aecXML

"aecXML is an XML-based language used to represent information in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. This information may be resources such as projects, documents, materials, parts, organizations, professionals or activities such as proposals, design, estimating, scheduling and construction. It is intended to be used as an XML namespace and to facilitate information exchange of AEC data on the Internet." [IAI North America web site]

References:

• aecXML. International Alliance For Interoperability (IAI) Online.
• "Understanding the different purposes of IFCs and aecXML in achieving Interoperability." IAI Faq document. By Duane Barrett and Francois Grobler, with suggestions from IAI-XML Steering group.
• aecXML. By Harri Airaksinen. Presented in Tik-111.590, Research Seminar on Digital Media, Fall 2000: XML.
• "aecXML Working Group - Architecture, Engineering and Construction" - Local reference page.

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

The goal of ASHRAE is to "advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and related human factors to serve the evolving needs of the public and ASHRAE members. ASHRAE has some 87 active standards and guideline project committees, addressing such broad areas as indoor air quality, thermal comfort,energy conservation in buildings, reducing refrigerant emissions, and the designation and safety classification of refrigerants."

The Title, Purpose and Scope for a proposed ASHRAE Guideline [20P] "XML Definitions for HVAC&R" was set out in a motion at the ASHRAE Board of Directors Meeting January 28 - February 1, 2001. The ASHRAE Guideline 20P: XML Definitions for HVAC&R was released for 30-Day Public Review: July 26, 2002 to August 25, 2002. The stated purpose of the Guideline is to "establish a common data exchange format for the description of commodity data and HVAC&R information via the standard XML (eXtensible Markup Language) formatting language. [In terms of scope the] data types would include catalog definitions in areas such as, but not limited to, chillers, air-handling units, fans, pumps, fittings, controls, as well as analytical or operations, building performance data..."

ASHRAE Annual Meeting Technical Program . The HVAC industry does not have a formal standard or guideline for the electronic information exchange between equipment and processes. Several ad hoc XML data models have been developed by various entities, such as IAI and FIATECH, and private industry. This seminar provides a comprehensive review of the available XML initiatives, their scope, limitations, applications and relation to ASHRAE Guideline 20P, XML Definitions for HVAC&R. This seminar and a subsequent forum are designed to capture feedback for input to development of Guideline 20P development.

References:

• ASHRAE web site
• ASHRAE International Standards Activities
• International Secretariats and U.S. TAGs Administered by ASHRAE
• ASHRAE history
• See also: Building Automation and Control Networks (BACnet)

Automating Equipment Information Exchange (AEX)

"The AEX project is developing data exchange specifications for automating the design, procurement, delivery, operation and maintenance of engineered equipment. Phase 1 of the AEX project delivered XML specifications for exchanging data sheet information for centrifugal pumps and shell and tube heat exchangers. The AEX Phase 1 XML Schemas include 24 namespaces and over 90 separate schema definition files. The AEX XML schemas include a complete set of core reusable schemas (10 namespaces) and a set of 14 subject-specific schemas."

Phase 2 is extending this work to support additional types of equipment and is developing pilot implementations with participation by software suppliers and equipment suppliers. The Phase 2 activity includes improving the AEX Phase 1 schemas, developing trial implementations of the AEX Phase 1 schemas, and working with NIST on establishing the AEX testbed. The team is assessing mechanisms for aligning or linking the AEX schemas with other domain models and namespaces. It is also conducting trial uses of evolving eBusiness protocols, e.g., OAGI BODs and UBL, and extending the Phase 1 schemas to support information for additional types of equipment and building systems models. The additional equipment types include: induction motors, air coolers, reciprocating compressors, pressure vessels, centrifugal fan, centrifugal compressors, control valves, storage tanks, relief valves and transmitters..."

References:

• AEX Project Home Page
• AEX Project Overview
• AEX Project Description
• AEX Phase 1 Deliverables (May 2003)
• "AEX XML Schema Development Guidelines." 80 pages. "Provides XML schema developers and users with schema design principles, guidelines and recommended work processes for developing robust XML schemas aimed at achieving multiple cross-industry group harmonizations of XML schema development efforts."
• "Automating Equipment Information eXchange Phase 1 Deliverables & Plans for Phase 2." PowerPoint Presentation. By Mark Palmer, Project Manager, NIST AEX Project (Automating Equipment Information eXchange)Phase 1 Deliverables andPlans for Phase 2. Presented at the FIATECH Member Meeting. April 30, 2003. 38 slides.
• "AEX Project Equipment Types Classification." By Tom L. Teague. Version 1.0. April 28, 2003. Provides an overall equipment categorization for creating equipment lists using the AEX XML schemas, includes over 300 equipment types.

