The International Electrotechnical Commission’s IEC 61158 standard covers digital data communications for measurement and control. It has been developed for industrial computer network protocols offering real-time distributed control.

This series of standards set out the protocols for the interconnection of automation and process control system components by fieldbus network systems in manufacturing plants. The systems allow development of protocol hierarchies, linking Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) into Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) through to sensors, actuators, electric motors and switches.