The Industrial Data Ontology (IDO) is a Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontology. IDO is intended for building vocabularies and managing models which employ reference data libraries and exploit OWL DL. IDO is intended for use in all life cycle phases of industrial assets and processes.
This annotation property is used for stating that the current resource originates from one or several other resources by merging.
This is a super-property for associating a resource with a resource it originated from.
This annotation property is used for stating that the current resource originates from another resource by splitting.
This annotation property is used for stating that the current resource originates from another resource by transformation.
Alternative label for the ontology resource.
Preferred label for the ontology resource.
Note to clarify meaning or use of an ontology resource.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has active participant'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has activity bound'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has activity part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has activity profile'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_temporal_sequence'
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'before'.
Use this relation to state that one activity occurs after another.
BFO_0000062 is 'preceded by' in BFO-ISO.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has arranged part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has assembled part'.
The cooling stage takes place before separation.
If x is 'before' y, then x ends no later than the start of y.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has beginning'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has capability'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'concretizes'.
A report is produced as paper copies, a spreadsheet document is shown on a computer screen, a plan is carried out, a device operates according to a functional specification, a software program is executed.
Inspired by BFO's "concretizes". The constraints on 'concretizes' in IDO closely matches that employed in BFO-ISO (obo:BFO_0000059), and not the RO or the IAO (obo:RO_0000059).
If x 'concretizes' y, then y is an 'information object', and x is a 'physical object' copy of y, or an 'activity' performance of y.
There are two main, and very different, uses of 'concretizes' for an information object y. (1) The information object is made concrete in printed or electronic copies. Each copy will have patterns of ink or configurations of electrons that map to y: a quality of appropriate similarity. (2) The information object is made concrete by a performance according to the specification given by y.
BFO_0000059 is 'concretizes at some time', from BFO-ISO
BFO_0000164 is 'concretizes at all times', from BFO-ISO
RO_0000059 is 'concretizes', from the Relations Ontology; also used in the Information Artifact Ontology.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'connection_of_individual'
A three-pin electrical plug is connected to a three-pin socket, two flanges are connected with bolts and a gasket, a gas compressor is indirectly connected to a gearbox assembly (via a coupling).
If x is 'connected to' y, then there is a physical connection between x and y.
RO_0002170 is 'connected to', in the Relations Ontology.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'consumes'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_cause_of_ending_of_class_of_individual'
A combustion activity consumes fuel, a welding activity consumes a filler rod, a chemical reaction consumes a reagent, a manufacturing activity consumes raw material.
If x 'consumes' y, then x is an 'activity', y is an 'object', and x takes y out of being.
'consumes' is the dual of 'creates': where 'creates' marks an activity as the cause of an object's beginning, 'consumes' marks an activity as the cause of an object's ending. Consumption here may mean transformation, utilisation, or exhaustion of the consumed object.
Together with 'creates', 'consumes' enables continuity of material or energy to be represented across system or activity boundaries: if an upstream activity creates an object and a downstream activity consumes it, the shared object expresses the flow between the two activities.
Use this relation to express that an activity takes an object out of being.
RO_0002233 is 'has input' in the OBO Relations Ontology (RO). Its complementary counterpart RO_0002234 is 'has output'. These are subproperties of 'has participant'; 'consumes' in IDO corresponds most closely to 'has input' in the RO, when 'input' denotes an entity that is used up or transformed in the process.
ISO 15926-2:2003, 5.2.10.3 provides an example: "A car crushing activity causes the end of a car."
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'contains'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'containment_of_individual'
An instrument is contained in an enclosure, a pump contains an impeller, a device is contained by a volume of inert gas, a pipeline contains a pipeline inspection gauge (pig), a tank contains fluid, a building contains rooms.
If x 'contains' y, then x and y are both 'physical object' or 'location', and y is located entirely within x.
This relation is intended to be used where an object x is located inside another object y, without implying that x is a part of y.
While a 'location' cannot be a part of a 'physical object' or vice versa, they may be contained by each other.
BFO_0000124 is 'location of at some time' in BFO-ISO.
RO_0001015 is 'location of' in the OBO Relations Ontology.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has content part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'creates'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_cause_of_beginning_of_class_of_individual'
A manufacturing activity produces a car, a welding activity produces a piping spool, a measurement activity produces a performance log.
If x 'creates' y, then x is an 'activity', y is an 'object', and x brings y into being.
Use this relation to express that an activity brings an object into being.
RO_0002234 is 'has output' in the OBO Relations Ontology. It complements RO_0002233 'has input'. IDO's 'creates' corresponds to 'has output' when the output is an entity brought into being by the activity.
ISO 15926-2:2003, 5.2.10.2 provides an example as, "A car manufacturing activity causes the beginning of a car".
The measured datum "55 degrees Celsius" has Celsius as unit of measure.
If x 'has datum uom' y, then x is a 'quality datum' for which any 'datum value' is interpreted by the 'unit of measure' y.
IAO_0000039 is 'has measurement unit label' in the Information Artifact Ontology.
RO_0002536 is 'measurement property has unit', an annotation property in the Relations Ontology.
unitCode is a property in the Schema.org vocabulary.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'site determined by'.
An electrical plug is connected to a socket, a tag plate is welded to a pressure vessel.
If x is 'directly connected to' y, then x is 'connected to' y, and any material present between x and y directly serves to maintain the connection.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has disposition'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has ending'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has feature'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has function'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has functional part'.
A hammer is the tool in a nail-driving activity, a pressure transmitter outputs data in a monitoring activity, a maintenance engineer replaces an instrument in a repair activity, a light sensor controls the level of illumination.
If x 'has active participant' y, then y is an active participant in x.
With OWL property chains, the right kind of participation can be secured for activities that count as realizations of 'potential' individuals. As in, a pump's primary function is realized in pumping activities, but only provided the pump is actually doing the pumping, acting as an "agent" or "subject".
The moment an electrical connection is broken, the time that a fluid reaches a set temperature.
If x 'has activity bound' y, then x 'has activity part' y, and y is an 'event'.
The startup period of a chemical process, the inspection part of a maintenance activity, the moment a software program terminates execution.
Parts of activities may be determined by a range of criteria, including temporal restrictions (to sub-periods), spatial restrictions (parts that occupy sub-volumes of space), by the engagement of participants (temporal or spatial parts where one or more participants are active), and "selective abstraction" to profiles (parts determined by that which affects variation in selected qualities).
