Weihenstephan Standards

The Weihenstephan Standards (WS) define a communication interface for the standardized transmission of machine and process data to higher-level IT systems. The meta model is based on the OPC UA and the PackML. The WS can be implemented quickly and easily in all machines in the food and beverage industry.

Food and beverage manufacturers are particularly challenged today to offer high-quality products at fair market prices. In doing so, they move between the conflicting priorities of their own profitability and high responsibility towards consumers and the legislator. In order to remain competitive, they are dependent on effective information technology support from various IT systems, such as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

For this purpose, the exchange of data between machines and higher-level IT systems, but also between machines (M2M) is becoming increasingly important. However, the complexity increases, especially in heterogeneous production lines with different machine suppliers or a large number of relevant IT systems.

The Weihenstephan Standards define both universally applicable communication interfaces and the data that must be provided for recording. The required data points and content as well as the evaluation recommendations have been defined for each industry and are currently available for the following industries:

• Beverage bottling plants.
• Food industry machines.
• Bakery industry machines.
• Process plants in the brewing industry.
• Confectionery industry machines.

The Weihenstephan Standards offer predefined and standardized data content as well as uniform communication interfaces and WS software tools that significantly reduce the effort involved in project planning and implementation. The use of the Weihenstephan Standards saves time and money during IT integration. Here are some other features:

• Definition of practice-relevant data points.
• Definition of extensive machine profiles.
• Use of the OPC UA communication standard.
• Availability of modeling tools.
• Ability to verify successful implementation.
• Industry-specific evaluation recommendations.
• Manufacturer and controller independent implementation.
• Interdisciplinary and pre-competitive cooperation between machine builders, production companies, IT integrators and research.
• Common goal of driving a standard within the food and beverage industry.
• Independent perspective from science and research by the TUM.

In the Weihenstephan Standards, the communication standards WS OCP UA and WS Protocol (a proprietary TCP/IP protocol) are available for the transmission of WS data points. You determine the form in which the data is structured and transmitted.

For communication in an Industry 4.0 environment, the Weihenstephan Standards rely on the OPC UA. The WS OCP UA has been available since version 10 of the Weihenstephan Standards. Compared to the WS Protocol, the WS OCP UA offers advantages in the self-description of the data, among other things.