Welcome to the January 2012 CSIA newsletter! 

My wish for all of you is to have a joy-filled and prosperous 2012.  In general, the business conditions for control system integrators globally is much better than a year or two ago, so enjoy the current conditions and grow your companies. CSIA is right by your side with:

• a revised Best Practices manual to be released in April that includes a new section on service and support.
• initiatives to make the road to CSIA Certification less daunting
• a marketing initiative with a focus on end-user awareness of CSIA, particularly CSIA Certification
• the 2012 Executive Conference in April with 23 presentations and endless networking
• an ever popular online CSIA Open Forum that enables an exchange of business ideas throughout the year
• an insurance program now covering 40% of our insurable members and a 100% 2011 retention rate
• a growing statistics program to compare your business to that of your peers
• free monthly webinars that have increasing levels of participation
• and lots more! 

So take advantage of your membership and utilize a couple of these.  It's a guaranteed return on your dues investment. All it takes is to save or earn about 10 to 20 billable hours from what you learn and apply.

Since CSIA's global relationship with ISA is growing, I received an e-card with wishes for a great 2012. I'm passing it on to all of you.  Greetings from ISA!

_________________________________________________________ 

by Jeanne Rosen, CSIA communications manager

Staff is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 19th Annual CSIA Executive Conference, April 25 - 28, 2012 at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The CSIA Executive Conference is a tried-and-true formula of programs and workshops presented to help you enhance your sales, build your workforce, explore CSIA Certification, seize market opportunities, and network with colleagues. This year, we offer 23 different sessions plus the CSIA Industry Expo and Reception and several social and networking functions, including the Friday night Awards banquet. Add to that an awe-inspiring location with stunning views of Arizona's Camelback and McDowell Mountains and it's sure to be an event you won't want to miss.

Take a look at the 2012 preliminary agenda to see for yourself. Then make a commitment to join us. It's a New Year's resolution that's easy to keep!

Do you have a survey question to suggest? Send it here.

The journey to CSIA certification will soon be aided by the Roadmap to Certification, a new initiative introduced by the Best Practices and Benchmarks Committee.

The committee is collecting model documents that members have developed to improve their businesses and prepare for a CSIA certification audit. These template documents, minus any identifying company information, will serve as examples of the documents referenced in the Best Practices and Benchmarks Manual. After review, the committee will post the best examples in the Best Practices Template Documents library on the CSIA Connected Community. The library will be available only to CSIA members.

The template collection process begins with Section 5 - Project Management. In future months, the committee will be seeking examples for the other three required pass sections: Section 4 - Financial Management, Section 6 - System Development Lifecycle, and Section 7 - Supporting Activities.

According to committee chair Jeff Miller, "the Roadmap to Certification ultimately helps us to raise the standards for our profession and build a better CSIA brand."

Please submit any templates you have for project plans - without any identifying information - to the Best Practice Committee at: bestpractices@controlsys.org by Monday, Jan. 9, 2012. 

Yes, Subject Matter Experts Can Be Successful Trainers

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (New York)/3:00 p.m.

Gem J. Skinner, MCP, MCT ,Technology Transfer and Training, Polytron, Inc.

Subject matter experts have knowledge and experience that others need. So, partner the SME with the new employee and, "presto", soon you have two SMEs. Correct? Not really. In fact, this formula fails more often than it succeeds. And the best formula may surprise you. Join Polytron for this discussion on turning subject matter experts into performance-based trainers. Discover what it takes to pick the best SME trainer and learn the foundational training competencies and why these are most important to the success of your system integration 

Recent webinar topics include:

• September: Successful Integrators Capitalize on Real-Time Feedback
• October: Certification Audit Preparation Process

• December: 

  Low Cost High Impact Marketing Strategies

   

These and many other CSIA webinars can be listened to and viewed in the webinar archives.

by Ed Diehl, committee chair

Happy New Year!  As we quickly approach the time for our next conference, please consider nominating a fellow member for an award. Think of your interactions with fellow members over this last year; I'm sure some of them stand out.

