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Our History

When It All Started

Like many engineers, we learned Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing the hard way: sitting through confusing classes that overwhelmed us with theory instead of equipping us for real-life application. We realized that GD&T training was more complex than it should be, so we designed a platform to make GD&T easy to learn and practical to use. It all started when our founder, Tom Geiss, built a website about the basics of GD&T to educate his colleagues in the automotive industry. Soon, companies across the country were asking Tom to teach engineers how to use GD&T on-the-job to solve costly manufacturing issues.

When we released the first GD&T Fundamentals online training course in January 2015, more than 125 people enrolled within the first two weeks. Since then, we’ve expanded our course offerings to enhance your engineering toolkit—launching our Advanced GD&T Course in 2018, our Print Reading and Tolerances class in 2019, and our GD&T Inspection Course in 2024. Meanwhile, we’ve broadened our training options beyond our flagship online classes to include customized corporate training, both online and onsite, in addition to public seminars.

We’ve trained over 50,000 engineers, machinists, quality techs and industrial professionals at hundreds of well-known companies to work with GD&T—saving our clients countless hours and millions of dollars by preventing costly deviations and disputes.

Our Vision

What We Want to Achieve

Our vision at GD&T Basics is to advance the engineering industry
by standardizing communication and promoting collaboration.

Learning to speak the language of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing unlocks efficiencies that can significantly reduce scrap, improve quality, and streamline production. When we all communicate clearly across every phase of design, production, and inspection, we can collaborate more effectively to improve the entire supply chain.

By providing free GD&T training resources in addition to our premium learning platform, we hope to better the whole profession. Imagine what we could engineer if we were all speaking the same language, instead of arguing over interpretations of a drawing.

GD&T Live Training

Our Mission

How We’re Making a Difference

Our mission at GD&T Basics is to equip engineers with
tools to communicate confidently and skills to work productively.

Regardless of your industry, position, or experience, our training programs build the skills you need to solve complex manufacturing issues. Instead of bombarding you with confusing theories you’ll never use, we make GD&T applicable to the work you do every day.

Too many engineers stumble through their careers not knowing how to read a print, let alone communicate precise tolerancing specifications. We strive to shorten the learning curve by giving engineers the confidence and competence to speak GD&T fluently so they can produce more perfect parts.

Our Core Values

What’s Important to Us

Simplicity

Even if you’re making complex parts, we believe that engineering doesn’t have to be complicated. Our purpose is to simplify the daunting world of GD&T to give engineers practical tools they can use to start making better decisions instantly.

Growth

As one of the leading GD&T training companies, we’re committed to advancing GD&T knowledge across the profession. By constantly pushing ourselves and our students to learn and grow, we are propelling the industry forward.

Integrity

Our clients trust us because of our uncompromising integrity, straightforward delivery, and no-BS approach. We always do what we say we’re going to do, and we’ll never make a recommendation unless it’s in your best interest.

Accountability

We’re driven by our clients’ success, because we don’t succeed unless you do. We don’t just give you enough information to pass a class—we give you a framework to solve real manufacturing problems and achieve your operational goals.

Our Team

Who We Are

Testimonial, Brandon John

Brandon John

Engineering Training Manager and Lead Instructor

http://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-john-gdt

Certified ASME GD&T Senior-Level Professional

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Testimonial, Molly Olson

Molly Olson

GD&T Instructor

https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-olson-61594081/

Certified ASME GD&T Senior-Level Professional

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Testimonial, Tom Geiss

Tom Geiss

Founder and Lead Course Developer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-geiss/

Certified ASME GD&T Senior-Level Professional

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Testimonial, Jason Richter

Jason Richter

Training Design Engineer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-richter-173835183/

Certified ASME GD&T Senior-Level and Technologist-Level Professional

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Testimonial, Dean Odell

Dean Odell

GD&T Instructor

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-odell-4164b2234/

Certified ASME GD&T Senior-Level Professional

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Testimonial, Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones

Training Account Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-4123271/

Your go-to person for any questions about our training programs and which option is best for you

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Testimonial, Kim Lee Parent

Kim Lee Parent

Customer Success Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimleeparent/

Your point person for any customer support needs or questions related to training onboarding & set-up

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Testimonial, Katie Geiss

Katie Geiss

HR & Finance Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-geiss-585a57b3/

The glue that holds the organization together

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Testimonial, Emily Haberern

Emily Haberern

Director of Business Operations

http://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-haberern/

Anything from Sales to marketing, project development to customer support - and more

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Testimonial, Crystal Bemis

Crystal Bemis

Content Coordinator

https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-bemis/

The content mastermind behind our Industry Readlines newsletter

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Client Reviews

Why Clients and Students Love Us

GD&T Basics / Engineer Essentials LLC

Engineer Essentials provides the best resources for learning GD&T. Their content is A+. It's approachable, adheres to the standard and 100% relevant to modern manufacturing. I am a constant advocate of the resources Engineer Essentials provides. Thanks for helping me advance in my career and actually get excited about GD&T!

CMM Programmer
1
GD&T Basics / Engineer Essentials LLC

I have just finished my GD&T Basics Fundamentals course and it was a pleasure to explore this matter that permeates our daily activities in the manufacturing industry. A massive quantity of information, but very well organized. At the end there is a final exam that attests your level of understanding and makes you a better engineer. Thanks Tom Geiss and the GD&T Basics Team for putting together this amazing training.

Supplier Quality
1
GD&T Basics / Engineer Essentials LLC

The new webinar series is awesome - especially the clevis bracket part walk-through. It helped me understand going from standard square tolerancing to applying GD&T and how to make sense of it all. Like always, GD&T Basics (Engineer Essentials) knows how to break things down so you can understand it. They make GD&T less complicated so you’re not afraid to apply it to your designs. I think you hit a home run by adding these bonus features.

Mechanical Design Engineer
1
GD&T Basics / Engineer Essentials LLC

Easily one of the most informative courses that I've ever taken. The lesson videos are so clean, clear and organized - simply incredible. I tried to learn GD&T by myself, but kept getting confused and overwhelmed in the concepts and symbols. I see a lot of design & manufacturing job applications require GD&T, but I was never introduced to the subject when I was still an undergraduate. However, after enrolling in this fundamentals course, I can honestly and confidently say that I understand GD&T. No doubt that this skill will make me a better Mechanical Design Engineer to my future employers!

Recent Mechanical Engineering Graduate
1
GD&T Basics / Engineer Essentials LLC

I am a CNC Machinist /QA inspector working in the Aerospace industry. I started in the machining industry with a high school diploma. With working a lot of overtime and having a family, going to school full-time to get a degree was not suitable for me. With the GD&T Basics online courses and easy to use software I have been able to get the specialized knowledge needed to advance myself quickly as a QA inspector. I have gone from an Operator level 2 to a Machinist level 3 quicker than any of my peers and now am one of the top go-to QA inspectors for engineering in my machine shop! Thanks GD&T Basics for the great content.

Machinist/QA inspector
1

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Contact us with any questions about our company or our training options.