ISO Focus The Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization Volume 4, No. 12, December 2007, ISSN 1729-8709 Industrial automation • Volvo’s use of ISO standards • A new generation of watches Contents 1 Comment Alain Digeon, Chair of ISO/TC 184, Industrial automation systems and integration, starting January 2008 2 World Scene Highlights of events from around the world 3 ISO Scene Highlights of news and developments from ISO members 4 Guest View ISO Focus is published 11 times Katarina Lindström, Senior Vice-President, a year (single issue : July-August). It is available in English. Head of Manufacturing in Volvo Powertrain and Chairman of the Manufacturing, Key Technology Committee Annual subscription 158 Swiss Francs Individual copies 16 Swiss Francs 8 Main Focus Publisher • Product data – ISO Central Secretariat Managing (International Organization for information through Standardization) the lifecycle 1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse CH-1211 Genève 20 • Practical business Switzerland solutions for ontology Telephone + 41 22 749 01 11 data exchange Fax + 41 22 733 34 30 • Modelling the E-mail [email protected] manufacturing enterprise Web www.iso.org • Improving productivity Manager : Roger Frost with interoperability Editor : Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis • Towards integrated Assistant Editor : Maria Lazarte manufacturing solutions Artwork : Pascal Krieger and • A new model for machine data transfer Pierre Granier • The revolution in engineering drawings – Product definition ISO Update : Dominique Chevaux data sets Subscription enquiries : Sonia Rosas Friot • A new era for cutting tools ISO Central Secretariat • Robots – In industry and beyond Telephone + 41 22 749 03 36 Fax + 41 22 749 09 47 37 Developments and Initiatives E-mail [email protected] • A new generation of watches to meet consumer expectations © ISO, 2007. 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ISO Focus December 2007 Comment Increasing customer satisfaction and competitiveness with industrial automation ne of the solutions available to indus- Moreover, ISO/TC 184 standards facili- sis on numerical control aspects ; robots try to increase competitiveness, tate information management (including for industrial and non industrial environ- Owhile satisfying customers, is indus- long-term archiving). ments ; and modelling of industrial, tech- trial automation. In fact, manufacturing In addition, International Stand- nical and scientific data to support elec- companies are responding to the challeng- ards in support of industrial automation tronic communication and commerce. es of today’s global competitive market will facilitate the development of new busi- Finally, ISO/TC 184 is actively involved place by investing in industrial automation ness alliances. Small and medium enter- in liaising with other standards groups to and the development of electronic exchange prises (SMEs) for instance, will be able avoid overlaps in standardization efforts tools and standards. These will allow them to interact with a multiplicity of global and facilitate integration. to increase performance effectiveness through customers while limiting their expenses. Recognizing the significance of their increasingly integrated and optimized pro- Through the integration of processes and work for industry, ISO/TC 184 representa- cesses and thus : speed up product introduc- technologies associated with the industri- tives are enthusiastically engaged in build- tion ; facilitate new business alliances ; al use of the Internet, standardization will ing awareness. For this purpose they organ- improve product quality and reliability; support and foment a proliferation of ad ize events around the world, where they reduce design, production and support costs ; hoc collaborative structures and partner- present, promote and share experiences and offer new and innovative products and ships between organizations, particularly on the application of its standards. Their services. As with this technology, manu- important in the complex interactions of aim is to address a wide audience, includ- facturing equipment can be deployed more the global supply chain. ing those entities not usually involved in flexibly, facilitating the simultaneous pro- standardization work. duction of various products. “ International Standards ISO/TC 184 is perhaps most well A major challenge faced by busi- known for standards such as the standard nesses of all sizes is the integration and in support of industrial for exchange of product model data (STEP), protection of information throughout a automation will open Mandate, PartsLib, and Enterprise Integra- product’s lifecycle and, especially, when tion, among many others. But the underlying application systems and hardware evolve. new options to increase benefit that it offers industry is the possibil- To address all the above needs, ISO tech- the efficiency of the ity to organize efficiently, within a commu- nical committee ISO/TC 184, Industrial industry and facilitate nication and integration framework, which automation systems and integration, devel- allows the electronic exchange of product ops standards which provide innovative the development of new information throughout its lifecycle and business solutions to industrial automation business alliances.” across companies. This will help industry to technologies – including automated manu- speed up product development, efficiently facturing equipment, control systems and Major international companies from involve partners and subcontractors, and supporting information systems, commu- automotive, aeronautics, space and defense, overall to be more competitive. nications and physical interfaces – for inte- electric industry, energy and IT sectors are gration into the world of e-business. among the beneficiaries. They therefore One way in which ISO/TC 184 actively participate in the standards devel- standards add value is by enabling a more opment, together with research institutes, efficient capture, organization and expres- trade associations, consortia, and academia. sion of the requirements for the integration ISO/TC 184 standards, however, are appli- and operation of physical, human and infor- cable to businesses of all sizes, including mation technology elements, thus allowing SMEs, for whom they offer improved diverse applications to share the same infor- opportunities to integrate the supply chain mation. They can therefore reduce the cost and to internationally extend manufactur- of implementing multiple technologies in ing through e-business. combined e-manufacturing and e-business In order to fulfill all of the above, environments. ISO/TC 184 standard inter- ISO/TC 184 develops high-level architec- faces facilitate changes to the configura- tures for industrial automation ; model- tion of system elements, while retaining the ling of enterprise architecture ; and com- investment in individual elements. munications and processes to support the Through the integration capability integration of manufacturing systems and Alain Digeon of independent sub-systems, industry will application frameworks. It also develops Chair of ISO/TC 184, Industrial be more adaptable and able to ease innova- standards for industrial automation on automation systems and integration, tion and drive down costs and timescales. physical device controls, with an empha- starting January 2008 ISO Focus December 2007 1 World Scene The bridge to global ISO, WRI, and WBCSD recognition of his dedicated ILAC and IAF meet markets cooperate on greenhouse and outstanding contribution in Sydney gas accounting and to the activities of IFAN and “ Standards – the bridge to its national member for the The International Laboratory global markets ” was the verification Accreditation Cooperation th United Kingdom, BSS ; and theme of the 12 Conference ISO, the World Resources upon Ms. Ziva Patir – ISO (ILAC), and the International of the International Federation Institute (WRI) and the Vice-President (technical Accreditation Forum (IAF), of Standards Users (IFAN). World Business Council for management), Director Gen- held their annual Conference The meeting was held in Sustainable Development eral of the Standards Institu- and meetings in Sydney, Aus- August 2007, in San Francisco, (WBCSD) have signed a tion of Israel (SII) – in recog- tralia, in October 2007. USA, home of the famous Memorandum of Understand- nition of her dedicated and ILAC celebrated its 30th anni- Golden Gate Bridge, which ing (MoU) under which they outstanding contribution to versary on this occasion. It was used to symbolize the have agreed to jointly pro- the development and applica- endorsed a joint paper with integral connection between mote the ISO 14064