The Chairman's Message

Welcome to the Fisher-Rosemount Systems Users Group web page. We're glad you're here, and hope you stop by each month.

Since we last talked, your Board met in Austin to review the 1999 annual meeting held in Atlanta, and begin construction of the agenda for the 2000 meeting in Austin.

As I told you last month, by most conventional measures the Atlanta meeting was a great success. We set new records for attendance by users, Fisher-Rosemount representatives, Fisher-Rosemount personnel, and third party vendors. In fact, one of the problems we encountered was crowding at some of the breakout sessions. This is becoming a significant factor in our meeting planning.

If you are an experienced attendee of the annual meetings, you should have noticed a number of changes over the years. When the Users Group was first started, the meetings were primarily Fisher-Rosemount presentations, with users filling the role of the audience. As time marched on, user participation in the meeting grew; first as part of roundtable discussions, and eventually becoming major presenters of information.

The meetings moved from a singular focus on F-R products to the multiple focus of products and how they were used by your peers. This leads us to the next logical step - getting value from the systems available from Fisher-Rosemount.

At the Austin meeting, we are going to add a focus on QBR's (quantifiable business results). We are going to search diligently for users that will be willing to share their positive economic successes with the group. This will be done either through formal presentations or through discussions that are more informal. The intent is that you will take back to your company information that may have direct economic impact on how you conduct your business.

The need for this focus is based on a business environment that your Board believes most users will operate in during the next decade. In my company, Continental Carbon, I expect that we will spend no capital on instrumentation and controls projects unless they fall into one of the two following categories: (1) they are necessary to continue manufacture of our product or protect the safety of personnel, or (2) there is a quantifiable economic benefit resulting from the expenditure of this capital.

Although I would love to have each of our Units run by the latest generation of controls, with Foundation Fieldbus devices, AMS, and high-level data management systems, the truth is that it isn't going to happen unless at least one of the above criteria are met. This is where feedback from my peers can be of use. At some point, I will be called upon to defend the decision to expend capital on I&C resources. My defense must be reliable and quantifiable. Being able to draw upon the experiences of others will be an asset at that time.

As always, your Board welcomes any input you may have on this or any other issue you feel is important. You are free to contact any of the Board members via E-mail (the contact information can be accessed from the Users Group home page).

Now, let's meet another Board member.

Say hello to Doug Keuer (pronounced Ki-er). Doug is a Senior Process Control Engineer, working for Goldschmidt Chemical Co at the Mapleton, IL plant. When elected to the Board in 1999 as an RS3 representative, Doug was working for Witco Corporation. He changed companies in the style of the 90's - Goldschmidt bought that Division from Witco. Of course, this just continued a trend started a few years earlier when Witco bought part of Schering AG (which included the Mapleton plant). So Doug is one of those fellows who keeps changing companies but never changes plants.

In fact, Doug and I have a corporate tie. When Witco bought the Schering plants, Continental Carbon was a Division of Witco. So for the brief period until Witco sold us, Doug and I worked for the same company.

Here's a picture of Doug in the RS3 room at the Mapleton plant.

Although he looks far too young, Doug actually has 31 years of experience. He is responsible for all control systems (hardware and software) and field instrumentation at Goldschmidt's Mapleton and Janesville (WI) plants. Doug is a past president of the Central Illinois ISA chapter, and a member of both the Fieldbus Foundation and the HART Users Group.

Doug's term on the Board is for the years 1999 and 2000. You can E-mail Doug at keuerdo@witco.com.

Again, thanks for hitting the web site. Next month I'll let you know which site has been selected for the 2001 annual meeting. I think you'll like it. In the meantime, you can contact me at ksimpson@continentalcarbon.com.

Keith Simpson
Chairman

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