#CSIA2023: A Big Success in the Big Easy |
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By Chris Capuano
They say jazz and industrial automation go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Or maybe they don’t. But after a week in New Orleans at the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA)’s 2023 Executive Conference, you might be hard pressed to find someone who disagreed with the sentiment.
In the middle of May, attendees of the conference congregated on Canal Street in the New Orleans Marriott for five days of education, exposition, and elucidation from four keynote speakers and over a dozen educational sessions and workshops.
Kicking Things Off
First time attendees and seasoned veterans of CSIA alike were impressed with and engaged in the event, beginning from the first two days when a select few participants took part in two pre-conference workshops.
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Solving DCOM Security Patch Issues with Tunnel/Mirroring |
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By Xavier Mesrobian
Microsoft took an important step this spring toward keeping industrial systems secure. It made its KB5004442 security patch for DCOM mandatory. This affects all systems that network OPC DA, one of the most widely used industrial protocols in the world. Now all OPC DA systems that use DCOM across a network must use the highest security settings. Any networked connections with lower security settings will fail.
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Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem: tunnel/mirroring. Tunnel/mirror software is designed to make local connections to OPC DA servers and clients. The tunnel eliminates DCOM by passing the data across the network over TCP, using SSL if required. The data is mirrored between the server and client, so both sides maintain a full, up-to date data set. If the network goes down for some reason, both the OPC DA server and client stay connected to the tunnel/mirror software, and the client is informed of the break. Once the network comes back, the connection is automatically re-established.
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By Jose Rivera
The 2023 CSIA Executive Conference in New Orleans was GREAT! This is not just my assessment; it is also the input by 97 post-conference survey respondents:
- “How likely is it that you would recommend this event to a friend or colleague?” The responses generate a Net Promoter Score (NPS) that is calculated by subtracting the detractors (0-6) from the promoters (9-10). The 2023 conference scored NPS of 69. This falls in the Great category and only one point short of Excellent (70-100) according to Retently.com. To put this into perspective, CSIA scored an NPS of 51 (combined SI and partner – also great) at the 2022 year-end membership survey.
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GE Webinar Series Covers Latest Versions of Software |
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How can GE Digital’s new generation of software allow for less installation and maintenance effort, better user experiences, future proof your customers’ OT data collection and enable the “Connected Worker”?
Learn how GE Digital’s iFIX 2023, 2023 Proficy Historian for Cloud and Proficy Operations Hub 2023 are enabling customer success.
Join the upcoming webinar sessions to learn more about the latest versions of this software.
iFIX 2023 – In this session, you will learn about GE Digital’s 2023 iFIX HMI/SCADA release, featuring: Centralized project deployment, enhanced failover, MQTT bridge, native HTML5 displays with the Proficy Operations Hub web portal, and more. Register Now
2023 Proficy Historian for Cloud – In this session, you will hear about customers who have experienced the benefits of cloud deployment, data aggregation across the enterprise and have successfully moved heterogeneous OT data to the cloud at scale and fast! Register Now
Proficy Operations Hub 2023 – In this session, you will discover how to create web applications for visualizations and analysis, flexible layouts that can be customized by role and function, native HTML5 HMI mimics and more. Register Now
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Date: Thursday, September 7
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. (MX)
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Date: Thursday, September 14
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. (CT)
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Date: Wednesday, October 18
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. (CT)
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By Lisa Richter
In no order, a few sundries:
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And that’s a wrap: Best Practices 6.0 is here! Download the full manual here. [Members only.] Or browse the FAQs to see what’s new. If you are into podcasts, there is also an episode of Talking Industrial Automation with BP Chair Tony Valasek, along with a transcript, here.
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Let’s make a deal: Membership dues and CSIA Exchange upgrades and packages are 50% off right now (since we are half way through the year). Contact Lisa Richter to find out how you can cash in on these savings.
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Envelope please: Congrats to the 2023 CSIA Awards winners!
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Survey says: Discover which technologies industrial automation companies are using to monitor and grow their business performance in this report from Clayton & McKervey.
Questions? Send me an email, I’m here for it.
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Maximizing Insurance Coverage for System Integrators |
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By Marissa Dowdy
As professionals in a high-risk field, system integrators must have the right insurance coverage to protect against potential risks and liabilities.
With that in mind, let's explore key considerations, assess insurance coverage needs, understand policy details and explore additional coverage options to optimize your insurance coverage.
Assessing Insurance Coverage Needs
System integrators should carefully assess their insurance coverage needs to protect them adequately.
Here are some key considerations:
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Evaluating the scope of projects and potential risks: Consider the complexity and size of the projects you undertake and the potential risks associated with your work. That includes evaluating the level of automation, integration with other systems and the industries you serve.
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Here’s your quarterly roundup of recent content you may have missed. |
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Talking Industrial Automation Podcast
If you are a podcast fan, you’ll want to check out CSIA’s Talking Industrial Automation. Some of the latest episodes include:
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Business and Technical Webinars
CSIA members and industry experts share their expertise in these free virtual event recordings.
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The "Value" of Specialization |
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By Bryan Powrozek
For many businesses that are just starting out, it is hard to turn down any work because they need the revenue to survive the early years of existence.
However, most business owners eventually realize the key to scaling their operations is to specialize in a particular industry. While making the decision to turn down or walk away from an opportunity is never easy, focusing on a specific segment can be advantageous for your business, especially when it comes to valuation.
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LATAM Update / Noticias de LATAM |
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By Carolina Casas Anzola
Good Practices
Good practice means carrying out a function or activity using recommended or approved actions.
Good practices are related to what is good to do, they are logical practices full of common sense that help us to do our job better.
It is correct to document good practices to ensure their preservation and constant application, we can do it in documents such as guidelines, codes of good practices, manuals, documented procedures, regulations, among others.
Best Practices
Also known as "Best Practice," it is a superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improvement of the desired performance of an organization, recognized as "Best, The Best, The Best" by other similar organizations.
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Por: Carolina Casas Anzola
Las Buenas prácticas
Buena práctica significa llevar a cabo una función o actividad utilizando acciones recomendadas o aprobadas.
Las buenas prácticas, están relacionadas con lo que es bueno hacer, son prácticas lógicas llenas de sentido común que ayudan a realizar mejor nuestro trabajo.
Es correcto documentar las buenas prácticas a fin de asegurar su preservación y constante aplicación, lo podemos hacer en documentos como directrices, códigos de buenas prácticas, manuales, procedimientos documentados, reglamentos, entre otros.
Las Mejores Prácticas
También conocidas como “Best Practice,” es un método superior o práctica innovadora que contribuye a la mejora del rendimiento deseado de una organización, generalmente reconocido como «Mejor, La Mejor, Lo Mejor» por otras organizaciones similares.
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Thank you to our 2023 Sponsors! |
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Stay in the know on the latest CSIA and industry news. Follow us on social media! |
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