confirming BI/BO/AI/AO at the controller
- Forcing/overriding outputs safely for testing
- Building the checkout punch list
Panel Fabrication, Grounding, Bonding & Surge Protection
Shop-built quality and the grounding that keeps controls reliable.
- Prefab/shop panel layout & build practices
- Wire management, ferrules & terminal blocks
- Grounding & bonding per NEC; signal vs. earth ground
- Surge & transient protection for controllers and networks
300 Series — Service & Troubleshooting
Diagnostic thinking. Takes a confident installer and teaches them to find and fix faults in live systems — electrical, mechanical, and control.
Exit credential → Service TechnicianControl Circuit & Motor Troubleshooting
Tracing and fixing faults in control circuits and motor starters.
- Reading control circuits under fault conditions
- Relays, contactors, overloads & lockout/reset
- Meter-based diagnosis: voltage drop, continuity, load
- Common motor & starter failures
Systematic Troubleshooting Methodology
A repeatable diagnostic process instead of guess-and-swap.
- Define → isolate → test → confirm
- Splitting the system to localize a fault
- Is it mechanical, electrical, comms, or programming?
- Documenting the fix
Reading & Using Sequences of Operation
The SOO is the "answer key" — learn to read it to diagnose behavior.
- Anatomy of a sequence of operation
- Occupied/unoccupied modes, setpoints & resets
- Comparing actual behavior to intended sequence
- Walking real-world sequences (RTU, VAV, AHU, boiler)
HVAC System Diagnostics
Finding faults across the mechanical systems a BAS controls.
- AHU/RTU faults: economizer, valves, fans
- VAV & zone problems
- Hydronic faults: pumps, valves, flow
- Hot/cold calls & comfort complaints
Sensor Calibration & Verification
When the building "lies" — finding and fixing bad readings.
- Sensor drift & why readings go wrong
- Field verification against a reference
- Calibration & offsets
- When to replace vs. recalibrate
Front-End Navigation & Alarm Response
Using the supervisor/dashboard to diagnose without a ladder.
- Navigating graphics, points & the station tree
- Reading trends to spot a problem
- Acknowledging & interpreting alarms
- Remote vs. on-site triage
Preventive Maintenance & Analytics
Catching problems before they become service calls.
- Building a PM scheme
- Fault detection & diagnostics (FDD) concepts
- Using analytics platforms to prioritize work
- Reporting findings to the client
Commissioning & Functional Performance Testing
Proving a system does what the sequence says — formally.
- The commissioning (Cx) process & the Cx authority's role
- Writing & executing functional test scripts
- Retro-commissioning an existing building
- Cx documentation & issues log
Service Operations & Customer Service
The non-technical skills that make a service tech valuable and rehireable.
- Work orders, service reports & time tracking
- Truck stock & parts management
- Communicating with a frustrated or non-technical client
- Professionalism, site etiquette & follow-up
Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation & Test-and-Balance Awareness
Why comfort and air-quality calls happen — and how balancing interacts with controls.
- Ventilation basics & ASHRAE 62.1
- Demand-controlled ventilation (CO₂)
- Test & balance (TAB): airflow & hydronic balancing awareness
- Diagnosing comfort & IAQ complaints
400 Series — Programming & Development
The leap from fixing systems to building them. Teaches control logic, graphics, naming/tagging, and commissioning your own programming — vendor-neutral, with Niagara used as the worked example.
Exit credential → Junior Developer / ProgrammerIntroduction to BAS Programming Logic
How control logic is actually built — blocks, wires, and the programming environment.
- What a "station/database" is
- Logic blocks & the wire sheet
- Linking points to logic
- Boolean & math basics for control
Programming Control Sequences
Turning a written sequence of operation into working logic.
- Translating an SOO into logic
- PID loops & loop tuning basics
- Scheduling, setpoint resets & interlocks
- Testing logic against the sequence
Point Naming, Tagging & Data Modeling
Consistent naming and tagging that makes a database usable and analytics-ready.
- Why naming conventions matter
- A standard point-naming approach
- Tagging & semantic models (Haystack concepts)
- Hierarchy & equipment templates
Building Graphics & Operator Interfaces
The screens operators live in — clear, accurate, navigable graphics.
- Graphics design principles
- Floor-plan & equipment graphics
- Binding live points to graphics
- Navigation & usability
Alarms, Trends & Schedules
Configuring the operational features that make a system supportable.
