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ISA Insights

March 2008

ISA 2007 President Steve Huffman Visits China and Singapore

ISA 2007 President Steve Huffman joined ISA Global Operations Director Tim Feldman on a number of key visits to Singapore and Beijing, China, 14 -18 January. These visits continue the momentum of ISA’s plan to more effectively serve the automation profession in rapidly developing economies of the world.

L-R Tim Feldman, Director Global Operations ISA, Wu Youhua, Secretary General CIS, Steve Huffman ISA 2007 President, Qin Ziongwen, Executive Director International Affairs, CIS at CIS Headquarters in Beijing.

In China, Huffman met with officials from the US Government including the office of US Ambassador Clark T. Randt, US Department of Commerce and the United States Trade and Development Agency. Huffman also met with the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, Mike Barbalas. A key meeting was also held with leaders of the China Instrument and Control Society (CIS).

The trip to Beijing yielded several accomplishments including commitments from the US Government to work with ISA and the Chinese to enhance the dialogue between standards development authorities and organizations—in China and within ISA—in the adoption of key standards such as ISA100 through the IEC process. “The opportunities to extend the use of ISA standards couldn’t be timelier for this area,” said Huffman. “The need for automation standards in China has been well recognized and ISA is the organization which should be providing them through the correct channels.”

Another achievement from the Beijing visit is a workshop, under the auspices of the US-China Standards and Conformity Assessment Cooperation Program (SCACP), financed by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to be held 7 April in Beijing. The event is sponsored by ISA and SAC/TC124, the China TC of Industrial Process Measurement and Control—the Chinese Sponsor. Two additional Chinese Co-Sponsors are ITEI (Instrumentation Technology & Economy Institute) and CIS (China Instrument and Control Society).

The meeting with the leaders of the China Instrument and Control Society (CIS) was the culmination of two previous meetings between ISA staff and CIS regarding the revitalization of the strong relationship the two organizations had in the in the late 1980s to mid-l990s. During a four hour meeting with Mr. Wu Youhua, Secretary General; and Mr. Qin Xiongwen, Executive Director International Affairs; discussions centered around organizing a CIS Pavilion of up to ten exhibitors from China at ISA Expo 2008 in Houston this October, cooperation on an international academic symposium in China, and a partnership concerning the extension of ISA training programs in China.

Dr. Tony KT Lee, Group President/Managing Director Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd, Steve Huffman, Sng Hee Meng, Executive Vice President Industry & Project Sales, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd. meeting in Singapore.

Following the Beijing visit, Huffman and Feldman spent three days in Singapore meeting with officials at the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Singapore Economic Development Board, National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore Chemical Process Training Center, the US Embassy, and with Senior Executives at Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd. Accompanying Huffman and Feldman on many of these visits was ISA Singapore Section President KK Siew, General Manager of PAC Technologies; and ISA Singapore Section Vice President David Matsumoto, Director of Automation, Asia Pacific for Merck.

The most notable accomplishments of the Singapore visits were the communication of ISA’s focus on workforce development and the key role ISA can play in developing the automation profession in the ASEAN region with a base in Singapore. This message was well received by leaders of end users, suppliers, and the academic and government institutions in Singapore. 2007 President Huffman noted, “The unified commitment to attract multi-national industry to Singapore is astounding. The cultural philosophy that their workforce is also their greatest natural resource is the basis for development efforts which will mesh nicely with ISA core competencies moving forward.” There are high expectations that the Singapore Government and Academic Institutions will invest with ISA as a partner in the training and development of the automation profession in Singapore and the greater ASEAN region.

Dr. TAN Eng Chye, Deputy President National University of Singapore and faculty welcome Steve Huffman and ISA Singapore Section Leadership at reception in Steve Huffman's honor.