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#AutomationProDay Winners
Felipe Sabino Costa submitted a picture “doing a cybersecurity training at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security facility to better protect our industrial control systems. #cybersecurity #training.”
Ryan Kershaw toasted the job that (among other things) proves that you can wear dressy clothes under Nomex coveralls; needs you to constantly learn just to keep up; dedicates a good portion of your phone photo storage to cool sites, random electrical and process equipment, parts of stuff to be identified later, and wiring setups; and usually means a lengthy explanation whenever you are asked what you do for a living.
Valentina Freire said, “What a joy to have a day only for industrial automation professionals! Congratulations to these thousands that I know and cherish so much!”
Winners of the social media contest for their submissions were:
- Srinath Krishnamoorthi, Professional
- Ryan Kershaw, Professional
- Prabhu Soundarrajan, Professional
- Ritam Mondal, Student
Visit ISA’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Pinterest accounts to see all the stories and pictures.
In Memoriam: Bridget Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick was a highly knowledgeable professional with deep expertise in control and automation. She had a BS in chemical engineering from MIT, a graduate degree in chemical engineering from Michigan State, and an MBA in technology management from the University of Phoenix. She worked most recently for Wood, a global consulting and engineering firm.
Fitzpatrick was an active and enthusiastic ISA volunteer who was named an ISA Fellow in June 2016 for “innovative improvement of alarm management and human machine interface [HMI] design practices.” She was a member of the ISA Standards and Practices Board, as well as managing director of the ISA18, Instrument Signals and Alarms standards committee.
In 2010 she received ISA’s Standard and Practices Department Award (ISA-18.2) in recognition of her outstanding contributions as a technical editor in the development of ANSI/ISA-18.2-2009, Management of Alarm Systems for the Process Industries, and for pioneering work in developing the first ISA standard on alarm management.
Fitzpatrick served the wider automation community as a member of the ISA84, ISA101, ISA105, ISA106, and ISA112 standards committees, and as a member of the board of directors for UniversalAutomation.org.
She also served as a U.S. expert to an International Electrotechnical Commission committee developing an architecture for distributed industrial automation systems.
Fitzpatrick was born in Portland, Maine on 27 December 1964 during an ice storm, the eighth child (sixth surviving) of Ada Fraser and James Fitzpatrick. As her obituary said, “she entered the world determined. Her determination, kindness, and brilliance were always a part of who she was. . . . Always at the back of her mind was a desire to solve big problems and ‘save the world.’” Donations in memory of Bridget Fitzpatrick may be sent to the ISA scholarship fund.
Meet Graham Nasby
Nasby seems to have come naturally to his current job, having started at six years old with a succession of summer jobs rewiring boats at a local marina. This led to a lifelong interest in electrical systems and to obtaining a degree in electrical engineering and automatic control systems at the University of Guelph. Nasby’s career took him into a range of consulting and manufacturing jobs in several industries: software development, structural engineering, semiconductor manufacturing, ready-mix concrete, pharmaceutical manufacturing, construction, and municipal water/wastewater.
Nasby earned his professional engineer (PE) license in 2010, received ISA’s certified automation professional (CAP) certification in 2012, and obtained his functional safety engineer designation in 2015. Since then, he has worked for the City of Guelph managing a team of specialists who look after the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the city’s drinking water utility.
Nasby says he “cannot underscore enough the positive impact that ISA standards work has had on my career.”
In search of useful best practices
“It was back in 2010 that I first got involved with a standards committee,” Nasby says. “At the time, I was designing automatic control systems for high-purity water systems in the pharmaceutical industry. I was having a hard time finding useful best practices on how to design both the control system and its process alarms. Seeing an article in InTech about an ‘alarm management committee,’ I contacted the article’s author [Nick Sands, now an ISA Fellow] and asked if I could get involved. Through the ISA18 committee, I was able to work with world-renowned experts in alarm management, as well as contribute back to the committee by sharing my own experiences. The committee also gave me an opportunity to develop my technical skills, and get experience with technical leadership, consensus building, and communication skills.”
