Monday, October 16, 2006

Automation Compliance I saw my daughter get her hood and diploma yesterday from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology then kissed the wife good bye at O'Hare before she left to drive home and I flew to Houston for ISA. I went standby on an earlier flight--and that was a good thing. The thunderstorms in Houston delayed everything. Still didn't get in until after 1. So I didn't make it to the Hart Users Group meeting. I'll have to get an update tomorrow at the foundation's press conference. Meanwhile, I see that ISA is entering the compliance testing fray (I think all the fieldbus organizations have some sort of compliance testing labs, so this is probably about time). The organization has created the Automation Standards Compliance Institute (notice how everything coming out of ISA anymore bears the name "automation"?).  This will be an ISA-owned non-profit organization to assess automation-related standards compliance. The institute's charter includes a wide range of standards compliance assessments including, software or hardware products, implementation methods, solutions, companies and individuals. A Board of Directors will govern the organization and is expected to include senior ISA officers, ISA staff, and directors not necessarily associated with ISA who are appointed for their business experience with standards conformity programs. A managing director will be hired in the coming months to develop and implement the business and operational aspects of the Automation Standards Compliance Institute. "Standards and compliance assurance activities need to go hand-in-hand. Creating security standards, without having a means to verify they are being followed correctly, limits their effectiveness and puts industry at risk. On the other hand, the existence of an ISA-facilitated organization like the Automation Standards Compliance Institute to manage and deliver security standards compliance programs will greatly enhance the use of the security standards and increase both safety and security," said Eric Byres, CEO, Byres Security Inc. 8:26:04 PM    comment []