Executive Director's Message 

by Bob Lowe

 

Hello to all Integrator and Partner members. My hope is that you are seeing light at the end of the dark financial and business tunnel that most members have been in. Financial and business indicators have been showing positive signs recently so hopefully we'll get some help soon from these improving conditions.
 
The next couple of months will be busy with shows, other association meetings and Partner member events. The shows are the ISA Expo and WEFTEC (water/wastewater). The association meeting is PTDA (Power Transmission Distributors Association). The Partner member events are Siemens, Invensys/Wonderware and Rockwell Automation. If you are at these events be sure to say hello. We attend these events to promote CSIA values to integrators, suppliers, distributors, and end-users (our customers!) so when possible encourage anyone you know from those relationships to visit our booth. We are still looking for volunteers to help out at the CSIA booth for an hour or so at the Siemens, Ivensys/Wonderware and Rockwell Automation shows. Please email Lynda J. Patterson, MS, CAE if you will be at those shows and can spare some time.
 
We are grateful to Paul Barnard for arranging the funding of our WEFTEC booth by First Sealord Surety and Nielson Rosenhaus and Associates. They provide bonding services.
 
In September I had the opportunity to do webinars for two Partner members, namely Yaskawa SI program managers and Rockwell Automation integrator network. The purpose was to promote the value of CSIA membership with an emphasis on CSIA Certification, and the value to Partners and end-users. We are grateful for the opportunity to make those presentations. We extend that same opportunity to all Partner members.
 
There are two surveys being developed. One is for Integrator members on marketing. This was an idea submitted at the end of our August survey so we are trying to be responsive. Keep the input coming! When you receive the survey, which will probably be late October, be sure to participate. 86 completed the August survey but more is better. The other survey is being designed from the viewpoint of Integrators for Partners to complete. Think of it as a complement of the August survey where Integrators completed a survey designed by Partners. 

FYI - Survey results are posted in the Members-Only section of our website.   
 

 

It is with great pleasure that we announce that we have turned a new page in the development of our Insurance Programs with the appointment of First Niagara Risk Management as our servicing agents.
 
The selection process was rigorous and initially involved three candidates, all of whom were interviewed three times by  CSIA Program Manager Paul Barnard and once by Brian Beaufeaux, chair of the Insurance Committee and Jim Campbell immediate past chair of the Insurance Committee.
 
At the end of this process, First Niagara was selected based upon its clear superiority in understanding control system integration and the insurance exposure associated therewith, its excellence at customer service and its outstanding relationship with the insurance market place, specifically the carriers that we currently work with: Firemen's Fund, The Chubb group, James River and National Union.
 
The transfer to First Niagara has been progressing with remarkable smoothness and the improvements in service that we anticipated with this move have immediately become apparent. Quotations that previously have taken months to obtain are now arriving in a timely manner.

It is particularly encouraging that the vast majority of Insurance Program participants have immediately made the transfer, thus preserving our position as market leaders in the provision of insurance services to control system integrators. This leadership allows us to provide the broadest and most cost competitive coverage available today.

 

Read more about First Niagra and a testimonial from one of our members.

 

 

To assist with the design of our new website and social media strategy, CSIA will contract with Higher Logic, a software company that specializes in Web 2.0 social networking and media opportunities for non-profits and professional associations. Our plan is to develop the website by Oct. 30 and then have our Marketing Committee and Web 2.0 team build the content. Around the end of 2009, the website will go online for all integrator and partner members to use. The Web 2.0 team has 17 members, many of whom are CSIA committee members. We also have several others, mostly partner members, who have volunteered to be advisors. If you, or someone in your company who has Web 2.0 experience would like to serve as an advisor, send an email to Bob Lowe.  
 

 

Primary Systems Inc.
Old Bridge, NJ

Scott Alter

(732) 679-2200

We are control and information systems integrators for manufacturing operations. Our target markets are batch processing operations, coupled with the filling and processing lines associated with them. We also focus on designing and implementing systems for hazardous/classified areas. 
 
What else would you like CSIA members to know about you?
We regard ourselves as experienced in increasing volume, reducing cost, improving quality, meeting compliance issues and improving the efficiency of business' plants.  
 
Why did you decide to join CSIA and what would you like To gain from being a member?
We joined for the exposure of our expertise as integrators. Being a member allows us to network with other integrators.

 

 

The Best Practices Committee is working on a document that will provide policy and direction regarding CSIA Certified status extension and revocation for the CSIA administrative personnel who are responsible for the maintenance of certification status. In the past, as the CSIA Certification program was developing, there was considerable flexibility in the scheduling of the audit at the time of recertification.

 

Now that CSIA Certified is a mature, stable and growing class of membership, it has become apparent that a policy on deferring an audit needs to be established. Just as integrators have policies on how they conduct business, CSIA needs to practice what we preach and have policies also. 

 

In summary, the document will address, among other things, allowable reasons for a delay in recertification.

CSIA Sales Excellence Council  Curious about the philosophy behind the CSIA Sales Excellence Council? Listen to this radio interview of Todd Youngblood, the council's facilitator. Are you really continuously improving your sales process?