The ISA Certified Automation Professional^® (CAP^®) certification is a mark of career excellence that affirms your commitment to quality and demonstrates your expertise and knowledge of automation and controls. ISA CAP certification provides you with a non-biased, third-party, objective assessment and confirmation of your skills and expertise as an automation professional.

Who Are CAPs?

CAPs are individuals who have proven they possess an extensive knowledge of automation and controls and that they have the expertise and qualifications to excel in their fields. As automation professionals who work in process automation and manufacturing automation industries around the globe, CAPs are responsible for direction, definition, design, development/application, deployment, documentation and support of software and equipment systems used in control systems, manufacturing information systems, systems integration, and operational consulting.

Certification Requirements

To become an ISA CAP, you must meet certain education and work experience requirements, pass an exam, and commit to the ISA Code of Conduct. Learn more about CAP requirements.

CAP exam and Review Course

Ready to take the CAP exam? Submit payment for the CAP exam fee to get started. You will be emailed one month before the beginning of your assigned testing window with next steps to schedule an exam. 

Need further preparation? Enroll in the CAP review course to prepare for the exam. Visit the Prepare for the CAP exam page to view course format options.

Prepare for the CAP Exam

ISA has developed an extensive library of training courses, study guides and publications that are built around the technologies and courses covered on the Certified Automation Professional (CAP) exam. These resources have been developed and reviewed by subject matter experts. Learn how to prepare for the CAP exam.

CAP Body of Knowledge

The CAP Body of Knowledge (BOK) encompasses the full scope of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for competent job performance. It defines automation project domains, the tasks within the domains, and the knowledge and skills required to complete the tasks. View the CAP Body of Knowledge.

Reference to Standards and Codes

The aspects of automation covered on the CAP examination reflect the tasks performed in the range of practice settings throughout the United States. Familiarity with the following standards and codes is recommended. obtain the Reference to Standards and Codes (PDF).

• ISA Standards
• IEEE Standards
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards
• National Electrical Code (NEC)
• National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Standards
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standards
• National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Standards
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Codes and Federal Regulations
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Standards
• US Food and Drug Administration Regulations
• American Petroleum Institute (API) Standards

For International applicants, note that the validation study for the exams was done in the United States, so there may be questions on the exams that reference US standards and codes.

Gaurav Kumar is an education industry professional with 10+ years of experience in teaching, aptitude training and test prep. He’s a graduate in Computer Science, postgraduate in Yoga Therapy and has previously worked with organizations like Galgotia College of Engineering and The Manya Group. At jagranjosh.com, he writes and manages content development for School and General Knowledge sections. He can be reached at gaurav.kumar@jagrannewmedia.com

A new paper Biomedical Engineering (BM) is being introduced in GATE 2020.

A new paper Biomedical Engineering (BM) in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is introduced from the year 2020. This is expected to unify undergraduate syllabus of Biomedical Engineering among several universities, and to help stimulating the growth of BME research and product development in India, said a statement from IIT Madras which organised the GATE exam last time.

The Chemistry Department at the University of Nevada has developed a Student Safety Program and has developed policies that will minimize your exposure to hazardous situations that may occur in courses. This information is based on the Department of Chemistry Student Safety Program, and applies to CHEM 100, 121L, 122L, 201, 202, 220L, 330, 345, 347, 348, 423, 424, 432, 435, 444, and 455. Other more specific safety policies may be applicable to individual courses, and to advanced Chemistry Department laboratory courses such as CHEM 292, 392, 490, 495, and 496.

The University of Nevada and departmental safety policies represent a Student's Right to Know about any potentially hazardous situation in which you may be placed while performing an experiment. For this reason, before you begin any experiments, your faculty instructor and teaching assistant (TA) will go over any safety precautions of which you should be aware and show you how to perform any particularly difficult or potentially dangerous procedures. Your TA will also emphasize any personal protective equipment and other safety equipment needed. All safety procedures will also be documented in writing, either as a part of the laboratory procedure, or as a handout. They may also be discussed in the lecture part of the course. You should ask your TA if you feel that you do not fully understand the instructions or information given to you about the hazards of any experiment. Once properly instructed, it is your responsibility to follow all safety procedures.

