One of CSIA's newest members,
ACS, is located near the CSIA headquarters. Staff enjoyed a visit there in August.
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New Board Member
CSIA expands international presence with announcement of new board member
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) is pleased to announce that Adrian Fahey has accepted a position on its board of directors. He will finish the term vacated by board member Diane Trentini (Optimation), who resigned as the result of a career change. Fahey is CEO of
SAGE Automation
, a CSIA Certified control system integrator in Melrose Park, Australia. SAGE is one of the largest control system integration companies in Australia and a leading provider of industrial automation and control services.
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Impressive robot demonstration at IMTS
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Get ready for a busy Q4
I hope that most of you were able to get a little break this summer. Meanwhile, my experience tells me that we are heading into a very busy Q4! I'm sure that I'm not the only one experiencing a very heavy schedule, including the customary industry and trade shows, strategic review and financial planning.
I attended the recent International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago. At least two CSIA SI members, Concept Systems and SCADAware, exhibiting there. Of course many other members were in attendance, as well, walking the immense trade show floors and conducting meetings. I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Michael Lindley from Concept Systems as part of a panel discussion moderated by Bob Vavra, content manager/editor of Plant Engineering and Oil & Gas Engineering at CFE Media.
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Latin America (LATAM) Update
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A successful quarterly LATAM event sparks interest in possible program expansion
On August 30, CSIA conducted the fourth of its quarterly event series in Mexico City, sponsored this time by Rockwell Automation. 17 representatives from 14 companies attended. Gustavo Rojas, president of GERSA, a CSIA Certified member, gave a presentation on financial management. Ernesto López, general director of Lider & Control, shared his experiences selecting a customer relationship management system (CRM) for his company. We also had a great introductory presentation on the state of the Mexican economy by Miguel Lopez Conde, general manager for Rockwell Automation Mexico.
Gustavo Rojas, president of CSIA-Certified GERSA (Mexico), gave a presentation
on financial management to integrators.
GERSA also held a regional meeting at the offices in Monterray, Mexico.
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Your input is very important to us
There are two important opportunities to lend us your voice:
Reminder: Your input needed for CSIA member survey
Please set aside a few minutes to complete
this year's member survey, designed to rate the performance of CSIA and guide us in our strategic planning. Your input is vital to shaping CSIA and ensuring we continue to serve the needs of all members. We are asking all contacts, not just the primary, to complete the survey to ensure that all needs and perspectives are taken in to account.
Industrial system integration industry survey to open in October
Twice a year, JP Morgan and CSIA conduct a survey of the industrial system integration industry. The next one is right around the corner.
Read more
.
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Partner Committee discusses best practices and globalization
Mitsubishi Electric hosted the annual Partner Committee meeting at their North American headquarters in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Twenty integrators and partner members were in attendance.
CSIA CEO Jose Rivera provided an update on the various initiatives CSIA has been working on, including a new approach to communications that comprises live webinars and both printed and electronic newsletters. This new mix of communication channels is designed to cater to various communication preferences and improve the likelihood of important membership information reaching all members.
CSIA staff members Lynda Patterson and Brittany Olson shared how plans are shaping up for the 2017 Executive Conference. The Partner Committee was instrumental in the decision to introduce pods at the 2016 Executive Conference, which eased the usual logistics of booth management and allowed partners to direct their efforts toward relationship building. The pod concept was viewed as a success and will be repeated in 2017.
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Ending the Engineering Gap
How the R&D tax credit drives innovation and makes system integrators more competitive
For system integrators or other companies falling within the umbrella of the Internet of Things (lOT), the "engineering gap" represents the most troubling of industry trends.
For years, much attention has been given to the lack of qualified STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers entering the American workforce. It has been estimated that the United States graduates about 70,000 engineers annually, a significant drop-off from the 600,000 or 350,000 that China and India add, respectively, to their workforce each year. If China graduates eight times as many engineers as the United States, how will STEM-dependent companies such as those in the fields of automation and system integration be able to compete with their foreign competitors?
