Tuesday, December 27, 2011

New year greeting 2011/2012

Dear Colleagues,

2011 was not an easy year in several of our countries. I am not sure that 2012 will require less efforts. But clearly ISA can help in improving the competitiveness of our industry which is absolutely indispensable for our survival.

ISA is a unique reservoir of knowledge and also a think-tank where everybody can benefit from other members expertise et develop his own skills. I would like to thank very warmly all our colleagues who as volunteers spend a significant portion of their spare time in disseminating their know-how and permitting the young generations to inherit their experience.

I encourage you to pursue in this direction. We need to strengthen our forces, to capitalize on our colleagues’ knowledge, to share our own experience, to develop relationship between countries and sections.

I remain at your disposal, with  John Medcalf, our new DVP Elect, for helping in the launch of new initiatives and for developing your activities.

I wish you all the best for the coming year for yourself, your family and your activities.

With my best regards

Jean-Pierre HAUET
D12 DVP

Thursday, November 24, 2011

New VP-Elect elected

It is a great pleasure to inform you of the election of John Metcalf as D12 Vice-President elect.
A  very large majority of D12 sections has voted in favor of his election. Accordingly, John is declared elected by acclamation.

His term, as D12 VP, will start on 1st January 2013, when mine finishes.

John Medcalf is a Life Senior Member of ISA. He was key to the creation of the Spain Section, being member of the first Executive Committee in 1998. Since then, he has always been engaged with the Section, acting as Delegate from 2000 to 2005. John has the reputation of being very proactive with a clear leadership competence. He is a renowned professional, having devoted his career to the Automation Sector. Recently retired, his last position was General Manager of  Emerson in Spain. From that position he greatly encouraged professionals from his company to be members of ISA and to serve in leadership positions.

I am sure he will be an excellent D12 DVP and, on behalf of all sections, I would like to warmly congratulate him on his election and to wish him all the best in his new responsibilities.

I also want to thank Kevin for having successfully carried out the election process with the support of Dianna. This election is clearly a new indication of the vitality of our district and I am more than happy to have now a full year in front of me for acting in tandem with John in D12 leadership.

With my best regards

Jean-Pierre HAUET
D12 DVP

Monday, September 19, 2011

DLC 11 - A very positive meeting.

Attendance at the Dist 12 DLC in Brussels Belgium September 2011


The 2011 District Leadership Conference in Brussels: a very positive meeting

Some people sometimes question the role and the vitality of our ISA organization. The last ISA D12 leadership conference clearly demonstrated the opposite.

The conference was held in Brussels, on 17 September, and chaired by Jean-Pierre Hauet, District 12 Vice President. The meeting brought together representatives of 10 sections: Abu Dhabi, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Russia, The Netherlands and Spain with the presence of Leo Staples, ISA corporate President, of Tim Feldman, ISA Director, Products and Services and of Pieter van der Klooster, Managing Director of the ISA European Office.

New section leaders, François Javier Calmuntia and Raquel Mateos from Spain, Jose Alexandre Pereira from Portugal, Abdelmounaim Laayouni from Morocco, Mohamed Ibrahim from Abu Dhabi, John Downey from Ireland, Marc Blekkink from Belgium, were welcomed by Jean-Pierre Hauet.

In a friendly but working atmosphere, the conference addressed a fundamental issue “ISA Sections: which business model”. Each section had the opportunity to explain to the assembly how they were developing their activities and which support they were expecting from the ISA central organization.

Conversely, a report was given by Billy Walsh on the preliminary conclusions of the ISA Restructure Task Force created at the corporate level. The sections were invited to locally further discuss these conclusions in order to prepare for the vote which will occur during the next Council of Society Delegates meeting scheduled in Mobile (Alabama) on 17 October 2011.

After having referred to the role ISA has played in his career, Leo Staples shared with the participants his vision of the future of ISA as a modern non-profit society, members driven and market orientated.

Mark Blekkink with VP Jean-Pierre Hauet
In a brief ceremony, Marc Blekkink was officially presented by Jean-Pierre Hauet with the charter of the ISA Belgium section. In the coming weeks, Portugal is expected to also become a new active section.