If x 'has activity part' y, then x and y are activities, and x 'has temporal part' y.
BFO_0000117 is 'has occurrent part' in BFO-ISO. This relation has 'occurrent' as domain and range, where the IDO 'has activity part' is restricted to just 'activity'.
A pipeline transport activity has a "profile" part which is the variation in fluid pressure.
BFO_0000133 is 'process profile of', in the Molecular Process Ontology and other BFO-based ontologies.
If x 'has activity profile' y, then x 'has activity part' y, and y is determined by selective abstraction to that part of x that effects variation in some quality of a participant in x.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'arrangement_of_individual'
The upper half of a pressure vessel, the mid-section of a bridge. The buildings on a campus, arranged as parts.
If x 'has arranged part' y, then y is a part of x with a boundary determined in relation to other parts of x.
The parts do not have to be connected to each other. They may be separable or non-separable.
BFO_0000024 is 'fiat object part' in BFO-ISO.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'assembly_of_individual'
A pipe bend welded into a piping spool, the protective sheath on an electrical cable, a door-handle in a door, a storey of a building.
If x 'has assembled part' y, then y is a connected 'arranged part' of x.
The event that light is switched on, the start of filling a tank.
If x 'has beginning' y, then y is an 'event' which 'has temporal extent' some 'instant' which is the first instant of the temporal extent of x.
BFO_0000222 is 'has first instant' in BFO-ISO, defined for 'temporal region' (differently from 'has beginning' in IDO, defined for 'activity').
A pressure sensor has the capability of being a level sensor, a wall has the capability of noise insulation.
x 'has capability' y if and only if x 'has potential' y, and y is a 'capability'.
A part of a document such as a chapter, section or figure
Introduced February 2024 as superproperty for parts of information objects.
If x 'has content part' y, then x and y are information objects, and x 'has part' y.
A bolted joint has a disposition to come loose, a motor has a disposition to vibrate, a steel bar has a disposition to rust, a vessel has a disposition to leak, a volatile gas has a disposition to flow upwards.
x 'has disposition' y if and only if x 'has potential' y, and y is a 'disposition'.
The event that light is switched off, the end of filling a tank.
If x 'has ending' y, then y is an 'event' which 'has temporal extent' some 'instant' which is the last instant of the temporal extent of x.
BFO_0000224 is 'has last instant' in BFO-ISO, defined for 'temporal region' (differently from 'has ending' in IDO, defined for 'activity').
A flange face: the flat surface geometry grounds a sealing function; A bolt thread: the helical surface geometry grounds a fastening function; An optical lens surface: the curvature grounds a light-focusing capability; A mirror surface: the smoothness and reflectivity ground an optical reflection function; A sponge or absorber body: the porosity grounds a fluid-absorption disposition.
If x 'has feature' y, then y is an arranged part of x that bears a material quality on which a disposition of x depends.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'functional_physical_object'
A pump has the function of moving fluids, a door has the function of an explosion barrier.
x 'has function' y if and only if x 'has potential' y, and y is a 'function'.
A separation system has a cooling system as functional part.
If x 'has functional part' y, then x is a 'system' of which y is a part, and y has one or more functions that contribute to the function of x.
'has functional part' is used to represent the functional break-down of a system. Where x is a functional part of a system y, the realisation of one or more functions of x contributes to the performance of y.
'has functional part' provides a compact way of modeling that is not expressive enough to model multiple functional breakdowns. Note that modeling 'has part' directly between Function/Disposition instances gives a higher flexibility and precision, in particular when objects have multiple functions or dispositions.
If 'has part' relationship is modeled between Function/Disposition instances, 'has functional part' can be inferred between the objects that are bearers of the respective functions/dispositions if the corresponding rules are implemented.
Note that, for physical objects, 'has functional part' is a specialization of 'has arranged part'.
An intention to start a process, a plan to modify a plant, an approval of a certification.
Note, the use of "potential" in the definition does not imply "not actual", only "not necessarily actual".
x 'has interest' y if and only if x is an 'organization' or 'organism', x 'has potential' y, and y is an 'interest'.
IAO_0000033 is 'directive information entity' in the Information Artifact Ontology. See, e.g., subtypes 'action specification', 'objective specification', 'plan specification'; and specifically, 'software' as a subtype of 'plan specification'.
Derived from the relation 'lifecycle_stage' of ISO 15926-2:2003, which has the attribute pair 'interest'/'interested'; 'class_of_lifecycle_stage' provides examples of specialisations as, "EXAMPLE Planned, required, expected, and proposed can be represented by instances of [class_of_lifecycle_stage]." Following this, 'interest of' is a superproperty suitable for various intentional relationships, such as planning, approving, or ordering. With IDO, we restrict interest to 'potential' entities, while in ISO 15926-2:2003 the domain and range are both unrestricted.
A laptop cover has aluminium and plastic material parts.
If x 'has material part' y, then x is a 'physical object', and y is a maximal part of x that has a certain 'material composition quality'.
An RDL can include parthood relations that identify parts by their materials, supporting recyclability efforts and similar use cases. This relation is suitable as the top node of a taxonomy of such relations. These include "reinforced with material" or "has a matrix with material" which cannot be aligned with lis:hasAssembledPart or lis:hasArrangedPart.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'composition_of_individual'
A system has functional parts, a process has stages, a plant is partitioned into areas.
If x 'has part' y, then y is a part of x.
Individuals that are instances of disjoint classes, such as 'physical object' and 'location' cannot be parts of each other.
The relationship x 'has part' y implies that y is physically or conceptually associated with x, contributing to its structure, functionality, or characteristics.
Where possible, the sub-properties should be used. This property can be used for arbitrary aggregates.
BFO_0000051 is 'has part', in the Information Artifact Ontology and in the Relations Ontology (in the latter, BFO_0000051 appears as a subrelation of 'overlaps').
BFO_0000117 is 'has occurrent part' in BFO-ISO.
BFO_0000178 is 'has continuant part of at some time' in BFO-ISO.
A pump participates in (a) pumping (activity), an electric transformer participates in voltage conversion, a stream of water participates in dilution, a bolt participates in a connection.
If x 'has participant' y, then x is an 'activity', and y is an 'object' that participates in x.
A property chain axiom secures that a participant in part of an activity participates in the activity as a whole.
A property chain axiom secures that when a realizable (a 'disposition' or 'role') is 'realized in' an activity, the activity has the bearer as a participant.
A property chain axiom secures that when an activity has a 'profile quantity datum', the bearer of the quantity is a participant in the activity.
