International Society of Automation has released a new standard, ANSI/ISA-112.00.01-2025, to bring more structure and consistency to how SCADA systems are planned, built, operated, and maintained. In simple terms, it is meant to give companies, utilities, system integrators, and other stakeholders a common framework for the full SCADA lifecycle, whether they are designing a new system or upgrading an older one. The standard defines shared terminology, a functional architecture model, and a repeatable lifecycle so teams can work from the same blueprint instead of using different local methods and unclear documentation.

A major theme is making SCADA programs more disciplined and easier to manage over time. The standard introduces eight work-process groups, an 11-layer reference architecture, and guidance for areas like documentation, testing, change management, configuration control, HMI and alarm philosophy, and long-term governance. It also builds cybersecurity into the lifecycle by aligning with ISA/IEC 62443, including recommendations for role-based accounts, password policy, patch and firmware management, incident response, segmentation, and firewall placement. The article’s overall message is that ISA-112 is designed to help organizations make SCADA environments more consistent, maintainable, and secure across both day-to-day operations and future upgrades.

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Source: https://industrialcyber.co/isa-iec-62443/isa-issues-ansi-isa-112-standard-to-guide-functional-architecture-models-standardize-scada-lifecycle-architecture/