Changing Perspectives Improves Asset Management

Taking a new perspective on metrics and personnel, along with a shift in strategic thinking, can help manufacturers improve asset availability.

Sometimes people will say, "Asset management, that's just a maintenance function," as if that is a bad thing. Ensuring the production availability of all the equipment that has been procured and installed—often at the cost of millions of dollars—is an awesome task. And, it is the task of everyone—not only the maintenance department. Operations departments play an important role in finding problems before they escalate. Tying data into information technology systems can provide additional benefits. Everyone needs to play in this game.

Bringing asset management up to global best-in-class status often requires a change in perspective and approach. The process needs a defined strategy to know where to go and how to get there. And how management and employees view metrics and personnel roles plays an important part, as well..." Read more

Scoping the Next Generation of Automation Professionals

What skills will be required of future automation professionals, and how do we get there from here?

Much has been written about the growing shortage of engineers and skilled automation professionals— a problem compounded by the near-term retirement of the huge generation of baby boomers.

So when Automation World set out to cover automation staffing topics this month, we decided not to focus so much on the "sky-is-falling" issue of the shortage. Instead, we set out to look at the kinds of skills that will be needed by the next generation of automation professionals, along with some ways that industry and academia might go about producing an automation workforce that will possess the necessary skills.

For this report, we interviewed a variety of well-known industry sources for their thoughts on the topic. Capsule reports from some of those interviews can be found throughout these pages..." Read more

ISA President Gerald Cockrell: "Nudging" ISA Forward

2009 ISA President Gerald Cockrell hopes to foster advances in critical areas including workforce development, furthering the automation profession and increasing ISA's global presence.

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