September 2012 CSIA News

Send your certification team captains to ISA Automation Week and CSIA Boot Camp in Orlando, Fla. ISA Automation Week, Sept. 24 - 27, is a terrific training and networking opportunity for managers, engineers and technicians. Top that off with CSIA Boot Camp, Sept. 27-28, and you will have the strategic plan you need to take your business to the trophy platform.

CSIA Boot Camp will be led by Don Roberts, a premier consultant on control systems integration management and one of the auditors who conduct CSIA certification audits.

Both events take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Get the details and register at CSIA Certification Boot Camp. 

"The Boot Camp offered me an opportunity to really dive into the best practices specifically as they relate to the key audit points. The course walked you through in detail the expectations for each section and having folks there who could help to explain each point was very helpful." 

Emily Smith, 2011 Boot Camp participant. 

director of treasury services and human resources,

Integrity Integration Resources, 

a CSIA Certified member based in Plano, Texas

by Lynda J. Patterson, FASAE, CAE, CSIA President

Members of CSIA's Global Committee met recently in Mexico City to discuss the association's strategy for introducing CSIA and its benefits to current and prospective members around the globe. Growing internationally was a goal identified by the Board of Directors last spring. The committee developed a five-year plan, identified regions with the most opportunity, and discussed tactics for achieving and measuring international growth. 

The committee will present its plan to the full Board of Directors this fall. Expect to hear more about this noteworthy development in future newsletters! 

Attending the meeting, which was held in conjunction with ISA Mexico, were facilitator Paul Pomerantz, Treasurer PC Romano, CSIA Chairman Steve Goldberg, President Lynda J. Patterson, Executive Director Bob Lowe, and Global Committee Chair Eduardo Acosta.

by Bob Lowe, Executive Director

Summer is almost over in the northern hemisphere and winter is coming to a close for our members in the southern hemisphere. Fall and spring will soon be ushered in. These seasons are beautiful times of the year so get out and enjoy them. For those near the equator, well, it's one steady season so enjoy it year round. For CSIA leadership, factoring in our global membership (we have members in 27 countries now) is an interesting and real phenomenon. 

Regardless of where you are located on the globe, whether South or North America, Africa, Europe, Asia or Australia, are you taking advantage of your membership to build the best system integration company possible? I'm sure everyone will admit that they do not yet have the perfect business (if you do, franchise it!) so look to CSIA for guidance. Whether you are relatively new and have a lot of building to do or are close to perfection with just a few rough edges remaining, there are resources to help you. Here are some of the ways:

• The Annual Executive Conference has 20-plus business sessions and substantial relationship-building opportunities.
• The Best Practices Manual Rev. 4 (released in June) is the only business guide available that is tailored to control systems integration. 
• The CSIA Certification program validates that you follow the CSIA Best Practices. Without it, you are simply a legend in your own mind. All certified members have said that preparing for an audit substantially improved their companies' operations. Maintaining certification keeps them accountable.
• Business insurance - Seventy of our members are in the program and it's increasing rapidly. 
• Connected Community Open Forum - Follow the discussions and ask your business questions. If your English is not perfect, go for it anyway. There are free online translators to help you.
• Connected Community library - It's a treasure chest of value. Have you discovered the Project Risk Assessment spreadsheet? It may keep you out of trouble!
• Statistics - Benchmark yourself to your peers, plus a salary survey that is specifically for CSIs

There's more...explore and discover!

As part of our ongoing campaign to increase awareness of CSIA and the benefits of retaining a CSIA member, we're asking you to include a link to www.controlsys.org on your website and in your email signature.

• E-mail signature. Add "Member of CSIA" along with the CSIA logo and hyperlink it to www.controlsys.org. Certified members should include the Certified logo with a hyperlink to www.controlsys.org.

• Website. Add the CSIA logo to your website, either in the footer or on a page with your company's affiliations, and hyperlink it to www.controlsys.org.

To access CSIA logos in assorted formats, see the Marketing Materials for Members library on the Connected Community. Certified members may download certified logos from the Marketing Materials for Certified Members library.

By showcasing your CSIA membership, you're demonstrating to clients your commitment to business excellence!

What benefits would you like to see added to your CSIA membership? 

1. Availability of peer groups to join
2. Mentorship of associate members working on certification
3. Financial service offerings
4. Project management training
5. Video recordings of conference presentations, even if there is a fee
6. Other (please specify)

by Richard M. Brueggman, CSIA Marketing Committee Chair, CEO, Data Science Automation Inc.

Last month's newsletter acknowledged the many contributors to the design, content and launch of the new CSIA website. It is a great accomplishment that has resulted in a more "integrated" platform from which all CSIA members, partners and clients can and will benefit. 

The earlier version was relatively static, had become stale, and most-notably confused our identity. The new site does a masterful job addressing our two primary audiences with targeted messaging and content, offering a significant organizational improvement to its intertwined predecessor. One of the primary features of the new website is the dual emphasis on, and separation of, both member and client portals. 

