Defining Automation
It’s 7:15 p.m. on Monday evening, 28 January, and I find myself sitting in a hotel in North Carolina, having just wrapped up a two-day ISA leader meeting. The purpose of this meeting was leadership training and networking; however, the seventy-plus leaders in attendance spent over an hour discussing the definition of “automation.”
If you look back to the first message posted on this site, you know that there was a name change proposed for ISA that didn’t happen, largely as a result of a difference of opinion on how the definition of automation should read. One of the blessings—and curses—of this profession is its breadth. It encompasses instrumentation, systems, and automation; covers so many aspects of industry; and includes a vast number of job descriptions. As the leaders from all levels of ISA, present at the meeting, discovered: If we include every industry job description or title in existence, there would simply be too many words. More words than any person on the street could possibly absorb!
Following the leaders’ discussion, I had what I can only describe as an “aha!” moment. While I was discussing this challenge with my friends John and Mike, I realized that instead of trying to describe what we do, we needed to describe the end game we all want to attain: Improvement in the performance of the plants and industries we serve.
John and Mike helped me develop a simpler way to define automation:
Automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production of products and services.
I tossed this definition to the group at lunch. It could have gone over like a lead balloon, but suddenly, what has been a very divisive and polarizing issue had people shaking their heads yes. They were saying, “I am included in that statement.” So here is my question to you: does this definition embrace what you do and who you are as a professional?
If you look back to the first message posted on this site, you know that there was a name change proposed for ISA that didn’t happen, largely as a result of a difference of opinion on how the definition of automation should read. One of the blessings—and curses—of this profession is its breadth. It encompasses instrumentation, systems, and automation; covers so many aspects of industry; and includes a vast number of job descriptions. As the leaders from all levels of ISA, present at the meeting, discovered: If we include every industry job description or title in existence, there would simply be too many words. More words than any person on the street could possibly absorb!
Following the leaders’ discussion, I had what I can only describe as an “aha!” moment. While I was discussing this challenge with my friends John and Mike, I realized that instead of trying to describe what we do, we needed to describe the end game we all want to attain: Improvement in the performance of the plants and industries we serve.
John and Mike helped me develop a simpler way to define automation:
Automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production of products and services.
I tossed this definition to the group at lunch. It could have gone over like a lead balloon, but suddenly, what has been a very divisive and polarizing issue had people shaking their heads yes. They were saying, “I am included in that statement.” So here is my question to you: does this definition embrace what you do and who you are as a professional?
Labels: Defining Automation
posted by ISA at
5:32 AM
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