Kevin Dignam, past Vice-President and D12 nominator, announced that he would initiate in the coming weeks the election process of the D12 DVP Elect.

Alex Bobovich's and Eoin Ó Riain’s terms were extended one year, per decision of the D12 DVP respectively as District Student Liaison Representative and as District Publications Committee Chairman. Gianfranca Sanzeni was appointed District Membership Committee Chairwoman.

Sections were invited to propose candidates for covering the responsibilities of District Standard and Practices Committee Chairman and of District Automation and technology department and Industry & Sciences Department liaison Committee chairman.

Thanks to the Irish section, namely Eoin Ó Riain, John Downey and Declan Lordan, the entire meeting was webcasted and attended by many remote participants in Europe as well as in the USA.


The following is a message of acknowledgement for our VP Jean-Pierre Hauet

Dear President, dear All,


I hope you had a good trip back to your country. I would like to thank all of you for your participation in our last DLC in Brussels. I believe we had very dense and very fruitful discussions and I hope they were especially useful to our “new comers” from Morocco, Abu Dhabi, Spain, Portugal, Belgium…


I would like to extend my thanks to our President Leo Staples and to Tim Feldman, who accepted to share with us their vision of the future of ISA.


Thanks also to Pieter van der Klooster for having joined us.


Congratulations on the Irish team which organized the Webcasting of the meeting in a very short lapse of time.


Thanks to Marc who helped in the organization and good luck to our new B-Section (B for Belgium or for Baby).


I attach the picture of all the group taken by Hieu, who accordingly is missing on the photo!


I remind you of the next step : the Mobile council of Society delegates meeting. Please confirm to me your presence as soon as possible so that we can ensure a strong presence of the District, organise the discussion within your section regarding the Governance restructure task force and forge your position on the motion before the meeting.


A last thank to Kevin, our past DVP, our current nominator and my mentor who was instrumental, with Billy, in transmitting their knowledge and their experience.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

French cybersecurity expert passes

One our most eminent members, Jean-Pierre Dalzon, passed away last week.

Jean-Pierre, since he retired from ALSTOM, had been playing a first rank role in the ISA-France section as technical leader. He served as a voting member of the ISA 99 Standards Committee and was co-author of a training course, in French, about cyber-security.

District VP Jean Pierre Hauet commented, "We have lost an expert and a friend!"

The chairman of the ISA 99 Committee, Eric Cosman, stated, "Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him I did have several Email conversations with Jean-Pierre. His comments and contributions to the work of the ISA99 committee were most appreciated."

Members of the ISA 99 committee, ISA District 12 send their  my condolences the the section and on the loss of their friend and colleague and wish those be conveyed  to his family.

The following tribute appeared in a special issue of the section newsletter - ISA Flash:

J'ai la très grande tristesse de vous faire part du décès de notre ami Jean-Pierre Dalzon, survenu le mercredi 14 septembre à Chandolas (Ardèche) à l'issue d'une maladie contre laquelle il s'était efforcé de lutter de toutes ses forces. Jean-Pierre Dalzon a tout d'abord été pour moi un collègue dans Cegelec et c'est grâce à son impulsion et à sa connaissance concrète des automatismes et des systèmes de contrôle que nous avons pu, dans des circonstances difficiles à l'époque, reprendre l'initiative et développer le système ALSPA P320 qui fut un grand succès technique et qui connut une grande réussite commerciale dans le domaine du contrôle des centrales.

Plus tard, au sein de l'ISA, nos relations son devenues plus profondes, plus amicales et j'ai pris la pleine mesure de ses grandes qualités techniques et de ses valeurs humaines.

Jean-Pierre Dalzon était diplômé de l'Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble. C'était un grand ingénieur, créatif, à l'esprit critique mais ouvert constamment aux innovations.

Membre de l'ISA depuis de nombreuses années, il avait apporté son expertise aux travaux du Comité ISA 99 sur la cyber-sécurité des systèmes de contrôle. Dans le cadre de l'ISA-France, il était l'un de nos leaders techniques et co-auteur d'un cours très apprécié sur la cybersécurité.

