Why Standardisation Is Critical for Digitalisation, Integration and Automation

TL;DR

Conclusion

Standardisation is not an administrative obstacle but the engine that makes complex digitalisation possible in practice.

The challenge

Without shared standards, every project creates its own structures, leading to fragmented data and fragile integrations.

The solution

By using established frameworks such as IEC 81346 and IEC 81355, a shared information foundation is created that holds over time.

The effect

A “Digital Thread” – an unbroken chain of information that makes your facilities easy to understand, manage and develop further.

Digitalisation as Everyday Reality – and Complexity

Digitalisation, integration and automation are today no longer future issues. They are part of everyday life in building automation, BMS, industrial automation, energy systems, infrastructure and traditional IT environments. IT systems, OT systems, control systems, sensors and digital platforms are connected over IP-based networks and share data in real time.

Standardisation is sometimes perceived as administrative or constraining. In practice it is the opposite.

Technically, this is rarely the biggest obstacle. Most organisations can collect data, build integrations and automate processes. The challenge arises over time. Solutions that work well at commissioning gradually become difficult to understand, change and develop further. Documentation loses currency, integrations become fragile and dependence on specific individuals increases.

The problem is rarely the technology itself. The problem is the lack of shared structures for how systems, information and documentation are organised.

Standardisation as Enabler, Not Constraint

Standardisation is sometimes perceived as administrative or constraining. In practice it is the opposite. Standardisation is what makes complex technical environments possible to understand, manage and develop over time.

When digitalisation spans multiple technology domains, there is a need for shared principles: how a system is bounded, how objects are identified, how information is classified, how traceability is ensured when systems change. Without shared standards, every project and every supplier develops its own structure. The result is fragmentation, increased management costs and integration solutions that do not scale.

Structure Before Technology Selection

In many digitalisation and automation initiatives, the focus lands on technology selection. Platforms, protocols and products are analysed in detail, while questions about structure, classification, metadata and document management fall into the background. This leads to systems that are technically integrated but informationally fragmented. Documentation becomes hard to use. Data loses its context. Every change requires extensive analysis.

Standardisation in this context is not about controlling the technology, but about creating a shared information foundation that makes the technology usable over time.

IEC 61355 and IEC 81355 as the Foundation for Documents and Information

IEC 61355 has long been an established standard for the classification of technical documentation. IEC 81355 builds on the same basic principles but is better suited for digital information management and complex system environments. It provides clearer support for how information can be structured so that it is usable over time, regardless of technology domain. In practice, many organisations today manage existing facilities according to IEC 61355 while new projects are based on IEC 81355 – requiring a conscious strategy for information management during change and further development.

IEC 81346 and Stable System Identity

While IEC 61355 and IEC 81355 focus on documentation and information classification, IEC 81346 addresses how technical systems are structured and identified. The standard describes how function, product and location can be distinguished and identified in a consistent manner. The purpose is to create stable identities that hold over time, even when systems are rebuilt, relocated or further developed.

ISO Standards for Information Management

Beyond the IEC standards, several ISO standards complement the picture:

ISO 82045 – How technical documentation should be identified, version-managed and exchanged in a controlled manner
ISO 15489 – Information management over the entire lifecycle; documentation as business information with clear responsibility and traceability
ISO 19650 – How information is organised, structured and shared over the lifecycle in built and technical environments (often associated with BIM)
ISO/IEC 11179 – Metadata and shared concept definitions; central to master data and ensuring different systems interpret information the same way

Digital Thread Through the Lifecycle

The concept of a digital thread describes how information is kept together throughout the entire lifecycle – from concept and design to installation, operation, change and decommissioning. A digital thread is not a product or platform. It arises when objects, documents and data have stable identities and clear relationships. Standards for structure, documentation and metadata are what makes the digital thread possible in practice.

Master Data, Aliases and Tag Management

In integrated IT, OT and automation environments, the same object often appears in several systems. Different names, tags and designations are used in parallel.

Master data covers the fundamental definitions of objects, functions and properties that must be shared regardless of system. By separating an object’s identity from its presentation in different systems, alias and tag management becomes manageable. This is a structural question rather than a technical speciality, and it is decisive for traceability and long-term integration.

Beyond standards for document structure and metadata, there are also frameworks that address lifecycle governance and management of technical assets. The ISO 55000 series describes how organisations should manage assets across the entire lifecycle, from planning to decommissioning. IEC 62890 focuses specifically on lifecycle management of systems and products, including modernisation and change over time.

These standards complement the IEC and ISO standards for structure and information management by clarifying how information is used as a basis for decisions in operation, change and circular asset management.

Digitalisation as an Enabler of Circular Asset Management

When information follows the systems through their entire lifecycle, the view of technology and products changes as well. Systems and components become managed assets with a known history.

At the point of change or decommissioning, there is then a basis for deciding what can be reused, upgraded or recycled. Circular asset management emerges as a consequence of structured information management, not as a separate sustainability initiative.

Digitalisation without structure often leads to shorter lifespans and increased waste of resources. Digitalisation built on standards instead creates the conditions for circular flows.

Common Reasons It Does Not Hold Over Time

Despite good intentions, standardisation is often introduced late, when the systems are already built. Focus lands on technical integration while information structure and responsibility are left unclear. Suppliers are allowed to use their own terminology and document structure.

The result is solutions that work here and now, but that are difficult to maintain and develop further.

When Structure Becomes a Long-Term Capability

Digitalisation, integration and automation are ultimately not about more systems. They are about the capability to understand, change and manage technology over time. Standards for structure, documentation, metadata and information governance create traceability throughout the lifecycle. They enable the digital thread in practice and lay the foundation for both effective operations and circular asset management.

Organisations that establish this foundation early are better positioned for future changes, whether driven by new technology, new requirements or increased sustainability ambitions.

What to require in your next project

Before selecting a platform or supplier, make these five decisions explicit:

Identity: define how systems, objects and locations will be identified across disciplines.
Information: specify required metadata, document classes and naming rules.
Interfaces: require open, documented interfaces and clarify ownership of each data flow.
Verification: turn the standards into acceptance criteria that can be tested at handover.
Lifecycle ownership: appoint who maintains identities, mappings and rules after commissioning.

If one of these decisions is missing, the project is likely to create a new integration problem for operations to solve later.

Is your digitalisation journey built on a solid foundation?

Without shared standards, integration and automation become both costly and difficult to manage. We help you navigate between requirements specification and practical implementation to create a sustainable technical architecture.

David Nordin

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