The experiments in these laboratories have been chosen or modified to use relatively safe chemicals and procedures as much as possible. However, all chemicals have a certain level of hazard and toxicity. Therefore, the use of hazardous chemicals cannot be avoided. Some of the experiments do use chemicals that are hazardous (flammability, toxicity, etc.), and special precautions are required. As part of the pre-lab for each experiment, you are expected to review and note the safety precautions and procedures for that experiment. The TA will check this part of your pre- lab before you are permitted to begin the experiment. When using organic solvents, use the chemical fume hoods and protective gloves. If students in advanced classes or undergraduate research work with carcinogenic or acutely toxic materials, they must use gloves and lab coats in addition to goggles, and work in a specially designated area. There is always the possibility of individual sensitivity or allergy to any substance. If you experience any unusual irritation, itching, or burning of the skin, respiratory tract, or eyes, stop the experiment and report the situation to your TA. Anyone with any relevant physical or medical condition (e.g., pregnancy, epilepsy, history of severe allergies, etc.) that might pose difficulties with laboratory operations must report these conditions to the laboratory and course instructor.

The most important personal protective equipment is eye protection. All persons in the laboratory shall wear goggles with impact and splash protection whenever any chemicals or experimental equipment are in use or on the benches anywhere in the laboratory. This includes the full laboratory period except during introductory discussions by the TAs or after all experiments are done and all equipment and chemicals are stored and students are only using the computers. Students who are asked more than twice (in one lab period) to put their goggles on or follow any other safety procedure will be dismissed from the lab for that period. The student will not be allowed to make up that lab and will receive a "zero" for that experiment. More than two "zeros" mean failure of the course (not just the laboratory portion of the course). Full coverage splash and impact goggles (ANSI Spec. Z87) must be worn. Any other splash goggles that you may have from another course may be acceptable. Have your TA or faculty instructor check them for you. You must have a pair that you can wear continuously in the laboratory. Ordinary plastic safety glasses or impact-only goggles are not acceptable. Impact goggles have a larger number of ventilation holes around the facepiece and do not offer protection from a chemical splash. Acceptable safety goggles are available at the ASUN Bookstore.

Students must wear a protective laboratory coat during experimentation. Because of their lack of protection, shorts and short dresses are not allowed in the laboratory. Legs must be covered to the foot. Open sandals or bare feet are forbidden in the laboratory. Shoes must cover the entire foot and be completely enclosed. Individuals with long hair must tie it back to keep it away from fire, chemicals, and moving equipment. Bracelets, necklaces, neckties, and similar loose items of attire may create a hazardous situation and so they must be confined or not worn in the laboratory. Students will not be allowed to enter the laboratory if not properly clothed and will receive a ‘zero' for that day's experiment and will not be allowed to make it up.

As concern grew over the plight of education in Sri Lanka particularly the overloading of work for children and compulsory tuition, a poll by the Business Times (BT) this week confirmed the anxiety of parents, students and administrators over the education crisis and the stress on kids.

The BT polls follows an extensive panel discussion on the same issues last week by a group of experts representing administrators, parents and doctors which concluded that today’s education structure is leading to the creation of a generation of misfits in society. (See last week’s report in the BT)
The poll asked three questions: (1) Is the education system facing a crisis today given the tough syllabus’ and examinations? (2) Are school children over-burdened with work leading up to the OL/Als examinations? and (3) Has tuition, which most children take today, become essential rather than an option because of the present system? (Results in the graphic)

The poll, conducted in collaboration with the Colombo-based Research Consultancy Bureau (RCB), a market and social research agency, amongst over 800 respondents including street interviews, found the majority responding with a ‘Yes’ answer to all three questions. Each question found more than 65 % responding with a ‘Yes’ answer.