BFO_0000057 is 'has participant at some time'.
Pressure of a stream during a pumping activity, the voltage provided to a motor during a test run.
If x 'has participant quality quantified as' y, then x is an 'activity', y is a 'quality datum', and at a time within (inclusive) the duration of x, y 'quantifies quality' a 'quality' of a participant in x.
This relation is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of relations that assign aggregate datums to activities.
A metal plate is perforated in a drilling activity, a volume of liquid is heated in a heat transmission activity, a loading ramp is the location of an offloading activity, a fluid medium is pumped, a piece of metal is shaped, a stream of data is filtered.
If x 'has passive participant' y, then y is a passive participant in x.
With OWL property chains, the right kind of participation can be secured for activities that count as realizations of 'potential' individuals. As in, a bolt is a passive participant in a bolt-driving activity, where its disposition to enter a threaded hole is realized (distinct from the bolt's function, which is realized in a subsequent activity of holding pieces together).
A section of pipe has length, a crane has lifting power, a flange has inner diameter.
x 'has physical quantity' y if and only if x 'has quality' y, and y is a 'physical quantity'.
Having a role, function, obligation, or plan (intention to act).
The pre-defined types of 'potential' entities in IDO are 'role', 'disposition', and 'interest'. If other kinds are needed for use case, then 'has potential' is a suitable superrelation for the corresponding bearer relations.
If x 'has potential' y, then x is an 'object', and y is a 'potential' that is dependent on x.
BFO_0000196 is 'bearer of', a more generic relation than 'has potential' in that its range is any 'specifically dependent continuant', which in IDO corresponds to 'dependent'.
RO_0000053 is 'has characteristic', which in the Relation Ontology also has 'quality of' as a subrelation.
A pump is the performer in a pumping activity, a thermometer is the performer in a temperature measurement.
If x 'has primary participant' y, then x is a realization of a disposition or role of y that is essential to the identification of x.
Assume p is a pump, a an activity that realizes the function fp of p, and no subactivity x of a realizes fp (except for subactivities determined solely by restriction to a temporal sub-interval). For instance, the subactivity of the motor that drives the impeller realizes a function of the motor, but this is not by itself a realization of the function of the pump as a whole, hence the motor is not a 'primary participant'.
A motor has rated output power, a lightbulb has luminance, an amount of liquid has mass, a bar of metal has chemical composition, a document has readability.
If x 'has quality' y, then x is an 'object', and y is a 'quality' that is dependent on x.
BFO_0000196 is 'bearer of', a more generic relation than 'has quality' in that its range is any 'specifically dependent continuant', which in IDO corresponds to 'dependent'.
RO_0000086 is 'has quality' in the Relations Ontology.
The GeoSPARQL object property geo:hasLength relates (spatial) objects to datums that provide length with number and unit of measure. lis:hasQualityQuantifiedAs is suitable as a superproperty in an alignment with GeoSPARQL data that includes geo:hasLength relationships.
If x 'has quality quantified as' y, then x is an 'object', and y is a 'quality datum' that 'quantifies quality' a 'quality' of x.
This relation is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of "shortcut" relations that relate objects directly to quality datums, leaving the quality implicit.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'resides in'.
An window has the role of a ventilation opening, a room has the role of a storage space, a gas sensor has the role of a leak detector, a person has the role of inspector.
Inspired by BFO's "has role" (RO_0000087)
x 'has role' y if and only if x 'has potential' y, and y is a 'role'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'site inside of'.
The volume occupied by an process skid, the volume occupied by a volume of flammable gas.
If x 'has spatial extent' y, then x is a 'physical object', and y is the 'spatial location' determined as the extension in space of x.
The site of an object will occupy different spatial locations over time if the location and size of the object changes.
BFO_0000210 is 'occupies spatial region at some time' (from BFO-ISO)
A pipeline pig occupies the spatiotemporal region which is its trajectory (adopted from BFO-ISO).
If x 'has spatiotemporal extent' y, then x is an activity, and y is a spatiotemporal region which is the spatiotemporal extent of x.
BFO_0000200 is 'occupies spatiotemporal region'.
The landing area is a sublocation of the helicopter deck.
If x 'has sublocation' y, then x and y are locations, and x 'has part' y.
A well drilling activity takes place in a 20-hour interval, a control system is switched on at 10:00 AM.
If x 'has temporal extent' y, then x is a 'temporal' entity, and y is a temporal region which is the temporal extent of x.
A specific day is a temporal part of a specific week.
If x 'has temporal part' y, then x and y are temporal entities, and y is a part of x.
A maintenance activity has a temporal region representing the total planned outage window, and another temporal region representing the actual hands-on work period.
If x 'has temporal region' y, then x is an 'activity', and y is a 'temporal region' associated with x.
Use this relation to associate an activity with any temporal region of interest, not only its maximal temporal extent. For example, an activity may be related to a temporal region representing a lag, a lead time, or a partial interval. The sub-property 'has temporal extent' is reserved for the maximal temporal extension of the activity.
BFO_0000199 is 'occupies temporal region'. 'has temporal region' is more general than BFO's 'occupies temporal region' - it is not restricted to the maximal temporal extent but also covers, e.g., lags and partial intervals associated with the activity.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'implements'
In a design study, candidate compressor models from different vendors are each asserted to implement the specified compressor C-201, to evaluate which candidates satisfy the design requirements.
The ASME pumps with serial numbers 457636 and 457711 implement (have been installed as) the P-101 pump described in the specification.
The 'implements' relation is central to the intended use of IDO. It allows for a record of concrete individuals corresponding to specified individuals — whether through physical installation over time, or through analytical association in a design case. Typically, a serial-numbered physical artefact is installed as the counterpart of a "specification" individual (a "tag") at one time, and later replaced with another serial-numbered physical artefact; alternatively, candidate objects may be associated with specifications for the purpose of simulation or case evaluation. The 'implements' relation carries semantic restrictions only to ensure no object is both Actual and Specified. No further constraints are given, to allow 'implements' relationships even where restrictions on the specification object are inconsistent with those on the implementing object.
The domain and range restrictions to disjunct classes 'actual' and 'specified' prevent chains of 'implements' relationships.
If x 'implements' y, then x is an 'actual' entity, y is a 'specified' entity, and x is asserted to correspond to y as its concrete realization for a given period of time or in a given analytical context.