Building Automation and Control Networks (BACnet)

"BACnet — 'A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks' was developed under the auspices of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). BACnet is an American national standard (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135), a European pre-standard, and an ISO global standard (ISO 16484-5). The protocol is supported and maintained by ASHRAE Standing Standard Project Committee 135."

A BACnet XML Working Group was formed to work on defining applications of XML relevant to BACnet systems. The WG Convener is H. Michael Newman of Cornell University. "This group had its first meeting at Ohio State in September 2002 and is in the process of defining various application areas for XML technology. Among the 'use cases' discussed were object profiles, EPICS documents, a Device Definition Language specification, Protocol analyzer traces [i.e., what is seen on the 'wire', including timestamps, source and destination addresses, etc], router configuration information, network topology information, and anything that can be 'extended' by a 'vendor', i.e., enumerations..." The BACnet XML Working Group is supported by a Yahoo Groups list.

The XML Working Group is producing an XML Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (XPICS) as a "machine-readable device description language; this is a first step toward the development of automated configuration of BACnet systems..." [July 2003 announcement]

[February 09, 2010] New BACnet Standard Addenda Support Data Representation in XML ASHRAE Announcement. ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating And Air-Conditioning Engineers) recently announced the approval of XML Addendum to the BACnet Standard. "Arguably one of the most significant addenda in some time, Addendum 135-2008t was approved for publication at the ASHRAE Winter Meeting in Orlando, FL. The base specification is "ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135, A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks." In all, eight addenda were approved, and are expected to be available on ASHRAE.org by the end of February, 2010. The addenda include a specification for a standard way of representing data in XML that will give BACnet new capabilities for communications between a wide range of applications. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a popular technology in the data processing and communications worlds due to its capability to model complex data and its flexibility to be transformed and extended... The BACnet XML syntax is intended to be the core data representation for a variety of uses: (1) Powerful new Web services that are capable of efficient exchange of complex structured data. (2) An electronic version of a BACnet PICS document, consumable by workstations and other tools, to describe the capabilities of a device. (3) An "as built" description of a deployed device, distributed either as a separate file or as a BACnet File object resident in the device itself. (4) Descriptions of proprietary objects, properties and data types, which may be simple, for basic data sharing purposes, or extremely rich, providing complete descriptions of the meaning and usage of the data in multiple human languages. (5) An export/import format for tools and workstations publish their knowledge of a complete system of devices and networks. (6) An XML version of an EPICS, including the complete test database and other test-oriented data..."

[October 22, 2004]   ASHRAE Releases BACnet Web Services Interface Specification for Public Review.    A public review draft has been released for the BSR/ASHRAE Web Services Addendum to the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2004 (BacNet). The Building Automation and Control Networks (BACnet) specification is an American national standard (ANSI), a European pre-standard, and an ISO global standard. The BACnet data communication protocol provides a set of rules governing the exchange of data over a computer network. The rules govern, for example, "what kind of cable to use, or to how to form a particular request or command in a standard way. What makes BACnet special is that the rules relate specifically to the needs of building automation and control equipment, i.e., they cover things like how to ask for the value of a temperature, define a fan operating schedule, or send a pump status alarm." According to the ASHRAE announcement, potential uses of the Addendum's Web Services technology include "simplifying access to building energy and performance data for inclusion in spreadsheets and other management reports; accessing equipment run-time data for use by maintenance management systems; allowing tenant control of space temperature setpoints; coupling of room scheduling with ventilation and comfort control, etc." Creation of the new Web Services Interface Addendum was motivated by a recognition that Web services "is emerging as the predominant technology for the integration of a wide variety of enterprise information. The addendum therefore defines a standard means of using Web services to integrate facility data from disparate data sources, including BACnet networks, with a variety of business enterprise applications." The BACnet XML Working Group "is working on defining applications of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) relevant to BACnet systems. It is also working on Web service definitions that will allow data exchange between building automation and control systems and various enterprise management systems. In June 2004, after months of intense effort by the Web Services Task Team of the BACnet/XML Working Group, SSPC 135 unanimously voted to recommend public review of the WS addendum to BACnet-2004.