Respondents ranged from parents, students, administrators, doctors, government officials and from various sections of civil society with many providing additional comments as to why they felt the system was wrong. One respondent, during a street interview conducted by RCB said that “tuition will become necessary for children with the appointment of the biggest tuition master as the Education Minister and now no one can stop the tuition business.” The reference was to Education Minister Bandula Gunawardene, an economics teacher-turned politician. The Minister has rejected claims that he is still in the tuition business having sold his Sussex tutory at Nugegoda some years ago.

Comments poured in from respondents on email and from street interviews reflecting the concern that today’s parents and civil society have over the education system, the stress on their kinds, the structure and role in the country’s development.

Here is a trial of the comments:

National plan needed

• There should be an integrated national plan formulated for the development of the country. These models should cater to such a national plan and not be education merely for the sake of acquiring knowledge.
• Academic education on a stand alone basis is irrelevant. There should be skills development in the various trades, including development of the arts, crafts, music etc., in as much as there is investment and development in cricket.
• The need to retrain graduates alone demonstrates the dire straits and the failure of the educational system
• Unemployable graduates on one hand, with so many jobs advertised with no suitable candidates – there lies the problem.
• Education is not the assimilation of knowledge or the acquisition of titles, but a formation of character.
  Musical chairs with the syllabus

Our school system is defined and dictated by whoever is ‘running the show’ at the Education Department or the Ministry at that time.

Unfortunately our administrators travel overseas and try to emulate the system in that country and copy everything that they see, instead of taking the gist of what they learn and apply what is suited to our country and the infrastructure that is in place. The syllabus seem to change with the change of each administration, due to showmanship of those at the helm! A good example is when our children are asked to follow the O/L in the English medium with text books that are in Sinhala.

The syllabus is outdated with outdated examples, outdated case studies, and an attempt made to shove down the throats of students throat the maximum information possible, whether relevant or irrelevant. Thus we are creating a generation of mindless drones, who are unable to think out of the box, unable to think creatively and simply do not know how to use common sense to figure out solutions to simple problems!

If you look at some of the text books at the open university, you would probably see that the cases and examples cited are from the 1980’s or the 1990’s. How relevant is that in 2011?
It is sad how the new generation that is to take this country forward will have two to three degrees but have no knowledge of culture, no creativity and simply have no clue how to even issue a receipt at a tea boutique if the computer breaks down!

Effectiveness

However tough the syllabus may be, I always wonder whether it is effective in preparing an individual to successfully face the challenges in the contemporary world in competing with the students who follow IB or any other international standard education system. I have mostly have come across graduates from Sri Lankan universities being overrun by less qualified ones due to the nature of the education they each have received.

System too archaic

The issue is not about how tough the syllabus is; it’s about an archaic system, how poor the teaching tools are, and how non productive the assessment system is which makes tutorials a necessity and studies a chore. I have spoken to many kids who have moved from local to international schools and they say they find the studies there easier. Trust me the syllabus for international schools is more intensive. But it’s the way concepts are presented that makes it easier to understand and more interesting - having said that I do not think even international schools are perfect. Poor teacher training, poor pay scales - some local school teachers get paid less than Colombo maids -, poor funding, excessive centralization; the issues are huge and many While the government seems to spending billions on infrastructure relatively not much attention is given to building the true pillars of our future.

Z score

Elementary and higher education has been messed up in Sri Lanka. Admission to grade one is all politicised and then comes university admission which is highly competitve and again politicised. Due to the Z score admissions in place, the most eligible candidates gets weeded out and the secod tier candiates get in.

The so called ‘International Schools’ and degree awarding ‘commercialised foreign universites’ are the net beneficiaries of our systemic deficiencies as evident from the rate they have been mushrooming.

