Open Process Automation: A standards-based, open, secure, interoperable process control architecture

Open Process Automation is an industry standards initiative whose objective is to bring open architecture technology and business practices into the industrial control system industry. More than 100 organizations (operating companies, hardware and software suppliers, system integrators) are working in a managed Forum of The Open Group to define the Open Process Automation Standard (O-PASTM). Three versions of the O-PAS standard have been published. The paper provides an overview of the standard. The paper also describes results from two O-PAS prototyping projects by ExxonMobil and Lockheed Martin – a laboratory proof-of-concept and a hydrocarbon process-controlling prototype system. Finally, the paper relates Open Process Automation and two complementary initiatives by NAMUR, i.e., NAMUR Open Architecture (NOA) and Module Type Package (MTP).