ISO/TS 15926-11:2023
(Main)Industrial automation systems and integration — Integration of life-cycle data for process plants including oil and gas production facilities — Part 11: Simplified industrial usage of reference data based on RDFS methodology
Industrial automation systems and integration — Integration of life-cycle data for process plants including oil and gas production facilities — Part 11: Simplified industrial usage of reference data based on RDFS methodology
This document enables a flexible creation of product knowledge models and data that supports systems engineering processes. The payload or design data can be exchanged across organizations or with the supply chain by combining resource description framework (RDF) triples, reference data dictionaries and a standardized set of relationships. This document is appropriate for use with the ISO 15926-series based reference data libraries, and it is applicable to the process industry, including oil, gas and power. However, manufacturing and aerospace industries can also benefit from this document. The following are within the scope of this document: — process plants in accordance with ISO 15926-1; — a methodology with low threshold for using reference data in combination with RDF triples for representing statements as defined in the ISO 15926 series; — an initial set of relationships required for process plant life-cycle representation; — a method to implement configuration management to trace back additions, changes and deletions in product and project data and enabling baselining; — data sharing, integration, exchange, and hand-over between computer systems. The following are outside the scope of this document: — serialisation methods; — definition of reference data libraries; — the syntax and format of implementations of either product data models or instance data using this document, or both; — any specific methods and guidelines other than RDF(S) for implementing ISO 15926-2.
Systèmes d'automatisation industrielle et intégration — Intégration de données de cycle de vie pour les industries de "process", y compris les usines de production de pétrole et de gaz — Partie 11: RDFS méthodologie pour un usage industriel simplifié des données de référence
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TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 15926-11
Second edition
2023-04
Industrial automation systems and
integration — Integration of life-cycle
data for process plants including oil
and gas production facilities —
Part 11:
Simplified industrial usage of
reference data based on RDFS
methodology
Systèmes d'automatisation industrielle et intégration — Intégration
de données de cycle de vie pour les industries de "process", y compris
les usines de production de pétrole et de gaz —
Partie 11: RDFS méthodologie pour un usage industriel simplifié des
données de référence
Reference number
© ISO 2023
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms . 2
3.1 Terms and definitions . 2
3.2 Abbreviated terms . 7
4 Purpose, objectives and principles . 7
4.1 General . 7
4.2 Positioning of this document . 8
4.2.1 Overview . 8
4.2.2 Process steps in the workflow of exchange data . 9
4.2.3 Use cases systems engineering . 11
4.3 Core terms in the context of systems engineering . 13
4.4 Conformance against requirements in projects . 14
4.5 Breakdown structures .15
4.6 Properties . 17
5 Semantic modelling methodology .18
5.1 General . 18
5.2 Substantiation of the choice for RDFS. 18
5.3 The use of RDFS in this document . 19
5.4 Symbols used in figures . 20
5.5 Reference data . 21
5.6 Identification and references in the text of this document .22
5.7 Incorporation of ISO 15926-2 within the ontology of this document.22
5.7.1 Entities .22
5.7.2 Relationships and their characteristics . 23
5.7.3 Properties . 25
5.8 Expanding the ISO 15926-2 ontology in this document . 26
5.8.1 General . 26
5.8.2 Additions to the individual hierarchies . 26
5.8.3 Additions to the abstract object hierarchy . 27
5.8.4 Creation of semantic relationships .28
5.9 Class of class mechanism . 29
5.10 Life-cycle model . 31
5.10.1 Life-cycle model as defined in this document . 31
5.10.2 Usage of the life-cycle model . 32
5.10.3 Comparison with structuring principles defined in IEC 81346-1 .33
6 Examples of creating project data using this document .34
6.1 General .34
6.2 Modelling of documents: status and version .34
6.3 Modelling of requirements and verifications . 37
6.4 Modelling of properties .40
6.5 Modelling of states of individual . 43
6.6 Modelling of interfaces and interactions.44
6.7 Modelling of risk information .48
6.8 Modelling of project change information .49
6.9 Modelling of failure mode and effect analysis information .50
7 Integration and exchange of project data based on statements .51
7.1 Concept of a common data environment (CDE) . 51
7.2 Reification of statements combined with named graphs .56
7.3 Creating metadata on relationships .66
iii
7.4 Data container structure for the exchange project data . 67
8 Initial set of reference relationships .68
Annex A (normative) Initial set of entities and relationships .70
Bibliography .71
iv
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 184, Automation systems and integration,
Subcommittee SC 4, Industrial data.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/TS 15926-11:2015), which has been
technically revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— as a basis for the initial set of relationships a set of use cases in the context of systems engineering,
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 is used rather than a set of formal information models derived from systems
engineering;
— the document has been aligned with ISO 15926-2;
— a resource description framework (RDF) statement has been added as reification method additional
to the RDF named graph;
— a method has been added for applying configuration management using this document;
— a method has been added to create a data exchange file between involved parties in a project.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
v
Introduction
The ISO 15926 series describes the representation of process industries facility life-cycle information.
