The new EU Data Regulation, which has been in force since January 11, 2024, grants customers of the mechanical and plant engineering sector, as users, the right to access certain data generated during the use of connected products.
Standardized interfaces for connected products in mechanical and plant engineering facilitate technical implementation. Henrik Schunk, Vice President of the VDMA, explains: “Companies now need to create the technical prerequisites in their products and production, meaning they need to know their own data streams, structure data accordingly, and comprehensively apply existing standards.”
The industry must proactively create the conditions for a legally compliant handling of the EU Data Regulation, as this is the only way companies can benefit from the opportunities of the data economy. The urgency is reflected in European and national funding initiatives such as Manufacturing-X, which serve to establish data space structures and frameworks.
Andreas Faath, head of the Machine Information Interoperability (MII) department at VDMA, states: “With the OPC UA Companion Specifications, foremost the OPC UA for Machinery, the basic production information is already standardized and can be efficiently provided. Additionally, manufacturer-specific data can be supplemented to deliver all required information.”
Since 2017, the mechanical and plant engineering sector has been developing OPC UA Companion Specifications to provide standardized production information across manufacturers and industries. These enable the secure and reliable exchange of data between various devices or systems in industrial environments and thus form a basis for the implementation of the EU Data Regulation.
Over 700 companies have participated in the development of the OPC UA Companion Specifications. More than 60 OPC UA Companion Specifications are ready for implementation. The global adoption of these standards is promoted by the umati initiative of the mechanical and plant engineering sector, enabling customers efficient implementation and integration into existing system landscapes and data spaces.