Homme de la terre, il avait choisi de retourner à ses racines en Ardèche où il participait activement avec son épouse Hélène à l’animation de la région et de la commune, tout en s’occupant de ses chevaux. Chacun pourra prendre connaissance avec intérêt de la petite histoire de sa commune qu'il avait publiée sur le site Web de Chandolas. Il y repose à présent en paix. Son inhumation a eu lieu le vendredi 16 septembre à 10H30 au cimetière de Chandolas.

Les membres du bureau de l'ISA-France se joignent à moi pour honorer son souvenir et soutenir son épouse dans cette douloureuse épreuve. Chacun pourra à sa façon témoigner auprès de son épouse, Hélène Dalzon, de l'amitié qu'il portait à notre collègue et ami.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

ISA District 12 DLC 2011

ISA District 12 Leadership Conference 
Brussels ‐ September16 - 17, 2011 

Agenda 
Friday 16 September 

Our dinner venue! Taverne du passage!
20:00 Dinner with participants and guests –
Taverne du passage – Galerie de la Reine 30  - Brussels – Tel : +32 2 512 3731

Dress code: Semi-formal – Suit and tie (for the men)
Note: Participants are invited to take a taxi for going to the restaurant.
Guests will include participants in the 1st ISA EMEA Forum which is scheduled for the DLC Venue on the 15th & 16th Septemeber.


Saturday 17 September


The meeting hotel
Venue : Gresham Belson Hotel, Oudstridjderlaan - SABLON I Room
1 avenue des anciens combattants Brussels 1140 Belgium.
Tel: + 32 2 708 31 00 Fax: + 32 2 708 31 66 email resa@gresham-belsonhotel.com
Wi-fi available.
Dress code: Business casual


8:30 – 9:00 Registration
9:00 – 9:05 Welcome from Marc Blekkink – ISA Belgium President
9:05 – 9:20 District 12 Overview – Jean-Pierre HAUET – D12 Vice President
9:20 – 10:10 ISA perspectives & realities – Leo Staples – ISA President
10 :10 – 10:30 Working session - ISA Sections: Which business model? (Part 1)
Presentations from Spain and Italy Sections


10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break


11:00 – 12:15 Working session (Part 2)  Presentations from France, Belgium, Ireland, Russia, Abu Dhabi,  PortugalWrap up discussion.
12:15 – 12 :35  ISA European Office – Missions and realizations – Pieter van der Klooster


12:35 – 13:30 Lunch


13:30 – 14:10 ISA and its global development – Tim Feldman – ISA Director,  Products & Services

14:10 – 15:00 ISA Governance Restructure Task Force Progress Report – Billy Walsh - Member, Governance Restructure Task Force

15:00 – 15:30 Coffee Break


15:30 – 16:30 District 12 Council Meeting
Presentation - ISA Belgium Section Charter


16:30 Adjourn

Friday, August 19, 2011

More on DLC

Message from District 12 VP, Jean-Pierre HAUET:

The next DLC scheduled in Brussels, in the Gresham Belson Hotel, on 17 September is approaching. I already received confirmation of the participation of many of you. We will also benefit of the presence of Leo Staples (ISA President), Nelson Ninin (Past President) and Timothy Feldman (ISA Global Operations Manager).  I do believe this DLC will be an exciting one.

Here is the latest version of the program (dated 18-08-11) ). I remind you that the deadline for benefitting of the special rates agreed with the Gresham Belson Hotel Brussels is 19 September 2011. Guests are welcome at the dinner on the  evening of the 16th.


District 12Leaders' Conference

Brussels, Belgium.

17th September 2011 - following the ISAEMEA Forum

ISA President Leo Staples will attend.
Registration form for DLC

Registration forms for Hotel


Simple pdf

Typeable Fields pdf

Getting to Hotel
For those who have not yet confirmed their participation, please send as soon as possible :
-          the registration form to the DLC (to me)
-          the hotel reservation form ( to the hotel), for those who want to stay in the hotel.


