Happy New Year! I hope you have survived last year. Have you made a resolution this year? Typically I don’t. I set training goals for marathons, triathlons, and cycling trips. I set sales targets at work. I help set goals for my subordinates. But I haven’t set a “New Year Resolution” since I was a kid. But this year was different. I am not sure whether it is because I am getting older, or because I attended a presentation by Nick Sands about career development, but I am resolving to take the Certified Automation Professional Exam in the next year. I haven’t set a date yet, but the act of writing this message will put me on record.
Most of my career has been driven by my projects. I have learned about instrumentation, processes, new control systems, and project management because I have needed that knowledge to be successful on a particular project. Often times I would be the only person with the background to understand and resolve a particular problem. Therefore, the need to learn was placed upon me by and external driver. Those external drivers can be powerful. One never wants to propose a solution to a problem only to find out that one’s lack of knowledge was the reason that the proposed solution was incorrect. Therefore one is driven to learn as much as possible before proposing a solution.
As a senior engineer I often need to provide training to young engineers. In my business, the knowledge of many control systems, and the ability to transfer knowledge of one system to a new system is of great importance. My method for training young engineers was developed by a need to focus the learning by creating a task (project) for the engineer to solve. I have created a simple P&ID which the engineer must treat as if it is a project. This project helps focus the trainee on an specific real-world objectives.
So this year I am going to take a little of my own advice, mix it with the career message from Nick Sands, and create a New Years Resolution. One might call this a career objective, but I think it is a personal objective. While it may help my career, there is no one from my office or my clients suggesting that this would be good. I am setting this resolution to expand and test my knowledge. By preparing and taking this test, I will need to solidify my knowledge of the various aspects of control systems, from instruments to networks and everything in between. I will explore areas which of control systems which I have not had a great deal of experience in. I will solidify my knowledge of those areas which I have occasional experience in. And I will fine tune those areas in which I work on a daily basis.
This is my New Years Resolution. Have you made one? If you have, I wish you all the luck in achieving your resolution. If you haven’t, consider making one. It may be the driving force to expand your knowledge. Keep in mind that if it relates to control systems, ISA has many resources available to help you reach your goal.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2009, 5:30 PM
Joint Meeting With IEEE
on
Solar Applications
at
Delaware Technical College
RSVP to
lawrencekr@verizon.net
Tuesday, January 26,, 2009, 5:30 PM
Applications in Automation Conference
March 24, 2010
and
ISA Training
March 23 and March 25, 2010
in
Wilmington, Delaware
Tuesday, March 23, 2010:
Industrial Wireless Systems
Introduction to Management of Alarm Systems
Thursday, March 25, 2010:
Safety Instrumented Systems: An Overview
Introduction to Industrial Automation Security and the ANSI/ISA99 Standards
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ISA Links
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