The OPC Foundation takes ownership of the MDIS Sub-Sea Standard

Sagentia Innovation is excited to report on the continued success of MDIS which started as an OTM network in 2009. MDIS was formed to optimise and standardise communications between subsea Master Control Stations (MCSs) and topside Distributed Control Systems (DCSs).

This week the OPC Foundation announced it has taken ownership of the MCS-DCS Interface Standardisation (MDIS) specification continuing the networks drive for market adoption. The MDIS working group is open to OPC Foundation members and other interested parties to join the impressive list of original MDIS network members.

Scottsdale, AZ – December 08th, 2021 – The OPC Foundation (OPCF) is proud to announce that it consolidated and took over the MCS-DCS Interface Standardisation (MDIS) specification ownership. Effective immediately, as with all OPCF Companion Specifications, MDIS is freely available for adoption by all interested parties at no additional cost. The OPCF MDIS working group, co-chaired by Markus Koeing from SubSea, Tim Fortin from Honeywell, and Paul Hunkar from DS Interoperability, now oversees the ongoing maintenance and expansion of the standard. Original MDIS network group members will continue working in the OPCF working group. The OPC Foundation invites all members interested in helping shape the future of the MDIS specification to join the MDIS working group.

MDIS was formed with a vision to optimize and standardize communications between subsea Master Control Stations (MCSs) and topside Distributed Control Systems (DCSs). A standardized MCS-DCS interface simplifies the implementation of data communications and increases data quality. Companies that adopt the MDIS standard, whether they are the operators or automation vendors, benefit from simplified integration and commissioning of the MCS–DCS interface, reduced maintenance efforts, and minimized risk of interface failures that lead to downtime and expensive subsea equipment repairs.

Shreekant Mehta, Senior Vice President, Energy at Sagentia Innovation (which incorporated OTM Consulting) commented, “MDIS was started as an OTM network in 2009 with support from operators and vendors. The collaboration seen within MDIS is unique, and we have seen some great technology development leading to three interoperability testing meetings where interfaces were proven. We are delighted to see the MDIS specification reach maturity and have a new home with OPC who will maintain and update this specification as needed. We’d like to thank the operators, integrators, vendors and OPC who have worked together to create this industry standard.”

The OPC Foundation wishes to acknowledge the international network of companies for their work over the past twelve years to make MDIS a reality and OTM Consulting for hosting. The original MDIS network companies include:

Stefan Hoppe, President and Executive Director of the OPC Foundation, observed, “MDIS is an important offshore Oil and Gas production standard that serves as an example of the vital role OPC UA companion specifications increasingly play in the industry.”

Mr. Hoppe continued, “The success of OPC UA-based standards like MDIS comes from more than the universal information modeling OPC UA offers. OPC UA also addresses underlying infrastructure issues associated with data connectivity security and future-proofing, which translates to saved time and effort for standards bodies, easier to implement products for vendors, and more complete end-to-end solutions for end-users.”

To learn more about the MDIS and OPC UA companion specifications, visit the OPC Foundation website at www. OPCFoundation.org

About Sagentia Innovation (incorporating OTM Consulting)

Sagentia Innovation is a global science, product, and technology development company. In 2021 Sagentia Innovation incorporated three Science Group companies; OTM Consulting, Sagentia and Oakland Innovation. It is our mission to help companies maximize the value of their investments in R&D. We partner with clients in the medical, consumer, industrial and food & beverage sectors to help them

understand the technology and market landscape, decide their future strategy, solve the complex science and technology challenges, and deliver commercially successful products. Sagentia Innovation employs over 180 scientists, engineers and market experts and is a Science Group company. Science Group provides independent advisory and leading edge product development services focused on science and technology initiatives. It has ten offices globally, two UK-based dedicated R&D innovation centres and more than 400 employees. Other Science Group companies include Leatherhead Food Research, TSG Consulting and Frontier Smart Technologies. www.sagentiainnovation.com

About the OPC Foundation

Since 1996, the OPC Foundation has facilitated the development and adoption of the OPC information exchange standards. As both advocate and custodian of these specifications, the Foundation’s mission is to help industry vendors, end-users, and software developers maintain interoperability in their manufacturing and automation assets. The OPC Foundation provides the best specifications, technology, process, and certification to achieve multivendor, multiplatform, secure, reliable, interoperability for moving data and information from the embedded world to the enterprise cloud. The Foundation serves over 800 members worldwide in the Industrial Automation, IT, IoT, IIoT, M2M, Industrie 4.0, Building Automation, machine tools, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and Smart Energy sectors. For more information, please visit www.opcfoundation.org

Sally Marriage

Network Project Manager

Sagentia Innovation (Formerly OTM Consulting) [email protected]

Stefan Hoppe

President and Executive Director

OPC Foundation [email protected]