Regarding the program, six sections have already accepted to give a short overview of their business model :
Italy : Gianfranca Sanzeni
Spain : Francisco J Calmuntia
France : Jean Vieille
Belgium : Marc Blekkink
Ireland : John Downey
St Petersburg : Alex Bobovich
Abu Dhabi : Mohamad Ibrahim

I remind them that the purpose of these presentations (10 minutes max including questions) should be to provide general information regarding :

-          Their legal status and their membership
-          The breakdown of their activities (Training, technical events, publications, social events, promotion, etc) and of their revenues
-          The current trends and the priorities for the next two or three years
-          Their vision regarding the role the sections should play in ISA general development
-          Their expectations from ISA (Headquarters and district)

I hope some wrap up conclusions will emerge from these presentations and feed the debate about the ISA Governance restructure.

For the sake of clarity, here is a template (Power Point)which may be used for preparing the 5 or 6 slides supporting each presentation.

Please, also refer to my preceding e-mails as regards the EMEA Forum scheduled on 15 & 16. You may also find all the registration forms here on the Dist website here.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

FLM 2011, Brussels D12 forum and DLC

Message from our VP

Dear All,

Jean-Pierre Hauet VP D12 2011/2012
I am sure many of you are still spending quiet vacations and I feel a little bit confused to disturb them with ISA matters. However, fall is approaching with three important meetings which deserve attention.

1 - ISA Fall meeting – Leaders list – Budgets – Business Plan


The ISA Fall Leaders Meeting (FLM) will be held in conjunction with ISA Automation Week 2011, in Mobile (Alabama - USA), 15-18 October 2011. Information is available on here on the ISA Main WEbsite. All regular active sections are invited to designate a Delegate and to send as many attendees as possible.

E-mail 24th July 2011
There were some key communications during the Spring Leader's Meeting in Saint-Louis (MO) regarding the ISA Governance Task Force. This question will be also debated during our next DLC (Brussels 17 September), after a presentation given by Billy Walsh who participates in the task force.

Section Delegates may be asked to make some key decisions related to Governance Restructuring at this year's Council of Society Delegates in Mobile (Alabama). Some proposed changes may be significant. It's important that members be informed and get involved.

The Governance Restructure Town Hall webpage contains updates and information related to the Task Force.

The June 27th, 2011 Governance Restructure Town Hall Meeting Video contains some important new information.

ACTION REQUESTED: Governance Restructure Task Force Request for Input is key. Please send comments directly to the committee through this web page link, with copy to me if you deem it useful.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to discuss any point before the DLC.

Please circulate this information to your Section Leaders and Members in this format or your own in order to collect their feedback.
The Council of Society Delegates meeting will be particularly important this year as it will have to vote on the orientations proposed by the ISA Governance Restructure task Force (refer to my e-mail dated 24/07/2011 - see box). However only those sections which have coded their leaders will be entitled to officially seat in this meeting. I have got the impression that not all the sections have updated their leaders list as they should have done, according to the ISA MOP. I attach an .xls spreadsheet which summarizes my vision of the situation. Please check the information concerning your section on this form, send me the corrections you want to make and, as for those who may be concerned, your new leaders form as soon as possible.

I also draw your attention to the fact that ISA headquarters also require Budget and  Business Plan to be submitted by 30 September if Sections want to be granted with the rebates on the membership fees. Last year, collecting these documents was a touchy challenge! I will appreciate your co-operation in order to receive your documents in due time this year.


2- ISA EMEA Forum (Brussels – September 15-16)

The program of this District 12 Forum is at present almost completed and we have got important sponsors. I attach the last version (V5.1) where there is still room for one or two talks. Your Section can also be mentioned as partner of the event. Tell me if you are interested in (it is free!)
Please, post the program and the registration form on your Web site. Circulate the program among your members and within your circles. Registrations should be made as soon as possible. A block of rooms is reserved at the Belson Gresham Hotel Brussels but only until August 19. Make your reservation as soon as possible including, if you wish, reservation for the dinner on the 15 evening.

Please note that all D12 Sections can register two attendees free of charge to the Forum. Seize this opportunity for benefitting from the conferences and liaising with your colleagues.

