© Tony Simmons 2010
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
Glossary of Automation & Control Engineering Terms
IEE Guidelines
General term used to refer to Guidelines for the Documentation of Computer Software for Real Time and Interactive systems 2nd edition 1990.
Implementation
This term is often used to describe to work of producing a control system. It embraces the tasks of obtaining the hardware, configuring the database and graphics, and programming the application software, through testing and delivery to site.
Input/Output
Process control systems are generally characterised by the number of signals which connect them to the process plant. The hardware that performs the connection to field equipment is the Input/Output cards. To assess the size of a control system a count of plant I/O is used. Input/outputs may be hardwired or connected by serial links.
Instance
A term used to refer to an object that belongs to a particular class. For example, California is an instance of the class "state."
Instruction List (IL)
A low level "assembler like" language.
Integration is the process of putting together a working system from the parts which have been developed or manufactured independently according to an earlier design process.
It is the organised, methodical, step-wise assembly, or "bringing together", of the various system hardware and/or software systems, sub-systems and modules, for the purposes of verification, validation and testing of the system.
Integration is the process of demonstrating that the integrated system will work according to requirements and that the right component parts have been selected.
Following the analysis, specification and development stages, the principal is to build the system "bottom up" with step-wise testing. In this way small increments of change are introduced into the system so as not to mask potential problems awaiting discovery during full acceptance testing.
The adoption of incremental integration (McKennery Model), which employs several incremental system "builds", is recommended.
Interface
A shared boundary between two control systems. To interact or communicate with another system component.
An interlock is a function implemented in hardware or software which prevents (inhibits) an action taking place in the presence of another event. The capture of a Castell key until an electrical drive is shutdown is an example of an interlock. An interlock is pro-active whereas a trip is reactive. See Trip.
IP
Installation Protocol
IP Address
IP - Internet Protocol. A piece of equipment requires an IP Address in order to be recognised on a network using the TCP/IP communication protocol.
IQ
Installation Qualification
Whenever the document or software item reaches a project milestone it must be referenced as a new "issue". Items shall be up-issued whenever they are formally released internally to form part of a new build, or for incorporation into another sub-system, or for release to a client.
An item shall be up-issued when a significant functional change in its performance occurs such that it is no longer compatible with its current issues.
See also Revision
Item
