5. Ontology and Enterprise Modeling Jan GOOSSENAERTS & Christine PELLETIER Eindhoven University of Technology, Faculty of Technology Management, Pav. D5, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Tel.: +31 40 247 20 62; Fax: +31 40 2432612; E-mail: {J.B.M.Goossenaerts; C.P.M.Pelletier}@tm.tue.nl Abstract. Ontology has the task to construct the most general theories concerning concrete objects, their being and becoming. Concrete objects such as products, facilities and people do also anchor the processes of an enterprise, both its operations and renewal processes. Whereas several enterprise models have been proposed in the past, none has clarified the interwoveness of operational and renewal processes. This chapter first presents general ontological concepts and relationships. It then constructs enterprise model concepts and relationships as specializations of the general concepts and relationships. The joint use of ontology and enterprise model in the PSIM Project is illustrated, and the compliance of the PSIM ontology with the ENV 40003 Framework for Enterprise Modeling is confirmed. 5.1 Introduction The PSIM ontology has been developed to meet two objectives: support of semiosis for those involved in the assembly operations, and the resolution of the hetero- geneity of digital assets, i.e. of the schema’s according to which, and formats in which, data, models and functions are offered to the users, by software applications. An enterprise model must support the sharing of information, the capturing of enterprise knowledge, the enterprise knowledge diffusion and creation, and the transversal communication between tools and experts of several disciplines. 5.1.1 The Structure of the Paper The chapter is organized as follows. First, we present some background information on ontology, semiosis and how they have influenced the development of the PSIM ontology. Next, we present the ontology as a component which structures the enterprise model. The joint use of ontology and enterprise model in the PSIM Project is illustrated, and the compliance of the PSIM ontology with the ENV 40003 Framework for Enterprise Modeling [1] is confirmed. The application of the ontology and the enterprise model is further illustrated in the chapter on the com- munication interfaces. 41