The home page gives visitors an immediate choice: "Member of CSIA or want to learn more?" or "Looking for Industrial Automation Solutions?" Each portal shares access to some content like "What is a CSI?" and "What is CSIA?" but the majority of the content is portal-specific. 

Member portal content was updated and refreshed with flash spotlights, and includes many traditional resources for improving your business, leveraging the process of certification, and engaging in the Connected Community.

Client portal content is mostly brand new, offers relevant flash spotlights, and emphasizes industry sectors, case studies and the client benefits of using CSIA member integrators and project processes. The nine industries highlighted reflect the primary industries served by our membership, and each industry-specific page offers examples and descriptions of how CSIA members serve that respective industry. A key membership benefit of the Client industry pages is the inclusion of a randomized list of CSIA Certified members that serve each specific industry. In addition, members are hyperlinked and highlighted with industry-specific case studies, project examples and media coverage. As we build and expand upon this educational and marketing platform, members are encouraged to submit many more articles.

The most significant cross-audience benefit of the new website is the "Find an Integrator" database and search utility which is prominently accessible from all website pages. Be sure to update your company profile to maintain search accuracy and to be quickly sourced by well-funded clients!

The site does a better job of explaining itself than my words can.  Please visit the site, refer others to the site, update your member profiles, contribute content, offer suggestions for continuous improvement, etc. The Marketing Committee is passionate about continuous improvement and welcomes your contributions and suggestions.

Send website recommendations to Jeanne Rosen.

Send case study contributions to Ann Nelson.

Register here.

CSIA webinars are recorded. See the webinar archives to listen in again or find out what you've missed.

In early August, a marketing survey was sent to the primary contacts of all CSIA integrator members. The intention of the survey is to identify what our integrator members are doing to market their companies.  Marketing and sales are two different tasks, but the line between them is often gray. So, to be clear, this survey is about marketing only. The survey is asking "What do you do to get the message about your company out to prospective clients?"

If you are a CSIA integrator member and have not yet completed the survey please consider doing so. Complete the survey here.

All but two questions are the same as those in our 2010 survey. So the results of this survey will indicate how marketing is being implemented today as compared to two years ago. Of particular interest is the change in the use of social media.

If you have not done so, please complete the survey by Friday, Sept. 14. You help yourself and all members through your participation. This survey is a benefit of membership but we need member participation to deliver a useful outcome.

by Paul Barnard, CSIA Insurance Program Manager

When we started the CSIA Insurance Program it was rare to find professional liability (a/k/a, errors and omissions) coverage required in client contracts. Nowadays, it is the norm. Among our 70-plus insured members, all carry professional liability insurance. Contractually required limits are generally $1 million/$1 million, but increasingly we are seeing $5 million. We have several members that need to carry $10 million limits, and just last week we saw our first request for $25 million. I anticipate that the requirement for this coverage will continue to increase, as will the mandated limits.

A few things to look for when buying professional liability coverage:

1. Buy your general liability, completed operations, and professional liability policies from the same carrier. If you have different carriers there is commonly a dispute between them as to which policy should respond to a loss and this leaves you sat in the middle.
2. Professional liability policies typically respond to losses arising from your professional services as defined in the policy. Make sure your policy correctly defines you as control system integrators.
3. Professional liability losses usually result from contractual disputes. Make sure there is no contractual liability exclusion within the policy you purchase.
4. Do not accept any exclusion in the policy relating to sale of products.
5. Do not accept any exclusion relating to losses arising from bodily injury/property damage.
6. Members are increasingly working outside of North America. Make sure your policy will defend in any court worldwide.

Finally, since inception of our program there have been various liability-related losses ranging from $375,000 to $3 million. All have been professional liability losses - not general liability - which highlights the need for members to carry this coverage irrespective of their client-mandated requirements.

For more on this subject or for other insurance-related issues, please contact me by email  or phone 001-610-507-6595.

by Don Roberts, Principal, Exotek, 2012 CSIA Conference Presenter

When we are out providing consulting services or doing a CSIA audit we are often asked, "How do we compare to our peers?" 

As professionals we obviously can't share specifics but we can provide some general guidelines.

If it is a financial comparison they are looking for we can give a quick answer based on experience, but the best answer is to encourage the company to participate in KPICs. It will give you both a comparison and some guidance on what you should be watching.

If the question is about operational comparison, the best measure is your performance during a certification audit. Companies of your size that pass the audit are good ones against which to benchmark your company. When your audit is finished, ask your auditor for a candid assessment of your company relative to others of similar size. We see enough companies that we can quickly tell you how you stack up.

The real thing to consider is how you are doing relative to yourself. Are you continuously improving? Are you meeting your budget expectations? How are you keeping track of your performance toward your goals? Do you even have defined goals?

