Automation careers a destination

InTech, Sep 2007 by Policastro, Ellen Fussell

Building a unified voice for the automation profession takes more than desire, knowledge, talent, and members who believe. It takes perseverance and strategy. It also takes important backing. That is why ISA Executive Director Patrick Gouhin and other members of the Automation Federation traveled to Washington this summer to initiate talks with members of Congress and help build on the credibility the Society already enjoys. The goal is to ensure "we're looked to when any questions arise about the automation industry," Gouhin said. Building that unified voice is also about "maintaining strength in the business world through leveraging the role of automation and related technologies," he said.

The shrinking pool of automation professionals has had a dramatic impact on manufacturers' ability to produce products cost effectively, said Mike Marlowe, the Federation's client manager. The hope is with these visits, the Automation Federation and the members that comprise itwill be considered the credible voice by Congress when issues of automation arise that affect manufacturing. "For instance, if there's a regulation for licensing requirements for automation professionals that congress feels needs to be enacted, we hope they'll refer to the Automation Federation first to get our sense of the impact of this legislation," Marlowe said. Marlowe has also been involved in discussions with the Robert C. Byrd Institute, set up by Sen. Robert Byrd from West Virginia, to promote workforce development incentives for manufacturing productivity.

Government, academia support

Historically, ISA has been heavily process-industry oriented, Gouhin said. But what we have to remember is there are two other non-industry categories of importance: government and academic. "We're trying to build our name in government and academic circles in addition to expanding into new industries. Many of our traditional technologies have applications in non-manufacturing settings and vice versa. The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration are two examples that can benefit from practices in industries we represent. I think there are many technologies applied in our customer base that could find applications elsewhere and technologies that are under development in government and academic programs that might have applications of interest to our constituent base," Gouhin said. "Wireless and cyber security certainly have standard implications for applications beyond industrial automation," he said. And we need to communicate what we represent.

Whole new market

"As Congress hears of troubling issues such as breaches in cyber security, they'll start to ask each other, 'Have you talked to the people in automation?' The entire circle of events could lead to R&D funding and potential sales for our members. There's a potential to open up a whole new market," Gouhin said.

The goal is to garner two kinds of support, Marlowe said. "We want Congress to let us know beforehand what kind of impending legislation might be on the horizon. And we want to be there on an ongoing basis to share with them what's happening in industry and the automation profession. We want them to know about our members and the important role we're playing as automation professionals in what happens with manufacturing in this country," he said.

If that happens, more opportunities, attention, and credibility will arise within the government and academic circles. If major employers feel they are not getting graduates with the necessary education right out of school and they are forced to invest time and money into retraining, then we need to step up and represent the profession and contribute to a solution. "Then we can inform Congress of our intent to advance the cause by establishing an automation engineering curriculum. If we make this connection, we can leverage the political discussions with state employees in the university system gaining their support and endorsement of our efforts. This then becomes our strategy to open doors and begin to make progress. When we make progress, we report back to the employers, 'Here's what we did on your behalf.' So it comes full circle," Gouhin said.

Push for curriculum

ISA is already working on an academic curriculum for automation professionals. "At this point, we are requesting letters of support for an automation engineering degree from industry leaders," said Dale Lee, ISA's director of education and membership services. "The committee held a focus group in conjunction with the American Control Conference in New York, and university leaders offered input. We have a draft curriculum but it's just a model, not set in stone," Lee said.

And the circle doesn't stop there. "To attract academics, you need research dollars," Gouhlnsaid. "If you talk of a pure manufacturing floor set-up, many academicians don't see the connection to a role they can play that meets their objectives. But if you look at most technological enhancements, they start at the basic research level." So it is important to garner backing from government, who "provides the majority of research dollars going into universities," he said. "We need to show government agencies we have experts who could be doing research, and make the revenue stream appealing to academics so they will engage."