'implements' records that a concrete individual (classified as 'actual') corresponds to an individual in the asset specification (classified as 'specified'). This correspondence may be physical — as when a serial-numbered artefact is installed at a tag position — or analytical, as when a candidate object is evaluated against a specification in a design simulation. Because OWL DL lacks temporal indexing, the relation is defined atemporally: it does not encode when or whether a physical installation occurred.
An asset model with 'implements' relationships supports compatibility checks for implementing objects, to uncover possible violations of requirements. This requires a transformation of the asset model, as follows: replace each 'implements'/'implementedBy' relationship with identity (owl:sameAs) and replace classifications as 'specified' or 'actual' with just 'object' for the participant individuals. Any semantic inconsistency between the specified object and the implementing object may then be discovered by OWL reasoning.
In process design, 'implements' may be used to associate a candidate object with a specification for the purpose of case analysis (e.g., simulating six design cases). In this use, the relation expresses analytical correspondence — the candidate is evaluated as-if it were the installed counterpart — without implying that physical deployment has occurred.
The mechanism for checking requirement consistency on 'implements' relationships must be implemented as a transformation that is external to the OWL ontology.
When 'implements' is used to record physical installation, the period of correspondence should be recorded using OWL annotations on the relation instance, or through a detailed representation using 'role'. This enables prescriptive objects to be matched with installed objects for selected points or periods in time.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has interest'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'representation_of_thing'
A regulation describes a procedure, a datum quantifies a quality, a nameplate provides basic information about a pressure vessel, a log file traces quantity values during an activity.
This relation is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of relations between information objects and entities, including describing, naming, characterisation, and evaluation.
If x 'is about' y, then x is an 'information object' of relevance to y.
IAO_0000136 is 'is about', in the Information Artifact Ontology.
An outlet is below an inlet, a door is inside an opening, a motor is inside an enclosure.
If x is 'located relative to' y, then x and y are 'object's with location in space.
This relation is "abstract" (in the object-orientation sense of the word) in that it serves only as a parent relation to specialized relations of relative location.
BFO_0000171 is 'located in at some time' in BFO-ISO. This relation has domain and range restricted to 'independent continuant' and not 'spatial region', meaning it's a relation between entities that are material objects or determined by material objects, only.
BFO_0000210 is 'occupies spatial region at some time' in BFO-ISO. This relation has domain restricted to 'independent continuant' and not 'spatial region', and range to 'spatial region', meaning it's a relation from entities that are material objects or determined by material objects, to spatial regions determined independently of material objects.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has material part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'site of'.
A vessel is emptied before inspection, a valve is opened before draining of a pipeline, firmware is installed before the equipment begins to operate.
If x 'occurs relative to' y, then x and y are 'temporal' entities, with temporal location.
This relation is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of relations of relative temporal location.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has participant'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has passive participant'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has physical quantity'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has potential'.
This relation is used in the property chain for 'has participant', for inferring participation in a temporal entity (typically, an activity).
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has primary participant'.
A temperature activity profile of a heating process represents just that part of the process which is a variation in temperature.
'profile of quality' should be considered a functional property (i.e., an 'activity profile' is a profile of only a single 'quality'). However, in OWL, an object property with property chain restrictions may not be combined with cardinality restrictions. Correct cardinalities must therefore be maintained with rules external to the ontology.
x is a 'profile of quality' y if and only if x is an 'activity profile' that varies only in the 'quality' y.
A property chain axiom ensures that a quantity datum individual associated with an activity profile by 'profile quantity datum' quantifies a quality which defines the activity profile by 'profile of quality'.
The pressure of a liquid is measured at 10, 11, and 12 bar at different points of time during a transport activity.
If x has 'profile quantity datum' y, then x is an 'activity profile', and x 'has participant quality quantified as' y.
Assume y is an 'activity profile', obtained from some containing activity z by selective abstraction on a quality q of a participant in z. Then, relate y by 'profile quantity datum' to magnitudes of q that are recorded during the execution of y.
Intuitively, 'profile quantity datum' should only point to quantity data recorded while the activity is taking place. This can not be enforced with OWL restrictions on the relation (it would require a "diamond" pattern). However, with a suitable date or time data property value restriction, an individual activity can constrain related quantity data.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has quality'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'profile of quality'.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'property_quantification'
The nominal outer diameter of a pipe is 324 mm, the measured temperature of a boiler is 150 degrees Celsius, the colour of a surface is 'red'.
If x is a 'quality quantified as' y, then x is an 'quality' that is 'represented in' the 'quality datum' y.
The range of 'quality quantified as' is 'quality datum', which includes data that do not follow the "unit of measure with value" pattern. Examples are colours and chemical composition categories.
IAO_0000417 is 'is quality measured as' of the Information Artifact Ontology. In IDO, the term "quantified" replaces "measured" to support cases where measurement is not involved, as in, e.g., estimates.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'quality quantified as'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has quality quantified as'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has participant quality quantified as'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'temporal region quantified as'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'profile quantity datum'.
A pump realizes its function in a pumping (activity), a bolt realizes its function in a connection, a software monitoring application realizes its function in streaming sensor data.
If x is 'realized in' y, then x is a 'potential', and y is an 'activity' that successfully realizes x.
BFO_0000054 is 'has realization' in BFO-ISO, and 'realized in' in the Relations Ontology.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'realized in'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'is about'.
An engine is located in a machine room; a pressure vessel is located in an outdoors plant area.
If x 'resides in' y, then x is a 'physical object', y is a 'location', and x is located entirely within y.
This relation may be used where an object x is located in a site y, defined in terms of boundaries of a physical object, that may change its location over time.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has role'.
RO_0000081 is 'role of' in the Relations Ontology.
The interior of a ship's hold is a site determined by the hull of the ship; a room is a site determined by the walls, floor, and ceiling that enclose it.
If x is 'site determined by' y, then x is a 'site' and y is a 'physical object' that demarcates or otherwise determines x.
Physical objects that demarcate sites can include aggregate or non-contiguous physical objects, as customarily modelled in IDO using the object property 'has arranged part'.
A compartment space is inside a cabinet; an indoor site is inside a building.
If x 'site inside of' y, then x is a 'site', y is a 'physical object', and a part of y 'determines site' x such that the spatial extent of x is a sublocation of the spatial extent of y.
This relation may be used where a site represents a space defined relative to the boundaries of a physical object, such as a compartment, room, or enclosed area.
Mixing takes place within a vessel, transport takes place in a pipeline
If x 'site of' y, then x is a 'site', y is an 'activity', and y takes place entirely within x.
