Last Seminar of the Year next month being held in the Houston Area - Sign up today!

Next month (November 6-7th to be exact) will be the last seminar of the year in North America and we'll be in the Houston area. One of our prestigious certified training centers, Lee College in Baytown, TX has chosen to host us for our event. We look forward to this really great opportunity.

Lee College offers certified training courses of varying lengths and depths of study and is the only one in the Southern united states to offer this type of vendor-neutral excellent training.

Our day-long seminar on November 6th will focus on the applications side of FOUNDATION technology and how the technology unlocks more power for your process so you can spend more time at operational efficiency and less time in unexpected shutdown. In case you have not ever attended one of our seminars, you definitely don't want to miss it. Some of the best and brightest minds in FOUNDATION fieldbus are in attendance sharing their knowledge and experience. The best part of it too is that it's completely FREE for all attendees. You can find out more information as well as register on our website: http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=136&Itemid=371

Typical seminar format

Following the end user oriented seminar, we have a Sales Force Training seminar on November 7th that is geared towards salespeople of FOUNDATION fieldbus. The class is a half day training session on the latest news of the technology and how it can be a major part of a customers next installation. The course gives market data and figures for FF as well as some great resource material to help guide you and your customer on every aspect of FOUNDATION technology. Learn how the latest FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management can help your customers see further into their process by reaching out to remote assets and integrating them into their control systems and how they can integrate wired HART, WirelessHART and ISA100.11a into their existing FF infrastructure! Also come hear about our latest announcement on Project Gemstone and how FOUNDATION fieldbus is the only open system out there focusing squarely on making the user experience easier and more intuitive, including device replacement.

We understand how valuable salespeople's time is so we'll have everyone out of the training day before noon so you can still make customer calls and site visits. Sign up today to refresh yourself on the latest FOUNDATION fieldbus has to offer!
http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=136&Itemid=371

Be sure to check out our Twitter page for announcements on the seminars @FieldbusEvents. You can also view videos from previous seminars on our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/FieldbusFoundation.

STC Brielle: Our Certified Trainer for EMEA

I have written here before before about our FOUNDATION Certified Training Program (FCTP), and it's time to highlight our certified partner for training in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa -- STC Brielle.  I was recently in Amsterdam and had some time to take a trip to Rotterdam to see the STC campus, which is right in the port of Rotterdam.  In Rotterdam, the focus of STC is primarily on shipboard operations and training for crane and gantry operators and other technical training related to the maritime, shipping, and transportation industries.

STC Brielle Portable Training Kit

View from the Control Room of the Pilot Plant

We then took a drive over to the Brielle campus, which is where the process automation training is done.  Brielle also serves as the location of the pilot plant, which is comprised of many different units and incorporates a huge amount of FOUNDATION fieldbus devices, as well as devices compatible with other protocols. STC Brielle also has portable training kits for on site training. Fieldbus training courses are for end users, design engineers, electrical engineers and operators, and cater to specific skill and knowledge levels. The Foundation Fieldbus training courses can be combined with elements of the process control and automation courses.

Pilot Plant

The Port of Rotterdam area is very important to the Fieldbus Foundation.  Some of our most high profile installations are there, including the Shell Pernis refinery and Shin Etsu refining, which avoided at least two unplanned shutdowns because of their use of FOUNDATION fieldbus control in the field capabilities.

You can link to the STC Brielle Section of our FCTP web site here for more information.

Support End User Training in Pune, India, By Donating Your FOUNDATION Fieldbus Equipment

As you know, the Fieldbus Foundation is committed to delivering not only the best in technology, but also the essential training that allows end users to get the most out of the technology. That is why we developed our FOUNDATION Certified Training Program (FCTP), which ensures consistency and quality in training at some of the world's leading technology and industrial educational institutions around the world.

We are pleased to announce that we have added a new FCTP partner site for end user training in Pune, India, which as you know is one of the fastest growing markets for adoption of fieldbus technology. UL is a well-known supplier of automation training solutions to our industry, with an excellent reputation for quality and highly qualified personnel. 

The Foundation would like our manufacturing members to be part of the success of this important new training site by providing hosts, devices, physical layer components, and cable to properly equip the site to deliver vendor neutral, first class training to end users across a wide range of industry segments.

Think about it. Every day that an end user is in class, they are becoming more knowledgeable and comfortable with the quality products your company provides. What better way to market your automation solutions then to provide your customers and potential customers with hands on knowledge of your products? 

Many of you may know Mr. B.R. Mehta, Senior Vice President of Reliance Refining. Here is what Mr. Mehta has to say about the importance of high quality training:

"When we began our search for the automation technology essential to build the largest refinery in the world, it was obvious that to maximize our return on this significant investment, Reliance would need to educate their operating personnel in engineering, operations and maintenance. We recognized FOUNDATION fieldbus as the technology of choice, and we also recognized that for ongoing success, India needed a dedicated training institute to support an ever growing economy. The Fieldbus training site at UL Group in Pune is the culmination of that dream and the result of more and more end user demand."