References:

• BACnet.org. Official Website of ASHRAE SSPC [Standing Standards Project Committee] 135.
• SSPC 135 Working Groups
• SSPC 135 Contact Information
• Download BSR/ASHRAE Addendum c to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2004. See the file listing. The distribution contains the Addendum in PDF format, a "Form for Commenting on a Public Review Draft Ashrae Standard, Guideline or Addendum", and "[Instructions for] Comments on Draft Standards." Send comments to standards.section@ashrae.org.
• "BACnet Approved as an International Standard." Announcement February 5, 2003.
• [2008-10] Proposed Addendum t to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2004, BACnet — A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks. BSR/ASHRAE. First Public Review Draft. September 2008. 51 pages. Recommended for public review by the BACnet committee during ASHRAE's 2008 Annual Meeting. Review: September 12, 2008 through October 27, 2008. "XML Data Formats: A new standard way of representing building data will give BACnet new capabilities for standardized communications between a wide range of applications. A definition for an XML syntax which can be used to represent building data in a consistent, flexible and extensible manner is defined by this addenda in the form of a new annex to the standard." Also (version requiring minor editorial changes) posted to the 'BACnet-XML-WG' list in Word (.doc) format August 19, 2008 [cache; cache PDF]
• BACnet XML Working Group
• BACnet-XML-WG. Yahoo Groups mailing list for SSPC 135 BACnet XML Working Group. See the 'Files' for pertinent documents.
• "BACnet/XML: BACnet Opens Doors for New Technology." ASHRAE Press Briefing for BACnet. By Michael Newman. January 27, 2004, revised January 28, 2004.
• "BACnet Innovations." ASHRAE Press Briefing for BACnet. By Jim Lee (President, BACnet Manufacturers Association). January 27, 2004.
• "Web Services in Works for BACnet." From the 2004 AHR Expo. February 25, 2004.
• BACnet tutorials
• BACnet FAQ document. From PolarSoft.
• BACnet history. From PolarSoft.
• BACnet Manufacturers Association (BMA)
• BACnet Device Listings
• "Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement"

Continental Automated Building Association (CABA)

"CABA is a not-for-profit industry association that promotes advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North America. [Its] mission is to encourage the development, promotion, pursuit and understanding of integrated systems and automation in homes and buildings."

In April 2003 CABA announced that it would "establish a committee to work on the creation of guidelines concerning the use of XML and Web services in building automation and control applications. The committee is entitled the Open Building Information Xchange. The creation of the committee will address the application of new communication standards for Web-based communications such as XML, SOAP and Web services within building control systems. Committee members would be encouraged to apply the finished guideline to their products. The guideline would also be provided to standards organizations such as OASIS, ASHRAE, EIA/TIA and others for potential acceptance. The XML/Web Services Guideline Committee is a sub-committee of the CABA Standards Committee..."

References:

• CABA web site
• CABA Councils and Committees
• CABA Standards Committee Web page
• CABA XML Symposium. See the list of presenters for the CABA XML Symposium 2004.
• Standards Coverage
• Standards and Protocol Groups
• "Guideline for XML/Web Services for Building Control." By Paul Ehrlich (Trane Global Controls)
• See: Open Building Information Xchange (oBIX)

Control System Modeling Language (CSML)

The Control System Modeling Language has been presented by David Robin (Automated Logic Corporation) to the BACnet XML Working Group. It offers a way "to represent the configuration and capabilities of control system devices in XML and can potentially be used to solve EPICS and object profile problems." Among the main goals of CSML: "Provide a consistent XML syntax designed for transformability into other formats using XSLT. The syntax design supports strongly-typed definition and instances and dynamically-typed prototype and instances (with safety checks). The single Schema and data model covers published standards and proprietary extensions. Syntax and data model consistency means that every data entity can have 'named values', not just enumerated types. Provide a simple way to overlay new metadata: language packs, protocol maps, UI information, etc. Design flexible mappings into different binary representations for different protocols. Provide comprehensive and consistent inheritance, type/prototype, and instance/value system. There should be enough documentation metadata for a basic UI, and some human readable docs, too..."