BFO_0000067 is 'contains process', from RO, where an annotation says the 'editor preferred term' is "site of". There are subtle differences in the range and domain restrictions between BFO's 'environs' and RO's 'contains process': where RO has domain as the broad 'independent continuant' only, BFO has ('site' or 'material entity'); where RO has range as 'occurrent', BFO has ('process' or 'process boundary').
BFO_0000217 is 'spatially projects onto at all times'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has spatial extent'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has spatiotemporal extent'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has sub location'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has temporal extent'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has temporal part'.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'has temporal region'.
A 20-hour interval associated with a well drilling activity is quantified as a temporal datum of "20 hours (observed)" and another of "18 hours (estimated)".
If x is 'temporal region quantified as' y, then x is a 'temporal region' that is represented in the 'temporal datum' y.
Multiple temporal datums may quantify the same temporal region, for example an observed duration value and an estimated duration value.
Relation from 'unit of measure' to 'quantity datum'. The inverse relation of datumUOM.
For annotations, see the inverse relation 'datumUOM'.
The measured datum "55 degrees Celsius" has "55" as literal value.
If x 'datum value' y, then x is a 'quality datum', and y is the literal value of x.
A literal value is uninterpreted. Provide a unit of measure, or other category, for a 'quality datum' to be interpretable.
For numeric non-integer values, the recommended data type is xsd:float.
IAO_0000004 is the data property 'has measurement value', in the Information Artifact Ontology.
numericValue is a data property in QUDT.
hasNumericalValue is a data property in the Ontology of Units of Measure.
hasSimpleResult is a data property in the Semantic Sensor Networks ontology.
If x has 'quality quantity value' y, then x is an 'object', and y is a literal value that quantifies a quality of x.
This relation is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of "shortcut" relations that combine quality and unit of measure into a single, simple data property.
When introducing shortcut properties as subproperties, annotations should be provided to explain the intended quantity type, any quantification type (e.g., measured, nominal, etc.), and unit of measure.
The temporal datum "20 hours observed duration" has "PT20H"^^xsd:duration as temporal value; the temporal datum "start time" has "2026-03-15T08:00:00Z"^^xsd:dateTime as temporal value.
If x 'temporal value' y, then x is a 'temporal datum', and y is the literal value of x.
Suitable data types include xsd:duration for durations, xsd:dateTime for time stamps, and xsd:date for calendar dates.
A pumping, an inspection, a report writing, a fastening (the activity of a bolt in holding two pieces together).
An 'activity' may have temporal gaps. For example, intermittent operation of a heater over a week may be represented by a single 'activity' individual; it will occupy a non-connected 'interval region'. The details of each connected activity part (“singular activities”) may be modelled by relating the activity to 'interval' individuals.
A temporal entity in which one or more physical objects participate.
ISO 15926-2:2003, 4.7.17 states, "... activities are considered to be space-time extensions in which other individuals and events participate."
An 'activity profile' of an 'activity' involving rotating equipment, instantiating a class "100 revolutions per minute".
The BFO 2.0 reference guide provides good examples, like "constant speed profile", "acceleration profile", and "irregular beat profile".
An 'activity profile' is a part of an 'activity', a "selective abstraction" (using a term from the BFO reference guide) made according to a quality of interest to the process. Typically, we will select a physical quantity such as pressure or temperature, and refer to the "pressure profile" of the activity. By means of the relation 'profile quantity datum', the activity profile can be related to a set of 'quantity datum' individuals, to which aggregation can be applied, giving a basis for classification.
'activity profile' represents a projection of an activity onto a single quality of interest, analogous to the projection of a physical process onto one of its variables. Like a projection in physics, an activity profile unfolds over the same time interval as the containing activity but considers only the variation in some specified quality, such as pressure or temperature.
The name "ActivityProfile" has been chosen because lis:Activity corresponds to BFO's 'process'.
An activity obtained by "selective abstraction" to just that part of an activity that consists in varying or maintaining a specified 'quality' of a participant.
Typically, a physical quantity of a participant, such as a "pressure" individual, is selected, and the "pressure profile" of the activity is introduced. The relation 'profile of quality' links to that pressure quality individual that defines (is the basis for abstraction to) the activity profile. By means of the relation 'profile quantity datum', the activity profile can be related to 'quantity datum' individuals, to which aggregation can be applied, giving a basis for classification of the activity profile; for example, as a "rising pressure" activity.
A serial-numbered artefact installed at a tag, a function of a concrete artefact, a run or execution of a designed process, an industrial facility "as built".
An entity that is a concrete implementation of a 'specified' entity.
The capability of a motor to generate power, of a pump to generate head and flow. The capability to use a hammer as a paperweight, which is not its primary capability (function).
A disposition which when realized serves a positive or desired outcome.
Types of material composition, such as 316 stainless steel, reinforced concrete, and carbon monoxide.
Natural kinds are expressly not to be classified as 'compound'. The class 'compound' is only to be used to classify amounts of matter, with non-semantic auxiliaries used to refer to chemical composition. The semantics of natural kinds such as "helium", "steel", or "hydrocarbon" is out of scope for IDO.
A physical object with a defined material composition.
A typical RDL includes classes that categorise individuals according to material composition. This class is suitable as the top node of such a taxonomy.
Renamed class. Checked materially in Oxford English Dictionary.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'property', 'functional_physical_object'
The colour of a surface, the temperature of a medium, a technical contact role, the storage-space role of a room.
Any 'object' will be the bearer of various 'dependent' entities, but any 'temporal' entity has only an indirect relationship to 'dependent's. This is in line with BFO.
The class Dependent is closely related to "specifically dependent continuant" in BFO (BFO_0000020).
An entity that is an inherent quality or realizable potential of an object.
A common need is to relate a measure based on a 'physical quantity' to an 'activity', like average speed to a transport activity. This may not be implemented with an 'average speed' entity that is dependent on the transport. For a suitable representation pattern, see the class 'activity profile' and related resources. A "shortcut" approach may use the relation 'has participant quality quantified as'.
BFO_0000020 is 'specifically dependent continuant'.
The disposition of a steel bar to corrode, the disposition of a gasket to leak. The disposition to overflow a memory buffer.
An object may not lose a disposition without undergoing physical change.
A potential whose realization is dependent on an object's structure.
The beginning of a lifting operation, the end of a measurement activity, the midpoint between beginning and end of an activity.
