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The Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture (PERA) was developed by the late Theodore J. (Ted) Williams, a professor at Purdue University in the 1990s as part of a framework to better integrate different levels of industrial and manufacturing operations. Although people may not be familiar with the original work, it is more likely that they have encountered its concepts in derivative works such as the ISA-95/IEC 62264 international standards.
In recent years, there has been significant debate and discussion about whether PERA remains relevant in light of emerging technology trends like the Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT) and its applicability in areas such as industrial cybersecurity. To some degree this may be a result of relatively little perceived activity in maintaining and extending the PERA concepts.
This dynamic is now shifting, as Gary Rathwell of Enterprise Consultants has recently reignited these efforts. He has assembled a group of industry experts to advance work on PERA, focusing on initiatives such as developing comprehensive guides for Master Planning, Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC), and Operations across various sectors. Gary has described the effort as follows:
“Each of the PERA Guides will address a set of “Opportunities” that are relevant to that industry and in the terminology of that industry. Opportunities are assigned to one generic professional discipline. When an Opportunity is justified (on cost and benefits), the assigned discipline will be assigned the appropriate training requirements. These training requirements will be contained in Micro-learning Modules and/or SCORM packages. Similarly, opportunities may include equipment and software that comprise systems. These are then assessed risk and assigned required certifications or approvals”.
As a largely independent effort, it remains to be seen whether it will gain traction in the industry. Nonetheless, it bears watching by those interested in the subject.
More information is available on the PERA website.