Enhanced Integrated HMI for Process Automation

Yokogawa Electric Corporation is releasing the latest version of its Collaborative Information Server, an integrated human machine interface designed for the process industry. The system provides a centralized data infrastructure that collects and manages equipment information across distributed manufacturing plants, supporting remote operational control with a scheduled release on June 12, 2026.

Interface Compatibility Within Distributed Production Environments
Plant operators require comprehensive oversight of production facilities without losing the familiar operational interface of legacy control systems. The updated server allows direct access to the operation and monitoring windows of existing integrated production control systems, specifically the proprietary human interface stations. This backward compatibility eliminates the need for additional engineering to replicate familiar screen configurations, maintaining operational continuity. Furthermore, the system supports remote desktop connections, enabling centralized monitoring of geographically dispersed equipment and interconnected vendor systems.

Interoperability Through OPC Unified Architecture Integration
Connecting equipment from disparate vendors introduces variations in device data structures. To address this interoperability challenge, the platform enhances its OPC Unified Architecture (UA) server capabilities to support multiple information models. Standardized under IEC 62541, this platform-independent architecture facilitates data exchange and comprehensive information modeling. By accommodating diverse device configurations natively, the server reduces the application development workload required to integrate multi-vendor hardware into a unified digital infrastructure.

Platform Hardening and Security Configuration
Expanding network connectivity across industrial automation networks requires stringent access controls and system hardening. The collaborative server integrates a proprietary security configuration package based on Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks. This integration applies standardized security settings to the underlying operating systems, systematically mitigating vulnerabilities and reducing IT security risks across the entire digital supply chain and operational platform.

Additional Context
This section details technical specifications and competitive benchmarking not included in the original news release.

Comparable distributed human machine interface and supervisory control and data acquisition platforms, such as AVEVA System Platform and Siemens SIMATIC WinCC Open Architecture, also focus on large-scale, multi-site integration. These systems typically utilize an object-oriented, distributed architecture to aggregate data from heterogenous programmable logic controllers and distributed control systems. A key benchmark for modern collaborative servers is native OPC UA compliance (IEC 62541) for vendor-agnostic data modeling. While comparable systems provide extensive multi-vendor driver libraries and object models, the specific Yokogawa integration targets seamless backwards compatibility with its proprietary distributed control environments. Furthermore, adherence to CIS Benchmarks for underlying operating system hardening is a standard security baseline utilized across top-tier industrial control system platforms to meet ISA/IEC 62443 security requirements.

Edited by Aishwarya Mambet, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.

www.yokogawa.com