- Setting up alarms & priorities
- Trending & histories
- Schedules & calendars
- Avoiding alarm/trend overload
Station Setup, Backups & Recovery
Standing up a station correctly and never losing work.
- Creating & configuring a station
- Users, roles & permissions
- Backups & version control
- Restore & disaster recovery
Checkout, Testing & Commissioning Your Program
Proving the program works before the client ever sees it.
- Functional testing against the SOO
- Simulating inputs & verifying outputs
- Commissioning documentation
- Client walkthrough & handoff
System Integration & Gateways
Making equipment from different vendors and protocols work as one system.
- Integration architecture & the supervisor's role
- Mapping points across protocols (BACnet, Modbus, etc.)
- Gateways & protocol translation
- Testing & validating an integration
Version Control & Change Management
Never lose work, and always know what changed and why.
- Versioning programs, graphics & databases
- Change logs & documenting modifications
- Safe edits on live systems
- Rollback & recovery discipline
500 Series — Platforms & Protocols
The platform- and protocol-specific track for BAS techs and beginner developers. Unlike the brand-agnostic core, these courses teach the actual tools and buses you work on in the field — including vendor certification prep and the legacy protocols you meet on existing buildings.
For: BAS Techs & Beginner Developers · Prereq: 300/400 fundamentalsNiagara N4 Precertification
Everything a student needs to sit and pass the Tridium Niagara 4 Technical Certification Program.
- Workbench orientation; the Niagara architecture (platform, station, hierarchy)
- Points, the wire sheet & control logic
- Edge/JACE field-level logic vs. supervisory roles; integrating vendor field controllers
- Drivers & networks: BACnet & Modbus integration
- Histories, alarms, schedules & navigation (Px)
- Users, roles & security; backups & provisioning basics
- Certification exam prep & practice
N4 Advanced Training (4.15 LTS)
Building scalable, maintainable, high-performance Niagara systems.
- Templates, program objects & the program module
- Tagging, hierarchies & Haystack; relations
- Advanced Px graphics, bindings & BFormat
- Niagara Analytics & data/RDB integration
- Multi-station architecture, provisioning & redundancy
- Performance tuning & advanced troubleshooting
Distech Controls Programming
Programming and graphics on the Distech platform, from supervisor down to the field controller.
- EC-Net (Niagara-based) supervisor overview vs. native tools
- Field-level programming: ECB equipment controllers in EC-gfxProgram
- Logic blocks, application templates & controller allocation
- ENVYSION graphics
- Download, commissioning & checkout
Honeywell Programming (Optimizer / Spyder / WEBs)
Programming the Honeywell controls family, supervisor to field controller.
- Honeywell Optimizer platform overview
- Field-level programming: Spyder equipment-controller logic (CIPER / Spyder)
- WEBs-AX (Niagara-based) supervisor
- Application templates, tooling, download & commissioning
ABB Cylon / Integra Programming
Programming on the ABB Cylon and Integra (Niagara-based) platforms, supervisor to field controller.
- ABB controls family & tooling overview
- Field-level programming: Cylon equipment controllers & control strategy
- Integra (Niagara) supervisor & integration
- Templates & hierarchy/wizard workflow
Building Protocols & Legacy Integration
The communication protocols you meet across modern and legacy buildings — and how to integrate them.
- Modern / open: BACnet (MS/TP, IP, Secure) & Modbus (RTU/TCP)
- LonWorks (LON): LonTalk, network variables
- JCI N2: Metasys N2 bus
- Siemens FLN: P1 / APOGEE Floor Level Network
- Automated Logic: ARC156 & Comm4
- Trane: Comm3 & Comm4 (Tracer)
- Gateways & integrating legacy buses into a modern supervisor (e.g., Niagara)
Specialty & Standalone Courses
Advanced and business-track courses that branch off once a student has the fundamentals. Take them in any order to deepen a specialty or move toward engineering, sales, PM, or security roles.
Advanced Control Concepts
Beyond basic loops — high-performance, energy-optimized control.
- Advanced PID & loop tuning
- Optimization: trim & respond, resets, staging
- ASHRAE Guideline 36 high-performance sequences
- Complex multi-equipment coordination
Controls Engineering
Designing a controls system from the mechanical drawings up.
