Malvern Instruments has announced its participation in the OPC Analyser Device Integration Working Group.
The group has been constituted to develop a common method for data exchange and an analyser data model for process and laboratory analysers.
It comprises interested members of the OPC Foundation, an organisation dedicated to ensuring interoperability in automation via open standards.
Both instrument manufacturers and industrial users of analytical instrumentation are represented on the Working Group that currently comprises: ABB; Abbott; Arla Foods; Global IT; BRL Consulting; CAS; Glaxosmithkline; Malvern Process Systems; Mettler-Toledo; Autochem; OPC Foundation; Pfizer; Siemens NV; Software Toolbox; and Umetrics.
Oliver Schmitt, business line manager for Malvern Process Systems said: 'With the current focus on process optimisation, and with initiatives such as PAT pushing forward analyser integration, it is vital that we develop the standard interfaces needed to achieve co-ordination and control of systems from different companies.' The Working Group is adopting OPC-UA (Unified Architecture) as the basis for the Analyser Device Integration (ADI) standard and aims to define a compatible data model.
OPC-UA is a platform-neutral standard designed to support complex data types and object models; it can achieve high-speed data transfers and has broad industry support beyond process automation.