Passing exams

The entire education system has to be revamped. Today in Sri Lanka we have an education system that trains the entire student population to pass exams: They all got the ‘Text Book Intelligence’ but nothing beyond that. This is very clear when you see the calibre of the local graduates. After a 4-year program they walk out with a certificate but without any tangible skill or knowledge that potentially makes them employable.

Reforms

Our education needs fundamental reforms qualitatively and quantitatively. We must introduce subjects that the students can think beyond the books and focus on self reliance. More importantly we must train them for non traditional professions that are very much in demand as opposed to blindly demanding they be professionals where the majority fights for few jobs or clamour to be doctors and engineers.

Practical thinking

• The system does not allow the child to think practically. It caters to book worms and then how could these kids fit into society? We do not cultivate each child strengths.
• Children have lost their childhood because of over-burdening them with ‘unwanted’ material. Every tuition master is trying to beat his competitor by ‘inundating innocent children with all what they know’, whether the material is relevant or not. This requires a lot more time depriving them to have a childhood. They have no time for sports or any extra-curricular activities.
• Each individual is not the same; they have their own talents. Some are very good in exams while others are good in practical work. Therefore the system should not be based on 100% exams. There should be a mix of practical work and exams and students must have the flexibility to decide what they want to do not, what the system wants them to do. The choice should be there’s.
• There is so much disparity between urban schools and rural schools. Without competent teachers the students in underprivileged schools face immense challenges to meet the higher demands required by new syllabus.
• The local syllabus is not tought because compared to other education systems Sri Lanka’s education system has always been a lightly taken syllabus. So to match up with the international standards and taking our students to be on par with that level the current changes that they have done is good. But it needs more commitment from teachers and parents. Teachers don’t have a proper knowledge to teach the students. That’s why we are facing a crisis.
• The education system is crisis riddled. The syllabuses are not only tough, they are also so heavy that teachers are unable to spend sufficient time on teaching. Hence, the acute need for tuition and loads of homework.
  Poor kids and tuition
• Poor kids are running from one tuition class to another.
• If the work load is less in the O/L then students have more free time, where they can be directed to sports, societies and social work which will build their skills, character building and make them confident, capable, healthy, presentable individuals. Also they will be well rounded individuals.
• Some of the poor who are left out try their best even to get into a ‘leaky boat’ to find some employment abroad as the economy cannot find jobs for them; some of the women among them become slaves in some Middle Eastern home while their children back home are abused even by their fathers and uncles.
• Most of those who pass out from the local universities stay unemployed for long periods are shunned by the private sector as they are not competent/not proficient in English to work in a tough business setup, go on strike often to show their anger and are ultimately absorbed into the already over-crowded public sector which is incompetent most of the time due to politicization.
• School children are over-burdened due to the competition among their parents not because of the work leading up to the O/L or A/L examinations. If the child is doing well in studies, he/she knows how to manage the educational lifestyle with their day-to-day life.
• School children are overburdened with work, and caught up in the rat race. Their pleas for help are manifested in the teenage suicides and mental breakdowns that plague our nation. Of course, the connection between the two is not acknowledged or recognized
  Lucrative business
• Tuition has become a lucrative business for the masters earning them millions of tax-free money and not properly taxes
• Children these days either study and go for tuition, and watch TV as recreation. What happened to playing cricket with the kids from down the road or going to the park to play with your friends? Kids have no exercise which is one of the main reasons why most kids these days suffer from childhood obesity. It is the crime to see what’s happening to our kids.
• Mainly due to the standard of teaching and teachers have declined to such low level. Private tuition has become essential fill the gap.
• Tuition is taken as a mandatory thing by parents and it has become a trend. There is a possibility to catch up with school work and home work without going for tuition for all the subjects.
• Tuition is definitely a must, as schools are unable to cope with the workload and the intensity of the syllabus. Compare the local syllabus with those of international exams? How much of this teaching will gear our children for life, like teaching them social skills and character building?