Automation and Process Control projects are challenging and can often invoke fear for the newly appointed Automation Project Manager (APM) or Project Engineer in charge.
In addition to all the usual challenges of any project, this particular type of project is often even more complex. This is the result of a variety of reasons including: integration of multiple engineering disciplines (software, computer systems, networks, and instrumentation), high dependency on User Requirements of disciplines outside of automation, integration of requirements from many areas (business, engineering, safety, environmental), delays in other areas of the project that propagate over into the automation area, new technology or technology constraints, and many more.
Also, Automation is often viewed as a black box by the non-automation community, which tends to isolate these activities and people from the broader project structures and support. And, Automation projects by the very nature of what you are trying to build are extremely complex. They entail building an embedded intelligence into an integrated set of computer and human systems, in many cases to run a manufacturing process that has never been done.
The ISA Automation Project Management & Delivery Division (APMD) is recognizing this challenge and provides the APM’s with proposed methods, tools and networking opportunities in support of their professional journey.
Join the ISA Automation Project Management Group on LinkedIn!