Automation pioneer Nels Tyring dies at 77

The founder and CEO of TVC Systems, Nels Andrew Tyring, died Dec. 14, 2008, at age 77, after a two-year battle with cancer. Among a diversity of automation achievements, he was credited with coining the term: control system integrator.

Tyring began his active involvement in the fields of automation, instrumentation, and control in 1954, and twice served in the position of vice president on the Executive Board of ISA. He was a director emeritus of the Publications Department of ISA, and sat on the SP95 Industrial Software Standards Committee.

TVC Systems is the oldest continuously operating control and information systems integration company in the country, and Tyring was often described by peers as the father of the control system integration industry, although he preferred the title “grandfather,” deferring to the late Charlie Bergman (founder of the Control System Integrators Association) as the industry’s father.

He is credited with coining the phrase “control system integrator” to describe an independent, value-added engineering organization that focuses on industrial control and information systems, manufacturing execution systems, and plant automation that require application knowledge and technical expertise for sales, design, implementation, installation, commissioning, and support. He also instituted the “Seven Commandments for Successful Integration.”

He was a founder and member of the governing board Executive Council of the Control System Integrators Association Inc. (CSIA); a founder and a past chairman of the Executive Board of The Automation Alliance Group, LLC (AAG); a senior member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers; and was active in the International District Heating and Cooling Association. He served on the Faculty Advisory Committee of New Hampshire Technical Institute, published and delivered papers and tutorials, and participated in many discussions in international technical conferences and journals on the subjects of control systems integration, industrial software, and the future of the industry.

Automation Alliance Group is a CSIA member as of 2/26/2015

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