EMAIL INTERVIEW  Ron Bernstein & Ken Sinclair

Ron Bernstein, Executive Director, LonMark International

Ron is responsible for the direction and activity of LONMARK worldwide and works directly with the regional affiliates, LMI staff, and the membership to strengthen and grow the presence in the market.

LonMark Sessions Tour

The Tour will focus on energy savings; improving efficiencies through system integration; maintenance, operating and training cost reductions; leveraging the IT infrastructure; successful projects and market trends; and so much more.

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Sinclair:  LonMark is going to be very busy for the next several months. Can you give me an overview of what the LonMark Sessions Tour is about?

Bernstein:  The LonMark Sessions Tour is a series of FREE, one-day educational seminars held throughout the world for the stakeholders in the building controls and automation industries to help continue the transition from proprietary to open, integrated systems. These tour sessions will draw on industry experts and in-the-field experience to present relevant information through case studies examples and live technology demonstrations.

Sinclair:  What will these sessions cover?

Bernstein:  The Tour will focus on energy savings; improving efficiencies through system integration; maintenance, operating and training cost reductions; leveraging the IT infrastructure; successful projects and market trends; and so much more.

Sinclair:  LonMark had a very successful Building Open Systems road show in 2005. What new information will be presented at this year’s Session Tour?

Bernstein:  Much has happened in the realm of open in the past two years with new technologies and the inevitable IT convergence, and these sessions will illustrate how LonMark has responded in kind with simplified integration and interoperability strategies operating on a true open system.

Of particular interest is the live, online technology demonstration featuring dozens of LonMark Certified devices from industry-leading vendors that together demonstrate a comprehensive, interoperable and integrated building solution.

Sinclair:  Who will benefit from attending the LonMark Sessions Tour?

Bernstein:  Building owners and managers, architects, engineers, system integrators, specifiers, and all industry stakeholders and facility professionals are encouraged to attend. These seminars offer an excellent opportunity for attendees to network with LonMark experts and vendors who are extremely adept at implementing open solutions that result in lower operations costs and a much improved bottom line.

Sinclair:  Do you have to be an expert on LON systems to benefit from the Tour?

Bernstein:  No, Ken. This Tour is unique in that it is customized for each market it visits. When attendees register online for a particular tour location, they are asked a series of questions to establish their comfort level with the subject matter. Using all the feedback for each location, it is determined by the presenters which content modules will be addressed as well as how much time is spent on key concepts.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Sinclair:  I’ve noticed that the LonMark Sessions Tour has an aggressive schedule and it will be hitting all the major markets throughout the world.

Bernstein:  Yes, Ken, we have a very busy few months. The Global Tour is running concurrently throughout North America, Europe and Asia between April and November 2007. The tour will hit 57 cities in 24 countries with an expected overall attendance in the thousands. Please visit www.lonmark.org/sessions for a complete list of tour dates and locations.

Sinclair:  As a non-profit organization, you rely on industry and member support to provide the Tour at no cost to attendees. Who are the sponsors who are helping LonMark provide this service to the industry?

Bernstein:  You’re right, Ken. LonMark cannot communicate with the industry on this sort of level without the support of our members. Our members and key supporters for this tour include: Adept Systems Inc., Distech Controls, Echelon, Engenuity, Gesytec, Hubble Building Automation, NJATC, TAC, Trane, ViaBus, Viconics and Voyant. Their support is invaluable to the ongoing success of LonMark. There are also many local city sponsors typically local controls integrators that lend their local expertise to the mix. If any of your readers are interested in participating as an event sponsor, please have them contact us. We think it is a great opportunity to network with prospects.

Sinclair:  I know that the LonMark Professional Certification Examination was recently kicked off at the AHR Expo in Dallas, Texas. Will this exam be held at the Sessions Tour?

Bernstein:  Yes, there will be an opportunity to take the exam at each location; this exam sets the standard for professional competency for engineers and integrators working with open controls systems. The feedback so far has been excellent and consulting engineers are planning to encourage certification by writing the requirement into their specifications. Those interested in registering for the testing program may do so at www.lonmark.org/testing.

Those who are preparing for the certification exam may purchase the LonWorks Installation Handbook, 2nd Edition for $45 at www.engenuity.com.
 

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