International Society of Automation
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| International Society of Automation | |
|---|---|
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| Name | International Society of Automation |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Leader title | President |
International Society of Automation
The International Society of Automation is a global professional association for practitioners in automation, control engineering, process control, instrumentation, and related industrial disciplines. Founded in 1945, the Society serves as a hub connecting professionals from General Electric, Siemens, Honeywell International Inc., ABB, and Emerson Electric, linking standards development, professional certification, technical publications, and global events. Its activities intersect with organizations such as IEEE, ISA-affiliated bodies, International Electrotechnical Commission, American National Standards Institute, and industry consortia tied to Oil & Gas and Pharmaceutical sectors.
History
The organization was established in 1945 amid post‑World War II industrial expansion, when companies like Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Dupont, ExxonMobil, Shell plc, and British Petroleum sought technical coordination for refining and manufacturing plants. Early collaborations involved engineers from DuMont Laboratories, AT&T, Bell Laboratories, and Rockwell Automation. Throughout the Cold War era, members engaged with projects funded by agencies including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense (United States), and industrial research in partnership with universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, and ETH Zurich. In subsequent decades the Society expanded its remit to digital protocols and worked alongside developers of Profibus, Modbus, Foundation Fieldbus, OPC Foundation, and ISA100 initiatives. Collaborations with regulatory and standards bodies like Food and Drug Administration, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and European Commission shaped guidance for process safety and cybersecurity in automation.
Mission and Structure
The Society’s mission centers on advancing technical competence in process automation, promoting consensus standards, and supporting professional development among practitioners from firms such as Chevron Corporation, TotalEnergies, BASF, Dow Chemical Company, and Toyota Motor Corporation. Governance includes an elected board and technical divisions modeled after domain communities active in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, International Organization for Standardization, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and academic societies at California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University. Technical directorates coordinate working groups that mirror those in European Committee for Standardization and liaise with industry alliances including Industrial Internet Consortium and Open Platform Communications. The Society maintains regional headquarters and local chapters interacting with municipal authorities in cities like Houston, Zurich, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Singapore.
Standards and Publications
The Society develops consensus standards comparable in influence to documents from IEEE Standards Association, IEC, and ANSI. Standards address topics such as process safety management, instrument calibration, control system architecture, and cybersecurity, intersecting with frameworks used by Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Cisco Systems, and Siemens Digital Industries. Publications include peer‑reviewed journals and technical reports that parallel outlets like Nature, Science, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, and Automation World. The Society’s handbooks, technical papers, and standards are referenced by practitioners at Royal Dutch Shell, BP, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and regulators such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Education and Certification
Educational programs include professional development and certification schemes akin to credentials from Project Management Institute, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Certification tracks validate competencies in areas resonant with curricula at University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University, University of Michigan, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Training partnerships with vendors such as Rockwell Automation, Emerson, Schneider Electric, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation support workforce readiness for sectors like chemical industry, power generation, biopharmaceuticals, and semiconductor manufacturing.
Conferences and Events
The Society organizes flagship conferences comparable to Hannover Messe, CES, and SPS (Smart Production Solutions), hosting technical symposia, standards ballots, and exhibitions that draw delegations from corporations like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM, Intel Corporation, and NVIDIA. Regional congresses and workshops run in coordination with universities and trade bodies in venues such as Las Vegas, Frankfurt am Main, Tokyo, São Paulo, and Dubai. Events feature keynote speakers from institutions like National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and multinational firms including General Motors and Ford Motor Company.
Membership and Chapters
Membership comprises engineers, scientists, managers, and students affiliated with organizations like ABB Ltd., Honeywell, Schneider Electric SE, Siemens AG, and research centers including Fraunhofer Society and Max Planck Society. Local sections and chapters operate globally, paralleling networks maintained by IEEE, ACM, and ASME, facilitating knowledge exchange in metropolitan clusters such as Boston, Pittsburgh, Munich, Bangalore, and Beijing. Special interest groups coordinate with standards committees and industry task forces formed by companies like ABB and Emerson Electric.
Awards and Recognition
The Society confers awards recognizing achievements comparable to honors from IEEE Medal of Honor, ASME Medal, Royal Academy of Engineering fellowships, and national science prizes. Recipients often include leaders formerly associated with General Electric, Siemens, Honeywell, Rockwell Automation, Eaton Corporation, and academicians from University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign and Princeton University. Awards celebrate innovations in process control, instrumentation, safety, and cybersecurity, and are frequently presented at major conferences alongside recognitions sponsored by foundations such as Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.