Open Group
Assembly Line
Open Process Automation Value Opportunities for the Chemical Industry
While envisioning the Open Process Automation Standard (O-PASTM), the Open Group’s (www.opengroup.org) Open Process AutomationTM Forum (OPAF) exhibited the foresight to produce much more than simply a technical standards document. To cover a much wider range of considerations, OPAF decided to organize a Business Working Group in addition to their other O-PAS groups, which address technology, enterprise architecture, and certification. A team of authors in the Business Working Group has written the O-PAS Business Guide, Value Proposition and Business Case for the O-PAS Standard. While portions are summarized, herein, the entire document is recommended reading.
As the guide states, OPAF focuses on the standards and business guidance required to achieve interoperability, modularity and portability of a process control system’s hardware and software components. The business advantages of these attributes are improved, more economical reuse of software components, an increased ability to apply innovative technology, and enhanced management of hardware obsolescence. The O-PAS scope, in terms of control-system components, is depicted in Figure 1.
OPAF has observed that, much like the biopharmaceutical industry, the specialty chemicals and semiconductor industries are constantly striving for a faster time-to-market for new products. Since industry economics reward the company that is the first on the market with a new product, manufacturers must build and qualify plants as quickly as possible.
The State of the Open Process Automation Standard (O-PAS)
Open process automation encompasses multiple individual systems: the manufacturing execution system (MES); distributed control system (DCS); programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and human-machine interface (HMIs); safety instrumented systems (SIS); and input/output (I/O) points.
This vision is based on a standard called the Open Process Automation Standard (O-PAS), which was founded in November 2016. OPAF, which supports the standard, now includes 103 member organizations, 22 operating companies, six of seven major control system vendors, hardware and software suppliers, and system integrators.
Next, Bartusiak briefly discussed the three versions of O-PAS. “In version 1, which was first published in 2019, we address the key quality attribute of interoperability. In version 2, which was published in January 2020, the O-PAS standard addresses configuration portability. Our new phase of work, version three, will address application portability.”