ISA free download offer a highlight in Houston

ISA 2006 at the Reliant Center in Houston broke some new ground for many of the exhibitors – and broke some new ground for the host. ISA announced a new member benefit that will make more than 2,500 technical papers and case studies available to ISA members free of charge. Beyond that, ISA committed to provide not just the association’s technical knowledge but its standards as well ...

By Bob Vavra November 1, 2006

ISA 2006 at the Reliant Center in Houston broke some new ground for many of the exhibitors — and broke some new ground for the host.

ISA announced a new member benefit that will make more than 2,500 technical papers and case studies available to ISA members free of charge. Beyond that, ISA committed to provide not just the association’s technical knowledge but its standards as well as a member benefit. That required a significant financial commitment from ISA, and one its new executive board tackled on the show’s second day.

“Because of this action, our current and future members will benefit professionally from our standards at no cost, and they’ll be able to bring value to their employers by introducing best practices into their business,” said Steve Huffman, ISA president-elect secretary. “This will serve both individual members and their companies, and we’re excited about its positive impact on the industry as a whole.”

“ISA exists to bring knowledge into the automation marketplace,” said Leo Staples, ISA treasurer. “This financial support allows us to continue to fulfill that mission by supporting our standards development initiatives and by making standards freely available for ISA members.”

ISA members will be able to download, in PDF form, any ISA standard for free as of Jan. 1, 2007.

The trade event got off to an entertaining start — assuming you find seven inches of rain entertaining. A tropical depression moved over Houston as the bulk of attendees arrived Monday, October 16, snarling traffic into the city by air and car. Once everyone arrived and dried off, there were plenty of significant announcements:

  • The Fieldbus Foundation announced its FOUNDATION Certified Solution Provider Program. Designed to encourage support for fieldbus development through the automation industry, the Solution Provider Program allows certified solution providers for FOUNDATION Fieldbus more quickly, thus reducing time-to-market for new fieldbus offerings. This is expected to give automation developers an incentive to use FOUNDATION technology. “The FCSP program will signal to the market that certain providers have met the established criteria for knowledge and experience with the technology,” said Fieldbus Foundation president and CEO Rich Timoney.

  • The Fieldbus Foundation also announced the FOUNDATION Certified Training Program, which will establish uniform standards for fieldbus training curriculum.

  • On the wireless side, the looming adoption of the HART standard was reinforced at a press conference where major HART supporters voiced their support for the develop of HART standards and development. Representatives of Honeywell, ABB, Siemens, Emerson Endress + Hauser said their investment in resources and field testing continue to shows the HART technology as a robust wireless standard. Implementation of the HART standard is expected in early 2007.

  • National Instruments showed off its new Vision Builder 3.0, which allows for benchmarking and deploying machine vision applications without programming.


Author Bio: Bob is the Content Manager for Plant Engineering.