This representation is specified by a generic, conceptual data model that is suitable as the basis for
implementation in a shared database or data warehouse. Another application is to create handover files
containing explicit, unambiguous life-cycle data which complies with a commonly shared data model
and reference data library (RDL).
The data model of the ISO 15926 series is designed to be used in conjunction with reference data, i.e.
standard instances that represent information common to a number of users, production facilities, or
both. The support for a specific life-cycle activity depends on the use of appropriate reference data in
conjunction with the data model.
This document focuses on a simplified implementation of the afore mentioned data model in the
context of systems engineering data in the area of the process industry, including the oil, gas, power
(fossil, nuclear and renewable energy), but can also be used in the area of manufacturing and aerospace
industries. It is intended for developers of configuration management processes and systems in general.
This document offers a dual use methodology. Alternatives include a Common Data Environment (CDE)
or data handover environment using design tools that create project and systems engineering data.
Systems engineering deals with the development of requirements, their allocation to the items that are
being designed and developed when these items are considered as part of a system. This document
concentrates on the system as a whole, as distinct from the parts considered individually. It requires
verification that the design is properly built and integrated and how well the system meets its initial by
stakeholders stated goals.
This document provides the capability to express a product model and or systems engineering data
with RDF triples which can be reified by means of an RDF statement or RDF named graphs and a
standardized set of natural language relationships. The results can be used for an exchange or handover
file that can be shared and relatively easily understood in industry.
There is an industry need for this document:
— The triple relationships are easy to understand by an engineer so that an engineer can understand
the product model intuitively. This has been proven by the Program Integral Collaboration for the
Maritime Industry which developed an RDF based implementation for standardized exchange of
product data. This project was completed in 2013 by a group of Dutch shipbuilding companies, its
contractors and its suppliers.
— The standard data sheets from, e.g. the American Petroleum Institute (API), NORSOK, used in
industry for pumps, compressors, instruments, etc. can be supported by an RDF product model
enabling industry to continue to work with their specific data sheets and yet exchange the data in a
standardized way according to this document.
— It is used in some projects, e.g. the Pallas nuclear facility project in the Netherlands, in which based
on the ISO 19650 series, a CDE is built upon this document, including facility data handover to the
client.
— This document can be used as a front-end engineering layer for the template methodology used by
ISO/TS 15926-7 and ISO/TS 15926-8. This makes the content of those projects easier to access by
engineers.
— This document can be used in combination with reference data libraries from various sources. In
process industries ISO/TS 15926-4 would typically be used as RDL to which missing reference data
would be added.
— An engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor has used this document in various
tunnel projects for information modelling in systems engineering which was required by the Dutch
authority regulations. With this document enriched by the knowledge from ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288,
this became possible. They also built a performance measuring system for operational data in
vi
tunnel installations where the methodology of this document is used to justify the performance to
the ministry of transportation in the Netherlands.
The ISO 15926 series is organized as a series of parts, each published separately. The structure of the
ISO 15926 series is described in ISO 15926-1.
NOTE 1 For examples and representing the ontology of this document, TriG is used as serialisation method in
this document.
NOTE 2 RDFS doesn’t include reasoning based on OWL and or SHACL. If one wishes this kind of functionality,
one can make use of SPARQL, which is used in this document for validation purposes. It is broadly implementable
and relatively simple. That is why references in this document only make use of RDFS.
vii
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 15926-11:2023(E)
Industrial automation systems and integration —
Integration of life-cycle data for process plants including
oil and gas production facilities —
Part 11:
Simplified industrial usage of reference data based on
RDFS methodology
1 Scope
This document enables a flexible creation of product knowledge models and data that supports systems
engineering processes. The payload or design data can be exchanged across organizations or with the
supply chain by combining resource description framework (RDF) triples, reference data dictionaries
and a standardized set of relationships.
