<s>
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
was	O
an	O
organization	O
dedicated	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
international	O
,	O
interoperable	O
fieldbus	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
was	O
a	O
not-for-profit	O
trade	O
consortium	O
that	O
consisted	O
of	O
more	O
than	O
350	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
suppliers	O
and	O
end	O
users	O
of	O
process	O
control	O
and	O
manufacturing	O
automation	B-Application
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
proprietary	O
network	O
protocols	O
,	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
is	O
not	O
owned	O
by	O
a	O
company	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
an	O
open	O
,	O
interoperable	O
 [ fieldbus ] 	O
that	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
International	O
Organization	O
for	O
Standardization	O
's	O
Open	O
Systems	O
Interconnection	O
(	O
OSI/ISO	O
)	O
seven-layer	O
communications	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Foundation	O
specification	O
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
officially	O
sanctioned	O
SP50	O
standards	O
project	O
of	O
the	O
Instrumentation	O
,	O
Systems	O
,	O
and	O
Automation	B-Application
Society	O
(	O
ISA	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
International	O
Electrotechnical	O
Commission	O
(	O
IEC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
its	O
inception	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
had	O
taken	O
a	O
leadership	O
role	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
fieldbus	O
digital	O
communications	O
and	O
integrated	O
system	O
architecture	O
based	O
on	O
regional	O
and	O
international	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
foundation	O
's	O
history	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
growth	O
and	O
achievement	O
,	O
as	O
fieldbus-based	O
control	O
solutions	O
gained	O
widespread	O
acceptance	O
in	O
the	O
global	O
automation	B-Application
marketplace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
parallel	O
supplier	O
consortiums	O
–	O
the	O
InterOperable	O
Systems	O
Project	O
(	O
ISP	O
)	O
and	O
WorldFIP	O
North	O
America	O
–	O
merged	O
to	O
form	O
the	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manufacturers	O
,	O
end	O
users	O
,	O
academic	O
institutions	O
and	O
other	O
interested	O
parties	O
became	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
and	O
developed	O
open	O
,	O
non-proprietary	O
specifications	O
known	O
as	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
achieved	O
many	O
important	O
milestones	O
along	O
the	O
way	O
to	O
the	O
maturity	O
and	O
success	O
of	O
Foundation	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announcement	O
of	O
first	O
educational	O
institutions	O
offering	O
certified	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
training	O
,	O
Mar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
’s	O
Foundation	O
for	O
SIF	O
development	O
project	O
achieved	O
its	O
first	O
major	O
milestone	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2003	O
with	O
approval	O
of	O
the	O
overall	O
system	O
concept	O
by	O
TÜV	O
Rheinland	O
Industrie	O
Service	O
GmbH	O
,	O
Automation	B-Application
,	O
Software	O
and	O
Information	O
Technology	O
,	O
a	O
global	O
,	O
independent	O
and	O
accredited	O
testing	O
agency	O
.In	O
early	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
foundation	O
announced	O
that	O
TÜV	O
had	O
granted	O
Protocol	O
Type	O
Approval	O
for	O
its	O
fieldbus	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
fastest	O
growing	O
segments	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
process	O
automation	B-Application
is	O
remote	O
operations	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
name	O
implies	O
,	O
remote	O
operations	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
assets	O
that	O
are	O
located	O
in	O
or	O
are	O
dispersed	O
throughout	O
remote	O
geographic	O
locations	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
difficult	O
or	O
impossible	O
to	O
send	O
personnel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
also	O
include	O
tank	O
farms	O
and	O
terminals	O
,	O
water	O
and	O
wastewater	O
treatment	O
facilities	O
,	O
and	O
any	O
industry	O
or	O
application	O
that	O
requires	O
remote	O
access	O
to	O
automation	B-Application
assets	O
Foundation	O
for	O
Remote	O
Operations	O
Management	O
(	O
ROM	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
suite	O
of	O
technologies	O
and	O
additions	O
to	O
the	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
specification	O
that	O
provide	O
for	O
both	O
a	O
wireless	O
and	O
wired	O
infrastructure	O
for	O
remote	O
assets	O
and	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conversely	O
,	O
Foundation	O
for	O
ROM	O
can	O
take	O
the	O
data	O
from	O
those	O
devices	O
and	O
place	O
into	O
the	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
environment	O
for	O
data	O
management	O
and	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
is	O
much	O
more	O
than	O
just	O
a	O
communications	O
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	O
layer	O
allows	O
for	O
all	O
kinds	O
of	O
flexibility	O
and	O
standardization	O
of	O
data	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
all	O
built	O
around	O
the	O
requirements	O
of	O
process	O
automation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
extends	O
the	O
range	O
and	O
capabilities	O
of	O
Foundation	B-Application
fieldbus	I-Application
to	O
encompass	O
many	O
more	O
devices	O
throughout	O
the	O
plant	O
—	O
regardless	O
of	O
their	O
communications	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
released	O
the	O
Remote	O
I/O	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
specification	O
in	O
April	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2011	O
,	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
announced	O
the	O
preliminary	O
specification	O
addressing	O
fieldbus	O
transducer	O
blocks	O
for	O
wired	O
HART	O
and	O
WirelessHART	O
devices	O
,	O
together	O
with	O
updates	O
to	O
the	O
WIO	O
System	O
Architecture	O
and	O
WIO	O
Data	O
Structures	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
transducer	O
block	O
specification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ISA	O
100.11a	O
phase	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
has	O
also	O
made	O
considerable	O
progress	O
in	O
the	O
integration	O
of	O
the	O
ISA	O
100.11a	O
wireless	O
sensor	O
network	O
into	O
the	O
Foundation	B-Application
Fieldbus	I-Application
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2008	O
,	O
Fieldbus	B-Application
Foundation	I-Application
and	O
ISA	O
entered	O
into	O
a	O
cross-licensing	O
agreement	O
allowing	O
the	O
two	O
organizations	O
to	O
collaborate	O
on	O
wireless	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