For any further information, contact me or send a message to  forum2011@isaeur.org


3- DLC (Brussels -  Saturday September 17)

With the presence of Leo Staples, ISA President, Nelson Ninin, Past ISA President and Tim Feldman (Staff - Global Operations Manager) this meeting will be particularly important. One of the key issues to be debated will be the role of the sections in the ISA organization and the proposals of the ISA Governance Restructure task force.  I attach an updated version of the draft agenda where are listed the sections which have accepted to give a short presentation of their business model. Other sections are invited to also contribute.

Please post this agenda  on your web site with the registration form and let me know whether your section is prepared to give a 15 minutes presentation of its business model during the Working session.

Make your hotel reservation as soon as possible for the le DLC,  parallel to your reservation for the Forum. Please, note that guests are welcome to the dinner which will be organized in a restaurant, downtown Brussels on the 16th.

For those who are still on vacation, I wish you a pleasant holiday. As for the other, I wish them all the best for their return to work.

With my best regards

Jean-Pierre HAUET
ISA D12 DVP

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Governance Restructuring: Message from Leo Staples

The Society governance model has changed little since ISA’s founding in 1945 but the world and ISA has changed greatly during this period.  The ISA Executive Board therefore established a task force to look at the Society’s governance structure to determine if changes are needed to enable ISA to meet the current and future needs of ISA members and the profession.

The following is a message from President Staples to the Executive Board!

ISA President Leo Staples,
During our 28 June 2011 Executive Board meeting we passed a motion "that the Executive Board recommend the Council of Society Delegates approve a resolution to endorse in principle the concept of Society governance restructure." 

The Governance Restructure Task Force was chartered by me, with the support of the Executive Committee, in the Fall of 2010 and has been working diligently since this time.   Although much work has been accomplished, much more needs to be done.   I want to inform you that I have reaffirmed the commitment to explore Society governance by the task force and I have asked them to carry on with their work in taking the existing organization chart as shared in the Town Hall meeting and Executive Board meeting and supplementing this effort with a short report containing additional details on each proposed committee and its relationship with other entities.   I believe this is consistent with intent of our discussion in St. Louis and the motion that was passed and referenced above.

I have asked that this new information be sent to the Executive Board in the near future with the ultimate goal of forwarding to the Council of Society Delegates.    As you know, any information going to CSD must be delivered 45 days in advance of the meeting so time is of the essence.    Included in this information that will be distributed will be the draft resolution that will be brought before the CSD for approval in 2011.

Please remember that the final approval and associated details will not be brought before CSD until October 2012.    We hope that by distributing the additional information and specific resolution wording we will increase the comfort level of many of our leaders around the world.   It will be imperative that you help communicate the message that the approval sought in October does not bind the CSD to endorse details that have not yet been developed but rather shows an endorsement for further expenditure of time and effort in developing the details for approval in October of 2012.

The Task Force and the Consultants understand the necessity of building the future model collaboratively and gaining ownership and acceptance by the leaders.   If a completed version were presented for approval, we are certain that we would not have necessary support, understanding and ownership and that is why we ask for your ongoing engagement in building the solution that is right for ISA.    As we continue our effort in the weeks and months ahead, we know we will become more knowledgeable and more informed on the governance model that is best for ISA and which will gain support for approval in 2012.   It is this knowledge and understanding that will allow us to build out subsequent levels of detail.    For this reason we would not want to race to present details for approval in 2011 that could be determined to be less than optimal in the final version that will result with more study and more discussion.

Together we will continue to build on the foundation blocks that have been set.   Remember to monitor progress of Task Force activity here, and know that the Task Force is a resource for you and all of the constituents you represent.   They welcome your feedback and dialog.

I thank you for your ongoing support.

Take care,

Leo

Sunday, July 3, 2011

SLM in St Louis: some points from our VP

Summer Leaders' Meeting in June 26-28, in Saint Louis (USA) : a new momentum for ISA.
Representing District 12, Pino Zani, Alex Bobovich, Kevin Dignam, Jean-Pierre Hauet, Eoin Ó Rian and Billy Walsh.


Gateway Arch: St Louis's
most famous landwark
Leo Staples, 2012 ISA President: Expressed himself more than pleased - The SLM  clearly gave a new momentum to ISA.

