SOA-Based integration for batch process management with OPC UA and ISA-88/95

OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) is a new standard for communication between information and automation systems and devices. An important application area for OPC UA is communication between Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Process Control Systems (PCS). In this paper an approach is presented for utilizing OPC UA in conjunction with SOA-based middleware and ISA-88/95 standards for integration between MES and PCS in the context of batch process management. First, the requirements of communication are identified and then a software design combining the mentioned technologies is proposed. The design is evaluated with the help of an experimental implementation and test scenarios.