ISO/TS 18101-2:2026

• Abstract:

  This document defines terms as used in the ISO 18101 series that apply to the domain of asset-intensive industry interoperability.

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 20-Jul-2026
• ICS: 01.040.25 - Manufacturing engineering (Vocabularies)
• ICS: 25.040.40 - Industrial process measurement and control
• ICS: 75.020 - Extraction and processing of petroleum and natural gas
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 184 - Automation systems and integration
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 184/WG 6 - Asset intensive industry interoperability
• Current Stage: 6060 - International Standard published
• Start Date: 21-Jul-2026
• Due Date: 23-Oct-2027
• Completion Date: 21-Jul-2026

Overview

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 is a Technical Specification published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Titled Automation systems and integration - Asset-intensive industry interoperability - Part 2: Vocabulary, this document standardizes terminology for interoperability within asset-intensive industries. It serves as the authoritative vocabulary reference for the ISO 18101 series, supporting clear communication, consistent documentation, and practical implementation of digital transformation solutions across sectors that depend heavily on physical assets.

Asset-intensive industries, such as oil and gas, mining, utilities, manufacturing, transportation, and chemical processing, rely on complex equipment and infrastructure. Interoperability across these sectors is vital to reduce operational silos, streamline asset management, and support effective digitalization strategies. This specification provides unified definitions, ensuring alignment across various applications and stakeholders.

Key Topics

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 provides precise terms and definitions that underpin interoperability in asset-intensive industries:

• Interoperability: The capability of distinct entities (devices, systems, organizations) to exchange and use information or services based on standardized interfaces and mechanisms.
• System and System Element: Clarifies the composition, interaction, and hierarchy within technical and operational environments, including systems of systems.
• Digital Twin & Digital Asset: Defines core digital concepts supporting advanced analytics, simulation, and lifecycle asset management.
• Data Quality, Data Set, and Data Portability: Addresses the need for reliable, transferable, and structured data across platforms and life-cycle phases.
• Reference Architecture & Information Model: Establishes the importance of foundational frameworks adapted to specialized industry domains.
• Industry Standard Datasheets & Reference Data: Explains the role of supplier-neutral specifications and standardized data sets to enhance interoperability.

By harmonizing this vocabulary, ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 enables transparent and efficient integration of automation systems and business processes, facilitating cross-sector collaboration and vendor neutrality.

Applications

The standardized vocabulary in ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 is critical for a range of practical applications, including:

• Digital Transformation Initiatives: Supports organizations seeking to streamline data exchange and integrate operational technology (OT) with information technology (IT) for enhanced asset management.
• Implementation of Reference Architectures: Provides the terminological foundation for applying frameworks like the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem (OIIE).
• Supplier and Vendor Engagement: Enables equipment manufacturers, solution providers, and asset owners to communicate requirements and solutions effectively using a common language.
• Project and Operations Management: Reduces ambiguity in the design, implementation, and operation of capital projects and ongoing maintenance activities.
• Compliance and Interoperability Testing: Ensures clarity in conformance assessment and compatibility verification across diverse industrial systems and digital platforms.

Industries leveraging ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 benefit from improved risk management, cost control, and operational efficiency through standardization of critical terms related to asset-intensive systems.

Related Standards

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 is part of the broader ISO 18101 series and aligns with several other key international standards:

• ISO 55000:2024 - Asset management - Vocabulary, overview, and principles
• ISO/TS 18101-1:2019 - Automation systems and integration - Oil and gas interoperability - Part 1: Overview and fundamental principles
• ISO 18435-1:2009 - Industrial automation systems and integration - Diagnostics, capability assessment, and maintenance applications integration
• ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2015 - Systems and software engineering - System life cycle processes
• ISO 8000-2:2018 - Data quality - Vocabulary

Adoption of ISO/TS 18101-2 ensures consistency and compatibility with established best practices for industrial automation, interoperability, and asset management. For more information and guidance on implementing these standards, visit the ISO Online Browsing Platform or consult your national standards organization.