- Authoring points lists & sequences of operation
- Controller selection & sizing
- Network architecture & riser design
- Specs, submittals & engineering review
Legacy Systems & Retrofit Proposals
Assessing old systems and proposing the path forward.
- Recognizing legacy systems (pneumatic, proprietary DDC, JCI Metasys, etc.)
- Integration vs. rip-and-replace strategy
- Phased migration & cutover planning (MOPs)
- Writing the retrofit proposal & scope
Project Management for Controls
Running a controls project from booking to closeout.
- Job booking, scope & budget
- Scheduling, submittals & RFIs
- Coordinating trades & field changes
- Closeout, as-builts & warranty
BAS Sales & Solution Selling
Selling building automation on value, not parts.
- The business case: energy ROI, comfort, maintenance, compliance
- The 6 Questions as a discovery tool
- Analytics as a differentiator
- Proposals, scope & brand-agnostic positioning
OT Networking & Cybersecurity
Keeping building networks connected, segmented, and secure.
- IT vs. OT networks; IP addressing, subnets & VLANs
- BAS protocols on the wire (BACnet/IP, secure BACnet)
- Segmentation, firewalls & zero-trust remote access
- Secure remote connectivity (e.g., Neeve Secure Link)
Codes & Standards
The codes and standards that dictate how systems must be designed and controlled.
- ASHRAE 90.1 (energy) & 62.1 (ventilation)
- ASHRAE Guideline 36 high-performance sequences
- IECC & state energy codes (e.g., Title 24)
- How code drives sequences & equipment selection
Load Calculations & System Sizing Fundamentals
Understanding why equipment is sized the way it is — and what controls must manage.
- Heating & cooling load basics
- Airflow (CFM) & water (GPM) sizing fundamentals
- Equipment & valve/actuator sizing concepts
- How sizing affects control strategy
Energy Management, EPMS & Measurement & Verification
Turning a BAS into measurable energy and cost savings.
- Electrical power monitoring (EPMS) & metering
- Utility rate structures & demand management
- Measurement & verification (M&V) of savings
- Decarbonization & electrification fundamentals
Estimating & Takeoffs
Pricing a controls job accurately — the bridge between sales and PM.
- Reading plans & specs for takeoff
- Points-based & labor estimating
- Material, controller & subcontractor pricing
- Building the estimate & scope of work
Hands-On Labs, Capstones & Competency Sign-offs
Knowledge courses alone don't prove someone is field-ready. Every series carries a practical component so students demonstrate skills, not just watch videos:
- Hands-on labs tied to each series — wiring a panel, terminating a trunk, bending conduit, programming a sequence, commissioning a station.
- A capstone project per series — a realistic, graded build/diagnosis that mirrors the role's day-to-day work.
- Field competency sign-off sheets — a checklist a lead/mentor signs in the field, connecting classroom learning to on-the-job proof.
- Gated section quizzes — 75% to advance. Every course module ends with a scored quiz; students must score 75% or higher to unlock the next section, with unlimited retries. (Built and live in the BAS-101 deck.)
- Knowledge checks & a series exam for the certificate of completion.
- Live demo panels (BAS Tech level and up). From the 300 series onward, the class site links students to live demo control panels they can operate and troubleshoot — turning the screen-based course into real hands-on reps.
Certification Crosswalk
Each rung maps to recognized industry credentials so students see the external payoff of finishing a series.
| Series / Course | Aligns toward / prepares for |
|---|---|
| 100 — Fundamentals | OSHA 10 · EPA awareness · trade-school foundation |
| 200 — Installer | OSHA 30 · NEC familiarity · NICET (Building Automation Systems) entry |
| 300 — Service Tech | NFPA 70E · commissioning (e.g., BCxP/CxA pathways) · NICET |
| 400 — Developer | Niagara N4 certification readiness · Project Haystack literacy |
| 500 — Platforms & Protocols | Tridium N4 cert · vendor (Distech/Honeywell/ABB) certifications · BACnet |
| Specialty | ASHRAE standards literacy · M&V (e.g., CMVP awareness) · estimating credentials |
TTS Building Automation Program · Master Curriculum Map · techtradeschool.org · Brand-agnostic · Grounded in industry standards & real-world field practice. This map is the build plan — courses are produced series by series as paired HTML decks + word-for-word instructor scripts.