OPC UA becomes key technology in mechanical engineering

The digital transformation in mechanical and plant engineering continues to progress and is significantly driven by customer requirements.

The new interoperability study by the VDMA provides clear results according to a statement from the association: 84 percent of companies see a concrete need for interoperable interfaces. 71 percent rate OPC UA as highly relevant and 62 percent consider the companion specifications to be particularly important.

"Interoperability is the key to fully exploiting the potential of digital transformation in mechanical and plant engineering. The new edition of our study clearly shows: Only through common standards like OPC UA and close collaboration along the entire value chain - from component manufacturers to machine builders to operators - can we use data efficiently and sustainably secure the competitiveness of the industry," says Andreas Faath, head of machine information interoperability at VDMA.

OPC UA: From pilot project to practice

The standard has been established according to VDMA: 57 percent of companies use OPC UA in production. OPC UA is a manufacturer-independent communication protocol that enables secure and semantically clear data exchange between machines and IT systems. According to current surveys, only 8 percent of respondents plan no application. About half of the new products are already OPC UA-capable, indicating broad acceptance and the transition from the pilot phase to real implementation. One-third of companies already use OPC UA for machinery to enable standardized communication. OPC UA is increasingly developing into the connecting backbone for industrial interoperability. The increasing integration of the standard into products and processes illustrates that it has established itself as a fundamental basis for digital transformation.

Customer requirements as innovation drivers

A central driver for the introduction of OPC UA in mechanical and plant engineering, according to the study, is specific customer requirements: 60 percent of the companies surveyed state that they integrate OPC UA due to explicit customer requests. Another 40 percent of respondents act proactively and use the technology proactively. This ensures that they can adapt to future market needs at an early stage.

According to VDMA, this strategic foresight pays off: in more than half of the cases (54 percent), the anticipated customer requirements were confirmed in retrospect. This shows how important it is to recognize customer needs early and align technological developments accordingly. Interoperability thus becomes not only a technical necessity but also a competitive advantage.

Strategic advantages of interoperable standards

The study identifies three central benefits of interoperable interfaces:

1. Resolution of proprietary interfaces
2. Cost savings through reduced integration effort
3. Vision plug & play through standardized communication with other systems in the automation environment

A central finding of the study is the strategic importance of interoperable interfaces for mechanical and plant engineering. This is particularly evident in three areas: first, the resolution of proprietary interfaces enables manufacturer- and platform-independent data exchange. This allows new components to be integrated more quickly, third-party machines to be connected more efficiently, and existing systems to be restructured more flexibly. Second, standardization significantly reduces the integration effort, both during commissioning and maintenance and system care. This lowers costs and simplifies the scaling of production systems. Third, open standards like OPC UA provide the basis for plug & play functionalities. Machines and components can be automatically recognized and integrated, minimizing downtime and reducing technical complexity. This creates an infrastructure that is not only efficient but also future-proof.

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Diverse application fields and future potential

The high strategic importance of interoperable interfaces is evident in various use cases, especially in production monitoring, production control, and remote maintenance. Interoperable interfaces enable standardized, cross-manufacturer integration of machines and systems. This allows production processes to be managed more transparently, efficiently, and flexibly. The use of data ranges from production optimization and quality improvement to the development of digital business models and AI applications.

By using structured, standardized data models like the 'Machine State,' meaningful key figures for machine availability and process control become possible. Thus, interoperable interfaces form the basis for intelligent, adaptive, and economically relevant applications that enhance operational efficiency. 

Conclusion: The results of the study make it clear: Interoperability is a central success factor for the digital transformation in mechanical and plant engineering. Open standards like OPC UA enable seamless, cross-manufacturer communication and create the foundation for flexible, scalable, and efficient production processes. They reduce technical complexity, simplify commissioning, and strengthen the innovative capacity of companies. The widespread use in practice and the multitude of concrete use cases show that OPC UA has long outgrown the pilot phase and has established itself as a key technology.

VDMA