RIA Launches Certified Robot Integrator Program

Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group representing some 265 member companies, announced that it has launched a Certified Robot Integrator program.

“The idea for certification came to us from the system integrator community,” said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA.  “We held focus groups and conducted surveys of integrators to identify ways RIA could provide more value to the integrator community.  Integrators explained that a meaningful certification program might help users identify integrators who had the capabilities and experience to meet their needs,” he noted.

“RIA, which was founded in 1974, is the largest robotics organization in North America, so it makes sense that RIA should be the group to undertake certification,” said Scot Lindemann of JR Automation, one of the integrators who helped RIA develop the program.

“The trade group has experience handling confidential data because it has been collecting and reporting statistics since 1983,” Lindemann noted.  “Also, RIA developed the American National Robot Safety Standard and safety training is a key element of the new certification program.”

Burnstein said that RIA contacted users early on in the process of developing the new program to make sure it would help them create a “short list” of potential integrators for their projects.

“It is important to note that the users who helped us establish the criteria for certification understand that RIA will not be guaranteeing performance, but rather that we will audit important data provided by integrators,” Burnstein explained.  “The users helped design the certification criteria so that it is meaningful to them.  Users will of course still conduct their own due diligence in the selection process, but certification could be a factor to get on their list of potential integrators,” he elaborated.   

“The program is obviously going to be a big help to end users just getting their automation feet wet, but I believe it will be of great benefit to current end users as well,” said Curtis Richardson of Spirit Aerosystems.  “It is a convenient tool to help us identify established integrators in the industry, and it enables us to see at a glance the integrators who have met some basic but very critical criteria established by their professional peers.”

RIA is now taking applications from integrators interested in becoming certified. Full details about the program are available on our Robot Integrator Certification page on Robotics Online, the industry’s leading website or by calling RIA Headquarters at 734/994-6088.