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It has been an active month in CSIA's Open Forum discussion thread
Check it out, and while you are at it, chime in on some of the ongoing discussions:
Sales commission
We are in the process of revamping our sales commission and salary requirements and we are open to suggestions for our industry how to structure such a contract to not over or underpay sales people in our field, yet keep them engaged and excited about their job! We welcome any ideas or suggestions.
OE, CI or PL strategy? What do you think?
Triggered by an announcement for an upcoming webinar (Shifting from reactive problem solving to operational excellence - A Best Practices Webinar), I wondered if operational excellence is really what I want. The Treacy and Wiersma model mentions customer intimacy and product leadership as focus areas, as well as Operational Excellence, but also notes that you can't excel at all of them at the same time. Is this true or not? So which to choose? And why?
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Free legal consultations from the CSIA legal plan
The CSIA Legal Plan is an automatic benefit included with your CSIA membership which provides a bundle of free and discounted legal services oriented to the special needs of integrators. With this benefit, CSIA members are entitled to up to two free 30-minute legal consultations per quarter in English at no charge. For more information on the CSIA Legal Plan, including additional benefits available to you as a CSIA member, please visit
www.faegrebd.com/csialegalplan.
I am often asked what types of issues come up during these teleconferences. The answer?
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Brexit not a cause for concern over CSIA insurance program
There has been some discussion within the insurance industry as to the effect of Brexit upon the rating of insurance carriers based in the United Kingdom (UK), including Lloyd's of London.
Our market leading General and Professional Errors and Omissions Policy is placed with underwriters at Lloyd's and some concern has been voiced that one of the effects of the upcoming Brexit could be a downgrading of the Lloyd's rating. For those of you that do not follow events in the UK with the same interest as I, Brexit relates to the potential withdrawal by the UK from the European Union.
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ODVA can be key resource for the system integrator community
Control system integrators have to know the A to Z of industrial applications and have to be the architects to zookeepers for the range of projects they manage. Because of this, it is important for system integrators to be able to rely on an association like CSIA to inform and advocate for their specific needs. In addition, they need to know where to turn for the specialized technical knowledge they need for their projects. In conjunction with CSIA, ODVA is another association that can be a key resource for the system integrator community.
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Best Practices from Peer-to-Peer
5 financial tips to greater profits for system integration companies
Tuesday, October 18, 11:00 a.m. ET
Presented by Martin Riley, CEO, CFO Performance Group
Best Practices from Peer-to-Peer
The administrative process for CSIA Certification application
Thursday, November 17, 11:00 a.m. ET
Presented by Kim Siebecker, CSIA Certifications Program Manager
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Partner Event
CEO Roundtable for automation and system integrator leaders
CSIA and Partner member alliantgroup will be hosting a
CEO Roundtable on Thursday, October 13 at the alliantgroup headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Similar in nature to the CSIA Executive Conference, we will address issues relevant to our members' system integration businesses. The forum will be led by alliantgroup's economic, legislative and policy experts on the latest trends impacting the industry as well as the U.S. economy.
We would like for this type of event to take place in a few other U.S. cities across the country in 2017. Please join me at these unique events.
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Introducing LIVE! member updates
Nov 29, 11:00 a.m. ET
We recognize that everyone has different preferences on how they like to receive member updates. Some of our members appreciate our regular e-blasts and monthly e-newsletters. Others like to check controlsys.org or CSIA's Connected Community online. Still others follow us on social media. Starting in November, we'll be introducing yet another way for you to get plugged in so you can maximize your CSIA membership and grow your business!
On Tuesday, November 29, we'll hold a live "state of the association" webinar. Among the topics covered will be reports from the Rockwell Automation Fair and other industry meetings, a preview of the 2017 CSIA Executive Conference, and new features of the Industrial Automation Exchange. This will be one of three that we'll hold annually.
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Partner members: Host a webinar in 2016 and connect with SI members
Partner members, did you know as part of your membership you can host a Partner Technical Webinar?
Need ideas on what to present? Educate our SI members and their clients with a white paper or case study. Highlight a challenge or trend in a certain industry.
One Partner member recently reported that they received phone calls from attendees immediately after their webinar!
Email
Tony Veroeven
to get one of your own scheduled.
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Industrial Automation Exchange
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