At the last conference, or perhaps through the Connected Community, has someone shared some exceptional information that made a real impact on your business? Perhaps you want to recognize someone for their dedication and service to CSIA over the years?  Consider them for the Charlie Bergmann "Remember Me" Award.

Are there employees in your company that you'd like to recognize for exceptional performance in the field?  Nominate them for the Rising Star Award.

How about a Partner that has made a real impact with your company or the Association as a whole?  Put their name in the hat for the Partner Award.

Now's your chance to provide some recognition where recognition is due!  You can find the nomination form here. Please email it to any of the staff or directly to me at ediehl@conceptsystemsinc.com.

by Paul Barnard, insurance manager

This month we are pleased to welcome five new members to our insurance programs.

• CosyLab, based in Slovenia, part of the European Union.
• Bachelor Controls,  Sabetha, Kan.
• Sycon International,  Lafayette, La.
• T3 Automation,  Moorhead City, N.C.
• Lomelo Design Associates, Parsippany, N.J. who have now placed the balance of their business with the program

In addition to these new participants I am especially proud to be able to report that 100% of our insured's renewed their coverage during 2011.

In the United States we are appreciative of the outstanding continued support from The Chubb Group of Companies. Additionally, this year we started an exclusive relationship with CFC International who is providing coverage globally, including in the United Statees. Only available to CSIA members via our appointed Insurance Brokers, CFC has worked with us to craft a unique range of policies that offer the broadest coverage available for control system integrators and, always important, at very competitive pricing that reflects the outstanding loss history of our membership.

For more information about our insurance programs please email me or call (001) 610-507-6595.

Have a great 2012! 

The law firm that represents CSIA and a great many of its members, Chicago/Indianapolis-based Baker & Daniels, has dramatically expanded its platform as a result of a merger.  The firm is joining forces with Minneapolis-based Faegre and Benson to form a new firm, Faegre Baker Daniels.  Long-time CSIA attorney Mark Voigtmann will lead the combined firm's 36-lawyer construction and automation group, with the ability to serve CSIA members from offices in China (Beijing and Shanghai), the United States (Denver, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Chicago, Indianapolis and Washington DC) and in Europe (London).  Mark's new e-mail address is Mark.Voigtmann@faegrebd.com and his direct line remains the same (317) 237-1265.

February 6-9, 2012

Renaissance at SeaWorld Orlando Marriott

Orlando, Florida

ARC's World Industry Forum focuses on all industry challenges and can help you develop winning strategies. It provides the ideal environment for industry executives to collaborate, share ideas, and find new ways to attack their most pressing problems. The event includes sessions on the major issues facing our industry, with multiple tracks that enable executives to explore these topics from different perspectives. Owner/operators, solution providers, and technical experts will all benefit from this experience while simultaneously contributing to the community's body of knowledge. This forum is a great learning experience with excellent networking opportunities, including meeting prospective clients. 

by Paul Cherry, Performance Based Results

Great customers will walk across hot rocks to do business with you. They not only take your calls; they call you. They fight for you when the bean counters are pressuring them to go with the cheaper option. They even forgive you when you make a mistake.

Yet how difficult is it to create more of these customers? According to The Gallup Organization, you can - but not in the ways you might expect.

Surprisingly, the research finds that customer satisfaction does nothing to boost repeat sales. Customer satisfaction "has no real value," the researchers said.  For example, the American Customer Satisfaction Index reported in 2008 that Lincoln-Mercury's customer-satisfaction ratings were highest in the auto industry - ahead of Honda's, BMW's and Toyota's. Today the brand is extinct.

The Gallup researchers did find something linked to repeat sales: asking questions aimed at your customer's emotions.  Ordinary questions won't do it. Even well-worn classics - "What are your goals?" "What are your needs?" "How can I help?" miss the mark. They speak to the customer's mind, but rarely the heart. Engaging questions require that you to truly understand what motivates customers and what they value.  

