January 2002 ISA Meeting

At 7:OOPM

Mark Best, Program Chair arid Scrivener of the most comprehensive meetings minutes, pitched for new members.
     Jack McGrath, Past president and District Vice President, spoke about our education agenda and student bowl competition. Dan Oswald, The Money Man and meeting Hancho introduced the speaker and vendors.
     Jim Verhulst, President of Innovative Process Solutions gave a provocative power point augmented talk contrasting traditional process control implementation wilth Information Technology. The Dollars favor IT what with emphasis on opposite ends of the spectrum in hardware and philosophy.
     After Jim had answered all the questions, Dan invited everybody back to the demo room for fresh coffee and cookies. The vendors were available for more information. We invited all attendees with stackable chairs to return them to the cafeteria--passing the vendors 2X.
     We had 79 attendees which is a huge number considering that 40 was a normal high at the high priced spreads. We are getting new members too.
     Our efforts are team-driven. Everyone is working together towards a common goal. I’m proud to be on a winning team. Thanks guys and gal.

Ed Gregg, P.E. (Philly Elpresidente)

Summary: It has been observed that the worlds of “Control” and “IT” are converging. But can “IT” products actually do the job on the factory floor? If they can, what are the risks involved in using them? What are the benefits to be gained? Who will design, specify, install and maintain these systems? Will it finally be possible to link all the different databases and systems together to be able to find and analyze the things we really need?

This presentation explained why the convergence is happening and why advances in Information Technology are important to controls people. We looked at the ways these two worlds are different and what they shared. We explored the impact this convergence is having on today’s controls engineer. We looked at the kinds of technologies and products support this integration trend.

The presentation also included a demonstration of some new integration tools that simplify documentation and project management.

Vendors Invited:
The following vendors have been invited to demo their industrial automation “IT” products, both prior to and following the formal presentation by Jim Verhulst. Jim will be referencing / discussing these products during his presentation.

Intellution / AutomaTech
OSI Software, Inc.
Wonderware / Q-mation
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
Synergis Technologies, Inc.
Rockwell Automation / Tecot Electric

Social Hour: Over 70 guests and ISA members attended this ISA event.

Speaker:

Jim Verhulst – President of Innovative Process Solutions, Action, MA

IPS is a systems integrator, providing consulting services and tools to the pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturing industries. Jim has ten years of experience in the design, construction and validation of biotech equipment and facilities, and over 25 years experience in process design and automation. Jim has degrees in both chemistry and chemical engineering. He is an active member of ISPE, AICHe, and ISA.

Presentation:

The power point slide from Jim Verhulst's presentation on the "Convergence of Industrial controls and IT worlds" is now available at the following website: http://www.innovativeglobal.com/