Westlock Controls selects Fieldbus Center

The Fieldbus Center at Lee College—recognized and funded by the National Science Foundation—has an agreement with Westlock Controls to train its sales professionals on the basics of FOUNDATION fieldbus. This is the first such agreement between a Fieldbus FOUNDATION-certified training center and major automation equipment supplier.

By Staff March 1, 2006

The Fieldbus Center at Lee College—recognized and funded by the National Science Foundation—has an agreement with Westlock Controls to train its sales professionals on the basics of FOUNDATION fieldbus. This is the first such agreement between a Fieldbus FOUNDATION-certified training center and major automation equipment supplier.

The Fieldbus Center’s new “Fieldbus for Sales Professionals” course is the first phase of a three-step training program instructing Westlock sales representatives on sales strategies and implementation of fieldbus-based process-valve networking, monitoring, and control solutions. The course offers a vendor-neutral perspective on key aspects of fieldbus technology, but can be customized to highlight specific supplier solutions or product features.

Designed for inside and outside sales representatives, as well as service personnel employed by plant automation equipment suppliers, the course does not require any previous experience with digital control systems, and is part of the Fieldbus Center’s comprehensive training curriculum covering digital control technology.

According to Westlock’s vice president engineering, Leo Minervini, the Fieldbus Center’s extensive experience with FOUNDATION fieldbus, as well as its close proximity to the oil-and-gas industry on the U.S. Gulf Coast, were the keys to its selection as a training partner.

“The Fieldbus Center was the ideal choice for training our sales force on fundamentals of FOUNDATION fieldbus,” said Minervini. “We worked closely with the Center’s instructors to develop a customized curriculum enabling a basic understanding of fieldbus control systems. They offered a hands-on training environment allowing our personnel to interact with a variety of suppliers’ devices and host systems.”

During the “Fieldbus for Sales Professionals” course, attendees learn how to resolve common technology issues. Instructors describe the differences between digital control systems and traditional instrumentation, and explain how fieldbus can be cost-effectively integrated into project bid packages.