An 'event' doesn't need to be temporally connected. For example, several instances of switching on a heater over a week may be represented by a single 'event' individual; it will occupy a non-singular 'instant region'. The details of a singular event part may be modelled by relating the event to 'instant' individuals.
Event is close in meaning to BFO's 'process boundary', and to DOLCE's 'achievement'.
'event' is a subclass of 'activity': an occurrence in which physical objects participate. What distinguishes an event is the restriction that its temporal extent is an instant region rather than an interval. The term 'event' and the subclass placement are inherited from ISO 15926-2.
The IDO treatment of 'event' differs from BFO, where 'process boundary' (BFO_0000035) is a sibling class to 'process' rather than a subclass. With IDO, a property chain axiom on 'has participant' implies that activity-bounding events share participants with the activities they bound.
An 'activity' that occurs at one or more specific points in time.
A flange face, a connection port (terminal), the inside surface of a pump, a painted area of a manifold, a bolt threading.
An arranged part that bears a material quality on which a disposition of the object depends.
The function of a motor to apply a specified torque to a shaft.
A capability that meets a design requirement.
The typical 'function' of a hammer is realized when the hammer participates as the tool in a successful nail-driving activity. If the hammer has multiple functions, such as extracting nails using a claw or shaping objects with a ball, each function should be represented with a distinct individual.
A password is concretized when it is entered, and it allows the computer to be unlocked. The password participates in the unlocking process through its concretization.
An 'Object' that provides a required 'Function'.
A "tag", when included in an IDO asset model, should in general have a type that is subclass of both 'functional object' and 'physical artefact'.
Artefact types tend to be described primarily in terms of 'function'; for example, the "minimal" definition of a pump would be, "a physical artefact, the function of which is to pump (to be the active participant in a pumping activity)". This kind of definition places no restriction on physical make-up and is suitable for a subclass of 'functional object'. Note that the activity type of 'pumping' is here a precursor to the definition of the physical object type 'pump'. A taxonomy of pump classes should extend from a class 'pump' defined solely in terms of function, as above.
Most artefacts are both physical and functional objects as a functional object is any object that has a function.
Note that it is possible to model without explicitly using this class, as any object that has a function can be inferred to be a functional object.
This class can be used as a root class for functional classification of objects, including physical objects.
ISO 15926-2:2003, p. 110, states, "A functional_physical_object is a physical_object that has functional, rather than material, continuity as its basis for identity. Adjacent temporal parts of a functional_physical_object need not have common matter or energy, provided the matter or energy of each temporal part fulfils the same function."
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_inanimate_physical_object'
A tool, a building, a vehicle, an instrument, a parking lot.
ISO 15926-2:2003, p. 122: "A class_of_inanimate_physical_object is a class_of_arranged\-_individual whose members are not living."
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_information_object'
A report, a drawing, a P&ID diagram, a purchase order, a certificate, a database, a database record, a measurement datum, a unit of measure, an identifier, an algorithm, a programming language.
The BFO class 'generically dependent continuant' represents the notion of a pattern that exists in at least one copy, e.g., "the sequence of this protein molecule". This is more general than 'information object', and not at present included in IDO. 'information object' is a subclass, with the added condition that the pattern 'is about' something.
An object that captures information about something.
A common application of 'information object' is in representing facts about the vocabulary of the ontology itself. The OWL facility of "punning" treats OWL classes and properties as OWL individuals, enabling OWL object properties to be applied to them. In use cases that involve punning, the SKOS vocabulary is recommended to be used, with the SKOS classes 'concept', 'concept scheme', and 'collection' as subclasses of 'information object'.
BFO_0000031 is 'generically dependent continuant'.
IAO_0000030 is 'information content entity', a subclass of BFO_0000031 'generically dependent continuant' defined in the Information Artifact Ontology.
The moment a valve is closed, the time of a measurement as use for time-stamping, the moment an activity starts.
'instant' is defined in OWL Time as "A temporal entity with zero extent or duration".
The moment a valve is closed, the instants of a series of measurements.
A temporal region whose only parts are one or more points in time.
obo:BFO_0000148 is 'zero-dimensional temporal region'
A potential, the realization of which is of value for the bearer.
The time an instrument has been in operation, the time during which a measurement was made.
'interval' is defined in OWL Time as "A temporal entity with an extent or duration".
Intermittent times of operation of a heater, maintenance periods at a plant, times that a milling machine is run, The Saturdays of 2011, the construction period for a plant modification
A temporal region whose only parts are one or more intervals in time.
BFO_0000038 is 'one-dimensional temporal region' in BFO-ISO.
A line connecting two points with coordinates relative to the frame of reference, the path of a flexible pipe at 12:00 AM.
A spatial location consisting of one or more lines.
An outdoor plant area, an opening in a wall, the space inside an enclosure
IDO is an anthropocentric ontology in the sense that it disregards complexities of the deep theories of the physical sciences that have only negligible impact at the standard industrial scale. For example, this means ignoring cosmological effects on the average industry and adopting a geocentric model of the universe where there exists a commonly agreed upon stationary earthly “spatial reference system”.
The steel grade of a cast-iron component, the plastic type of a wire sheathing.
A quality that can be characterised in terms of chemical or material properties.
A process plant, a compressor, a wire, a person, an operator, a database record, an industry standard, a manual document, a site.
An entity that is not dependent on other entities for existence, and which persists through time.
In IDO, 'information object' is represented as a subclass of 'object'. According to the BFO literature, and applied in the Information Artifact Ontology and other BFO compliant ontologies, information artifacts are (multiply) dependent objects. a /sibling/ class to 'independent continuant' rather than a subclass, as used in IDO.
BFO_0000004 is 'independent continuant'.
From the DOLCE description of 'endurant': "The main characteristic of endurants is that all of them are independent essential wholes. ..."
ISO 15926-2:2003 'class_of_organization'
A standards body, a service team, a workgroup, a company
An object comprising one or more persons who identify by some name and pursue a common set of plans and objectives.
Organization is a class in the IOF Core ontology.
In an RDL, subclasses of 'person' will typically require 'role' restrictions to be considered fully explicit. For example, 'maintenance engineer' will be a subclass of 'person', as every engineer is a person. To capture what a maintenance engineer does, a role restriction can say that any member is the bearer of an engineering role, and what the role amounts to will be represented by the kinds of activities that count as realizations of the role.
Solid object, liquid object, gaseous object.
A physical object with a distinct and homogeneous form.
