The 2013 Emerson Exchange is developing into another highly valuable conference. This year's Call for Presentations produced over 750 abstracts—a new record! The presentations committee has been reviewing these informative and diverse presentations and has painstakingly selected some 400 sessions we believe will give you the breadth of opportunities at "Combining the Elements" that you've come to expect from Emerson Exchange.

This year, attendees will be able to take advantage of a wide range of exciting resources, including:

• More than 400 Sessions and Forums
• Technology Exhibits with more square footage and solutions than ever before
• Certified Professional Development with 16 courses offered by Emerson Educational Services
• A Networking Event you will not forget – at Cowboys Stadium

Why Attend ?

• To learn best practices and see how colleagues are improving efficiency and reducing costs with automation. Several hundred workshops and short courses are specially selected each year for practical results on pertinent issues such as reducing production costs and improving agility.

• To understand what your peers, other suppliers, and customers in your industry are doing to compete in challenging economic times. Industry specific forums will cover pertinent topics such as operational strategies for uncertain times and meeting new regulatory requirements.

• To touch and experience the breadth of innovative Emerson technologies all in one place. More than a football field-sized area of Emerson technologies and complementary vendor solutions will be exhibited with live hands-on demonstrations.

• To meet with the Emerson experts behind the technologies and learn how innovative technologies can be put to work for you. Emerson subject matter experts will present product and service roadmaps, host demonstration booths, and provide opportunities to speak specifically to your needs.

• To network with your peers and other industry leaders and make the right connections. Throughout the conference you can meet face-to-face with industry and process experts, speak with Emerson leaders, interact with fellow automation professionals, and make new contacts.

• To receive complimentary certified training and earn CEU credits. Several popular short courses will be taught focusing on many of the most prevalent industry technologies and products. (courses valued at several hundred $USD each if taken independently)

• To get the most out of your automation investments and realize its true value. The Exchange is a user community committed to extracting the most from their automation investments and sharing their learning with each other.

Who should attend?

• Control Systems Manager, Engineer, Specialist
• Instrumentation Supervisor, Engineer, Technician
• Maintenance Manager
• Plant Management, VP Manufacturing
• Production Operator, Supervisor
• Project Director, Manager
• Reliability Manager or Engineer
• VP or Director of Engineering or Operations
• EPCs and OEMs

Click on the PERSONAL SCHEDULER button to log into a webpage containing all the sessions available for the conference. The scheduler is intuitive and easy to use - play around and decide the best schedule for your needs.

Registration Packages and Prices

The International Society of Automation (ISA) is pleased to report that the 2013 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium enjoyed record attendance numbers.  Held in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 6-8 August at the Crowne Plaza Orlando-Universal Hotel, the symposium attracted more than 250 attendees. Additionally, the symposium’s two short courses, one on in-depth cybersecurity and the other on water flow meter selection/sizing, were sold out with more than 40 participants from water and wastewater utilities from across North America.

The record attendance numbers, which represent more than a 50% increase from the previous year, highlight the growing importance of automation, data analytics and cybersecurity in the municipal water/wastewater sector. The surge in attendance is also testament to the symposium’s continued focus on today’s challenges in automation, instrumentation and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) for the important role that water/wastewater holds in our public infrastructure.

Now in its eighth year, the annual ISA WWAC symposium is experiencing a new-found growth in popularity thanks to growing alliances with the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA), the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA) and the Instrument Testing Association (ITA). By forming strong partnerships with other associations, the symposium has been able to reach out to automation, instrumentation and SCADA professionals across the industry. For members of these associations, the symposium represents targeted professional development, training and networking opportunities that they could not find elsewhere.

“Our secret is our focus,” says Bob Lindeman, the past-President of ISA who gave the opening remarks at the symposium. “Our annual ISA water/wastewater symposium specifically caters to the needs of professionals involved with automation, instrumentation and SCADA in the municipal water and wastewater sectors. It is a niche event and we are proud of its increasing popularity. There is no other event like it in North America.”

The symposium is also specifically positioned so that municipal utilities could easily send their staff. Thanks to the symposium’s sponsors, including Schneider Electric, Phoenix Contact, Cooper Bussmann/Eaton, IBM, Yokogawa, and Eramosa Engineering, among others, the symposium was able to offer inexpensive registration rates for all its attendees. Additionally, thanks to partnerships with the AWWA and WEF, attendees were able to gain approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) that could be used towards continuing education requirements for a wide variety of state-issued operator, engineering and technician licenses.

Attendees were treated to hot breakfasts, fully catered lunches and an exhibitor hall where they could learn about new products and services. The symposium’s exhibitors, who were all focused on automation, instrumentation and SCADA products and services, enjoyed the show’s focus and the ability to talk with attendees in a targeted, yet intimate, atmosphere.

This year’s technical program featured some 42 speakers, arranged in two parallel speaking tracks, who spoke on a variety of SCADA-related topics. Presentations ranged from advanced process control, instrumentation and alarm management techniques to better control room design, SCADA retrofit, and cybersecurity best practices.

Given the growing need among companies to better integrate their manufacturing processes with their overall business strategies and operations—and to leverage automation solutions to accomplish this goal—the International Society of Automation (ISA) today announces the formation of an enterprise-focused educational track at ISA Automation Week 2013.