Pat Gouhin, Executive Director, provided a status report of the society which is quite encouraging. Even if the accounts are still in the red, they are better than budgeted and the total membership has started to grow again (+0.6% since the beginning of the year).

District Board Chair Greg Lehmann reported an intense activity within all the districts and sections, with clarification of the budgetary and reporting processes. The formative ISA Belgium section has been officially chartered to the status of active section : congratulations to Marc Blekkink and his team on their effort.
Department Board Chair Ian Verhappen reported on the progress achieved in the Governance Restructure Task Force, in which Billy Walsh from our District actively participates. The principle of the concept of Society governance restructure was endorsed and the task force will now get into the details of its proposals.

Eoin Ó Riain gave a live presentation of our District 12 Web site which was recognized as a reference for the other Districts. Eoin also sits on the Executive Board for the Department VP's (He is currently Publications Dept VP).

Maurizio Zecchini, Italy Section, has been awarded the Distinguished Society Service by the Honours & Awards Committee for outstanding service and contributions to the Society and its Members. Warm congratulations to Maurizio and the Italian section!

Terrence Ives
, currently Parliamentarian, has been nominated as next ISA President-elect Secretary and will succeed Robert Lindeman, who will serve as ISA President in 2012. His name will go before the Delegates for election in October at Mobile, Alabama (USA). Our District nominator on the Nominating Committee was Kevin Dignam, former District 12 VP. He also serves on the H&A Committee as does Billy Walsh.

The next leader meeting will take place in Mobile, Alabama, Saturday, 15 October 2011 through Tuesday, 18 October 2011. This will immediately precede the Automation Week.

Meanwhile we invite you to participate in the ISA D12 leadership Conference which will take place in Brussels on Saturday September 17 following the ISAEMEA Forum. President Leo Staples will attend.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Qatar conference

ISA Safety Conference held
Report from Gulf News

The Qatar ‘section’ of the International Society of Automation (ISA), the largest professional body for instrumentation and control engineering professionals, organised the ISA Safety Conference 2011 on in early February. The event focused on safety systems of oil and gas and petrochemical plants covering various aspects of plant shutdown system, its evaluation, selection, integration with the control system and its stringent requirements as per international standards.

Chief guest Nasser al-Kuwari with ISA Qatar Officers
Six speakers from system vendors, safety consultants and end user delivered presentations at the conference attended by 175 delegates from 17 end user companies, three engineering consultants, 20 system vendors/providers, Qatar University and College of North Atlantic–Qatar (CNA-Q). The speakers were David Kirkwood (SIS Consultancy), Heidi Fuglum (ABB), Ian Ramsay Connel (Yogogawa), Dale Perry (Emerson Process Management), Jamshaid Mirza (Hendza Consultants), and Dr Pasquale Fanelli (Invensys). The Conference was sponsored by ABB, Emerson , Invensys and Yokogawa.

The conference was inaugurated by chief guest and Qatar Petroleum Dukhan production manager Nasser al-Kuwari. CNA-Q’s dean of the Faculty of Technology, Gary Tulk was the guest of honour. Tulk observed that ISA Qatar’s initiative would act as a bridge between the university and industry and involvement of industry professionals for development of Qatari engineers. ISA Qatar section president Nilangshu Dey welcomed the gathering.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

New nominator elected

Kevin Dignam who served as ISA District 12 Vice  President in 2009 and 2010 is the new Nominator for our district.

Kevin Dignam's term of office as D12 Nominator will cover the years 2011 and  2012. It is the duty of all the 14 District Nominators to attend one ISA  Leaders Meeting each year, namely the Summer Leaders Meeting (SLM). The  2011 meeting will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 25 - 28 June and during  this time the Nominating Committee will meet and thus select the new officers  of the society.

Kevin's first duty as D12 Nominator will be to work with Dianna Noyes, ISA  staff member and organise an election for a DVP-elect. We need to keep the  leadership pipeline full and elect a successor to our current DVP, Jean-Pierre  HAUET. As a matter of fact, eleven of the fourteen ISA Districts have an elect  in place at this stage, hence we are one of the three districts which does not  have a DVP-elect at the moment.