Mr. Lutz, what are your tasks at the OPC Foundation?

Peter Lutz: As Director Field Level Communications at the OPC Foundation, I am responsible for all activities of the FLC initiative. This includes not only the technical project management, but also the coordination of topics that are necessary for the successful implementation of FLC technology, such as marketing, standardization and certification. The current focus is on fine-tuning between the FLC initiative working groups and coordinating with existing OPC Foundation working groups that are working on FLC-relevant basic technologies such as OPC UA Pub/Sub or security. The exchange with external standardization organizations also plays a very important role, above all the IEC and IEEE, which are currently working on a TSN profile for industrial automation - IEC/IEEE 60802 - which is to be used in FLC.

Why is a separate director needed for this and how does it differ from the Board of Directors of the OPC Foundation? And how does it fit into the overall management structure of the OPC Foundation?

Peter Lutz: In contrast to the Board of Directors, which has overall responsibility for all OPC Foundation activities, as FLC Director I focus on bringing OPC UA to the field level with all the stakeholders involved and successfully establishing it there. It was important to the OPC Foundation and the companies involved in the FLC initiative to install a full-time, independent project coordinator to take care of all FLC-related matters. As the FLC initiative is integrated into the OPC Foundation, there is of course close coordination with the other bodies within the OPC Foundation, such as the Board of Directors, the Technical Control Board (TCB) and the Marketing Control Board (MCB).

Who will bear the costs for this new task? Will they be borne by the OPC Foundation or by other donors?

Peter Lutz: The position of FLC Director is jointly financed by the 23 companies that are currently involved in the FLC initiative under the umbrella of the OPC Foundation, both financially and in terms of personnel. The initiative's budget is also used to finance marketing activities and, for example, the development of conformance tests. However, the FLC initiative is not a closed consortium, but is always open to other companies that want to get involved.

Before your current position, you were Managing Director of Sercos International for 18 years. Does your change mean that the Ethernet variant Sercos will be phased out as TSN becomes established?

Peter Lutz: It would certainly be wrong to conclude from my career change that the importance of sercos is diminishing. For me personally, after 18 years, the time had simply come for a new challenge. It is an exciting task, but also a great honor to contribute my experience and know-how to this new and forward-looking project at the OPC Foundation.

Sercos is firmly established on the market and will be used in products and solutions for a long time to come, especially in demanding automation applications. Especially as the technology can also be easily integrated into TSN networks and is therefore future-proof. In Klaus Weyer, the new Managing Director at Sercos International, a very good successor has also been found who will ensure continuity at Sercos in organizational terms.

What are the goals that are particularly close to your heart?

Peter Lutz: It is important to me that I am perceived as a neutral and independent head of the FLC initiative and that I am also accepted in this role as a mediator between potentially divergent interests of industry representatives. I want to work to ensure that OPC UA with TSN covers the requirements of factory and process automation in the best possible way so that expectations regarding the standardization and convergence of industrial communication are fully met.