Automation Federation to Lead International Manufacturing Technology Project

The Automation Federation (AF, www.automationfederation.org) announced on Jan. 27 that its Board of Directors has approved the participation of the AF as project leader for a new manufacturing technology project within the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS, www.ims.org) program. The purpose of the project is to develop an international network through which the Automation Competency Model (ACM), developed by AF and the United States Department of Labor in 2009, can be disseminated, promulgated, and updated. This network will be called the Automation Competency Model Network (ACMN).

The IMS is an industry-led, international business innovation and research and development (R&D) program established to develop the next generation of manufacturing and processing technologies. The Automation Federation, a unit of the International Society of Automation (ISA, www.isa.org) based Research Triangle Park, N.C., is an umbrella organization for member associations and societies engaged in manufacturing and process automation activities.

Through the new ACMN, partners in non-U.S. IMS Regions and in other countries worldwide will be encouraged to adopt the ACM, adapting it as necessary to local circumstances and using it as the basis for developing training and education curricula as appropriate. The project will operate as an open network, and additional partners from IMS Regions with expertise in automation competencies will be actively encouraged to participate. IMS member regions include the European Union, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.

University participation

Several IMS partners have expressed their interest in being part of the ACM Network, and are joining the ACMN project, the AF said, including Switzerland’s University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) Institute CIM for Sustainable Innovation (ICIMSI); Mexico’s Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM); and Mexico’s government agency, ProMéxico.

Dr. Marco Colla of ICIMSI stated, “We have a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with courses and a lab on automation, so our interest [in the ACMN] is having a reference for comparing course content, and maybe, in the future, for creating a specialization (or degree) for automation.”

Nelson Ninin, 2011 Automation Federation chair, said, “I am pleased that the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems program has aligned itself with the Automation Federation to help promote the Automation Competency Model and the importance the Model holds in enhancing recognition of the automation profession. This project will significantly aid AF in spreading our message about the importance of the automation professional worldwide.”