© 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
Quality
The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy a given need.
Quality Assurance
All activities and functions concerned with the attainment of quality; the activities evolved and applied to ensure and demonstrate that the products produced are fit for the purchaser's intended purpose. QA is a function of the company and not an individual project.
To enable a Quality product/service to be offered the following have to be performed/ provided:-
• Produce a quality plan
• Audit projects by making formal checks to see that it is operating in accordance with the quality plan and that the quality plan is itself appropriate.
• Receive and inspect regular plans and reports from project management so as to be able to give an independent assessment of the progress of the project.
• A QA member available to provide advice to the project on all aspects of quality.
• A QA member to attend reviews of the development process and the major deliverables.
Quality Control
The practices and procedures used to ensure that the product conforms with appropriate standards, requirements and specifications. (QC)
QMS
Quality Management System.
Quality Plan
A quality plan (QP) is a plan created to define actions, deliverables, responsibilities, and procedures to satisfy customer quality and validation requirements. [GAMP]
Random Failure
Unlike software which fails in systematic ways, hardware fails at random and results from the random failure of the various hardware components that make up the system. It is impossible to predict exactly when a system will break down because of the failure of one of its components. By gathering data about the failure of components over a period of time, estimates can be made of how long a component type will work without failure and therefore the effects of random failure can be predicted.
Redundancy
Having one or more components or systems which can assume a designated function on loss of another component or function.
In the documentation sense, a register is a paper or computerised record of deliverables (documents, hardware, software).
Registers must be maintained by the project for:-
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Documentation
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System Software
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Application Software
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Test Software
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System Hardware
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Test Hardware
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Release
The term given to represent a particular state of completion of a system build. The first "release" of system software might be for internal testing and be referenced as Release 1. This release might comprise many software sub-systems each having their own issue and revision.
The word release is normally used in conjunction with external issues of system builds.
Reliability - general
The ability of an item to perform a required function under stated conditions for a stated period of time. [BS 5760 Part 0]
Reliability - quantitative
The probability that an item will operate in a prescribed fashion for a prescribed time under prescribed conditions without suffering any event predefined as a failure. [ BS 5760 Part 0]
Requirements Analysis
The process of discovering and documenting the functional requirements for a system. The task follows the identification of Control and Operability Philosophy for the process. The preferred method builds models of the requirement which follow the ISA S88 Standard.
A physical model documents the relationships between physical plant objects and highlights repeat designs and relationships.
A procedural model documents the functionality needed for the various aspects of the processes that will be done in the plant equipment.
Diagrams are used to document increasing levels of detail of the functional requirements. These diagrams include State Transition Diagrams. Sequence Function Charts, State Matrices.
Modulating Control, shown in principle on P&IDs, is detailed using SAMA diagrams.
Interlocks are defined using AND/OR logic symbols or structured English (PASCAL’ese)
The outcome of Requirements Analysis is the Requirements Specification and Input/Output Schedule.
A requirements specification (sometimes called a User Requirements Specification) is the specification in which "what" functions the control system is required to do are documented. "How" they are to be achieved is documented in the Functional Specification.
Resource
Equipment, materials, staff etc. required for the execution of a project or manufacturing activity.
Review
Design Review
A technical review is where the technical content of a document is scrutinised to check for viability of requirements or design, and to check for ambiguity in the document/ software.
The technical review team should comprise at least one reviewer who is not part of the project team, so that independent understanding of the document/software can be ascertained.
Quality Review
A quality review is where a reviewer checks the document for style, readability, heading levels, page and section numbering and completeness.
Risk
The combination of a probability, or frequency, of occurrence of a defined hazard and the magnitude of the consequences of the occurrence. [BS 4778 Part 3]
A "revision" reflects a change made to a document or software item since its last return to the library, as the result of development. Revisions take place within an "issue" of the item and do not result in any major change of functionality of that item. See also Issue
Router
Equipment used to deal with communications in cases where two networks use the same transport layer but have different network layers.
RTM
Requirements Traceability Matrix - - a means of documenting the design audit trail from initial user requirements, through functional specification and finally test specification and appropriate validation protocol.
