Extensions: Optional software resources

InTech, Apr 2007 by Sheble, Nicholas

We looked at benefits (www.isa.org/link/ 0107Channel), approach, scope (www.isa.org/ link/0207Channel), and broached the area of specific extensions (www.isa.org/link/0307 Channel) in integrating production, diagnostics, and maintenance information.

Look now at "Application integration framework"-ISO 15745. The model here is an integration model of a manufacturing application operating as a Unified Modeling Language (UML) package.

A UML package consists of UML diagrams, classes, and relationships, which represent the following:

* A set of manufacturing processes that compose a manufacturing application

* A set of manufacturing resources required to conduct these processes

* A set of information exchanges among these resources that manage, control, and enable the execution of these processes

Manufacturing resources include tools, machines, operators, fuels, devices, and related equipment. These also include raw materials, finished goods, inprocess items, piece parts, assemblies, scrap, mixtures, fluid batches, unit loads, and other items used, transported, transformed, or tested in a manufacturing process.

The manufacturing application, seen in this graphic, represents any of the following:

* A control application with a control process

* A diagnostics application with a diagnostics process

* A maintenance application with a maintenance process

Extensions to the ISO 15745 application integration model are shown with dotted lines, as optional software resources and an association qualifier that denotes a set of application integration requirements.

Further, in ISO 18435, the application integration model works at the other levels in the enterprise application hierarchy.

Terminology

Unified Modeling Language or UML: In software engineering, UML is a non-proprietary, third-generation modeling and specification language. However, the use of UML is not restricted to software modeling. It works for modeling hardware (engineering systems) and for business process modeling and organizational structure modeling.

ISO 15745 defines an application integration framework-a set of elements and rules for describing integration models and application interoperability profiles. This international standard is applicable to industrial automation applications such as discrete manufacturing, process automation, electronics assembly, semiconductor fabrication, and wide-area material handling.

ISO 15745-1:2003 defines the generic elements and rules for describing integration models and application interoperability profiles, together with their component profile.

Parts 2,3, and 4 of ISO 15745 define the technology specific elements and rules for describing both communication network profiles and the communication related aspects of device profiles based upon particular fieldbus technologies.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Nicholas Sheble (nsheble@isa.org) edits the Channel Talk department. The sources for this content are The Advanced Technology Group and Rockwell Automation. Read more about the ISO 18435 project at http://www.isa.org/intech/ jan07/integration.