This document is appropriate for use with the ISO 15926-series based reference data libraries, and it is
applicable to the process industry, including oil, gas and power. However, manufacturing and aerospace
industries can also benefit from this document.
The following are within the scope of this document:
— process plants in accordance with ISO 15926-1;
— a methodology with low threshold for using reference data in combination with RDF triples for
representing statements as defined in the ISO 15926 series;
— an initial set of relationships required for process plant life-cycle representation;
— a method to implement configuration management to trace back additions, changes and deletions in
product and project data and enabling baselining;
— data sharing, integration, exchange, and hand-over between computer systems.
The following are outside the scope of this document:
— serialisation methods;
— definition of reference data libraries;
— the syntax and format of implementations of either product data models or instance data using this
document, or both;
— any specific methods and guidelines other than RDF(S) for implementing ISO 15926-2.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 15926-2, Industrial automation systems and integration — Integration of life-cycle data for process
plants including oil and gas production facilities — Part 2: Data model
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
3.1 Terms and definitions
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1.1
asset
any item, thing or entity that has potential or actual value to an organization
[SOURCE: ISO 55000:2014, 3.2.1, modified — Notes 1 to 3 to entry were deleted.]
3.1.2
attribute
quality or feature of something
3.1.3
blank node
BN
node in a resource description framework (RDF) graph representing a resource for which a literal is not
given
Note 1 to entry: The resource represented by a blank node is also called an anonymous resource. According to
[16]
the RDF standard W3C RDF-1.1, a blank node can only be used as subject or object of an RDF triple.
3.1.4
constraint
thing that limits something, or limits one’s freedom to do something
EXAMPLE A design constraint, legal constraint or implementation constraint.
3.1.5
data
representation of information in a formal manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or
processing by human beings or computers
[SOURCE: ISO 10303-1:2021, 3.1.29]
3.1.6
designing
activity of developing by creating, planning, calculation, or laying out for a predetermined purpose
3.1.7
domain
set of all possible independent values the relationship can take
Note 1 to entry: It is the collection of all possible inputs (the “left-hand” of a relationship).
3.1.8
engineering
activity of designing or producing by methods of technical sciences
Note 1 to entry: During the activity, the properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature are made useful
for human beings in structures, machines, and products.
3.1.9
engineered item
type of equipment created by specific and unique engineering and specifications, developed with a
supplier or manufacturer
Note 1 to entry: An engineered item has a unique identifier (UID).
3.1.10
engineering data
data that represents the design and or engineering of a system or a system element
Note 1 to entry: The scope can be limited to a specific discipline (electrical, mechanical, civil), however after
integrating all engineering data obtained from engineering tools, the result should represent the integrated
design in a consistent way, which implies appropriate quality and harmonization of the data, obtained from the
various tools.
3.1.11
enterprise
any private or public business or company
3.1.12
entity
something that exists separately from other things and has its own identity
3.1.13
enumeration
complete, ordered listing of all the items in a collection
Note 1 to entry: The term is commonly used in mathematics and computer science to refer to a listing of all of
the elements of a set.
3.1.14
facility
permanent, semi-permanent, or temporary commercial or industrial property built, established, or
installed for the performance of one or more specific activities or functions
EXAMPLE A building, plant, or structure.
3.1.15
functional requirement
requirement defining either the functional capabilities or behaviour, or both, that a product shall have
3.1.16
interoperability
ability of effective interaction between systems based on the exchange of information
Note 1 to entry: Systems can be computerized systems or enterprises.
3.1.17
information
facts, concepts, or instructions
[SOURCE: ISO 10303-1:2021, 3.1.41]
3.1.18
formal syntax
specification of the valid sentences of a formal language using a formal grammar
EXAMPLE An extensible markup language (XML) document type definition (DTD) is a formal syntax.
Note 1 to entry: A formal language is computer-interpretable.
[SOURCE: ISO 8000-2:2022, 3.9.1, modified — Notes 2 and 3 to entry were deleted. EXAMPLES 2 and 3
were deleted.]
3.1.19
model
simplified description, especially a mathematical one, of a system or process, to assist calculations and
predictions
3.1.20
model based systems engineering
MBSE
formalized application of modelling systems engineering information
Note 1 to entry: The application of modelling supports system requirements, design, analysis, verification
and validation (V&V) activities with their mutual relationships, beginning in the conceptual design phase and
continuing throughout development and later life-cycle phases.
