The PI North America "year" revolves around our annual General Assembly Meeting held every September here in Scottsdale, AZ. This year's installment marks the 22nd anniversary, since the organization was founded as the PROFIBUS Trade Organization in 1994. With the 2016 GAM now in our rearview mirror, we can reflect on the progress made during the year leading up to, and during the event.
The General Assembly Meeting is an opportunity to meet face-to-face with members, end-users, and the press. Principally an open forum for discussion, the event provides members with access to other members in a noncompetitive setting. This year was particularly engaging with many notable presentations on the current state of the organization as well as its future direction.
In addition to providing our members with a forum for discussion about past and future activities, the General Assembly Meeting is an opportunity to hear from end-users. End users present their cutting edge applications using the PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies. Of note were the number of case studies involving wireless and safety that push the boundaries of what's imaginable through automation.
News from Australia and India: PI Australia held their annual member meeting and looked back at the year’s achievements, including a new membership high. PI India demonstrated a seamless multivendor system at SPS Automation India 2016.
Highlighted this month: Australia has 30 certified PROFINET and PROFIBUS training classes scheduled for the remainder of 2016. PI Middle East has an upcoming seminar focused on food and beverage in their Dubai office. IO-Link has enhanced their workshops. And many classes are on the schedule for the balance of 2016.
PI North America hosts its annual members meeting starting September 27. Seats are still available. A new webinar “Introduction to PROFINET” has been archived. Free PROFINET one-day training classes in the USA continue after a summer break. PROFIsafe Certified Designer Training and PROFIsafe Refresher Seminar are scheduled in Germany but in the English language. Germany will be hosting a number of German language classes.
Certified Engineers and Installers meet a global standard of excellence and are listed on the PI website. Learn more about certification classes and become acquainted with the other types of training offered. A live webinar is scheduled for August 30, "Introduction to PROFINET." In North America the 22nd annual member meeting is scheduled.
This month, read up on PROFINET Road Shows occurring in Brazil, Technology Awareness Seminars taking place across South East Asia, and PROFIBUS Troubleshooting and Maintenance classes being taught in the Middle East. Is there an event in your area that might be worth attending?
