Excellent representation expected at ISA European meeting

Representatives from 11 sections (i.e. 11 countries) have already registered to the next District Leaders' Conference, in Nice (F),  5 & 6 October. 

Eric Byres

The event will also benefit from the presence of Bob Lindeman (ISA President-USA) and Eric Byres (Tofino - CDN), possibly of a key-note speaker in the evening. Eric Byres is a veteran in the area of security for SCADA and industrial process control systems which has become so relevant in automation since the unleashing of the Stuxnet worm in 2010.

This meeting projects the image of a truly global organisation and no doubt that it will be a very informative and useful event.

For those who still would like to participate but have not registered yet here is the registration form (pdf) again!

35th anniversary of Foundation of A.I.S.

A.I.S. (Associazione Italiana Strumentisti) is the Italian Association for the professionals in Automation. It is an Alliance Society of ISA, and it works in close cooperation with ISA Italy Section.

For this important occasion AIS and ISA Italy Section have organised a Technical Conference - with a small exhibition - on "Closed loop process control, from the measures up to the controllers - products, technologies and future trends." The language of the conference will be Italian.

The event  will take place on the 18th September 2012 at the "Pinacoteca Ambrosiana", one of the most ancient and important art Galleries in Milan. At the end of the day the attendees will have the opportunity of a guided tour of the Gallery.

The organisers expect an attendance of around one hundred people.

ISA Italy President Alberto Leni will give more details about the organisatio of this and other events during his presentation at the October D12 DLC in Nice.

World Manufacturing Forum: An Invitation!

World Manufacturing Forum

Smart Policies for Global Manufacturing Innovation

16-18 October 2012, Stuttgart, Germany

Is manufacturing the solution to the economic crisis?
Can it be an enabler for the wellbeing of our future society?
Are current policies able to guarantee a sustainable use of resources?

ISA members are invited by the European Commission and IMS to the World Manufacturing Forum to be held in Stuttgart, Germany on 16-18 October, 2012.

At the WMF 2012, keynote presentations and roundtable discussions by global experts who will focus on the theme "Smart Policies for Global Manufacturing Innovation". The dialogue between industrialists and government leaders will aim to explore the challenges for manufacturing innovation in the context of policy makers' options. The Forum is planned to be opened by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and will feature talks by leading industrialists and policy makers.

Invited speakers will talk about global business concerns such as the management of strategic resources and how governments can support global manufacturing innovation by increasing the sustainability of business operations and by lowering the risk of conflicts through dialogue and international S&T cooperation. Among these speakers will be ISA Executive Director and CEO Pat Gouhin, who is also serves on the Executive Board of the event.

Further highlights include a roundtable on "Global Resource Management", a debate on "Can Wall Street and Main Street become Friends?" as well as visits to companies located in the manufacturing powerhouse region around Stuttgart.

As a point of reference, last year more than 300 industrialists and policy makers participated at our event in Lake Como (I), to hear and discuss current manufacturing challenges with over fifty speakers from around the globe.

The event is supported by the European Commission and the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) international cooperation program, as well as by leading industries, associations, and institutions through in-kind contributions. The forum also enjoys the support of global companies like Bosch, Comau, Festo, Daimler, Volvo and many others.

This is an invitation-only event with free registration.  Due to limited places your registration should be completed promptly and by 30 August, 2012.  After your registration delegates will regularly be updated with programme, speakers and the latest news.

If you cannot join us, you may recommend a high level representative in your organization to attend.

Please follow on Twitter @IMS_org  with the hash tag #wmf12.

Education foundation scholorships for 2012

The International Society of Automation (ISA) has announced the winners of the 2012 ISA Educational Foundation Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to college and university students who demonstrate outstanding potential to make lasting contributions in the fields of automation, instrumentation and control. The scholarship awards support tuition, related expenses, research activities and initiatives.

In District 12 the following awardees are included:

Alexey Tirtchny

Alexey Tirtichny
St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
Graduate award: Total Scholarship - $4,000
(Norman E. Huston Endowment - $2,695; District 12 - $1,305)
He also won the District 12 scholarship, which has a value of $1,305
He has been the winner of Education Foundation Scholarships in previous years, including 2009 and 2010

Also in receipt of an award was:
Radu Florea
Technical University of Cluj Napoca, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Student Activities Endowment Fund - $1,000

• More information about ISA’s Educational Foundation Scholarships programme.

ISA Automation Conference 2013 EMEA

ISA  AUTOMATION  CONFERENCE

Europe, Middle East & Africa 

Doha 

9 & 10 December 2012

This Conference is an ISA regional event placed under the banner of ISA District 12 (EMEA) consisting of 18 ISA Sections of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In view of the fast growing economy of Qatar and of ongoing large developments of automation systems in oil & gas, petrochemical and energy industries, Doha (Qatar) has been identified for this International event which will allow automation vendors to participate and display their latest technological developments. Operators (end users), vendors and service companies of the region are keen to take advantage of technical innovations and knowledge management, to enhance analytical real time systems and to implement more efficient business models. The ISA Automation conference in this region will be a catalyst for such business requirements.

