Vendor neutral user group conference

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 21, 2006

Matrikon 's vendor neutral MatrikonOPC User Group Conference will assemble and educate discrete manufacturers, process control professionals and automation technicians

Matrikon 's vendor neutral MatrikonOPC User Group Conference will assemble and educate discrete manufacturers, process control professionals and automation technicians over a two day conference, with training scheduled both before and after the event dates.

OPC is a set of standard interfaces that makes interoperability between automation/control applications, field systems/devices etc possible.

OPC is designed to bridge process control hardware and software applications.

It is an open standard that permits a consistent method of accessing field data from plant floor devices.

The purpose of OPC is to define a common interface that is written once and then reused by any business, SCADA, HMI, or custom software packages.

Facilitating hands-on learning to overcome industry wide challenges, the MatrikonOPC User Group Conference provides end-users with the professional development that enables them to proactively counter-act challenges that can immobilize productivity.

Growing issues including limited resources, greater time pressures, new accountability regulations and budgetary restraints add pressure to professionals who are forced to optimise legacy systems and growing interoperability requirements.

Ongoing training is crucial for companies to succeed in this competitive marketplace.

Professionals that are registered to attend the conference include; discrete manufacturers, process control operators, automation technicians, process control engineers, business development Managers, engineering technicians, software engineers, and applications analysts.

The many distinguished speakers include Dick Morley - father of the programmable controller (PLC), Jim Pinto - industry commentator, Tom Burke - OPC Foundation President, Eric Murphy - OPC Foundation HDA Chairperson and other industry experts that will present case studies.

Sessions will focus on Understanding the advantages of implementing OPC Technologies, advanced strategies to optimise existing systems and increasing system interoperability.

Training opportunities surrounding the conference dates include: OPC Workshops Level I and II - OPC Integration and Diagnostics - This two day workshop will consist of lectures, presentations, and hands-on exercises.

Learn in-depth strategies and OPC Technology implementation strategies.

SCADA Security Class - The SCADA Security Class will focus on the state of industrial security, patch management, intrusion detection and standards, advanced security landscapes, corporate awareness, and a risk assessment of your environment.

Executive OPC Standardization Roundtable - MatrikonOPC offers corporate, plant and industrial network managers and executives a seminar on streamlining industrial data throughout the organisation.

This non-technical seminar focuses on practical business strategies that optimise decision-making, productivity, profitability and security by using standards-based OPC technology.

Conference and training dates are scheduled for Houston, Texas in September 2006 and Koln, Germany in October 2006.

More information is available at: www.matrikonopc.com/opcug/ Also featured at the MatrikonOPC User Group conference is an expanded Connectivity Showcase that will include industry representation from the OPC Foundation, Putman Media, Automation.com, MIMOSA, Open O and M, ModBus-IDA and other solutions based vendors.