08 Jan

PRESS RELEASE: Synergy Systems Inc. Earns CSIA Certification

by Synergy Systems in Synergy News & Achievements

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Synergy Systems Inc., Chicago-based provider of plant automation services, has earned CSIA Certified status in the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) “Best Practices and Benchmarks” certification program.

Synergy earned the certification following a successful audit – administered by an independent consulting firm – that assessed its performance against client-centric criteria in a wide range of business, project management and system development areas:

General Management
Human Resources Management
Financial Management
Marketing, Business Development and Sales Management
Project Management
System Development Lifecycle
Supporting Activities
Quality Assurance Management
Service and Support

“CSIA Certification is the gold-seal mark of a professionally managed control system integration business,” says Robert Lowe, CSIA executive director. “Certification reassures clients that Synergy Systems is an established professional services firm that wants to develop and successful, long-term partnership with clients.”

Mark Urda, president of Synergy Systems Inc. adds, “CSIA is the premier benchmarking organization in the control system integration industry. Recognition as CSIA Certified is a testament to our commitment to CSIA’s value proposition of ensuring that industries everywhere have access to low-risk, safe and successful applications of automation technology.”

About CISA
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) is a global non-profit professional association that seeks to advance the industry of control system integration for the success of members and their clients. For more information, visit www.controlsys.org.

19 Jun

CSIA Certification Progress

by Synergy Systems in Synergy News & Achievements

The Control System Integrators Association demands a high standard of quality from those they certify. We have been discovering the true complexity of the certification standards as we move further along on our path to certification.

While we have our marketing and technical writing personnel working every day to optimize our policies to CSIA’s standards, it is truly a group effort. Engineers and project managers are consistently consulted as we move beyond background policies to procedures that detail the quality work we provide our clients.

Our biggest challenge is working on achieving quality standards intended for companies larger than ours. While being smaller may make obtaining CSIA Certification and greater feat, it is far from impossible. We are moving into the last stretch of improvements to our business, verifying the high standards we expect out of our engineers comply with the standards of the Control System Integrators Association.

CSIA operates on the idea that technical proficiency alone is not enough to guarantee quality book. A control integrator should also have excellent business and management skills. To that end, they demand high standards in the following areas.

Human Resource Management
Marketing and Business Development
Financial Management
Project Management
System Development Lifecycle
Service and Support

The road the CSIA Certification may not be an easy one, but it is worth the effort to ensure our clients continue to receive the highest quality service. We believe that any small integrator can put in the effort it takes to receive this high quality certification and continue to optimize our business in order to do so. When it comes to our business, it is more than just providing quality to our clients today. We want to make sure we are constantly seeking improvement so we can also ensure quality throughout the future.

20 Mar

Industry Recognition of CSIA Grows

by Synergy Systems in Industry News

An ever increasing number of industry clients are requesting CSIA certification from the businesses they hire for industrial automation projects, according to Manufacturing Business Technology.

CSIA stands for Control Systems Integrators Association. They audit their members based on 79 criteria. When they meet or exceed these criteria, they receive a certification acknowledging their accomplishment. To further maintain the certification status, CSIA members must face additional audits every three years. CSIA certainly keeps their members on their toes – which is fantastic for businesses who aspire to be at the forefront of industrial technology and efficiency.

The 79 criteria are spread throughout nine chapters that describe everything from client projects to business organization. Chapters like Financial Management and System Development Lifecycle challenge businesses to make sure they not only provide for their clients, but provide for their business a healthy and successful structure. In this way, CSIA chapters act as redundant controls, ensuring that their members achieve only the highest quality of service.

This month, Synergy has been paying special attention to business continuity, going over our plans for various hazards that may arise and how we can deal with them in a way that has little to no effect on our projects and clients. This includes plans for our own business practices as well as plans for common and uncommon natural hazards.

You may have heard radio commercials talking about ready.illinois.gov. FEMA has their own national version at ready.gov, which provides a specific section for businesses. The forms and worksheets they provide have provided us greater insight into our own continuity plans.

Whether you are looking into CSIA or want to improve your own business continuity, we highly recommend using FEMA’s resources. Many hazards happen without warning, but having procedures in place to address them will protect clients and businesses from facing the full force of negative effects.