Conference venue/ Date
The Conference will be held in Doha (Qatar) on Sunday 09 & Monday 10 December 2012. The venue of the Conference is Hotel Intercontinental, Doha.

Conference Operation

Tentative Programme

9th Dec: 
8.00 AM to 4.00 PM Inauguration and Conference Sessions (Presentations)
7.30 PM Conference Dinner
10th Dec: 
8.00 AM to 1.30 PM Conference Sessions (Presentations) and Conclusion
3.00 PM onwards Sightseeing (Optional)

The program will comprise around (10) presentations covering the conference major areas. All Sections are required to search for specialists/speakers in these areas. Some have already made some interesting proposals. ISA Conference & Exhibitions department and Automation vendors will also be represented among the Speakers.

Call for papers 

Deadline 31 August 2012

The organising committee is formed by representatives of the various participating ISA Sections of District 12 chaired by the D12 Vice President. The Organizing committee appoints a Technical committee (comprising four representatives – two from Europe and two from Middle East – for selection of the presentations/speakers to the conference. ISA Qatar Section is pleased to host the event in Doha and has accepted to take the responsibility of organizing the conference and notably of all associated logistics.

Conference Topics

The Conference will cover two major areas:

›Functional Safety and cyber-security in Industrial Control Systems :

• Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), latest developments and requirements, Foundation FieldBus, ISA 84 and IEC standards.

• New threats and vulnerabilities in Industrial Automation Control systems, ISA99 approach.

›Enterprise & Control systems integration, Advanced Process Control technologies.

Call for papers Deadline 31 August 2012

Exhibition
The Conference will host an exhibition of automation vendors promoting their latest systems/developments, especially those related to the major areas covered in the Conference.
Each Vendor will be provided with table top exhibition facility.

Message from our VP

Dear All,

Our District Leaders Conference, scheduled in Nice on 5 & 6 October, is approaching.

Before leaving for your summer vacations, I invite you to make or to confirm your registration to this very important meeting (Registration Form pdf) as well as your reservation to the hotel :

HOTEL WESTMINSTER NICE - 27 promenade des Anglais - 06000 Nice - Tel. : +33 (0)4 92 14 86 86 - Fax : +33 (0)4 93 82 45 35 - reservation@westminster-nice.com Attention Stéphanie Abadie – We have a limited block of rooms available until 31/08/12.

The agenda (pdf) is confirmed, with the presence of Bob Lindeman, ISA President, and of Eric Byres, well known specialist in cyber-security issues who will give us a key note address about : “Control System Security in a Post-Stuxnet World” .

Brian Curtis, D12 VP elect has accepted to co-ordinate the organization of the session “Technical events : how to make them successful ?”. I invite you to contact him in order to confirm the participation of your section to the panel of presentations.

In addition to the current agenda please note the following topics :

-          Celebration of ISA awards granted to D12 District leaders

-          Official chartering of the Portugal section

-          ISA Automation Conference organized in Doha (Qatar) – 9 & 10 December 2012

Please, also note that, following the request of several members, a program for accompanying persons is under preparation for the 5^th of October.

I am looking forwards to seeing all of you in Nice.

Best regards

Jean-Pierre HAUET

ISA D12 DVP

KB Intelligence

10 rue Lionel Terray

92508 RUEIL-MALMAISON Cedex

Office : 33 (0)1 41 29 05 09

Mobile : 33 (0)6 08 90 86 17

Book on process instrumentation safety & security published by Spain Section

This book* is the answer to the growing need for guidance in Spanish language on a subject so new and yet integrated in process industry such us Safety Instrumented Systems.

It explains clearly, step by step all the aspects of the security life cycle, based on the recognized standards, IEC-61508 and IEC-61511 and ISA-84.00.01

The text shows the applicable rules, essential or recommended, studying Independent Protection Layers (IPL), conceptual design, the documents that are generated in each stage of the project, what information are provided by them and how it is used, risks analysis and SIL allocation methods. Field instrumentation and logic are analyzed with respect to Functional Safety: the types of instruments, its installation and maintenance. Safety Requirement Specification (SRS) aspects, details of each Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) and its verification identifying which aspects should be considered for this are included.

The different architectures and their influence on the results of Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD); availability (A) and reliability (R) are analyzed. The work includes design considerations, installation, SIS commissioning and validation, manual testing procedures including sample maintenance and operation, and management changes in the SIS and Functional Management, identifying management activities necessary to ensure compliance with the objectives of the Functional Safety.

A particularly interesting chapter is devoted to a practical example of the safety life cycle applied to a SIF in an absorption tower of the desulfurization process. This is a comprehensive book based on Functional Safety international standards and the practical experience of the authors.

* SEGURIDAD FUNCIONAL EN INSTALACIONES DE PROCESO SISTEMAS INSTRUMENTADOS DE SEGURIDAD Y ANÁLISIS SIL
Authors: Alfonso Camacho López ● Inmaculada Fernández de la Calle ● Carlos Javier Gasco Lallave ● Ana María Macías Juárez ● Mª Ángeles Martín Hernández ● Gabriela Reyes Delgado ● Julio Rivas Escudero ISBN: 9788499692104 Publishers: ISA Spain