Tuesday 4 May 2010

Project from a technician's viewpoint

The International Society of Automation (ISA) has just published "Project Management: A Technician’s Guide," by Leo Staples.

Leo StaplesWith more than 30 years of power-generation experience, and with post-secondary studies in project management, Staples explores project management from a technician’s perspective. Subjects include documentation requirements, communication requirements, planning and resource coordination, monitoring and control, administration, and closeout. These subjects are covered in domains six (project organization) and seven (administration) of the ISA Certified Control Systems Technician® (CCST®) exam.

According to Leo Staples, automation projects are one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of the job of a Control System Technician (CST). In order to meet these challenges, a CST must understand project management and the CST's role on the project management team. This book defines a CST's role on the project management team.

Each chapter includes a set of questions designed to stimulate the thought process involved for a successful application. As a bonus, the final chapter follows two CCSTs through a control system replacement project. This chapter provides an example, based on an actual project, of the duties and responsibilities that might be assigned to two technicians who are members of a project management team.

This guide is a must read for technicians preparing for the CCST exam and those who manage technicians during automation projects.

About the Author:
An ISA Fellow, Leo Staples has authored numerous papers, given technical presentations at Technical Conferences and ISA Division Symposia, and has served as a reviewer for technical papers and books.
From 1994 through 2008, he managed a large technical workgroup that supported OGE Energy Corp.’s power plants in the areas of automation, testing and reliability. He currently serves as the Compliance Management Leader for the Power Supply Division. He was elected in 2009 as President-Elect of the ISA and assumes office in 2011.

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