Asset Administration Shell for PLC representation based on IEC 61131-3

In the Reference Architecture Model for Industrie 4.0, the concept of Asset Administration Shell is presented as the corner stone of interoperability. Asset Administration Shell is defined as a digital representation of an asset able to provide information about the asset including documents, properties, parameters, and functionalities, all organized in a consistent way. Information provided by an Asset Administration Shell can be adopted during whole life cycle of a production system, from its development until its disposal. At the lowest level of the hierarchy of a production system, usually automation and control programs are executed by Programmable Logic Controllers, whose programming technology is based on IEC 61131–3 standard. The IEC 61131–3 programs, the Programmable Logic Controllers where they run, and the real plant controlled are closely related. Considering the life cycle of a production system, the description of IEC 61131–3 programs and the relevant relationships with the plant should be clearly defined, leading to several advantages for example regarding the definition of testing plant operations, maintenance operations at run-time and reconfiguration process of the plant. What is missing for the realization of what said so far is a standard way to realize this description. For this reason, the paper presents an Asset Administration Shell model able to represent IEC 61131–3 programs and the relevant relationships with Programmable Logic Controllers and each device of the controlled plant.