Part 1 update

There is a new version of S88.01 being developed.
The development is being conducted by means of draft copies and comment forms being distributed via a mailing list, periodic meetings, and some dialog on the mailing list. It has to be said that in these days of Social Networking, Wiki’s, Blogs and excellent help groups such sites as eng-tips.com and plctalk.net/qanda, that the ISA and WBF are truly archaic. Although they do use internet online meetings, which is good.

I remember an esteemed WBF member at an EBF meeting in the mid 90’s at about the time the WBF started up speaking of one day ‘Surfing the Batch Web’. Niels I don’t think we are there yet!

Notwithstanding I have been following the Part 1 update process and occasionally throwing in a comment. It is clear that even now there are still big conflicts about what Part 1 actually says.
I used to think that all it needed was some examples and the problems could be resolved.
But now, I realise that it is unlikely because the disagreements are at present too entrenched.

These differences are greatest in the use of procedural models in equipment control. To me, and some others, it seems that some want to use the procedural terminology for parts of control software and even push the models as architecture for the real time control in the PLC’s and DCS’s. That is not what they are for, and they do not always fit.

Some just want to agree and follow whatever it becomes, but that is not the answer, since if it gets it wrong the result will be all of us having to be inefficient. And, no doubt, some good designs being rejected because they do not fit the standard.