Industrial Automation Standards: How Are They Created?
- Riddhi Padariya
- Jan 25
- 2 min read
In the last 6+ years of working in the manufacturing industry, I have come across many standard practices followed by companies internally, which have helped design and deploy industrial systems efficiently. This made me question: why don’t companies use official international standards documentation as-is? Well, most published documents are not simplified enough for engineers to use them effectively when building robust industrial automation systems. So, I began asking myself some fundamental questions.
Why do standards exist in the first place?
Pre-defined standards are supposed to help develop safe manufacturing systems that are not only efficient but also faster to build, eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel or create internal standard documentation. While most of us understand why standards exist, I want to reiterate this point, as I have noticed stark differences in their application in the real world.
Are there disconnects between standards users and developers?
The world is already aware of Tesla's remarkable success, which I witnessed firsthand during my work there as a Sr. Advanced Automation Engineer. The company builds part-producing gigafactories in just months and focuses on improving overall equipment efficiency to produce hundreds of thousands of cars annually. However, I haven’t seen other manufacturing companies achieve such remarkable feats. This made me dig deeper to understand how official standards are developed, how they are distributed to users/integrators, and whether there is a strong connection between the standards and their application in developing industrial systems.
After some research, I discovered the International Society of Automation (ISA) and various standard groups (e.g., HMI, SCADA, FAT/SAT, etc.), which work to propose changes and revise standards. Inspired by their efforts, I decided to participate and contribute to advancing this work with others around the world.
Here is a rough sketch of the lifecycle of standard development:
This year, I have been selected to serve as the Standing Standards Committee Chair at the IEEE Control Systems Society and as the Chair of the Automation and Controls Technical Assembly Committee at the International Society of Automation (ISA).
I am looking for enthusiastic and driven individuals who are interested in pushing the boundaries of standards development. That’s why I decided to write this blog for those who, like me, have wondered: Where does the request to revise a standard originate? How do we identify the gaps? How can we develop common and robust practices that are adopted by manufacturers worldwide?
If this excites you, feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn to collaborate on developing industrial automation standards! 😊
Miscellaneous :
Some useful links to learn about various international organizations that oversee standard development work and publish them for the fields of industrial automation, controls, and others.
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