Beyond ISA-95: How a Unified Namespace Solves the Data Island Problem in Manufacturing

[Erkan Teskancan]

## Beyond ISA-95: How the Unified Namespace Solves the Data Island Problem in Manufacturing

Manufacturing facilities generate a high volume of data daily, ranging from traditional business systems to large signals at the equipment level. While manufacturers have long known the value of this data, merely knowing it exists is not enough; there's a need for the ability to access, understand, and utilize the data.

Standards like ISA-95 have provided a solid foundation for organizing manufacturing data for many years. However, traditional implementations of these standards often fail to leverage the full potential of modern, real-time technologies. This is where the Unified Namespace (UNS) comes in.

UNS builds upon the modeling principles of ISA-95 but is adapted to today's open architectures. It eliminates data islands formed by rigid, point-to-point integrations by using modern communication methods and providing real-time, contextual data across the enterprise. This translates to better integration, increased agility, and effective access to critical information.

### Beyond Point-to-Point Integration

In traditional architectures, connecting a machine to a database or ERP system often requires direct and dedicated links. As the number of systems increases, these connections proliferate, creating a complex "spaghetti" integration network that is costly to maintain and difficult to scale.

UNS decouples devices from applications, allowing the plant floor to be flexible and expandable without disrupting enterprise systems.

UNS typically establishes a real-time data network using a central broker, such as an MQTT broker. Control devices, sensors, and software publish data not directly, but to this shared namespace. This allows other systems to instantly subscribe to and access this data.

Data is organized according to standard naming conventions, such as company, site, area, line, asset, and data descriptors. When applications subscribe to the UNS, they access consistent and easily understandable data. This significantly reduces the need for complex middleware.

### Operational Advantages of UNS

Manufacturers view UNS as a flexible and cost-effective solution that enhances operational efficiency. The scalable nature of UNS overcomes the limitations of traditional integration methods. Its main advantages include:

• Simplified access: Engineers, analysts, data scientists, and business users can collaborate on the same reliable data foundation.
• Enhanced capabilities: The simplified structure and real-time access support advanced analytics, machine learning, and large language models.
• Faster decisions: Standardized integration reduces implementation costs, while real-time data enables quicker and more informed decision-making.

Implementing UNS requires a careful, phased process. It's not just about setting up a broker, but also clearly defining the central data hub and transforming and publishing raw data.

### The Role of Control Systems Integrators and UNS

UNS implementation is a critical process that intersects both OT and IT, as well as real manufacturing operations. Control systems integrators specialize in publishing meaningful and contextual data from PLCs, DCS, SCADA systems, smart devices, and legacy equipment.

These integrators understand how ISA-95 models connect with real plant hierarchies and how to create naming conventions and data structures that reflect the actual production environment.

• Adapting legacy equipment to modern protocols
• Normalizing inconsistent data from different machine manufacturers
• Utilizing edge gateways for local data processing
• Working with multiple vendors and technologies

With these capabilities, integrators transform the idea of configuring UNS into real value within a scalable, operational data foundation.

UNS is not seen as a replacement for existing systems but rather as a glue that enhances their effectiveness. By decoupling devices from applications, it enables the plant floor to adapt without disrupting enterprise systems.

For those looking to support a predictive maintenance model in manufacturing or access real-time production figures across multiple facilities, UNS represents a shift from rigid hierarchies to a more flexible and responsive data ecosystem.