ITA and ISA collaborate

The Instrumentation Testing Association (ITA) and the International Society of Automation (ISA) are teaming up to co-promote the 2013 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium. Now in its eighth year, the symposium provides automation professionals from the water and wastewater sector the unique opportunity to come together to network, share ideas and learn about the latest technology. As a technical co-sponsor of the 2013 WWAC Symposium, ITA is helping ensure that the symposium continues to meet the needs of professionals who use instrumentation in the wastewater sector; reinforcing the mutual benefit of this collaboration for both associations.

Since its beginnings in 1984 when it was founded at a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) meeting in Chicago, Illinois, ITA (website: www.instrument.org) continues to be an end-user-focused technical organization that provides impartial third-party assessment of wastewater instrumentation technologies. Using a cooperative and impartial approach, the association seeks to address common instrument performance and reliability issues that often arise from the low-bid procurement environment that is typically associated with the municipal and industrial wastewater sectors.

With its technology-focused WWAC symposium, the ISA provides a forum for automation professionals to learn from their peers about the newest advances in instrumentation technology, instrumentation best practices and up-and-coming trends.  By partnering with the ITA, the ISA will be able to continue to ensure that its technical program is both forward looking and well-grounded when it addresses leading-edge instrumentation technologies.

Tony Palmer, executive director of the ITA, says, “The partnering of the ITA and the ISA with respect to the ISA’s 2013 Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls Symposium is a natural fit. Our members are always on the lookout for new ideas with respect to the instrumentation, and the collegial atmosphere of the symposium is a perfect way to do that. Coupled with the ITA’s popular instrumentation performance reports, the symposium provides a very broad and comprehensive view of the current and future direction of wastewater instrumentation.”

Taking place 6-8 August in Orlando, Florida, USA, the 2013 ISA WWAC Symposium boasts an extensive program. With over 40 speakers, three invited speakers, a keynote on using controls system data to make smarter decisions, and two optional training courses, the symposium offers incredible value for attendees. Registration for the three-day event is priced at $425, and discounts are available for members of several technical associations, including the ISA and ITA. The 2013 symposium also offers an optional training course on the sizing and selection of flow meters, a critical component of instrumentation technology used in the wastewater sector.

The symposium also continues its long tradition of meeting the needs of automation professionals in both the water and wastewater sectors. Instrumentation technologies span multiple industries, and the municipal water and wastewater sectors are no exception.

“The same flow meter and analyzer technologies are often found in both parts of the municipal water/wastewater sector,” remarks Graham Nasby, a senior instrumentation and control engineer with Eramosa Engineering, and general symposium chair for the 2013 WWAC symposium.

Nasby continues: “While the process fluids found in the two sectors are slightly different – one is water being distributed for use and the other is water being collected for treatment – there are a surprising number of commonalities between the two sectors when it comes to design, installation, operation and maintenance of instrumentation.  The symposium provides an excellent forum for professionals from the two sectors to learn from each other in a collaborative environment. It is for this reason it has been my pleasure to help bring the ISA and ITA together to collaborate on the instrumentation aspects of the 2013 WWAC Symposium.”