Fandrich places first at regional automation competition

2016 Apr 25

A team of students from Bismarck State College (BSC), including Colbie Fandrich, of Wishek, N.D., took first place in a regional competition through the International Society of Automation (ISA).

Students from the Instrumentation & Control (I&C) program at BSC participated in the ISA District 6 Competition held on April 8 at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill. The students competed in two categories - an analog competition and a discrete competition. The analog competition required the students to design a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) program, configure a flow transmitter, and calibrate a control valve. In the discrete competition, the students had to design and wire a control circuit and bread board circuit. The BSC team won the discrete side of the competition, setting them up to advance to a final Jeopardy-style round, where they won again.

"The students representing BSC at this competition did an excellent job and showed how the applications and lab requirements they continuously practice and complete throughout the I&C curriculum meet industry standards," says Vance Vesey, BSC assistant professor of Instrumentation & Control Technology.