ISA, the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society announced that its Executive Board has formally established a subsidiary organization to provide a new home for OMAC–The Open Modular Architecture Controls Users’ Group.
The merger allows ISA and OMAC to enhance their missions to facilitate the development and application of automation technology.
OMAC Board Chair Andy McDonald of Unilever noted, "OMAC has been blessed with the active participation of a dedicated group of volunteers from numerous end user companies, automation suppliers, and OEM’s over its past eight years or so of informal existence. We are delighted that we are now affiliating with such a respected and established organization as ISA. It should help OMAC achieve even more success in establishing guidelines in areas such as packaging, computerized numerical control, and manufacturing architecture."
"ISA is excited about the opportunity to work more closely with the members of OMAC to establish consensus industry standards for the manufacturing community," commented ISA President Don Zee. "The guidelines that OMAC has established have greatly facilitated more efficient and effective manufacturing. They serve as an excellent complement to ISA’s legacy of useful industry standards and we look forward to working together in the future."
Dick Hill, ARC advisory group vice president observed, "ARC has been working with both groups for many years. Both OMAC and ISA are respected for helping achieve consensus and direction in the automation community. They have respective strengths in the discrete and process industries. By joining forces, they are positioned to leverage those strengths to become even more effective in serving the needs of automation professionals and manufacturing industries."
The OMAC Board of Directors will be working in the coming months to establish a strategic plan for the organization, including outlining plans for development of industry guidelines, a new membership structure, and meeting and training opportunities.
Source: ISA
