ISA Interchange

Welcome to the official blog of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

This blog covers numerous topics on industrial automation such as operations & management, continuous & batch processing, connectivity, manufacturing & machine control, and Industry 4.0.

The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. ISA blog posts may be authored by ISA staff and guest authors from the automation community. Views and opinions expressed by a guest author are solely their own, and do not necessarily represent those of ISA. Posts made by guest authors have been subject to peer review.

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ISA Education and Training Courses for December

This education & training roundup was compiled by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.

Get ready for a prosperous 2016 by advancing your skills and knowledge through ISA automation and control training. Courses are developed and taught by industry experts with real-world experience. ISA’s comprehensive and practical instruction gives you knowledge you can immediately apply in the workplace.education-training-nov-2015

Onsite Training

In addition to taking ISA classroom training at ISA headquarters, regional locations and industry events, you can also receive customized ISA training at your facility through ISA Onsite Training.  This option can bring any ISA course or combination of courses – along with ISA’s world-class instructors, training materials and portable laboratories – directly to you.  Simply pick the time and place.  Contact ISA at +1 919-549-8411 or info@isa.org.

Note: If a class date is not showing in the course offerings page or registration appears closed, contact ISA at info@isa.org or call customer service at +1 919-549-8411 to get a registration update or waiting list status.

Instrumentation Maintenance

New_80x80Electrical Controls for the Controls System Technician (TI23)
This course will focus on electrical controls that are frequently overlooked in a formal training program. The content will begin with Ohm's Law and cover content all the way through technical troubleshooting aspects.  The course is geared toward any level technician who wants a thorough review of electrical process concepts to reinforce their knowledge of basic electricity and develop skills required to install and maintain electrical control devices. The 4.5-day class starts December 7 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Instrument Calibration and Documentation for FDA-Regulated Industries (TI24)
Do you want an untrained technician working on equipment that directly affects the quality and integrity of the product being manufactured at your facility? This course offers a combination of practical information and hands-on experience, covering fundamental principles of electronic process control instrumentation used in pharmaceutical and other life science industries. Proper calibration will be covered in hands-on lab exercises using common electronic instrumentation including analyzers. You will examine characteristics of electronic control systems and procedures for configuring transmitters, transducers, and controllers. A good portion of time is spent working hands-on with typical industry equipment. The 4.5-day class starts December 7 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Installing, Calibrating, and Maintaining Electronic Instruments (TI25)
This popular course offers a combination of practical information and hands-on experience, covering proper installation, calibration, and maintenance of electronic instruments. You will examine characteristics of electronic control systems; techniques for installing electronic instruments; and procedures for configuring and calibrating transmitters, transducers, and controllers. Approximately 40 percent of your time in this course is spent working with equipment. The 4.5-day class starts December 14 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Industrial Data Communications

IT Survival Basics for I&C Personnel (TS04)
Ethernet networking, switches, routers, servers, PCs and firewalls, as well as wireless Ethernet networks and TCP/IP communications. The student will learn how to configure them and how cyber security is applied to protect them. Upon completion of this course, individuals will have a familiarity with basic IT concepts and technology which will enable them to effectively collaborate and communicate with IT personnel and perform basic IT functions essential in a modern plant and with modern control systems technology. The 5-day class starts December 7 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Cybersecurity

Using the ANSI/ISA99 (IEC 62443) Standards to Secure Your Industrial Control System (IC32)
The move to using open standards such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, and Web technologies in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and process control networks has begun to expose these systems to the same cyberattacks that have wreaked so much havoc on corporate information systems. This course provides a detailed look at how the ANSI/ISA99 standards can be used to protect critical control systems. It also explores the procedural and technical differences between the security for traditional IT environments and those solutions appropriate for SCADA or plant floor environments. The two-day course starts December 1 in Houston, Tex., plus a second offering on December 7 in Suwanee, Ga. in conjunction with Technical Training Camp – Georgia.

IACS Cybersecurity Design & Implementation (IC34)
The second phase in the IACS Cybersecurity Lifecycle (defined in ISA 62443-1-1) focuses on the activities associated with the design and implementation of IACS cybersecurity countermeasures. This involves the selection of appropriate countermeasures based upon their security level capability and the nature of the threats and vulnerabilities identified in the Assess phase. This phase also includes cybersecurity acceptance testing of the integrated solution, in order to validate countermeasures are properly implemented and that the IACS has achieved the target security level. This course will provide students with the information and skills to select and implement cybersecurity countermeasures for a new or existing IACS in order to achieve the target security level assigned to each IACS zone or conduit. Additionally, students will learn how to develop and execute test plans to verify that the cybersecurity of an IACS solution has properly satisfied the objectives in the cybersecurity requirements specification. The three-day course will be held December 1 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Safety

Advanced Design and SIL Verification (EC54)
This two-day course focuses on more detailed design issues and further hands-on examples of system analysis/modeling. Students will be better able to perform system design and analysis thus saving their companies time and money in optimizing system designs. This course will enable you to analyze any system technology and configuration to see if it will meet the required SIL (safety integrity level) and determine if existing systems are safe enough, if they need to be upgraded, and whether proposed systems will meet the performance requirements. The class will start December 2 in Suwanee, Ga. in conjunction with Technical Training Camp – Georgia. A second class offering during the month starts December 16 in Houston, Tex.

En EspanolSistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad – Diseño, Análisis y Justificación (EC50SP)
Este curso esta enfocado en los requerimientos de ingeniería para especificar, diseñar, analizar y justificar el uso de sistemas instrumentados de seguridad para la industria de proceso. Los estudiantes aprenderán como determinar los niveles integrales de seguridad funcional y como evaluar si los sistemas existentes o propuestos alcanzan los requerimientos de desempeño o rendimiento. Este curso es requerido como parte del programa ISA 84 "Certificado como experto en fundamentos en Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad funcional." El estudiante puede inscribirse para tomar el curso solamente o para el programa del certificado, que incluye el examen. Aquellas personas que completen el curso y pasen el examen, recibirán el reconocimiento como "Especialistas en Fundamentos ISA84" (ISA84 SFS por sus siglas en Ingles). Este curso es requerido para obtener el certificado como “Especialista en Fundamentos ISA84” (ISA84 SIS Fundamentals Specialist Certificate Program). La clase comienza 1 de Deciembre en Houston, Tex.

Fire and Gas System Engineering – Performance-Based Methods for Process Facilities (EC56P)
Fire and gas detection and suppression system design techniques that are currently in use are often considered to be unsatisfactory due to their nature of being rule of thumb and experience-oriented without any real ability to quantify risk. This has resulted in systems that are either over-designed or under-designed. Only after the ISA TR 84.00.07 was a comprehensive framework for performance-based fire and gas design established. This three-day course describes the techniques recommended in the technical report, along with hands-on use of the techniques and associated software tools. It will be held in Houston, Tex. starting on December 9.

En EspanolSelección Avanzada de Nivel Integral de Seguridad - SIL (EC52SP)
Este curso se enfoca en un entrenamiento practico a más completo, sobre la selección de Niveles Integrales de Seguridad Funcional (SIL - por sus siglas en ingles); utilizando una serie de técnicas diferentes. Los estudiantes estarán en capacidad al terminar el curso, de ahorrar a sus empresas tiempo y dinero a través de la optimización de los requerimientos de rendimiento de los sistemas. Este curso es una extensión del curso EC50SP (Sistemas Instrumentados de Seguridad - Diseño, Análisis y Justificación). La clase comienza 7 de Deciembre en Houston, Tex.

Advanced Safety Integrity Level Selection (EC52)
This course focuses on further hands-on examples of safety integrity level (SIL) selection using a variety of different techniques. Students will be better able to save their companies time and money through the optimization of system performance requirements. This course is a follow-on to EC50 (Safety Instrumented Systems − Design, Analysis, and Justification). The course is required for the ISA84 Safety Instrumented Systems Certificate Program 2. You can register for the course only or for the certificate program which includes course and exam. The two-day course starts on December 14 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

En EspanolVerificación Avanzada de Nivel Integral de Seguridad - SIL (EC54SP)
Este curso está enfocado en los detalles de asuntos de diseño, con más prácticas y ejemplos de modelaje y análisis de sistemas.   Los estudiantes tendrán mas capacidad para diseñar y analizar sistemas, ahorrándole a sus organizaciones tiempo y dinero al poder optimizar los diseños de los sistemas de seguridad. Este curso le mostrará como modelar y analizar cualquier tecnología y configuración para verificar si alcanza los requeridos niveles de rendimiento o SIL (por sus siglas en Ingles - Safety Integrity Level) y así determinar si son suficientemente seguros, si necesitan ser mejorados o si están sobredimensionados. Ud. Podrá también determinar el tiempo optimo entre pruebas manuales para cualquier sistema, ahorrando tiempo y dinero al no hacer muy pocas o demasiadas pruebas en los sistemas. La clase comienza 9 de Deciembre en Houston, Tex.

ExamPrepChecklist_80x80Certified Maintenance and Reliability Technician (CMRT) Exam Review Course (TM00)
This course is designed as a fast-paced review for the experienced maintenance mechanic. It provides a thorough overview of the knowledge and mechanical skills required in today’s industrial maintenance environment. It is designed specifically for industrial maintenance mechanics preparing for the CMRT exam. An explanation of the examination process and practice taking a certification-type exam is provided. The three-day class starts December 8 in ISA headquarters in Cerritos, Calif.

ISA Partner Training

ISA has teamed up with IDC Technologies & Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) to bring an array of technical-related training courses to various U.S. locations as well as online courses, with special discounts for ISA members.

Gain significant benefits and savings. Become an ISA member
When you become an ISA member, you’ll join more than 30,000 automation and control professionals who collaborate to share ideas and insights, and solve technical challenges. And, you’ll receive up to 20 percent off on ISA products, including training courses! To review the complete array of ISA member benefits, click here or contact ISA customer service at +1 919-549-8411 or info@isa.org.

Become an ISA Instructor!
ISA is always looking to expand its pool of qualified subject matter experts to teach, develop or provide assessment services for our public and private clients/customers. Wouldn’t you like to make a difference and join this elite group of automation and control professionals? Click here to find out more about becoming an ISA instructor.

Have a great course idea? Click here and suggest a new ISA class.

When you become an ISA member, you’ll join thousands of automation and control professionals who collaborate to share ideas and insights, and solve technical challenges. And, you’ll receive up to 20 percent off on ISA products, including training courses. To review the complete array of ISA member benefits, click the link below or contact ISA customer service at +1 919-549-8411 or info@isa.org.

Click here to join ISA ... learn, advance, succeed!

Joel Don
Joel Don
Joel Don is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical marketing communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.

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