Examples of questions that engage customer emotions

• Describe for me your vision of the future.
• Tell me about one unique (trend/opportunity) you're looking to pursue this year versus last year.
• Could you walk me through the action steps you'll need to implement to ensure your success?
• What are potential implications if nothing changes?
• If a prospective customer were to ask you what really differentiates you from the many choices available today, how would you respond? How might your competition respond.

Paul will be a presenter at the 2012 CSIA Executive Conference.

Now in its 58th year, the International Instrumentation Symposium (IIS) will take place June 4-8, 2012 at the Hyatt Lajolla in Lajolla, Calif. The event offers technical information and training in the traditional areas of measurements/sensors, instrumentation systems, data and advanced system/sensor technology and other state-of-the-art areas.Attendees will gain insight into critical technical topics including electronic instrumentation, wireless technology, cyber security, aerospace systems, process measurement and control, and more.

The MESA Global Education Program (GEP) aggressively addresses the knowledge gap that serves as the primary barrier to growth of the operations management space. Slowing that growth inhibits the realization of the significant gains available to end users who successfully embrace MES/MOM.* So, end-user manufacturers/producers and solution providers alike have reason to attend these programs.

MESA Certificate of Awareness (CoA) for MES/MOM* Business Awareness Program (2 days)is a high-level program of MES/MOM business functions courses geared for executives, manufacturing/operations and IT personnel and sales professionals.

MESA International is a non-profit, independent organization with members in 90 countries including solution providers, system integrators and manufacturer/producers.

These events occur in various locations globally in 2012. They require registration here.

Note: Polytron, a CSIA member, will host an event on Feb. 16-17 near Atlanta, Ga. 

*MES/MOM - Manufacturing Execution Systems/Manufacturing Operations Management 

A 90-minute kickoff webinar of a monthly online Smart Grid Educational Series begins Monday, Jan. 9 2012 at 1 p.m. Pacific. This is a free public service event to provide a neutral forum to discuss critical smart grid issues in an interactive and intellectually stimulating atmosphere.  This forum will provide a no-cost option for many industry stakeholders who don't have the time or resources to attend the major industry conferences to voice their opinions and broaden the scope of ongoing smart grid related work in our industry.

 
The monthly webcasts will have presentations from federal and state agencies as well as standards specification groups, consumer advocates, standards development organizations, integrators, utilities, vendors and other subject matter experts.  The presentations will address policy/regulatory/consumer focus, business process and technology issues to provide a more comprehensive approach to the challenges we face in our industry today.   
 
The guest speaker for the Jan. 9 webinar is the Honorable William Bryan, deputy assistant secretary for Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration (ISER) at the Department of Energy. The title of the talk is "The need for a reliable, survivable and resilient energy infrastructure."

If you would like to receive a link for the webinar, please email Erfan Ibrahim at erfan97150@gmail.com.

Control Systems West, Inc., Petaluma, CA, United States

represented by Bruce Borders

Control Systems West Inc. is a control systems integrator specializing in water and waste water applications. We fabricate control panels, provide engineering services, PLC, SCADA programming, and technical field services. We employ licensed engineers and electricians, and maintain an electrical contractor's license in both Calif. and Hawaii.

Cosylab d.d., Ljubljana, Slovenia

represented by Rok Sabjan

PCI, LLC., Detroit, MI, United States

represented by Barry Clay

Automated industrial control systems design, programming and integration. Target market includes midwest region, Kentucky, Louisiana. PLC and DCS of various manufacturers including Allen Bradley, Siemens, Emerson, Wonderware and Honeywell.         ,

River Cities Engineering, Davenport, IA,  United States

represented by Tom Loussaert  

River Cities Engineering is a full service electrical engineering and control systems integration firm. Our primary offerings include professional engineering, electrical power and control design, industrial control and information systems integration, CAD drafting and documentation, control panel fabrication, electrical installation, and project management. River Cities Engineering's goal is to be sought after by professionals who are focused on a commitment to excellence.  

State Electric Supply Company, Winston Salem, NC, United States          

represented by Mel Meineke