No doubt benchmarking yourself against others is important, but continuous improvements should be part of every company's culture. 

by Mark Voigtmann, CSIA Attorney, Faegre Baker Daniels, LLP

Whenever a payment dispute arises between an automation provider and customer, at least two parties and one "pot of money" are involved.  To illustrate the typical problem, let's give labels to these adversaries. Let's call the end user (or owner) the "have" and the automation provider the "have not," meaning that the end user is holding the money that the automation provider is claiming.  

(Of course, I realize that many disputes are more complicated than that. For instance, the end user may also claim that it is owed money by the automation provider or there may be two or three other companies that are involved in the claim. But let's keep it simple for purposes of illustration.)

Here is the question: What if the end user (the so-called "have") does not really "have" it?  In other words, what if the so-called "pot of money" (or moneybag or coffer or whatever image you prefer) has been used up, is bare or is otherwise insufficient to cover the claim? That, boiled down to its basics, is where liens and bonds come in. Liens and bonds can be thought of as additional "pots of money" backing up the one held by the primary source (the target) that may be available to satisfy a claim. In the case of liens-typically called "mechanics' liens," that additional pot of money is the real estate where the work was done. Liens are the creation of state legislatures in laws that date back to the 1800s. The age of these laws is the reason for their use of antiquated terms like "mechanic," "laborer" or "materialman" in the place of the modern-day equivalents (contractor, subcontractor, supplier). 

In the case of bonds, typically called "surety bonds" or "payment bonds," that additional pot of money is a promise by a third party (called a surety) that if the primary source does not pay the claim, it will. Bonds are a remedy in which a third company called a "surety" guarantees the payment or performance. Unlike liens, bonds do not provide a second "pot of money"-bonds instead represent a substitute "pot of money" that is only available if the prime source is not there. 

Mark Voigtmann is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels, a law firm with offices in the US, the UK and China. Follow Mark's regular posts on legal issues affecting the automation industry on Twitter or reach him at Mark.Voigtmann@faegrebd.com or 317-237-1265.

by Raj Batra, President, Industry Automation Division, Siemens Industry, Inc., a 2012 CSIA Conference Sponsor

One of the best parts about representing a large automation supplier like Siemens is telling customers about our most recent innovations. With nearly 28,000 employees worldwide engaged in research and development, the Siemens innovation powerhouse is a benchmark among technology companies. Significantly, our investment in R&D is constant, representing more than 5% of revenue every year for many years running.

Innovation at Siemens is geared toward solving real-life engineering problems, such as shortening integration time and reducing time to market. Our engineering software recently played a key role in helping NASA achieve a successful landing of the "Curiosity" rover on Mars. 

Another great example of an intense innovation effort at Siemens is our Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal), which is by far the industry's most intuitive, efficient and proven engineering framework.

For the control system integrator community, this innovation is significant because it enables you to design all of your automation processes from a single computer screen. For example, you can simply drag and drop data and even configure multiple devices at once. TIA Portal also allows you to combine different parts of engineering projects to form libraries that can easily be reused. This functionality allows you to spend less time engineering the control system and frees valuable time for focusing on other tasks.

The innovation behind our TIA Portal also demonstrates Siemens commitment to the future. We have designed the framework in the best way possible so that all future software developments can be seamlessly integrated. This secures your investment today and helps you protect it in the future.

For more information about innovation at Siemens and the TIA Portal, visit the TIA Portal website. 

by Ron Baysinger, Market Development Manager, Phoenix Contact, a CSIA 2012 conference sponsor

Phoenix Contact develops and manufactures industrial electrical and electronic technology products that power, protect, connect and automate systems and equipment for a wide range of industries. We constantly expand our products and solutions with inspiring innovations.

We have recently formed a global team focused on developing solutions in key vertical markets.

These vertical segments include:

• Water/Wastewater
• Transportation
• Automotive
• Oil and Gas
• Energy

To better support our customers and system integration partners, we have created a new solutions engineering group focused on solution development and implementation process. This engineering team includes experienced staff from each of the focus industry segments as well as, technology specialists. Our engineers provide the end-customer with a "proof-of-concept" using the latest technologies and products from our broad portfolio - including control and HMI. We offer the broadest line of interconnection, interface and automation solutions for secure, scalable industrial networks, remote connectivity and reliable power needed to ensure the availability and reliability of control and SCADA systems.

Upon customer acceptance of our concept, we engage with our local system integration partners to implement the complete solution at the customer site. Our goal is to satisfy customer needs through a comprehensive approach to their challenge. System integration partners are instrumental in helping us deliver a successful solution. As your partner, we work to provide the functional specification based on customer requirements, then work closely with you to complete the solution design and implementation. We provide programming and new technology assistance and support throughout the project. This gives our solution providers new opportunities and an environment to learn our new products and technologies.

Phoenix Contact will showcase our industry application solutions at our new Ann Arbor, Mich.,Customer and Technology Center on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Join us throughout the day for informative seminars and demonstrations. See Phoenix Contact Open House for details.

For more information on Phoenix Contact's SI partner program or solutions engineering capabilities, contact us at systemintegratorUSA@phoenixcon.com.