Technical
Specification
ISO/TS 18101-2
First edition
Automation systems and
2026-07
integration — Asset-intensive
industry interoperability —
Part 2:
Vocabulary
Systèmes d'automatisation et intégration — Interopérabilité
pour les industries nécessitant des ressources importantes —
Partie 2: Vocabulaire
Reference number
© ISO 2026
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ISO copyright office
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Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
Bibliography . 5
Index . 6

iii
Foreword
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 184, Automation systems and integration.
A list of all parts in the ISO 18101 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
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iv
Introduction
Asset-intensive industries are typically defined by sectors where physical assets play a critical role.
Examples of such industries include:
— Oil and Gas, that relies on rigs, pipelines, and refineries for exploration, production, and distribution;
— Mining, that depends on heavy machinery, excavators, and processing plants to extract and refine
resources;
— Utilities, that use power plants, grids, and water treatment facilities to deliver electricity, gas, or water;
— Manufacturing, that employs factories, assembly lines, and equipment to produce goods such as cars or
electronics;
— Transportation, that operates fleets of planes, trains, trucks, or ships as well as roads, bridges and
tunnels, for moving goods and people;
— Chemical Processing, that operates plants and reactors to produce chemicals, fertilizers, or
pharmaceuticals;
— Aerospace, that maintains aircraft, hangars, and testing facilities for production and operations;
— Construction, that utilizes cranes, bulldozers, and temporary infrastructure for building projects;
— Telecommunications, that depend on towers, cables, and data centres to provide network services;
— Forestry and Paper, that use logging equipment, mills, and factories to process timber into products.
Such industries invest heavily in physical assets, making the management and maintenance of these assets
essential. While they are characterized as industry sectors, collectively, they also form a substantial portion
of public/private infrastructure in most developed and developing nations.
Asset-intensive industries typically struggle to adopt digital tools for key business tasks. For example:
— industrial systems cannot easily connect like consumer electronics do;
— finding and using information for designing industrial plants is time-consuming and costly;
— operating and maintaining these plants, platforms, and facilities safely and profitably is also challenging.
These problems are a common root cause of delays and cost overruns in projects. They also make operations
and maintenance less efficient over time. These industries need a better way to manage risks throughout
the life of the plant, platform, facilities, or other infrastructure's lives.
Despite some progress, many asset-intensive industries still have inefficient practices. Many issues come
from working in separate “silos.” This affects asset management across different stages and companies.
Suppliers and equipment manufacturers also frequently work in their own silos. Efforts to solve these issues
have not always been successful. Current industry solutions often strengthen these silos instead. Digital
transformation could help solve these problems. However, industry lacks a practical, neutral plan to achieve
this.
The digital ecosystem concept has been developed and applied to achieve improved levels of interoperability
within an ecosystem in the consumer sector, and some industry sectors, but most often within their
respective sectors. These ecosystems are often proprietary to the supplier or vendor which provides them to
their customers thus creating silos limiting interoperability with other applications, systems, platforms and
digital ecosystems provided by other suppliers and vendors. The asset-intensive industry sectors include
many such silos, and they are often interdependent with other silos in other sectors, so an inclusive supplier
and vendor neutral digital ecosystem for these sectors must be able to adapt and federate as required.
Banking and finance have made significant progress with open standards as has the electronics sector. Oil
and gas share most tools and practices with other process industries and many such tools and practices with

v
other asset-intensive industry sectors. This creates the opportunity to build a federated digital ecosystem
that can be shared using published, supplier and vendor neutral standards, since no single supplier or vendor
provides everything.
[1]
Standards such as the ISO 55000:2024 series guide good asset management practices. The ISO 18101
series shows how to implement them using a supplier and vendor neutral industrial digital ecosystem. It
helps decision-makers and experts understand and implement pragmatic solutions addressing requirements
captured in standard industry use cases. The Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem (OIIE) is such a
published, vendor and supplier neutral ecosystem specification. The IT/OT architecture and industry use
cases of the OIIE specification are defined according to the IT/OT Cloud Architecture and Standardized Use
[2]
Case Architecture defined in the normative Annex A of ISO/TS 18101-1:2019 .
The OIIE (Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem) specified by the OpenO&M Initiative emphasises the
relationships between different enterprises fulfilling different roles in the digital ecosystem. Figure 1 shows
key relationships between asset owner/operators; engineering, procurement and construction enterprises;
and original equipment manufacturers. These representative relationships support the entire asset life-
cycle process.
Figure 1 — OIIE inter-enterprise industrial digital ecosystem architecture
This process builds and maintains operations across companies. The OIIE uses standard industry cases
from published neutral standards. Using existing standards lowers risks of creating new ones. The Oil and
Gas Interoperability (OGI) Pilot tests this system. It includes standard asset types and cases for oil and gas.
Many apply to other asset-intensive industries too.
[2]
ISO/TS 18101-1:2019 lists neutral IT standards for asset management. These standards work together,
tested by the OIIE/OGI Pilot. Industry solutions are also checked for compatibility. Three phases of the pilot
have validated core methods. New pilot results will be shared in future reports. This approach offers a
practical, neutral base for digital transformat
...