From an early design paper by Dave Robin: "Control Systems Modeling Language (CSML) files contain information for modeling control devices expressed in a standardized eXtensible Markup Language (XML) form. CSML files are machine and human readable representations of the implementation of devices, objects and properties within a given device or collection of devices. CSML is both a data definition language and a data instance language. While CSML has an XML schema for validating a CSML file, CSML is itself a schema for a control systems data model. XML schema is adequate for defining the structure of the CSML file, but is not rich enough to capture all the information that is needed to fully define a control system's data structure, presentation, and semantics. Beyond the simple data structure definitions, the meta-data enabled by CSML includes usage, restrictions, protocol encodings and mappings, multilingual documentation, user permissions, default values, etc..." [DR-024-2]

"New innovations including Firewall Friendly routing and BACnet XML/Web Services are under active development and will soon be available for public review," said H. Michael Newman, chair of the BACnet/XML Working Group. The BACnet/XML Working Group has been developing XML/Web services technology for several years. "With the current Control System Modeling Language proposal, we have developed a comprehensive set of XML data definitions for building automation and with the new BACnet Web Services proposal, we are nearing a complete solution to allow IT systems to access building automation data'..." [from a 2004-01 press briefing]

References:

• See the 'Files' area of the BACnet-XML-WG web site (Yahoo Groups)

Green Building XML Schema (gbXML)

"The Green Building XML schema, referred to as 'gbXML', was developed to facilitate the transfer of building information stored in CAD building information models, enabling integrated interoperability between building design models and a wide variety of engineering analysis tools and models available today. Today, in 2004, gbXML has the industry support and wide adoption by the leading CAD vendors, Autodesk, Graphisoft, and Bentley. With the development of export and import capabilities in several major engineering modeling tools, gbXML has become a de facto industry standard schema. Its use dramatically streamlines the transfer of building information to and from engineering models, eliminating the need for time consuming plan take-offs. This removes a significant cost barrier to designing resource efficient buildings and specifying associated equipment. It enables building design teams to truly collaborate and realized the potential benefits of Building Information Modeling..." [home page]

References:

• Green Building XML Schema: A Building Information Modeling Solution for our Green World
• XML Schema
• gbXML at IAI
• Building Performance Working Group
• Use cases
• Contact: Schema Facilitator
• Contact: John Kennedy, Working Group Chair
• "GeoPraxis Awarded Key Funding Projects for gbXML and New 'Green Building Studio' Web Service. California Energy Commission and Leading Utilities to Fund the Integration of GeoPraxis' Energy Analysis Tools with Industry Leading 3D-CAD Software." Announcement September 22, 2003.
• "Developers of 'ENERGY-10' for Architects Select GeoPraxis' Green Building XML Schema for New Data Structure. Open Source Schema Gaining Momentum with Green Building Software Developers." Announcement January 26, 2003.
• "Green Building XML (gbXML)" - Local reference page.

IAI Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)

"International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) is an alliance of organizations within the construction and facilities management industries dedicated to improving processes within the industry through defining the use and sharing of information. Organizations within the alliance include architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, facility managers, manufacturers, software vendors, information providers, government agencies, research laboratories, universities and more..."

Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)is an open standard object-oriented data model for the AEC+FM community. The model covers tangible entities (walls, windows, pumps, actors, etc) and abstract entities (spaces, constraints, relationships, etc.) The IFC standard is specified using ISO STEP-EXPRESS technologies, with translation and optimization to XML. XML for IFC2x was available October 2003. The IFC2x release provided definition of property sets in XML as part of the release specification and definition of the IFC 2xML as part of the IFC 2x deliverables. IFC2x2 was made available in November 2003. [from and the IFC2x announcement]

IfcXML. The version 1.02 of IfcXML is the IAI "recommended standard" to convert IFC Releases (IFC2x and beyond) into XML schema specifications. The first version, 1.0, was unveiled publicly on April 25th, in Seoul Korea, and presented again on July 16th, 2001 in Vancouver, BC, at the IAI XML Coordination meeting. (See details at www.iai-na.com). The following IAI-ITM meeting on July 17-18, 2001 had accepted ifcXML version 1.0 for IFC2x as an IAI "recommended" standard. See:

• The IfcXML Language binding document
• The ifcXML XML schemas

IfcXML2. "The version 2 of ifcXML (short ifcXML2) is the new methodology to publish the IFC Standard as an XML schema definition (XSD). The ifcXML2 methodology is compatible with the current pre committee draft (CD) version of the upcoming standard to convert EXPRESS structures into XML schema structures - ISO10303-28 ed.2. The ifcXML2 methodology has now been approved for the generation of XML schema definitions for IFC2x Edition 2 and forthcoming IFC releases. The first schema, ifcXML for IFC2x2 was unveiled publicly on January 28th, in Paris during the IAI summit. It currently has the release candidate 1 status. After intensive testing it is anticipated that a final recommendation will be officially announced during the next IAI summit in Bath. See:

