Automation Is Being Recognized as a Profession, but the Bad News Is that You Need to Know More and More

The Automation Federation was set up by ISA to, among other things, be a cheerleader for the automation profession, and in lobbying the U.S. government on behalf of automation professionals, it's having some significant successes.

Recently, the federation produced a detailed description of what an automation professional's skill set needs to be for the U.S. Dept. of Labor, and on July 14, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) wrote, "The topic of automation cuts across all levels of industry, rather than serving as a stand-alone technology, and particularly affects the fields of control systems' cybersecurity, industrial wireless sensors, systems interoperability and other basic automation technologies necessary for the success of industrial enterprises."

Hey network engineers, you’re not doing enough!

It is ironic that right as Gartner released research showing engineers are managing 20% to 30% more network components than they were last year, networking pros are about to receive even more on their plates by way of facilities management … of all things.

This week the IP for Smart Objects (IPSO) Alliance announced a certification and compliance program to ensure vendors release IP-based smart objects that interoperate. You may be thinking, what the h&%ll do I care about smart objects? What is a smart object?

Believe me, you should care. Smart objects are sensors and actuators that run in a range of applications from smart grid management to building automation. The IPSO alliance is hoping to accelerate the use of IP in these devices. That means that enterprise lighting systems, for example, can be networked into the LAN. Among the many use scenarios, facilities management systems will communicate to network managers when a system is wasting power without actual use. It is feasible that these systems could save enterprises as much money as greening data centers.