Engineering Library
Standards
The standards bodies whose documents govern this work.
Written guides in this section
Full references, procedures, and diagnostic guides published under Standards.
ISA Standards for Controls
The International Society of Automation standards a controls practitioner meets: ISA-5.1 symbols and tags, ISA-18.2 alarm management, ISA-101 HMI design, ISA-88 and ISA-95 for batch and enterprise integration, ISA-99 which became IEC 62443, ISA-20 specification forms, and how each is used on a water or wastewater project.
8 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
IEC Standards for Controls
The International Electrotechnical Commission standards a controls practitioner meets: IEC 61131 for programmable controllers and their languages, IEC 62443 for security, IEC 61511 for safety instrumented systems, IEC 60529 ingress protection ratings, the telemetry protocols, and how IEC and North American standards fit together.
8 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
NFPA Standards for Controls
The National Fire Protection Association documents that reach into a control system: NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, and the articles that govern panels, motors, and instrumentation; NFPA 70E for electrical safety at work; NFPA 79 for industrial machinery; NFPA 820 for wastewater plant hazardous area classification; and NFPA 110 where standby power meets the controls.
9 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
UL Standards for Controls
The UL listings behind the components and the panels: UL 508A for industrial control panels and its SCCR supplement, UL 508 and UL 60947 for the components in them, UL 489 and UL 1077 for breakers and supplementary protectors, UL 248 fuse classes, UL 50 and 50E for enclosures, UL 698A for hazardous-location panels, and what a listing, a recognition, and a mark actually mean.
9 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
NIST Publications for Control Systems
The National Institute of Standards and Technology documents a control engineer will meet: the Cybersecurity Framework, the operational technology security guide, the control catalog, the digital identity guideline, and the incident handling guide.
9 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
CISA Guidance as a Reference
How the federal cybersecurity agency publications serve as reference standards for a utility: the performance goals as a baseline for policy and procurement, the water sector goals, secure-by-design principles for vendors, and the advisories.
8 min readUpdated Sep 5, 2026
Topics in this area
ISA
ISA-5.1 symbology, ISA-18.2 alarms, ISA-101 HMI, ISA/IEC 62443 security.
IEC
IEC 61131-3 programming languages and related industrial standards.
NFPA
NFPA 70 (NEC) and NFPA 70E electrical safety in the workplace.
UL
UL 508A and UL 698A industrial control panel listings.
NIST
NIST — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with standards.
CISA
CISA — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with standards.
EPA
EPA — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with standards.
AWWA
AWWA — practical reference notes for controls engineers, integrators, and technicians working with standards.
Direct contact
Have a controls question?
Reach Eric Sullivan directly about anything on this site, a controls or automation topic, or one of his personal projects.
References to manufacturers, products, model numbers, software platforms, technical specifications, companies, standards organizations, or other organizations are provided for informational purposes and do not imply sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or affiliation unless expressly stated. Manufacturer specifications must be independently verified against current manufacturer documentation.