A new object model of batch equipment and procedural control for better recipe reuse

•The standard batch object model does not enable high level of recipe reuse.•A new object model of batch equipment and procedural control is proposed.•The model relies on dynamically defined and possibly overlapping unit classes.•The new concept enables a high degree of recipe reuse. Application of the ISA-88 standard in industrial batch-process control often leads to repetition of information in recipes and to a low level of their reuse. This problem stems from the deficiencies of the standard batch-process control object model. A solution to the problem is proposed that is based on a more sophisticated object model of equipment and procedural control, with dynamically defined and potentially overlapping unit classes. The new concept, together with its elements, is described, and its use is illustrated and validated by means of a real batch control project. The validation is carried out as a comparison of the number of master recipes and unit procedures created under the new object model with the number of master recipes and unit procedures needed to perform the same functionality using the standard object model. The comparison demonstrates that the proposed approach has a significant advantage.