Bring Structure to Engineering Complexity with ISO/IEC 81346
A unified and future‑proof way to handle component naming, part identification, equipment tagging, asset designation, and every other form of engineering reference information.
Modern engineering teams work across disciplines, tools, and lifecycle phases. Without a shared system, naming becomes inconsistent, documentation diverges, and traceability breaks down. RDS 81346 solves this problem at the structural level: it provides a clear, scalable way to describe and organize any object in a system.
RDS 81346 works for
components,
parts,
assemblies,
equipment,
assets,
locations,
drawings,
documents,
functions
processes
properties
components, parts, assemblies, equipment, assets, locations, drawings, documents, functions processes properties
Why organizations rely on the 81346 designation system
Organizations choose the RDS 81346 system because:
It scales from individual parts to complete plants
It unifies mechanical, electrical, architectural, and software disciplines
It aligns CAD, BOM, documentation, and installed assets
It supports digitalization, MBSE, and modern information management
It provides clear rules, examples, and repeatable methods
This is why 81346 has become the international framework for identifying components, assemblies, equipment, locations, and documentation - across industries and throughout the entire lifecycle.
Who We AreWe help engineering organizations adopt, structure, and implement the 81346 approach in a practical way.
That includes consulting, training, designation rulesets, templates, and implementation guidance - all grounded in active participation in standardization work.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
A reference designation is the identifier of an object which is used to track it across documentation, it-systems and its lifecycle
-
All reference designations are tags, but not all tags are reference designations. A reference designation have to identify the object unambiguously within a context. A tag provides identification information about the object
-
The 81346 international standard series is a self contained standard which provides both the structuring rules and the classification system for creating a system hierarchy which unambiguously identifies object based on one of its aspects
A system built on three essential dimensions
Every engineering identification challenge fits into a simple, semantic structure. These three dimensions form the foundation for your entire reference designation strategy:
1
From components, parts, and assemblies to assets, equipment, locations, and drawings.
2
Identification, numbering, tagging, naming conventions, classification, traceability, and related activities.
3
Standards, guidelines, best practices, implementation methods, examples, and of course the ISO/IEC 81346 series itself.
Together, these dimensions describe the full landscape of engineering identification - the same landscape people search, ask questions about, and try to standardize internally.
Understand the structure behind the system
These supporting pages explain each dimension and how they work together: