Overview

What is Master Data?

Master Data is a standard list of items that everyone can refer to when transferring data. This includes things like equipment, material and units of measure. No matter what these items are referred to as locally they'll need to be linked to an item on the list so that everything else linked to the bus knows what is happening.

Master Data Example

Let's use an example. If a message needs to be sent from the IT system down to equipment on the factory floor stating that an operation needs to start then the message will need to pass through two bus stops.

First of all the IT bus stop must create a message on the Bus that states which equipment needs to start the operation. The message will be created using an equipment name in the Master Data list. The OT bus stop connected to the relevant equipment will already be set up to listen for messages for that equipment. It'll read the message and forward the operation start message to the equipment along predefined channels that are associated with that equipment.

Order of Creation

There are many different orders in which Master Data items can be created. However, there are some limitations due to prerequisites.

The following table gives a suggested order and also lists the prerequisites of each item:

Step	Item	Description	Prerequisite
1	Equipment Classes	Allows equipment to be placed into groups where each item is of a similar type.	None
2	Equipment	Represents a piece of equipment on the plant floor.	Equipment Classes
3	Operations	Subdivision of orders.	None
4	Topics	Messages are sent to a topic and delivered to one or more associated subscriptions, depending on filter rules that can be set on a per-subscription basis.	None
4	Unit of Measure Classes	Allows UoMs to be grouped in similar types (e.g. weight, length, etc.)	None
5	Units of Measure	The Units of Measure in which values are sent to or from the production line.	UoM Class
6	Material Properties	Any additional aspect of the material that needs to be listed. This could include properties such as viscosity, temperature or color.	UoM
7	Material Classes	Allows materials to be placed into groups where each material is of a similar type.	Material Properties
8	Material Definitions	The material that is being consumed or produced in the manufacturing process.	Material Classes