“The Connected Enterprise” track, co-chaired by Rob Gellings and John Clemons of MAVERICK Technologies, will examine how the latest automation applications, standards and techniques are enabling manufacturers to unify disparate systems and processes, and improve company-wide performance, enterprise security and marketplace competitiveness.

“Manufacturers that apply the right mix of business decisions, automation solutions, and skilled people will be able to achieve the vision of the connected enterprise,” says Clemons, MAVERICK’s Director of Manufacturing IT who is a recognized expert in implementing controls, manufacturing execution and enterprise resource planning systems. “This track will provide the big-picture perspective of the challenges, dynamics and opportunities at the enterprise level. Attendees will be able to understand the specific issues that are unique to enterprise operations and integration, and take the proven steps needed to develop a high-performing, connected enterprise.”

“The Connected Enterprise” is one of six educational tracks offered at ISA Automation Week 2013, the premier annual event for automation and control professionals worldwide, to be held 5-7 November 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Leading automation and control experts, authors, innovators and thought leaders across the globe will come together at the conference to demonstrate how to fully leverage the power and potential of automation solutions.

This press release is the third in a series showcasing the event’s six educational tracks. The first press release, distributed early in July, featured the Creating Business Value through Automation educational track. The second press release, distributed in late July, highlighted Asset Lifecycle Management and Optimization/Strategy educational track. In the coming weeks, ISA will profile the remaining three educational tracks:

• Industrial Automation & Control
• Industrial Network Security
• Wireless Applications

Clemons says all sessions within the track—including expert tutorials, presentations, and panel discussions—are designed to provide attendees with valuable information they can directly put to use in their jobs.

“There will be no theoretical or academic material here,” he emphasizes. “We’ll be covering the critical issues at the enterprise level—network security, continuous improvement, overall equipment effectiveness, metrics, integration, standards, optimization, workflow, smart phones, networking and other key topics. Attendees will receive practical information they can apply immediately in their work and careers.”

The sessions within the track include:

• What the Business Really Needs from the Connected Enterprise
• Security in the Connected Enterprise
• KPIs: Supporting the Business and Continuous Improvement
• Business Integration: Tools and Techniques for Making Integration Really Work
• Using the ISA95 Standard to Achieve the Connected Enterprise
• Business Integration: Taking it to the Next Level
• Practical Automation: Making Automation Do More & Cost Less
• Design and Implementation of Plant Automation Networks

“Given the number and complexity of different solutions and systems, companies do face obstacles in achieving workable integration,” Clemons concedes. “One mounting challenge is network and system security. Since the connected enterprise is based on linking various systems together—automation systems along with MES, MOM and ERP systems—it’s essential to provide security across a collection of interconnected solutions that are all fundamentally different.”

He emphasizes, however, that achieving enterprise integration goes beyond networking and technological considerations.

Through executive positions at various companies, Gellings has more than 30 years of experience in engineering and thought leadership. Prior to joining MAVERICK, Gellings spent nearly 10 years as president and CEO of EnteGreat, a manufacturing systems consulting firm he co-founded in Birmingham, Ala. He has also served as vice president of Raytheon Engineers, and directed the company’s consulting and systems integration division.

Visit www.isaautomationweek.org to gain more details about ISA Automation Week 2013, including the full technical program, author resources, solutions providers, attendee resources, the complete conference schedule, hotel arrangements and registration.

The International Society of Automation (ISA) is pleased to announce that pre-registration activity for the 2013 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls Symposium (WWAC Symposium) has been brisk. Pre-registration for the symposium, which will take place 6-8 August in Orlando, Florida, USA, is now in excess of 200. In addition, more than 30 individuals have registered for the symposium’s two optional short courses on in-depth cybersecurity and flow meter selection/sizing.

Taking place at the Crowne Plaza Orlando-Universal Hotel in Orlando, the 2013 ISA WWAC Symposium is a three-day event that focuses on the challenges associated with automation and instrumentation in the water and wastewater sectors. The symposium features more than 40 technical speakers, two full days of technical presentations, a tour of a local water treatment plant, a general reception and a supplier showcase. This symposium is unique as it focuses entirely on the needs of automation professionals in the municipal water and wastewater sectors.

“Our secret is our focus,” says Patrick Gouhin, CEO and Executive Director at ISA. “Our annual ISA Water/Wastewater Symposium specifically caters to the needs of professionals involved with automation, instrumentation and SCADA in the municipal water and wastewater sectors. It is a unique niche event and we are proud of its increasing popularity. There is no other event like it in North America.”

This year’s technical program features more than 40 speakers. Carey E. Hidaka from IBM’s Smarter Water Group will present a keynote address on how “big data” analytics can realize significant opportunities when applied to the myriad of data sources available to municipal water and wastewater utilities. These data sources include supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), customer billing systems, and enterprise asset management systems (EAMS) as well as geographic information systems (GIS) and web-based data, such as those used for the US Geological Survey.

“Fresh water, a fundamental requirement for life on the planet, is becoming a scarce resource as the world’s population grows and competition increases for available water,” says IBM’s Hidaka, a seasoned professional with more than 35 years of experience in the water and information technology sectors. “Against this backdrop, the world’s cities will require new and innovative approaches to address these significant challenges. Business-as-usual and traditional engineering solutions won’t be enough.”

For the full program schedule, including full presentation abstracts and speaker bios, visit www.isawwsymposium.com/program-schedule/