Plumbing Service Protocol

Plumbing Service Protocol is a 100-hour course covering every aspect of residential plumbing. It educates students on the importance of plumbing as a critical health and safety concern for society and on the opportunity, demand and potential in the modern plumbing industry. Though it may take years to truly master the trade, the course lays a complete foundation of fundamentals for a newcomer, and each lesson also contains advanced information that will benefit a seasoned technician.

Five cumulative sections, including 24 real-world service call scenarios, are covered with approximately 20 hours of classroom instruction and demonstration and 80 hours of hands-on practice. The plumbing lab includes 8 fully functional whole-house training stations, dozens of water heaters and hundreds of feet of underground piping. Students learn installation, troubleshooting and repair of plumbing components and systems, and leave with a textbook, access to online resources and a binder of handouts. The course ends with a written and a lab test.

Total Tech offers a unique approach to technician training, melding the lessons of years of experience with a systematic progression for diagnostics. Theory is taught in relation to the technician’s viewpoint: service technicians learn by hearing, seeing and then doing. Total Tech’s labs incorporate real-world service scenarios into every lab exercise, and each lab exercise exemplifies the classroom theory, which in turn develops technician competency.

• The facility has state-of-the-art equipment in both classrooms and labs, with HVAC, plumbing and electrical training units for hands-on learning — the lab is where “the rubber meets the road.”
• Training covers more than equipment: the school teaches that the competent tradesman must understand system operation and diagnostics as well as customer retention and business acumen.
• Total Tech was founded in 2006 by Don Miller, then Customer Assurance Manager at Carrier Mid-South in Nashville, who has worked in the HVAC industry for about five decades and holds NATE and RSES certifications. Instructors come from the field, several from Hiller Plumbing Heating Cooling Electrical, which Total Tech partnered with in 2013.
• Small classes: HVAC Service and Electrical classes are limited to 12 students, Plumbing to 8 and HVAC Replacement to 6.

The school’s mission: to bring the most competent tradesmen to the most complex workforce by the most passionate instructors in the world.

Admission to each Total Tech course requires one of the following:

• A high school diploma, or
• A GED, or
• A “passed” Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam with a minimum score of 15.

Class enrollment is accepted until the class is full or until the day before the first day of class, whichever comes first; no late enrollment is accepted. Registration must be made under the name of the student attending.

Total Tech is a special purpose institution whose purpose does not include preparing students for further college study. It does not accept credits earned from prior education and training, and contact hours earned at Total Tech may not transfer to another institution.

Plumbing Service Protocol runs as either a two-week course, 7:00am – 5:30pm, or a four-week course, 7:00am – 12:00pm or 12:30pm – 5:30pm. Classes are limited to 8 students.

2026 two-week courses: March 2–13; March 16–27; April 27–May 8; May 11–22; May 26–June 5; July 7–17; July 20–31; October 5–16; October 19–30; November 2–13.

2026 four-week courses: February 2–27; March 30–April 24; June 8–July 6; August 4–31; September 1–29; November 16–December 16; December 21–January 22.

No classes are held on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 3rd, Labor Day, November 25–27 or December 23–25. The class schedule is subject to change; check the website for the current schedule.

Course costs. Tuition is $4,725.00, plus books and supplies of $500.00, for a total of $5,225.00. You can reserve a seat with a $200 deposit or pay the full price when registering.

Veterans. Total Tech’s programs are approved for veteran training, and students may use VA education benefits (GI Bill®). Covered individuals using Chapter 31 or 33 benefits may attend while VA payment is pending without penalty. Students are responsible for any difference between their financial obligation and the VA benefit, payable at the beginning of the course.

Refunds. Cancellation must be in writing. Withdrawing on or before the first day of class refunds all amounts paid less a $100 administrative fee; within the first 10% of the enrollment period, 75% less $100; between 10% and 25%, 25% less $100; after 25%, the student may owe 100% of charges.

The course is designed to establish the drive and desire to begin a successful career in professional plumbing, to familiarize students with the tools, materials and terminology of the modern plumbing industry, and to build confidence and competence through hands-on installation and repair of a complete plumbing system. The goal is to place competent, confident and content technicians in the workforce. The graduate will have a good understanding of the materials used in the plumbing trade, the technique needed to service the plumbing system, and the technician’s role in the plumbing service industry.

Placement assistance. Total Tech will assist each student as much as possible toward a potential hiring employer but does not guarantee employment. Career Services Manager Kathy Witzel assists graduates with employment on completing their programs.

Hands-on labs. Total Tech has separate HVAC Service, HVAC Replacement, Plumbing and Electrical labs. Students wire high-voltage components, complete Total Tech Troubleshooting Guides, practice brazing, install gas furnaces, join pipe and tubing, troubleshoot installed water heaters and set breaker panels.

Attendance. All students are expected to attend every session. An absence or tardy costs 1% of the final grade per day, and a student absent 2 days may be dropped and required to re-enroll in the next available class.

Grading. Grading is done through the Total Tech Portal, where you can see your grades in real time once posted; no progress reports are given during attendance. A Certificate of Achievement is awarded with an overall score of 61% or greater, along with a Total Tech Level from 1 to 5 based on your total score (61–71.9% Level 1 up to 95–100% Level 5).

Supplies. Most class materials are in the online Portal. A Student Resource Center has computers and a printer, and Total Tech provides pens, pencils and paper. If weather is questionable, closings are posted on the Total Tech website, Facebook page and WSMV Channel 4.