• ifcXML for IFC2x2 schema
• The p28 base schema to be included
• The configuration file for ifcXML for IFC2x2
• The configuration file schema
• IFC2x2 PropertySets Repository:
  • Registered PropertySets
  • Unregistered PropertySets

IFC 2x Edition 2 Unveiled. On May 14, 2003 Lee Chuan Seng, deputy chair of IAI International unveiled "the new IFC 2x Edition 2 release during an Industry Day presentation... IFC 2x Edition 2 brings together the inputs from many international projects into a single consistent model. Every Chapter of the IAI has contributed to this release. IFC 2x Edition 2 is the largest ever increase in the capability of the IFC model and makes interoperability in construction truly possible. The expansion of IFCs to cover structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and environmental aspects as well as expansion of architectural, cost, construction and facilities management coverage means that lifecycle information sharing can now be achieved. IFC 2x Edition 2 builds on the IFC 2x platform now being supported by leading software vendors. Information exported according to the 2x platform structure is upwards compatible with 2x Edition 2. This, together with new capabilities included means that IFC 2x Edition 2 is easier to implement than previous releases. IFC 2x Edition 2 development has addressed nearly 1000 individual issues to ensure that the quality of both the model and its documentation is assured..."

References:

• IAI International
• IAI NA
• IAI and Interoperability
• IAI EXPRESS Schemas and Schema Documentation
• IFC Model Development
• IAI International Resources
• "Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) — Ready for Implementation." By Dr. Robert Hitchcock (Staff Research Associate, Lawrence Berkley National Lab; Chair of the Building Services Domain Committee of the North American Chapter of IAI). Presented at the FIATECH 2003 Fall Member Meeting (October 8-9, 2003).
• IAI Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) Commercial implementation in continual development with 18-month review cycle.
• "The EXPRESS Definition Language for IFC Development." "EXPRESS is a conceptual schema language which provides for the specification of classes belonging to a defined domain, the information or attributes pertaining to those classes (colour, size, shape etc.) and the constraints on those classes (unique, exclusive etc.). It is also used to define the relations which exist between classes and the numerical constraints applying to such relations."
• "Data Modelling Using EXPRESS-G for IFC Development."
• BLIS-XML. "A methodology for encoding EXPRESS based information in XML format. A BLIS-XML schema can be automatically generated from an EXPRESS schema. It is both read and write compatible with the original EXPRESS schema. The motivation for developing BLIS-XML is to enable the use of IFC model data in applications that can read/write data in XML format, but not EXPRESS format..."

LonTalk Protocol

"LonTalk, the communications protocol for LonWorks networks, is part of the MAC layer of BACnet. Additionally, all LonMark media types are included. Both LonWorks networks and BACnet will be used cooperatively to meet the needs of the marketplace. LonWorks networks are ideally suited for real-time control with smart sensors, actuators, drives, VAVs, and micro controllers; while the BACnet Protocol is best suited for data acquisition and supervisory control..." [from the Standards Update document]

LONMARK International is a "global membership organization created to promote and advance the business of efficient and effective integration of open, multi-vendor control systems utilizing ANSI/EIA/CEA 709.1 and related standards."

According to the LonMark Interoperability Association, "over 3,500 companies are using Echelon's LonWorks platform to provide systems and solutions for building, home, industrial, telecommunications, transportation and other industries. There are over 24 million LonWorks based devices installed worldwide..."

References:

• The LonTalk Protocol
• LonWorks FAQ document
• LonMark Interoperability Association
• i.LON Product Family. "The i.LON 100 server features a built-in web server that allows web access to built-in scheduling, alarming, data logging applications, and translates LonWorks network variables to XML. Additionally, it exposes a SOAP/XML Web Services interface for integration with enterprise applications..."

NIST Product Data Standards for HVAC/R Systems

The purpose of this NIST project is to "continue the development of a standards-based infrastructure supporting the design, analysis, specification, procurement, installation, operation, and maintenance of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) systems..."