An RDL can include classes that categorise individuals according to material phase. This class is suitable as the top node of such a taxonomy.
Definition from Oxford English Dictionary.
The liquid quality of an amount of molten steel, the solid quality of a steel gasket.
A 'quality' that can be characterised in terms of material phase.
a pressure transmitter, a process plant, a wrench, a computer.
A 'physical object' that has been created as the result of deliberate activity.
A typical RDL includes classes that represent industrial item types, such as equipment, devices, assemblies, buildings, and products, among other elements. This class is suitable as the top node in a taxonomy of such classes.
The superclass of 'physical artefact' is not 'inanimate physical object', in order to allow for artificially made organisms.
A wall, a fluid stream, a welder, a printed manual, a seafloor.
An object that occupies space and possesses mass.
Installed software is considered a physical object.
IDO asserts that 'physical object' and 'activity' are disjunct classes. In contrast to this, and according to a 4D approach, ISO 15926-2:2003, p. 26, states that "physical_object and activity are not mutually exclusive. A possible_individual can be both".
The mass of a bar of steel, the temperature of a medium, the inner diameter of a pipe, the lift height of a crane, the head (lift height) of a pump.
A quality that can be quantified by measurement.
PATO_0001018 is 'physical quality', defined in the Information Artifact Ontology as "A quality of a physical entity that exists through action of continuants at the physical level of organisation in relation to other entities." Note that this is distinct from 'physical object quality'; see annotation to lis:Quality.
QUDT explains 'quantity kind' as, "any observable property that can be measured and quantified numerically. Familiar examples include physical properties such as length, mass, time, force, energy, power, electric charge, etc. Less familiar examples include currency, interest rate, price to earning ratio, and information capacity."
DOLCE defines 'physical-quality' as, "A quality inherent in a physical endurant."
OM2 explains 'quantity' as, "A quantity is a representation of a quantifiable (standardised) aspect (such as length, mass, and time) of a phenomenon (e.g., a star, a molecule, or a food product). Quantities are classified according to similarity in their (implicit) metrological aspect, e.g. the length of my table and the length of my chair are both classified as length."
SSN offers the following examples for ObservableProperty, a subclass of Property: "The height of a tree, the depth of a water body, or the temperature of a surface are examples of observable properties, while the value of a classic car is not (directly) observable but asserted."
The midway horizontal plane of a volume given by coordinates, the plane of a moving work platform at 12:00
A spatial location that is a two-dimensional plane.
The location of a probe at a given point in time
A spatial location that has zero dimension with no proper parts.
The sealing function of a gasket, the disposition of a steel bar to corrode.
A dependent entity that can potentially be realised through participation in an activity.
Use OWL property chains to enforce constraints on how the bearer needs to participate in order for an activity to count as a realization.
The temperature of a fluid stream, the tensile strength of a bolt, the length of a pipeline, the colour of a surface coating, the familiarity of a specialist with a modification procedure, the quality of a window of being open or closed.
The class Quality and its subclass PhysicalQuantity are inspired by corresponding classes included in the DOLCE and BFO upper ontologies.
A dependent entity that is present any time its bearer exists.
Qualities are in general subject to change over the lifetime of the bearer. The main IDO device for representing quality changes is through 'datum' individuals: see lis:qualityQuantifiedAs.
Qualities should only be used for root properties such as voltage, pressure, etc. Where there are variants such as nominal, rated, actual voltage, modellers should use lis:Quality for voltage and use a subclass of lis:QualityDatum for the moderator ("nominal", etc.)
PATO_0001241 is 'physical object quality', defined in the Information Artifact Ontology as "A quality which inheres in a continuant".
DOLCE describes qualities as follows: "Qualities can be seen as the basic entities we can perceive or measure: shapes, colors, sizes, sounds, smells, as well as weights, lengths, electrical charges... 'Quality' is often used as a synonymous of 'property', but this is not the case in this upper ontology: qualities are particulars, properties are universals. Qualities inhere to entities: every entity (including qualities themselves) comes with certain qualities, which exist as long as the entity exists."
SSN offers the following as an example for ActuatableProperty, a subclass of Property: "A window actuator acts by changing the state between a frame and a window. The ability of the window to be opened and closed is its ActuatableProperty."
SSN defines 'Property' as follows (2017): "A quality of an entity. An aspect of an entity that is intrinsic to and cannot exist without the entity."
In ISO 15926-2:2003, the term "quality or characteristic" is used to explain what the entity type 'property' represents (clause 5.2.26.5, notes 1 and 2). Note 2 reads, "The types of characteristic or quality, such as temperature or density, are instances of class_of_property."
10 volts, high (of pressure), low (of temperature), category 3 (as used to rate the strength 'quality' of a storm), 3 MB (a file size), qualifications, grades.
Introduce subclasses of 'quality datum' in RDL to distinguish categories of data, such as nominal versus measured values.
This class is inspired by the class "measurement datum" of the Information Artifact Ontology (IAO). The change of wording from "measurement" to "quality" is intended to support cases where measurement is not involved, such as with nominal values.
An information object that quantifies a quality.
Quantification may be on nominal, ordinal, and other scales.
This class may be used for data that don't fit the restriction to "single unit, single number" of 'scalar quantity datum', including data employing vectors instead of numbers, and conventional categories like "high" and "medium".
IAO_0000109 is 'measurement datum', a class in the Information Artifact Ontology.
ISO 15926-2:2003 'role', 'role_and_domain'
The role an individual person takes in a work situation, such as a manager. A student role.
The role of an interior space (a 'site') as a meeting room is realized when it serves as the space for conducting meetings. The site may be assigned a storage room role at a different time.
This class is intended to serve the same purpose as the ISO 15926-2:2003 'role' entity type, as well as the same-named BFO class (BFO_0000023).
A potential that is assigned to an object.
As with any 'potential', the existence of a role is dependent on its bearer. A particular meeting room's role may therefore not be transferred to a different room; a different role individual with similar classification would be needed.
A quality datum that quantifies a physical quantity with a numeric value and a scale.
A scalar quantity datum has a unique unit of measure and a unique numeric value. This class is inspired by the class "scalar measurement datum" of the Information Artifact Ontology.
IAO_0000032 is 'scalar measurement datum', a class in the Information Artifact Ontology.
QUDT describes 'quantity value' as follows. "A Quantity Value expresses the magnitude and kind of a quantity and is given by the product of a numerical value n and a unit of measure U. The number multiplying the unit is referred to as the numerical value of the quantity expressed in that unit."
