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.

ISA President's Column: Effective Collaboration in Committees, Assemblies, and Departments

Our Changed Circumstances Are an Opportunity for Learning The International Society of Automation (I...
ISA Past-Presidents May 15, 2020 5:15:00 AM

Functional Safety Culture: What Is a Business Leader's Role?

You’re on the business side of the enterprise, not on the engineering side—how could functional safe...
Jennifer Halsey May 12, 2020 5:15:00 AM

Can You Diagnose Problems in an Industrial System with No Observability?

I spent part of a summer on top of a little place in northern Idaho called Moose Mountain. It came w...
Edward J. Farmer May 5, 2020 5:00:00 AM

Pivoting to Ventilators: Q&A with Kash Behdinan, President of Pointfar Automation (Part 2)

This post is the second and final part of an interview we conducted with Kash Behdinan, president of...
Kara Phelps May 1, 2020 5:15:00 AM

Pivoting to Ventilators: Q&A with Kash Behdinan, President of Pointfar Automation (Part 1)

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented global need for ventilator machines. As medical suppliers scra...
Kara Phelps Apr 28, 2020 5:00:00 AM

5 Ideas to Help 'Green' the Automation Industry—and Make Some Green

Preventing the spread of COVID-19 has led to mass quarantines, stay at home orders, and social dista...
Chris Sciulli Apr 21, 2020 5:00:00 AM

The Role of Standards in Functional Safety

Internationally recognized functional safety standards have been developed and adopted to increase e...
Jennifer Halsey Apr 14, 2020 5:00:00 AM

What Is Functional Safety?

Functional safety focuses on the detection of a potentially dangerous condition and depends on autom...
Jennifer Halsey Apr 7, 2020 5:15:00 AM

Companies Ramp Up Production of N95 Masks in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 has exponentially increased the need for N95 disposable masks in hospitals and medical faci...
Kara Phelps Apr 3, 2020 5:15:00 AM

Newsweek Vantage Report on Cyber Risks to Critical Infrastructure: ISA's the Expert Partner

Newsweek Vantage recently published an independent report on cyber risks to critical infrastructure—...
Kara Phelps Mar 24, 2020 3:11:27 PM