Response to 'Wireless merger' report

As the co-chair of ISA100.12 I need to correct some misinformation presented in the ‘Wireless merger “will not happen”’ article of November 5, 2009.

In the first paragraph you state that ISA has concluded that due to technical differences it’s impossible to merge ISA100.11a and WirelessHART.  This statement is not true.  ISA, as an association would never make this conclusion, it would be up to the subcommittee responsible for converging the two standards, that is ISA100.12.

In paragraph 2 the article quotes Honeywell’s Jean-Marie Alliet as stating that the ISA100.12 committee has concluded that the merger will not happen.  First, I do not know Mr. Alliet, he is not a voting member of ISA100 or ISA100.12, nor has he ever participated in an ISA100.12 conference call or meeting. 

I am not sure what his source of information is but the statement made is patently false.  The sub-committee and our charter demand that we continue to work towards convergence and we have reached no such conclusion.

I have been leading this committee for nearly two years, have chaired every meeting and conference call, and have attended all but one face to fact meeting.  With this factual basis established, here is what is actually occurring in ISA100.12.

1 – We are developing a Recommended Practice for vendors and users that illustrates how a field device could support software that operates both ISA100.11a and WirelessHART, but NOT at the same time.  This document should be released in the first quarter of 2010.
2 – We are preparing a White Paper, along with the ISA100 Co-Existence working group that describes for end users techniques for maximizing smooth co-existence between WirelessHART and ISA100.11a networks that are installed in the same facility and in overlapping radio space.
3 – We are developing a comparison document that outlines the differences between ISA100.11a and WirelessHART.  When completed this document will serve two purposes.  First, it will provide end users with a vehicle to allow them to intelligently query their vendors during purchasing decisions.  Second, it will provide a starting point for technical teams from both the ISA100.11a camp and the WirelessHART camp to begin the arduous process of converging the two specifications.

Cordially,

Paul Sereiko
Co-Chair ISA100.12

Editor's reply: The Process Engineering report is based in the main on views garnered from senior and, indeed, well-respected figures within the automation industry. These views seem to tally closely with comments by Dick Caro, your co-chair on the ISA100.12 subcommittee - as reported, for one, in a recent Managing Automation on-line article. There would, therefore, appear to be some communication issues here that still need to be addressed.