Fast forward to the present, and Nasby is now involved with multiple consensus-based technical standards committees within both ISA and other organizations. These include the CSA P125 OT Functional Safety & Security Committee; the IEC TC65/TC65A Industrial Process Measurement, Control, and Automation committees; AWWA Automation committee; and ISA committees such as ISA18 Alarm Management, ISA99 Cybersecurity, ISA101 HMI Design, ISA105 Commissioning, and ISA112 SCADA Systems.
“It is primarily from my involvement with standards committees and the resulting relationships with other experts that has enabled me to build my career,” Nasby adds. “I learned very early that one must always be learning, and, for me, standards-committee involvement is a big part of that. My participation in ISA standards committees has also given me great opportunities to practice my communication, writing, consensus-building, and leadership skills.”
Nasby adds: “One of the major takeaways I have learned from being involved with ISA standards, is that if you want to become an expert in a field, you need to seek out the best-of-the-best for that field and find a way to work with them. Don’t restrict yourself to just learning from people at your own company or from a specific geographic area. Being involved with consensus-based technical standards work, such as with the ISA, has enabled me to build my technical career.”
Learn more about Nasby’s role as co-chair of the ISA112 SCADA Systems standards committee and why the ISA 112 standard is important in a related post on the ISA Interchange blog. –By Renee Bassett
More from Graham Nasby: What is your role in ISA112?
Ian Verhappen (a fellow Canadian!) and I co-chair the ISA112 SCADA systems standards committee. For the uninitiated, the term SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition (system). Depending on the industry, it can refer either to just remote telemetry systems or to all of an organization’s process control systems—including all instrumentation, valves, and process pumps.
With the help of ISA112 managing director Greg Lehmann, we started the ISA112 SCADA systems standards committee in 2016 with the goal of developing a standardized framework and terminology that can be used for both project-based and long-term management of SCADA systems. Since the committee’s first meeting in the fall of 2016, the committee has grown to include more than 300 technical experts from around the world representing a wide range of industry verticals. We have also been fortunate to have a good cross section of end users, vendors, distributors, consultants, contractors, and system integrators on the committee.
What is the purpose of ISA112, and why is it important?
Currently, the SCADA sector is a bit like the old American Wild West. There are very few frameworks and standards available to help both end users and service providers clearly define what a SCADA system is supposed to do and how it should be designed and managed. This frequently leads to costly misunderstandings, schedule delays, and cost overruns.
My goal, through ISA112, is to provide a standardized workflow both for the long-term management of SCADA systems and for managing SCADA aspects of capital projects and upgrades. (Keep in mind those 300+ standards committee members from around the world; that is why it took a while to reach a consensus on our new workflow!)
We are also striving to provide a standardized framework for end users to develop and maintain their own individual organization-specific SCADA design and programming standards. ISA112 will also be providing guidance on how various other ISA standards can (and should) be applied to SCADA systems as part of following industry best practices. Put another away, the overarching goal of ISA112 is to facilitate communication in the SCADA sector for end users, vendors, and service providers.
Ultimately, by developing these and making the ISA112 workflows, reference diagrams, and best practices available as published consensus standards, we will make it much easier for both end users and service providers to better price and estimate SCADA projects and manage long-term SCADA systems in a more consistent and manageable way.
What is your expected schedule for ISA112 completion?
Since 2016, we have spent the first four years developing the ISA112 SCADA systems management workflow diagram and a SCADA model architecture. These are now available as free downloads. The written SCADA standards documents that will accompany them are in the process of being written/edited and are expected to be published starting in late 2023.
What are your other roles in ISA S&P?
In addition to leading the ISA112 SCADA systems standards committee, I am a voting member of the ISA18 alarm management committee and the ISA101 HMI design committee, as well as being an information member on the ISA99 cybersecurity and ISA105 commissioning committees. Additionally, I sit on ISA’s Standards and Practices Board as an administrative director, where I help ISA provide the technical oversight for the overall standards development process. Through my work in ISA Standards, I have also been able to develop a large personal network of experts from around the world.
