Congressional visits push ISA's message

ISA is the voice of automation and wants to build a strong relationship with the members of Congress when it involves questions or legislation regarding automation. That is the message Automation Federation representatives Steve Huffman, Leo Staples, Patrick Gouhin, Bruno Kisala, Tim Feldman, and Mike Marlowe brought to Washington and key members of Congress in November.

November's meetings with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) began a dialog to build a partnership between the two groups. MEP's goal is to help small and medium-sized manufacturers be more successful in a global market through leveraging competitive advantages, such that those businesses can derive from automation and its related technologies and innovations. The meeting generated an initial agreement for the two groups to form a partnership. Further discussions will focus attention in key areas where the Automation Federation, its member organizations, and the MEP can work together. This partnership will also encompass the work of the MEPs in all 50 states. The group has already secured MEP Director Roger Kilmer to serve as a keynote speaker for the WBF North American Conference in 2008.

ISA's goal is to establish the next generation of automation professionals through the Automation Federation. Senators and Congressman David Price all agreed to be supportive of the Federation's efforts and to inform other members of Congress about the Federation's Congressional goals.

At its meeting with DOL, the group discussed the Automation Federation's Workforce Development Initiative and its importance to the future of manufacturing in the U.S. The discussions also covered possible funding sources within the DOL to further the development of the initiative. Topics included the Federation becoming a Certified Training Provider for DOL, which sponsors a career center for aspiring youth. They pledged to incorporate automation and ISA's "Automation is Cool" campaign into their high-traffic site, careervoyages.gov.