OM 2 describes 'measure' as follows. "A measure combines a number to a unit of measure. For example, '3 m' is a measure."
centimetre, kilogram per minute, degree Celsius, lunar distance, kilo-lines of code
Arguably, IDO conflates the notions of "unit of measure" and "scale" in an unhealthy way. While a unit of measure is a definite magnitude, a scale arises from fixing a number range to express multiples of the unit of measure. One may argue that a unit of measure has an implicit scale, obtained by multiplying the unit by any number; this will then allow for undefined or meaningless expressions like "minus 10 Kelvin".
A unit of measure that, when paired with a number, unambiguously describes the magnitude of a physical quantity.
'scale' corresponds to the common sense notion of unit of measure which unambiguously defines the magnitude of the measure.
OWL data ranges can capture the acceptable numerical range for a scale. For instance, the 'datum value' of any 'quality datum' that has Celsius as 'datum uom' can be limited to the range from -273.15 upwards to infinity.
QUDT provides the following subclasses of 'scale': 'Enumeration scale', 'Interval scale', 'Nominal scale', 'Ordinal scale', 'Ratio scale'. Note that the notion of nominal scales diverges in being a coding scheme, with numbers not implying relative magnitude.
The flat shape of a surface feature, the cylindrical shape of a piece of pipe.
A quality that can be characterised in terms of geometry.
A flight deck, the inside of a manifold, the hold of a ship, a centre of gravity, an outside area
Locations such as countries and cities are also considered sites.
The position of a 'site' follows the position of the 'physical object' by which it is demarcated.
This class is inspired by the BFO class 'site'.
A location determined in relation to one or more physical objects.
The utility of a 'site' may be represented by assigning one or more 'role's, such as 'front desk role', 'storage space role', or 'entryway role'.
The cube-shaped region extending 1 metre in each direction from origo, the line extending 10 metres from origo along the z axis, two points with coordinates on a two-dimensional plane; the location of a container at 10:00 AM.
The position of a 'spatial location' is fixed (relative to the frame of reference); it is not dependent on changing positions of 'physical object's.
A location defined relative to a spatial reference system.
As with 'spatiotemporal region', a spatial location need not be connected; for example, a location may consist in several cube-shaped regions.
The subclasses 'point in space', 'line in space', 'plane in space', and 'volume in space' are all defined as singular: for example, a 'point in space' individual may not have multiple points as parts. This, in contrast to the analogous BFO classes 'one-dimensional spatial region', etc., which are all defined as plural, allowing for disconnected parts.
The spatiotemporal region occupied by the fluid contents of a vessel over a period of time, the spatiotemporal region occupied by a pipeline inspection device (pig) during an inspection.
An 'activity' occupies a 'spatiotemporal region'. Note that the spatiotemporal region may have temporal gaps.
A temporal entity that extends in space and time.
A "tag" individual, a function of a tag, an activity as characterised in process design.
A 'specified' entity is typically an individual that represents the asset as designed, with restrictions that capture requirements.
A 'specified' individual may be matched with an individual representing an 'actual' individual. Naming for the according relations may include: 'installed as' for physical objects, and 'executed as' for activities.
An entity that is part of an engineering specification.
This class is not intended to be used directly, but only for serving as the domain of 'implements' and similar relations. The disjointness axiom serves to block iterated chains of 'implements', etc., relationships.
A stream of fluid in a pipeline, electricity in an electrical wire, ore moving on a conveyor belt.
An inanimate physical object consisting of energy or homogeneous parts that flow through a system.
The class 'stream' is intended to be used for flows of material or energy, in accordance with conventional use. There is an abundance of cases where use of the term "stream" can be called into question, as in, is a stream of electricity really moving; how many cars are needed to participate before it is properly called a "flow" of cars; while a flow of sand is a stream, maybe a succession of rolling rocks would not qualify.
ISO 15926-2:2003, p. 112, states, "A stream is a physical_object that is material or energy moving along a path, where the path is the basis of identity and may be constrained. The stream consists of the temporal parts of those things that are in the stream whilst they are in it."
An electrical network, an HVAC system, a pumping system, a compressor.
A 'functional object' with one or more functional parts whose functions contribute to its function.
Most industrial assets are both 'system' and 'inanimate physical object'. When modelling, e.g., a pump system, that system will be an 'inanimate physical object', with the pump part related to the pump system by 'has functional part'. The domain and range restrictions on 'has functional part' then imply that the pump system has type 'system', and the pump has type 'functional object'.
The SSN definition of 'System' (2017): "System is a unit of abstraction for pieces of infrastructure that implement Procedures. A System may have components, its subsystems, which are other Systems."
A moment in time, a period of time, an activity or process, a beginning, a closing event.
An entity that is part of time or takes place in time.
From the DOLCE description of 'perdurant': "Perdurants (AKA occurrences) comprise what are variously called events, processes, phenomena, activities and states."
An observed duration of 20 hours for a well drilling activity, an estimated lag of 5 minutes between two process steps, a calculated elapsed time of 3 days for a maintenance campaign.
'temporal datum' is the temporal counterpart of 'quality datum'. Where a 'quality datum' quantifies a 'quality' of an object, a 'temporal datum' quantifies a 'temporal region' associated with an activity. Multiple temporal datums may be assigned to the same temporal region, for example representing observed, estimated, and calculated duration values.
An information object that quantifies a temporal region.
Introduce subclasses of 'temporal datum' in RDL to distinguish categories of temporal data, such as observed versus estimated duration.
The moment a valve is closed, upstart time for a motor, the length of time that a bolt has been installed, intervals between maintenance.
A 'temporal region' plays a role analogous to that of a quantity: it is an entity to which multiple temporal datums may be assigned, such as 'observed', 'estimated', or 'calculated' duration values. This avoids treating time as a physical quality of an object while preserving a modelling style parallel to the quantity--datum pattern in IDO.
A temporal entity that extends only in time.
carton, cup, temperature degree, instances of scales
An information object that defines the magnitude of a 'quality', adopted by convention or by law.
'unit of measure' may be used when there is ambiguity about the scale of the measure.
UO_0000000 is 'unit', a class in the OBO Units of measure ontology.
'unit' is a class in the Ontology of units of Measure (OM 2).
A volume designated for 3D engineering at a point in time, a box-shaped volume determined by coordinates in a 3D frame of reference; the extent of a gas leak at 12:00
A spatial location that is a three-dimensional volume.