The ISA113 committee is developing specifications for abstract information exchange models that enable procedural workflow integration across multiple vendor . The effort addresses a longstanding challenge in industrial automation: orchestrating workflows that span equipment, software, and human operators from different manufacturers. The committee is seeking wide industry participation to help draw vendor neutral specifications.
The committee’s work extends and aligns with workflow specifications in ANSI/ISA-95.00.04-2018, the standard for enterprise-control system integration. Where ISA-95 handles manufacturing operations management, ISA113 tackles procedural workflows—sequences of tasks that can be industrial, administrative, operational, automated, semi-automated, or manual. The ontology model uses domain-neutral terminology applicable across sectors.
Industrial facilities routinely deploy control systems, SCADA platforms, MES software, and safety systems from different vendors. Without common workflow models, integrating these systems requires custom coding for each combination. ISA113 aims to provide standardized interfaces so workflow instructions move seamlessly between systems regardless of manufacturer. This reduces engineering effort, cuts commissioning time, and improves operational flexibility.
The committee brings together asset owners, system integrators, manufacturers, and service providers. ISA standards committees involve over 3,000 participating experts worldwide, developing consensus-based technical foundations for industrial automation . ISA113’s work complements other ISA committees: ISA-88 for batch control, ISA-95 for enterprise integration, and ISA-106 for procedure automation in continuous processes.
