Version V0401 of B2MML and BatchML combines the two markup languages into one related set of standards useful for general process industries, says WBF. Tighter integration makes use easier.

By Control Engineering Staff

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Research Triangle Park, NC– WBF , the Forum for Automation and Manufacturing Professionals, has announced the release of Version V0401 of B2MML and BatchML, which combines the two markup languages into a single related set of standards useful for general process industries. Schemas, data models, and

automation objects can help streamline programming

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MES Closes Information Gap

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B2MML (Business To Manufacturing Markup Language) is an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) implementation of the ISA95 family of standards , known internationally as IEC/ISO 62264. BatchML (Batch Markup Language) is an XML implementation of the ISA88 family of standards . B2MML and BatchML consist of sets of XML schemas written using the World Wide Web Consortium’s XML Schema Language, and implement data models for ISA95 and ISA88, respectively.
ISA95 and ISA88, widely adopted in the process industries, are supported by most major manufacturing operations management system suppliers and are in use at Fortune 500 process companies worldwide.
The most significant functional expansion is the BatchML support for ISA 88 General Recipes, which facilitates standards-based implementation and exchange of corporate-level product definitions in the process industries.
V0401 provides several XML schema level improvements, including support for UN/CEFACT core components in BatchML that matches existing support in B2MML; UN/CEFACT core components define specific terminology for cross-business information exchanges such as quantity, currency, amount, and identifier. Additionally,ƒnBatchML has been updated to support B2MML-style business transactions, schema extension methodology, and common ISA88 and 95 data definitions. The enhancements enable easier integration of applications by processing companies and system vendors.
“This version of BatchML includes support for B2MML/OAGIS format transactions,” said Dennis Brandl, chairman of WBF XML Technical Working Group. “This now supports business to manufacturing transactions dealing with recipes, equipment, batch lists, and product definitions. The process industries have requested this functionality from WBF. . . The update to B2MML and extensions to BatchML provide significant new integration functionality. They add user extensibility to BatchML, allowing end users and vendors to customize the schemas to match their business requirements, products, and applications.
“Multiple companies are already developing products and tools that use the new definitions. General Recipes are product definitions used in the process industries to define equipment-independent processing. This version will add XML schema support for the ISA88 Part 3 General Recipe standard, and will provide these industries with a valuable tool to document, archive, and exchange their process definitions.”
Brandl noted that support of ISA88 Part 3 General and Site Recipes expands the ability to exchange data for more of the batch product life-cycle and that General and Site Recipes enable creation of corporate level, equipment-independent recipes that define the processing, material requirements, and equipment requirements for producing a product in different sites worldwide.
The release continues the work of WBF in providing value and easily available standards for production industries. According to Maurice Wilkins, vice president, Yokogawa Global Strategic Technology Marketing Center, and chairman of WBF, “The WBF schemas have become the most widely used business-to-business manufacturing integration standards, and the new version adds the functionality required for ISA88 support.”
For more from Dennis Brandl, read:

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