IEC 61512-1:2026

IEC 61512-1:2026 applies to systems, specifications, and their use for implementing batch and related procedure-oriented manufacturing controls in the process industries. This document establishes a reference model framework for procedure-oriented control, defines terms to help explain the model relationships and usage, and describes general criteria for evaluating conformance. This follows the principle of separation between recipe procedural elements and equipment procedural elements enabling operations to define recipes without the need of changes in equipment procedures.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1997. This edition constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) Models and text are modified to provide more detail and clarity. Key clarifications are:
1) Two types of equipment modules are defined: generic and recipe-aware. All recipe-aware equipment modules contain procedural control and can be used as phases in the recipe.
2) Execution of all procedural control contained directly in units is part of the Unit Supervision activity.
3) The relationships between types of recipes, recipe components, and equipment control are more fully described and illustrated.
4) Entity relationship diagrams have been replaced with more intuitive UML instance diagrams, except for the equipment entity model.
5) The transition diagram for the procedural states example has been updated with a more intuitive and complete UML state diagram.
6) References to other standards in the series and to IEC 62264 are included to provide direction for further clarification of selected topics.
7) Activity names are capitalised to help prevent confusion with similar terms, such as their underlying functions.
b) Previous Clauses 4 through 6 (now Clauses 4 through 8) were rearranged to provide a clearer top-down organisation of the document. Key changes are:
1) Removing the lower levels of the physical (role-based equipment) model (see 4.4.2) to eliminate redundancy because their groupings are defined by the associated functionality in the equipment entity model and are not meaningful for batch control without those associations.
2) Describing equipment control and the equipment entity model immediately after the physical (role-based equipment) model and describing each level as completely as possible without excessive use of forward references (see 4.4.3).
3) Combining the descriptions of basic, procedural, and coordination control with their usage in each type of equipment entity, providing a single consolidated discussion of each type of control (see Clause 5)
4) Additional considerations to support application of the models have been grouped in Clause 7 to clarify their supporting relationship to the core models.
c) Clause 9 was added to define completeness, compliance, and conformance in relation to this document.
d) Annex B was added to provide a more expansive procedural state reference model. The model found in Clause 7 can be considered a collapsed version of this more general model.
e) Annex C was added to clarify a number of points concerning the models, their application, and the new Clause 9 on conformance and compliance.
f) Annex E was added to more fully describe the changes in this update to IEC 61512-1:1997.