"The first task is to expand the collection of equipment type schemas along with the associated instance documents containing manufacturers' data. The expansion will provide sufficient variety to support various use cases for the repository including: (1) data selection and exchange with applications such as BFRL's CONTAMW software for multizone airflow and contaminant transport analysis as well as BFRL's Virtual Cybernetic Building Testbed; (2) identification and selection of functionally equivalent replacements for HVAC/R equipment that has reached the end of its life-cycle; (3) identification and selection of new HVAC/R equipment during the facilities design process; (4) e-business procurement scenarios wherein customers try to locate, search, and select from available Web-based commodity HVAC/R equipment catalogs; and (5) derivation of semantic mappings between the IFC models and the results of the AEX effort, a companion SIMA project.

The second task is to begin implementing the infrastructure for establishing access to the repository using web services. The deliverable for this task will be a viable method for unambiguous and user-friendly access to the repository, including the retrieval of specific data elements via services. Such retrieval capabilities will not only satisfy the needs of use cases (1) through (4) but will provide an important source of experiential results needed for comparing data exchange methodologies with those being tested in the AEX e-business effort.

In the first phase of this second task, the repository will be ported from a straightforward, static web page to a back-end database management system (DBMS). Clearly, as the variety of equipment types expands and the corresponding number of instance documents grows, a more sophisticated inventory management system will be required. This phase of the task includes pre-implementation analysis of the various DBMS' available for managing XML documents as well as design, development, and testing of the database.

The second phase of this task, spanning the remainder of FY04 and extending into FY05, includes the analysis and implementation of a fully layered web services protocol stack to support: (1) message transport between applications and the database/repository for data access and retrieval; (2) encoding of the messages using, at first, XML-RPC (Remote Procedure Calls) and, possibly as an enhancement depending upon the results of the design analysis, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol); (3) description of the provided services for the public interface to the repository using WSDL (Web Services Description Language); and (4) a services discovery layer using UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration) to support the discovery and identification of the applicable repository services via the Web, which would greatly improve the functionality of applications seeking out the repository and its services..." [excerpted]

References:

• Product Data Standards for HVAC/R Systems [cache]
• Principal Investigator: Edwin Begley, tel +1 (301) 975-6118
• SIMA contact: sima@nist.gov
• NIST SIMA [Systems Integration for Manufacturing Applications], including Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) and Manufacturing Systems Integration Division (MSID)
• SIMA Overview
• SIMA Projects
• Collaborations
• Example NIST SIMA Projects funded for 2004:
  • Interoperability Standards for Capital Facilities. Its objective is to "assist U.S. industries in developing and implementing interoperability standards, e.g., XML specifications and ISO 10303 (aka STEP) Application Protocol 227, and work process improvements that reduce the life cycle costs and risks for the design, specification, purchase, fabrication, installation and operation of equipment for capital facilities."
  • Numerical Data Markup Language (NDML)
  • Intelligent Open Architecture Control of Manufacturing Systems

OASIS Open Building Information Exchange Technical Committee

In May 2004 OASIS announced the formation of an oBIX (Open Building Information Exchange) technical committee. The purpose of the oBIX TC is to "define a standard web services protocol to enable communications between building mechanical and electrical systems and enterprise applications. This protocol will enable facilities and their operations to be managed as full participants in knowledge-based businesses. The oBIX specification will utilize web services for exchange of information with the mechanical and electrical systems in commercial buildings." An initial meeting of the oBIX TC was scheduled to be held as a teleconference on June 15, 2004, sponsored by Trane.

Background: "Presently most mechanical and electrical systems are provided with embedded digital controls (DDC). Most of these devices are low cost and not enabled for TCP/IP. They are installed with dedicated communications wiring. Larger DDC controllers provide network communications for these dedicated controllers. There are several well established binary protocols (BACnet, LonTalk, Modbus, DALI) that are used on these dedicated networks in addition to numerous proprietary protocols. While these binary protocols can be used over TCP/IP networks — they have challenges with routers, firewalls, security, and compatibility with other network applications. There is an added challenge in that the industry is split between several largely incompatible protocols.

Because oBIX integrates with the enterprise, it will enable mechanical and electrical control systems to provide continuous visibility of operational status and performance, flagging problems and trends for system analysis or human attention. OBIX provides a technology that enables facilities operators, owners and tenants to make decisions based on a fully integrated consideration of all life-cycle, environmental, cost, and performance factors.

