Standards bodies establish cooperative forum

ISA, MIMOSA, the OPC Foundation, the Open Applications Group, and WBF have established OpenO&M, a cooperative forum where members can work together to solve automation challenges through standardization and harmonization of industry guidelines.

To ensure a cohesive set of standards, the principal organizations in OpenO&M are working together to harmonize divergent and competitive approaches to standardization, avoid duplication of efforts, and eliminate confusion among users.

“OpenO&M is not a new or separate standards body, and it is not an organization for the arbitration of technical questions. Instead, it’s a forum where organizations can come together to work on projects that benefit the industry,” said Alan Johnston, MIMOSA President

Through collaboration and communication about the development of manufacturing data exchange standards and implementation technologies, OpenO&M hopes to stimulate continuous improvement of specific standards and specifications overseen by participant organizations. The forum aims to facilitate end user input and direction, and provide a coordinating function to exchange insights, identify overlaps, and harmonize work.

The principal organizations will exchange non-voting memberships on a no-fee basis, enabling the principals to provide staff and officers to attend each other’s meetings and participate in standards development activities. The organizations will share the official minutes of their relevant work group meetings, committee rosters, and draft documents.