ISA42, Nomenclature for Instrument Tube Fittings RP to Be Updated
ISA42, Nomenclature for Instrument Tube Fittings, is being reactivated to update a 2001 ISA recommended practice of the same name. The document defines nomenclature for tube fittings most commonly used in instrumentation, and is intended to apply to mechanical flared and flareless tube fittings as commonly used in instrument tubing systems. The purpose is to aid in the proper specification and application of instrument tube fittings by standardizing nomenclature. Those who are interested in participating are asked to contact standards@isa.org.
ISA Launches Indian Power Infrastructure Virtual Conference
Digital transformation of power infrastructure is rapidly making industry operations more efficient, manageable, and sustainable around the world. Distributed power is no longer a future concept, but a day-to-day reality, and digital management of this new architecture accelerates this adoption.
ISA’s latest Digital Transformation Virtual Conference will have fresh content focused on cybersecurity and digital transformation topics related to the power infrastructure of India. This virtual event will take place on 21 June 2022. An in-person component of this event will take place in Faridabad, Haryana, India, and session content will be provided in part by the government of India Ministry of Power.
Driven by smart substations, power generation has become increasingly sustainable, ushering in an energy revolution within India. The conference will address increased vulnerability of critical infrastructure. For more information, visit the conference site.
New CAPs and CCSTs
The following individuals have recently passed either ISA’s Certified Automation Professional (CAP) exam, or one of the three levels of the Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) exam. For more information about either program, visit certification.
Certified Control System Technicians
Level 1
Joseph Barrett, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, U.S.Derek Belkofer, U.S.
Gary Clarke, South Florida Water Management District, U.S.
Robert Allen Houtman, Jr., Kalsec Inc., U.S.
William Joseph MacClain, Hollyfrontier Tulsa Refining LLC, U.S.
Mitchell Mann, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, U.S.
Sean W. Marsh, U.S.
Brandon Mastey, Xcel Energy – Sherco, U.S.
Gunnar D. McConnell, Xcel Energy, U.S.
Seth Milne, Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Sami A. Motairi, U.S.
Ronney Neely, Ann Arbor Wastewater Treatment Plant, U.S.
Juan Negrete, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, U.S.
Enrique Ochoa, Flint Hills Resources, U.S.
Desmond Paxton, U.S.
Miguel A. Renteria, U.S.
Jesse Shepherd, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, U.S.
Jesse Sherman, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., U.S.
Michael Thorn, U.S.
Christopher L. Thrower, U.S.
Julian Trott, Bermuda
Branden Williams, Messer, U.S.
Level 2
Christopher P. Criblez, U.S.Paul Kaczorowski, MillerCoors, U.S.
Drew Lopez, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, U.S.
Antonio Mar, U.S.
Zulamin Masahod, Emirates Global Aluminium – Alumina Refinery, Philippines
Seth Milne, Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Cole Neufeld, SaskPower, Canada
Zach A. Otto, U.S.
Devin Payne, U.S.
Joseph Storer, American Refining Group, U.S.
Gary Wheaton, Pacific Business Partners, U.S.
Seth Young, MillerCoors, U.S.
Level 3
Harold D. Daniels, U.S.Gregory F. Gagnon, Advanced Control Systems, U.S.
Certified Automation Professionals
Ote Amuta, Schneider Electric System Limited, Nigeria
Gregory M. Castillo Arrayago, Kas T Jo Consulting, Canada
Khairul Redwan Bin Muhammad, Hexagon PPM, Malaysia
Ibnu Munzir, KIPIC, Kuwait
Onome Omene, Bendel Automation and Controls Inc., Canada
Scott E. Owen, MWRDGC, U.S.
Alaa Hussein Owis Mohamed, Egypt
Hernan R. Patino, ECOPETROL S.A., Colombia
Panisa Polpattana, U.S.
Yusuf Pribadi, Indonesia
Luis Guillermo Rodriguez Alvarez, Instrumentos y Controles S.A., Colombia
Sankarsan Sahoo, Republic of Korea
David Sanchez, Ecuador
Jesse Sherman, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., U.S.
Anil Manohar Shinde, Canada
Wei Hong Tai, Excel Marco Industrial Systems Pte. Ltd., Singapore
Wee Siam Tan, Singapore
Chengyu Wang, U.S.
Tyler Watson, BSI Engineering, U.S.
Joshua Welch, U.S.
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