3.1.21
resource description framework graph
RDF graph
graph structure formed by a set of RDF triples
[16]
[SOURCE: W3C Recommendation 2014]
3.1.22
resource description framework triple
RDF triple
atomic data entity in the resource description framework (RDF) data model
Note 1 to entry: An RDF-triple represents a relationship between the objects or data that it links.
Note 2 to entry: A triple comprises at least:
— an object called “subject”;
— a predicate (also called property) that denotes a relationship between a subject and an object;
— an object or data called “object”.
[16]
[SOURCE: W3C Recommendation 2014]
3.1.23
resource description framework statement
RDF statement
statement stating facts, relationships and data by linking resources of different kinds
3.1.24
reference data
facility life-cycle data that represent information about classes or individual things which are common
to many facilities or of interest to many users
[SOURCE: ISO 15926-1:2004, 3.1.18, modified — "process plants" replaced by "facilities".]
3.1.25
range of relationship
set of all possible dependent values the relationship can produce from the domain values
Note 1 to entry: The domain values are in the “right-hand” of a relationship.
3.1.26
semantics
study of meaning, concerned with the relationship between signifiers that people use when interacting
with the world, and the things in that world that these signifiers denote
EXAMPLE 1 The signifiers can be words, phrases, signs, and symbols.
EXAMPLE 2 Things denoted by signifiers can be entities, concepts, ideas.
Note 1 to entry: The goal of semantics is the creation of a common understanding of the meaning of things,
helping people understand each other despite different experiences or points of view.
3.1.27
semantic encoding
concept encoding
technique of replacing natural language terms in a message with identifiers that reference data
dictionary entries
EXAMPLE ISO 8000-110 specifies how semantic encoding supports the exchange of master data that is
characteristic data.
Note 1 to entry: By applying semantic encoding to data, an organization creates a basis for portable data by
ensuring the semantics of the data are explicit.
Note 2 to entry: Semantic encoding is necessary to create characteristic data, where the replaced natural
language terms are properties (for each of which the data set includes a corresponding value).
[SOURCE: ISO 8000-2:2022, 3.9.2]
3.1.28
semantic data modelling
development of descriptions and representations of data in such a way that the latter’s meaning
is explicit, accurate, and commonly understood by both humans and computer systems
Note 1 to entry: In semantic data modelling, all concepts used to model a system are explicitly defined by
ontologies, capturing the “meaning” of data with all its inherent relationships in a single graph.
3.1.29
statement
information that is regarded as indivisible and which is the case, independent of natural language
Note 1 to entry: Adapted from ISO/TS 15926-6:2013.
Note 2 to entry: A statement can be recorded as an instance of the entity relationship in ISO 15926-2. A set of one
or more statements can be recorded in shorthand form as a single item as an instance of a template, as defined in
ISO/TS 15926-7.
3.1.30
signature statement
statement that states that the performer of an activity applied including the sign-off date on an
individual named graph
3.1.31
stakeholder
person or company that is involved in a particular organization, project or system
EXAMPLE Involvement of a person or company can concern safety, environment or other.
Note 1 to entry: The stakeholder's involvement is especially because they have invested money in it or have a
functional responsibility.
3.1.32
stakeholder requirement
requirement defining how a stakeholder wants to interact with an intended solution for a requirement
3.1.33
system element
part of a system which can be inanimate physical objects (not alive) and animate physical objects (alive)
Note 1 to entry: A system often is called a “set of elements”.
3.1.34
systems engineering
interdisciplinary approach governing the total technical and managerial effort required to transform a
set of stakeholder needs, expectations, and constraints into a solution
EXAMPLE A solution can be a system.
Note 1 to entry: The approach supports a solution throughout its life.
3.1.35
system requirement
result of the transformation of the stakeholder, user-oriented view of desired capabilities into a
technical view of a solution that meets the operational needs of the user
3.1.36
tagged item
equipment and major electrical and instrumentation item that has a specific tag number and which is
treated individually for tracking and tracing purposes
Note 1 to entry: Bulk materials are excluded from this definition which normally are identified batches.
3.1.37
technical solution
solution to a problem that is dealt with so that the difficulty is removed by applying an appropriate
technology or design principle
3.1.38
payload data
actual data in a data packet or data container minus all headers attached for transport and minus all
descriptive meta-data
Note 1 to entry: In a network packet, headers are appended to the payload for transport and then discarded at
their destination.
3.1.39
V-model
graphical representation of a system's development life cycle
Note 1 to entry: It is used to produce rigorous development life cycle models and project management models.
