The Common Language for Engineering

The ISO/IEC 81346 Standard Series is an international standard that provides you with the core rules for naming, structuring, and documenting objects and technical systems. Why? Because a clear reference model made by system structures helps you design, build, operate, and maintain even the most complex projects. 

Diagram of vehicle systems, including functional aspects like control, electrical, lighting, safety, suspension, dashboard, cabin, access, environment, and systems for illumination, safety, and environment control.

Collaborate Across Disciplines

As your technical systems grow in complexity, the risk of miscommunication, design inconsistencies, and costly errors increases. If you're an engineer working with processes, electrical systems, or mechanical design, you need a shared structure and terminology to ensure effective communication. When everyone uses the same system terms and can refer to the same systems—down to individual components—you build a shared understanding and stay aligned.  

Two engineers reviewing electrical schematics on a large table in an office.

One Common Reference Model

ISO/IEC 81346 addresses this by offering you a shared architecture that allows cross-disciplinary teams to collaborate effectively—without forcing anyone out of their siloes. Each discipline can maintain its focus while still working within a common reference model that connects the entire system landscape. This makes it easier for you to see how everything fits together, where responsibilities lie, and how changes in one area might affect others. 

Your organization gains a stable foundation that supports traceability, reuse, and efficient maintenance across the asset lifecycle. With ready-to-use classification tables and industry specific building blocks, the standard helps you reduce errors, accelerate development, and ensure that your data and knowledge remain scalable, reusable—and most importantly—retained within your organization, even as teams change or grow.  

The Fundamentals

  • Diagram illustrating the structure and aspects of a system with a cube at the top, connected to colored circles and a tag at the bottom, labeled 'System Structuring & Aspects'.

    81346-1: Basic Rules

    ISO/IEC 81346-1 defines the basic rules and principles used across the entire 81346 standard series. It provides a standardized method for organizing, breaking down, and identifying technical systems across engineering disciplines.

    The standard defines aspects, which are different viewpoints used to describe systems. These include the functional aspect (what something does), the product aspect (what something is), the location aspect (where something is), and the type aspect (what kind or class of object it is).

    It also explains how to structure these systems, meaning how to organize technical systems into smaller, more manageable parts in a logical and hierarchical way.

  • A table listing class codes from ISO/IEC 81346-2, Table 1, with descriptions. P: providing perceptible information; Q: controlling access or flow; R: restricting or stabilising; S: detecting a human action and providing an appropriate response; T: transforming; U: localising of other objects; W: guiding from one place to another; X: interfacing an object.

    81346-2: Classification

    ISO/IEC 81346-2 is a standard that provides an overall classification scheme for you to classify technical systems. The classifications are realized by letter codes that help you instantly recognize what kind of system you’re working with to create a shared technical language.

    You classify your systems using up to three letter codes. For example, a one-letter code (main system) - “Wind turbine” - A1, a two-letter code (technical system) - “Drive chain” - JF1, and a three-letter code (component system) - “High speed axle” - WQA1.

    When modeling systems in certain industries, a need for industry specific classification libraries arose and is still expanding. The development is still continuing, and several libraries have already been published.

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Industry Specific Standards

  • Offshore wind turbines in the ocean with a ship in the distance, against a blue sky.

    81346-10: Power Supply Systems

    ISO/IEC 81346-10, also known as RDS-PS, is a standard developed for the energy power supply sector.

    It provides industry specific classification libraries that can be applied within the PtX, nuclear, oil, energy storage, wind, hydro, natural gas, solar, and coal industries.

  • Under construction high-rise buildings with cranes on a construction site.

    81346-12: Construction Works

    ISO/IEC 81346-12, also known as RDS-CW, is a standard developed for the construction sector but can also be applied in other sectors.

    It provides industry specific classification libraries that can be applied within the construction, urban areas, utility, and HVAC industries.

  • Robotic arms packing cardboard boxes on an assembly line in a factory.

    81346-14: Manufacturing Systems

    ISO/IEC 81346-14, also known as RDS-MS, is a standard developed for all industries within the manufacturing and processing sector.

    It provides industry specific classification libraries that can be applied, e.g., within the consumer goods, machine building, industrial equipment, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, packaging, and mining industries.

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Series In Development

  • 81346-8: Properties

    Status: Currently in the preparatory (20.00) stage, expected to be published in early 2027.

    Overview: The ISO/IEC 81346-8 provides a scheme for identifying characteristics of objects and systems, ensuring clear identification of properties in technical documentation. The standard is designed to support the design phase of systems and make properties an important relation to object occurrences.

  • 81346-20: Vehicle Systems

    Status: Currently in the Preparatory (20.00) stage, expected to be published in early 2027.

    Overview: The ISO/IEC 81346-20, or RDS-VE, is a new standard that addresses systems within the broader term of "vehicles." The standard covers the design, planning, processing, and maintenance of aircrafts, vessels, motor vehicles, trains, and any other means of transportation vehicle.

  • 81346-50: Processes

    Status: Currently in the Committee Draft (30.20) stage, expected to be published in 2026.

    Overview: The ISO/IEC 81346-50 is the first of its kind, providing a method for structuring and classifying processes and activities, not systems. This new framework creates new modeling techniques and standard approaches to create reference designations for things you do, both in labeling IT systems and designating technical documents.