Control systems shall be able to identify a glass processing machine in a standardized way within an accessible environment. For this purpose, a minimum amount of information specified in the Companion Specification is transmitted from the machine to the control system. This includes basic data about the machine-like serial number, manufacturer, production data, etc. Also, information that is useful for job planning is included, so that the machine is only supplied with suitable jobs. Furthermore, the control system is informed of the storage location of the machine documentation. The ObjectTypes from OPC UA for Machinery are used. Detailed description of the Types can be found within MachineryIdentificationType (OPC 40001-1) and GlassMachineIdentificationType in section 7.1.

Control systems shall be able to request the current status of a specific glass processing machine. The machine supplies at least the dynamic information specified in the Companion Specification with the job state machine and events. In addition, the machine status of OPC 40001-1is to be added in the future to obtain an overall status of the machine.

The machine provides its own documentation. This documentation is either stored directly on the machine or somewhere external, in which case an URL is provided. If a user or another party (e.g. document management system) needs the machine documentation, it can be requested via OPC UA from the server of the machine. This information can be found in the identification section (see 7.1.3).

It is possible to query a list of the currently logged in users (local and connected via OPC UA) and their characteristics (e.g. language, access level) via the OPC UA server of the machine. This information can be found in the identification section (see 7.1.4).

The control system can query the process capabilities of the glass processing machine from the OPC UA server. In the case of an IGU line, for example, this can be the maximum possible window size. Furthermore, active and temporarily inactive capabilities are distinguished. For example, if a cutting table can basically cut 10 mm thick glass, but the currently used cutting wheel can only cut up to 5 mm thick. This use case is not implemented in the current version, but should be defined in further versions.