3.1.40
validation
proof that the system accomplishes or, toned down, can accomplish its purpose
Note 1 to entry: It is usually much more difficult and much more important to validate a system than to verify it,
and give an answer to the question: ‘Have we made the correct product?'
3.1.41
verification
proof of compliance with the specification
Note 1 to entry: Compliance may be determined by an objective test, analysis, demonstration, inspection, etc. for
each requirement or set of requirements. It answers the question: ‘Have we made the product correctly?’
Note 2 to entry: In general, verification is seen as the process of checking the compliance with a requirement.
3.1.42
3D model
representation of a physical body using a collection of interconnected points in a three-dimensional
space
Note 1 to entry: Interconnected points can form triangles, lines, curved surfaces.
3.2 Abbreviated terms
API American Petroleum Institute
BN Blank Node
GUID Global Unique Identifier
GBS Geographical Breakdown Structure
FMEA Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
FMECA Failure Mode, Effect and Criticality Analysis
IDM Information Delivery Manual
ITB Information to Bid
ITT Information to Tender
MBSE Model Based Systems Engineering
OWL Web Ontology Language
P&ID Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
RDL Reference Data Library
RDF Resource Description Framework
RDFS Resource Description Framework Schema
SHACL Shapes Constraint Language
SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
SBS System Breakdown Structure
SE Systems Engineering
SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
URI Uniform Resource Identifier
V&V Verification and Validation
WBS Work Breakdown Structure
W3C World Wide Web Consortium
4 Purpose, objectives and principles
4.1 General
Systems engineering is concerned with identifying and developing requirements of a system of interest
and their assignment to the items designed and built as part of the system of interest. The emphasis of
systems engineering is, on the system as a whole, as distinct from the parts considered individually. It
requires verification that the design is properly built and integrated and how well the system meets its
intended goals (by validation). Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a methodology of systems
engineering that focuses on creating and exploiting domain models as the primary means of managing
conformance to requirements. Digitization of systems engineering processes is a precondition for MBSE
and the latter a foundation for the creation of digital twins.
This document provides a semantic data modelling methodology of engineering data that is created and
or used in systems engineering processes and that can be relatively “easily” understood by engineers
and that is flexible in terms of tailoring the methodology for a specific domain or project. The provided
modelling methodology is based on the existing parts ISO 15926-2 and an RDL such as ISO/TS 15926-4.
To achieve this, the triple concept of the W3C RDF standard is adopted and augmented with a set of
relationships further called the “initial set of relationships” (Annex A) which easily can be expanded
with relationship relevant in the context of a specific project. With respect to the presented semantic
modelling methodology, this document makes use of EN 17632.
A main reason for developing this methodology can be found in the fact that product specialists and
systems engineers, especially within small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who in general have
limited skills in the area of information modelling and related techniques, should be supported in their
product and or systems engineering knowledge modelling activities by a simple to use methodology,
close to natural languages. Using this methodology will lead to models which describe specific systems
engineering information by semantic encoding of this information and that in potential are upgradable
to fully ISO 15926-2 compliant models, i.e. this methodology provides a bridge to the much more
complex ISO 15926-2 world and provides a low entry threshold to the ISO 15926 series. Also, in design
development work, humans like to work with simple table-based structures rather than relatively
complicated schemes, and this should be respected as far as feasible.
Engineering data in the context of this document cover not only the output and or input of engineering
processes, but also the engineering processes themselves. In this way, this document enables the
integration and exchange of product data together with data, relevant in the context of systems
engineering processes. Other parts of the ISO 15926 series do not sufficiently cover the features of
systems engineering when exchanging information over the life cycle of a plant or when designing
new products. In line with this, this document also offers a way to industry partners to set up and
exchange their product model using a low-level modelling methodology based on statements which can
be represented and exchanged in a table manner. For that purpose, this document provides a normative
set of rules that allows engineers to build product and plant life cycle models using statements based on
a normative set of relationships and normative plant reference data.
A statement can be used to classify things as "being the case", also called a "fact". Statements can be
expressed in languages as relationships between two roles of things (respectively “thing playing role 1”
and “thing playing role 2”). This process can be seen as semantic encoding using a formal syntax.
