Open-SCS
Have you heard about Open-SCS (Open Serialization Communication Standard)? This is an exciting new working group addressing the healthcare industry. The focus is on the product serialization regulation wave of the next decade. Open-SCS is developing an open source standard for packaging serialization that will use the OPC Unified Architecture information model architecture and corresponding services for data exchange of serialization information. For more information on how to become part of the development team, download the information here.
CSIA
Have you heard about CSIA? Have you heard the exciting things that OPC Foundation and CSIA are doing together?
First off: what Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) is, and why a partnership between the OPC Foundation and CSIA is so important. CSIA is a not-for-profit, global trade association for system integration companies. CSIA has more than 400 system integration and 100 vendor member firms in 27 countries. Control system integrators design and implement sophisticated control systems for manufacturing, process, and other industrial facilities. These are the industries in which OPC has been strongly rooted. Control system integrators many times use products from the OPC Foundation vendor community. CSIA helps their members improve their system integration skills and provides an infrastructure for them to learn and share information on both the business and technical aspects of control system development.
System integrators are frequently in close contact with the end-user community. The end-users rely on the system integrators to implement complete project solutions. System integrators work together across many domains:
- Project management
- Building complex solutions
- Providing local assistance to end-users based on geography
Collaboration between end-users, system integrators, vendors, and open standards in this world of ever changing technology is of the utmost importance. The partnership between organizations truly will help facilitate increasing awareness and developing best of breed strategies for new products. The combined strategies of vendor certification from standards organizations, plus system integrator certification programs from CSIA, provide a solid foundation for solutions to be developed upon which the end-user can rely.
The OPC Foundation and CSIA will be jointly participating in each other’s events as well as developing and referencing each other’s technical and marketing collateral. If you are a system integrator, automation equipment vendor, or end-user interested in CSIA, please visit www.controlsys.org for more information. Also Check out the OPC Foundation website for more information about this exciting partnership.