Defines the “initial set” of standard reference data for oil and gas production facilities. This part is also known as the EPISTLE Reference Data Library (ERDL). It defines standard data model terminology that is used with the Part 2 core data model. It is a managed collection of process plant life-cycle data classes which are common to many process plants or of interest to many users.

The released initial set comprises about 7000 classes and their definitions.

See ISO 15926 General section History.

Originally released under EPISTLE, currently the subject areas coming from the companies associated with USPI-NL and the companies associated with POSC-Caesar are being merged, finalized according to the latest procedures for assembly of definitions, correctly formed ontology (including a new ontology top) and correct relation to their Entity data Type.

This work is planned to be finished by summer 2006, and it will produce a new core library of about 10,000 classes. The POSC-Caesar RDS/IDS and the FIATECH ADI project will make this available as Single Global Source.

The RDL work is going on since about 1992, and was carried out by many companies. The work may have cost more than 40 manyears total. Additionally USPI-NL (first Steplib, now Gellish) have available 32,000 and POSC-Caesar 50,000 (PC-lib) more specialized classes in their own environments.

It is important that nobody can claim ownership over the core library; eventually all of it is planned to be in the public domain. However the IPR question needs to be addressed to make sure nobody will claim ownership or takes it out of the public domain somehow.

The currently being developed RDL can be viewed from the online Reference Data System (RDS). It is available through http://rds.posccaesar.com or you can follow this deeplink. You have to wait until the Java Applet is installed, then click Login at the right upper corner.

This online database contains the core library as well as the additional PC-Lib, so it’s about 50,000 classes total. Right now it has no OWL export yet, that’s what the FIATECH ADI project will be making available. So there is no Ontology Browser between multiple sources to use. However this screen has a lot of functionality. Follow the Tutorial ISO 15926 part 4 to get explanations about the operation of RDS and about the RDL content structures.