A preliminary investigation performed by UniSA researchers reveals insights that can improve the interoperability of transactions between domains, building lifecycles, software systems and the web in the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) sector. The research design centers on a comparative review of standards and systems which address interoperability in the AECO sector and the Oil & Gas sector. For both sectors, different data exchange standards and specifications, prevalent data exchange issues, and the available solutions that address these issues have been discussed. The review of literature in the AECO sector confirms that the reliability and scalability of digital and web-based transactions have become an imperative. Currently, these transactions are file-based, using the vendor neutral Industry Foundation Class (IFC), developed since 2005 by buildingSMART.

A review of literature in the Oil & Gas sector confirms that object-based, rather than file-based, exchanges have been the primary method of data exchange. Alongside data exchange models and formats, other components, including use case methodologies, collaboration mechanisms and the use of reference data, have contributed significantly towards achieving semantic interoperability across systems. For all these components, the existing standards and specifications implemented in both sectors have been discussed, revealing insights from the Oil & Gas Sector applicable to the AECO sector. The researchers have also examined the OIIE (Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem) principles used in the Oil & Gas sector and their potential for implementation in the AECO sector. The results of the comparative analysis are presented as findings and recommendations that aim to advance interoperability in the AECO sector.

The findings of the research are submitted to CIB W78 2021 conference, but the preprint of the research paper is made available here for wider visibility, comments and feedback.

The advent of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology has significantly optimized the industrial operations management by connecting industrial assets with information systems and, hence, with business processes. The IIoT forms the backbone for materializing the Industry 4.0 initiative. Actionable insights obtained from industrial analytics are one of the pivotal means for achieving intelligent operations and maintenance. Intelligence refers to making optimal decisions for both automated and human-in-the-loop decision making. Condition-based predictive maintenance (CBPdM), also known as Maintenance 4.0, is among the major focus points of the Industry 4.0 and IIoT.

The industry is moving forward at a fast pace to reap the benefits of the Industry 4.0 revolution, but unfortunately standards bodies have not been able to keep up with this pace. Standards form the basis for introducing new technologies and innovations, ensuring that the products, components and services supplied by different companies are mutually compatible. Open standards are publicly available standards which are easy to adopt and improve upon. Even after the wider adoption of CBPdM in industry, to the best of our knowledge there does not exist any standard framework or reference architecture for it.

The research team at University of South Australia along with MIMOSA has published a research paper discussing the existing standards related to condition-based maintenance and the potential of the Open Industrial Interoperability Ecosystem (OIIE), a MIMOSA led initiative, as a framework which extends previous open standards for achieving CBPdM. MIMOSA has a history of developing and publishing open systems architecture for condition-based maintenance (CBM) and enterprise application integration (EAI). The OIIE framework for CBPdM is built upon these well-adopted open-standards and extends them to utilize the potential offered by IIoT and Industry 4.0.

Read the complete research paper here to know how the OIIE framework addresses the requirements of Industry 4.0 and CBPdM.