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

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 is an ISO Technical Specification for asset-intensive industry interoperability. It defines the vocabulary used across the ISO 18101 series for people and organizations working with industrial digital ecosystems, asset management, and cross-company information exchange.

What does ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 specify?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 specifies the terms used in the ISO 18101 series for the domain of asset-intensive industry interoperability. It is a vocabulary document, so its role is to give shared meanings rather than technical methods or performance requirements.

The document is organized into:

• Scope
• Normative references
• Terms and definitions
• Bibliography
• Index

The introduction explains the asset-intensive industry context, the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem (OIIE), and the need for supplier- and vendor-neutral interoperability across organizations and life-cycle stages.

What are the key requirements of ISO/TS 18101-2:2026?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 standardizes the core language used when people describe interoperability, systems, data, assets, and digital ecosystems in this series. In practice, that matters because teams can align specifications, data models, and integration work without using conflicting definitions.

Core interoperability and system concepts

• Interoperability is defined as the ability of entities to exchange items through rules and mechanisms in interfaces. For practitioners, this sets the basis for systems, devices, people, and enterprises to work together.
• System, system element, and system of systems extend the vocabulary beyond hardware to include software, data, humans, processes, procedures, facilities, and materials. This is important when documenting plant, enterprise, and lifecycle architectures.
• The definition of system of systems highlights large-scale, distributed, heterogeneous settings, which fits asset-intensive operations that span many organizations and technologies.

Asset, service, and data language

• Asset, service, data set, digital asset, and digital twin define the main objects used in industrial digital transformation. These terms help readers distinguish physical value, service outcomes, and digital representations.
• Reference architecture and information model support structured descriptions of a domain. In practice, they help organizations define what information must be exchanged and how it is organized.
• Reference data, reference data library (RDL), industry standard datasheet (ISD), and industry standard datasheet definition (ISDD) support reusable, machine-interpretable data. That is useful when data needs to be consistent across suppliers and systems.

Data quality and transfer

• Data quality, data validation, and data portability focus on whether data is fit for use and easy to move between systems. This matters because re-entry and re-interpretation increase cost and risk.
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and plant to business stack (P2B stack) describe the link from sensor-level data to enterprise systems. They frame how operational data moves upward through the organization.

Business and ecosystem context

• Primary business process and secondary business process distinguish core operations from the functions that keep operations running.
• Digital ecosystem and asset-intensive industry define the broader environment in which the ISO 18101 series is meant to operate. This helps readers place interoperability in a wider, multi-enterprise context.

What terms does ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 define?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 defines the vocabulary needed to discuss interoperability in asset-intensive industries. Key terms include:

• Interoperability - the ability of entities to exchange items and perform tasks together through agreed rules and interfaces.
• Asset - an item, thing, or entity that has actual or potential value to an organization.
• Data set - a logically meaningful group of data.
• Digital twin - a digital asset on which services can be performed to create value.
• Industry standard datasheet (ISD) - a supplier-neutral specification for equipment and device classes.
• Industry standard datasheet definition (ISDD) - metadata that enables machine interpretation of all ISD attributes.
• Reference data library (RDL) - a managed collection of reference data.
• Digital ecosystem - a distributed, adaptive, open socio-technical system.

Who uses ISO/TS 18101-2:2026?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 is used by asset owners and operators, engineering, procurement and construction enterprises, original equipment manufacturers, and interoperability teams working in the OIIE context. It is also useful for asset management, data governance, and digital transformation teams that need shared terminology.

The introduction places the document in industries such as oil and gas, mining, utilities, manufacturing, transportation, chemical processing, aerospace, construction, telecommunications, and forestry and paper. In practice, users apply it when writing requirements, building information models, aligning catalogs, and interpreting other ISO 18101-series documents.

Which standards are used with ISO/TS 18101-2:2026?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 draws on related standards and parts that provide its terminology base and context.

Standard	What it contributes
ISO/TS 18101-1:2019	Overview and fundamental principles for the ISO 18101 series; the introduction also links it to the IT/OT Cloud Architecture and Standardized Use Case Architecture in normative Annex A
ISO 55000:2024	Asset management vocabulary, overview, and principles
ISO 18435-1:2009	Source for the interoperability definition used here
ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288:2015	Source for the system and system element definitions used here
ISO/IEC/IEEE 24765:2017	Source for the system of systems definition used here
ISO 8000-2:2018	Source for the data set definition used here

What does the ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 document contain?

ISO/TS 18101-2:2026 contains a foreword, an introduction explaining the asset-intensive industry interoperability context, and clause 3 with the terms and definitions. Clause 3 gives each entry notes, examples, and source references where applicable, so readers can trace how terms are adapted for this series.

The document also includes a bibliography and an index. Figure 1 in the introduction shows the inter-enterprise industrial digital ecosystem relationships among major roles in the OIIE context, which helps readers understand how the vocabulary is meant to be applied.

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
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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ISO copyright office
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Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
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.
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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
...