Organization:NAMUR

NAMUR

File:NAMUR-Logo e.tif
Formation	November 3rd, 1949
Location	Leverkusen, Germany
Members	140 member companies
President	Wilhelm Otten
Website	http://www.namur.net

User Association of Automation Technology in Process Industries (NAMUR) (German: Interessengemeinschaft Automatisierungstechnik der Prozessindustrie), established in 1949, is an international association for users of automation technology in the process industries with its headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany . The association represents the interests of, and supports the experience exchange among over 140 member companies and with other associations and organizations. Work results are published in the form of NAMUR recommendations and worksheets and submitted to national and international standardization bodies as proposed standards.

History

NAMUR was established on 3 November 1949 in Leverkusen. The founding fathers were renowned experts in the chemical industry working for Bayer, BASF, Hüls and others. Established as the Association for Standardization of Measurement and Control Engineering in the Chemical Industry, the original full name of the association was the Normenarbeitsgemeinschaft für Mess- und Regeltechnik in der chemischen Industrie, hence the acronym NAMUR. However, the original full name is no longer used today.

Membership in NAMUR was originally restricted to companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries. In 2003, membership was extended to all companies in the process industries including engineering companies. However, equipment supplier companies are not allowed to be a member of NAMUR in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

Nowadays, NAMUR is becoming an increasingly international association collaborating with technical societies such as ISA.

Activities in China, initiated by 2008, led to the foundation of local working groups with focus on regionally specific topics. In 2009, a Chinese NAMUR office was officially established.

An broader overview of NAMUR’s history can be found in a laudation held by Bernhard Will and Hasso Drathen at the occasion of its 50 year anniversary.

Organization

Membership of NAMUR is open to companies of, and service providers to, the process industry (chemical/pharmaceutical/petrochemical), and organizations with a technical or scientific purpose, like engineering organizations or universities. NAMUR grants company membership, only. A personal membership is not possible.

The association’s executive bodies are the NAMUR Annual General Meeting, the Board of Management, and the office.

Technical work within NAMUR is conducted in almost 40 working groups. The working groups draft and maintain NAMUR recommendations and worksheets and formulate NAMUR’s opinion on current issues within the automation engineering community. Working groups are organized in four main work areas, namely "Project planning and construction", "Process and plant management systems", "Field devices", and "Operation support and maintenance".

NAMUR recommendations and worksheets

An important element in the publication of NAMUR’s work are NAMUR recommendations and worksheets. They describe procedures, provide support material like check lists and define requirements related to equipment and systems. These documents should not be regarded as standards or guidelines, but rather describe the current state-of-the-art technology. They serve as a basis for discussions with equipment manufacturers and influence international standardization activities. Among others, involvement took place in the development of standards related to the 4–20 mA current loop, NAMUR sensors (e.g., IEC 60947-5-6), NAMUR solenoid mounting plates (VDI/VDE 3845, ISO 5211), and Profibus.

Currently, more than 100 NAMUR recommendations and worksheets are available.

Partner organizations

Cooperation agreements exist with several organizations and associations in the field of measurement and control, standardization, chemistry, electrical engineering and computer science, e.g., DECHEMA, CEN, CENELEC, DIN, ISA, ISO, EXERA, and WIB.