From the point of view of data handover, the design, engineering and construction of a process plant
or facility in general is fragmented and based on tools from different vendors and different versions
of these tools, even by discipline. Over the life-cycle of a facility, in general, multiple information
systems and databases from different vendors are used for different purposes. Most of these systems
are not integrated with one another and cannot easily share plant data during different phases of
the plant life cycle, such as design, operation, and decommissioning. This results in redundancies in
capturing, handling, transferring, maintaining, and preserving facility configuration data. This lack of
interoperability stems from the fragmented nature of the construction and building industry, paper-
based document control systems, a lack of standardization and inconsistent technology adoption among
stakeholders. With the help of the methodology described in this document, any kind of product or
engineering information obtained from any tool can be expressed unambiguously and the information
can be exchanged based on a managed set of reference data. This document provides a semantic
modelling methodology for creating and exchanging engineering data, originating from systems
engineering processes for example as described by natural language in the ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288.
4.2 Positioning of this document
4.2.1 Overview
The general process of data exchange in the context of the ISO 15926 series is explained from a practical
point of view of conformance testing of the software implementation against the ISO 15926 series,
not only taking into account the technology available today but also the maturity of information and
communications technology (ICT) skills in modern engineering environments. This clause covers data
exchange in terms of physically exchanging a file between two parties (with different software systems)
to exchange explicit, unambiguous asset management information. This category of interoperability
approach is defined by the enterprise interoperability framework defined in ISO 11354-1 as a “unified
approach”.
As an example, the exchange of data during the creation of an asset, between the owner and a supplier,
is used in the context of a unified interoperability approach (according to ISO 11354-1). The principle
used in this example is shown in Figure 1. The handover from one company to another company is
represented by a digital envelope containing the payload data as output of one or more business
processes. The receiving company will be able to receive, understand and process the envelope and
integrate the payload data within their own ICT environment since the data is defined unambiguously
by means of the shared ontology and an RDL.
Figure 1 — Principle of data exchange on a commonly shared ontology and RDL
4.2.2 Process steps in the workflow of exchange data
With respect to data exchange activities within a project, an analysis should be carried to determine the
subset of data that will be exchanged and which requires a data centric approach as delivered by this
document. For that purpose, the activity model as described in ISO 15926-1 and shown in Figure 2 can
be used to select one or more handover scenarios between the composing processes within a project.
Figure 2 — Activity model as a basis for the selection of role and scope of data exchange
In this document, a systematic approach and methodology based on four software implementation
layers as presented in Figure 3 is followed to organise the exchange process. Figure 3 shows the four
layers that can be distinguished looking at data exchange in general. The boxes on the four layers as
presented on the left side of Figure 3 are defined as normative in ISO 15926-10. The boxes on the right
side of Figure 3 show how these layers are implemented in this document:
— role and scope of the data exchange (the red arrows in Figure 2);
— content: definitions of the objects and relationships that can be found in the exchange file, classified
according to the shared RDL;
— semantics (meaning) of the data exchanged defined by the part or parts of the ISO 15926 series,
agreed on, mainly based on W3C recommendations for RDFS;
— syntax and storage: the method of serialization and syntax used on the data level.
In the context of a specific project, each layer can be specified by means of an information delivery
manual (IDM) for that project.
Figure 3 — Layers within the process of data exchange according to this document
4.2.3 Use cases systems engineering
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 defines approximately 25 processes, which have been defined to realize a system,
starting from the statement of purpose (objective) of a system and a set of top level (stakeholder)
requirements ending in operating and maintaining that system.
Based on the generic system life cycle process descriptions given in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, a set of uses
cases has been derived in preparation for the initial set of relationships defined in this document. This
set of relationships, including their prescribed domain and range, can be seen as a reference ontology
for systems engineering.
EXAMPLE The information structure of a deliverable from a supplier/contractor can be predefined by the
client and specified in an IDM. Agreed information structure can be a subset of the presented reference models in
this clause (and eventually be modified).
With respect to the red lines in Figure 2, there are several areas of interest concerning the information
that can be exchanged. The following eleven areas of interest, which can be the subject of information
exchange, are recognized in this document:
a) Exchange of project requirements
The client has drawn up a set of project requirements for the tendering/bidding of a project. This
document will be shared with tenders and suppliers. During the preparation of the technical and
commercial proposal, this requirement will be, further, exchanged with candidate suppliers/
manufacturers, or vendors as part of the demand specification. The requirements are provided with
additional information by means of one or more statements (e.g. of type rationale, explanation),
and references to documents (e.g. standards, legal, specifications).
b) Exchange of technical requirements
The client has drawn up a set of functional, performance technical requirements and constraints
for the tendering of a project. Each requirement (as si
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