- March 19, 2026
- Durham, N.C.
The ISA113 Standard Committee will develop a vendor-neutral standard for distributed workflow system integration.
The International Society of Automation (ISA) — the leading professional society for automation — is issuing a call for participants to join the new ISA113 Standard Committee, a strategic initiative focused on defining a specification for integrating distributed workflow systems across multiple vendor platforms.
The ISA113 Standard Committee is being formed to address a growing need for improved interoperability across workflow systems used in industrial organizations. Many teams face a significant burden from bespoke, one-off integration projects required to connect workflow systems. ISA113 aims to create a standard that bridges workflow styles, decouples workflow logic from where work happens, establishes action-based integration for operational technology (OT)/IT workflows and builds a foundation for multi-system orchestration.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will publish the official call for ISA113 committee members on 20 March 2026. The call for interested parties will remain open for 30 days following this publication date. Individuals with relevant expertise and interest in contributing to this effort are encouraged to participate.
One particular area of emphasis for the committee’s work will be enabling interoperability between orchestrated workflows and choreographed workflows. Orchestrated workflows, such as ISA-88-style hierarchical procedures and phases, are widely used in industrial automation and batch control environments. Choreographed workflows, which are common in Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), manufacturing execution systems (MES) and broader business process environments, support more distributed and event-driven process coordination. As organizations undergo digital transformation, they increasingly rely on both styles, and the need for seamless integration between them has become more urgent.
“The goal of initiating the ISA113 Standard Committee is to help bridge OT/IT workflow styles,” said Steve Ferguson, managing director of standards and technical activities at ISA. “This work has the potential to help organizations improve efficiency, reduce integration risk and support more scalable digital transformation initiatives. A vendor-neutral standard can also foster greater collaboration across suppliers, end users, integrators and software providers.”
ISA welcomes participation from end users, automation suppliers, software vendors, system integrators, consultants and other stakeholders with expertise in workflow systems, industrial automation, MES, BPMN and standards development. Broad representation will be essential to ensuring the resulting standard reflects diverse industry needs and delivers practical value.
Those interested in helping shape the future of distributed workflow interoperability are encouraged to respond during the 30-day ANSI call period. For additional information or to express interest, contact standards@isa.org.
About ISA
The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a non-profit professional association founded in 1945 to create a better world through automation. ISA’s mission is to empower the global automation community through standards and knowledge sharing. ISA develops widely used global standards and conformity assessment programs; certifies professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; hosts conferences and exhibits; and provides networking and career development programs for its members and customers around the world. Learn more at www.isa.org.