Each contributing company will have their company name proudly displayed on a high visibility plaque in multiple locations within the facility. There will be no doubt as to your support and commitment of the technology and the trust you have in your products and the training center itself.

Please consider a donation of FOUNDATION-based products to our newest training center at UL Group, Pune, India. Download the equipment donation form and return it to Dileep Miskin (ff@ulepl.com) of the UL Group at your earliest convenience. If you need more information, Dileep can be reached by email or at +919970006819.

Fieldbus Training Center and Instructor Receive Accolades

Trine University in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of our Foundation Certified Training Program (FCTP) partners.  Trine's chief instructor, Dave Lancaster, is a long-time fieldbus professional with experience managing the world's largest fieldbus projects.  Recently, the Indiana Council for Continuing Education (ICCE) awarded Trine’s FF400 – FOUNDATION Certified Professional course as “Course of the Year” and instructor, David Lancaster, as “Faculty of the Year”.

Mr. Lancaster has developed the curriculum for both FOUNDATION Fieldbus certified courses and numerous other custom FOUNDATION Fieldbus training programs. His excellent teaching skills and profound involvement in FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology since 1999 make him a valuable asset to Trine University, the Fieldbus Foundation, and everywhere FOUNDATION Fieldbus technology is used.

Trine University offers FOUNDATION Certified Professional and Technical Specialist courses, both in hybrid format (online plus four days of hands-on training in the FOUNDATION Fieldbus lab at Trine’s Indianapolis Regional Campus), providing students with more time for hands-on learning and savings on expenses.

Registration is currently open for FOUNDATION Certified Professional course, April 22 - 25, and FOUNDATION Certified Technical Specialist course, April 15 – 18. Registration deadline is April 1. Tuition discounts are available to Fieldbus Foundation members, groups, and attendees of Fieldbus Foundation End-User Seminars.

For more information, course descriptions, or to view the 2013 course schedule, please visit Trine’s website.http://www.trine.edu/conted/foundation_fieldbus/

University of Miskolc Becomes FOUNDATION Certified Training Partner

The Fieldbus Foundation held a press conference yesterday at the University of Miskolc, Hungary, to announce that the university has been successful in the rigorous certification process required to become a Foundation Certified Training Program (FCTP) training site. This program establishes uniform standards for fieldbus educational curriculum around the globe, and defines acceptable levels of learning for students of the technology.

The University of Miskolc is now the preferred site for certified FOUNDATION fieldbus training in the Central & Eastern Europe region.  There are rigorous procedures that educational institutions must follow to gain certified training site status, and for certifying course instructors and curriculum. Certified training centers are required to maintain multiple hosts and devices onsite in order to demonstrate competence with FOUNDATION fieldbus technology. They are also audited to ensure their course material adheres to set instructional standards covering fieldbus segment limits; device replacements; commands, icons, menus and screen designs of different software packages; and communication, scheduling and function block assignments enabling configuration.

For many years, the University of Miskolc, Research Institute of Applied Earth Sciences - Department of Research Instrumentation and Informatics, has been actively involved with several research projects to use, develop, and teach industrial communication systems.

Fieldbus Training Laboratory at University of Miskolc

Three instructors at the University of Miskolc have been certified to conduct FCTP courses. József Subert, Viktor Füvesi and Ildikó Bölkény are all members of the Research Institute of Applied Earth Sciences - Department of Research Instrumentation and Informatics and, in addition to their teaching and research roles, are key members of the program and organizing committees of the annual Distributed Control Systems (DCS) meeting, a key event in Hungary for control engineers.  The press conference was given in conjunction with the DCS event this week.

The University of Miskolc will be offering the Foundation Certified Support Specialist course.

Dr. Károly Jónap, Head of Department of Research Instrumentation and Informatics, commented, “Certification is important for the University of Miskolc because we are formally recognized by the foundation as a high quality training center. This will give our customers a guarantee that the content of our courses, the course materials and the knowledge of our trainers are up to date.” He added “we are looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership with the Fieldbus Foundation”.

Jürgen George, Chairman of the Fieldbus Foundation Central & Eastern Europe Marketing Committee (FFCEEMC), is delighted that the University of Miskolc has gained its accreditation. “One of the key objectives of the FFCEEMC is to provide technical training, support and information about FOUNDATION technology and its applications to users and potential users throughout the CEE region at a local venue and, where possible, in a local language”. He continued, “To have a certified training center here in Hungary that can support the CEE region’s technical training needs is a great achievement for all those involved.”

Around the world, institutions currently certified under the FCTP program include: Fieldbus Center at Lee College, United States; Trine University, United States; SAIT Polytechnic, Canada; STC Group - Brielle, The Netherlands, University of Miskolc, Hungary; Waseda University, Japan; and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, Thailand. Other training centers participating in the program include: Sinopec Yanshan, China and LEAD in Brazil.

FCTP Program

Unversity of Miskolc Industrial Communication R&D and Training Laboratory