TC Scope: The scope of the oBIX TC is to develop a publicly available web services interface specification that can be used to obtain data in a simple and secure manner from HVAC, access control, utilities, and other building automation systems, and to provide data exchange between facility systems and enterprise applications. In addition, the TC will develop implementation guidelines, as needed, to facilitate the development of products that use the web service interface. Work outside of the above will be considered out of scope for the TC..."

References:

• "OASIS Forms Open Building Information Exchange (oBIX) Technical Committee."
• OASIS Open Building Information Exchange TC web site
• OASIS TC Call For Participation: oBIX TC
• oBIX TC FAQ document [source .DOC]
• oBIX TC Charter
• TC discussion list archives
• "CABA to Transfer oBIX Governance." Announcement 2004-04-28.
• "oBIX@BuilConn." By Toby Considine and Ken Sinclair. From AutomatedBuildings.com (February 2005).
• Contact: Toby Considine (University of North Carolina, Proposed TC Chair)

Open Building Information Xchange (oBIX)

"oBIX (Open Building Information Xchange) began its life in April of 2003 as the CABA XML/Web Services Guideline Committee. oBIX then took on a life of its own, with an expanded mission and increased visibility; in April 2004 CABA announced that it was in the process of being transferred to a technical committee at the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).

oBIX is a focused effort by industry leaders and associations working toward creating a standard XML and Web Services guideline to facilitate the exchange of information between intelligent buildings, enable enterprise application integration and bring forth true systems integration. Based on Standards widely used by the IT Industry, the oBIX guideline will improve operational effectiveness giving facility managers and building owners increased knowledge and control of their properties. Comprised of representatives from the entire spectrum of the buildings systems industry, oBIX includes professionals from the security, HVAC, building automation, open protocol and IT disciplines.

The mission of the Open Building Information Exchange (oBIX) committee is to develop a publicly available web services interface specification that can be used to obtain data in a simple and secure manner from HVAC, access control, utilities, and other building automation systems, and to provide data exchange between facility systems and enterprise applications. In addition, the committee will develop implementation guidelines, as needed, to facilitate the development of products that use the web service interface..." [adapted from the oBIX home page 2004-05-08]

References:

• oBIX home page
• oBIX information at CABA
• "What is oBIX?" By Paul Ehrlich and Ken Sinclair. From AutomatedBuildings.com (December 2003). Interview with Paul Ehrlich (Business Development Leader, Trane Global Controls Business Unit).
• "CABA to Transfer oBIX Governance." Announcement 2004-04-28.
• oBIX Specification 2. Technical Committee Draft Version 02. Document identifier: obix-0.12.2 June 30, 2006. 62 pages. This document specifies an object model and XML format used for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication.

OLE for Process Control (OPC)

"OPC is open connectivity in industrial automation and the enterprise systems that support industry. Interoperability is assured through the creation and maintenance of open standards specifications. There are currently seven standards specifications completed or in development. Based on fundamental standards and technology of the general computing market, the OPC Foundation adapts and creates specifications that fill industry-specific needs. OPC will continue to create new standards as needs arise and to adapt existing standards to utilize new technology... OPC Complex Data is a "companion specification to Data Access and XML-DA that allows servers to expose and describe more complicated data types such as binary structures and XML documents..." [from "What is OPC?"]

Based on Microsoft's OLE (now ActiveX), COM (component object model) and DCOM (distributed component object model) technologies, OPC consists of a standard set of interfaces, properties, and methods for use in process-control and manufacturing-automation applications.The ActiveX/COM technologies define how individual software components can interact and share data. Backed by Microsoft's NT technology, OPC provides a common interface for communicating with diverse process-control devices, regardless of the controlling software or devices in the process. The goal of the standard is Plug-and-Play, a concept developed by Microsoft and a number of other companies a few years ago..." [from "OPC Technical Overview"]

The goal of the OPC XML-DA Specification is to develop flexible, consistent rules and formats for exposing plant floor data using XML. Specifically it is the desire of the OPC Board that this effort initially focus on exposing the same data that the existing OPC interfaces expose today such as Data Access and later, Alarms and Events and that the working group strive to produce a simple, usable first release of the specification in as short a time as possible. It will leverage work done by Microsoft and others on .NET, Web Services, SOAP and other XML frameworks..." [OPC Data Access]

References:

• OPC Foundation web site
• "What is OPC?". From The OPC Foundation.
• "OPC Technical Overview"
• OPC Data Access Specification
• OPC XML-DA Specification
• XML Data Access