In document

ISO 10303 ISO 10303 is an ISO standard for the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of product manufacturing information. It is an ASCII-based format. Its official title is: ''Automation systems and integration — Product data representa ...

-226, a fault is defined as an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub-system level which may lead to a

failure Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective (goal), objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of Success (concept), success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a parti ...

. In

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

, according to the

Federal Standard 1037C Federal Standard 1037C, titled Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunication Terms, is a United States Federal Standard issued by the General Services Administration pursuant to the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, a ...

of the United States, the term ''fault'' has the following meanings: #An accidental condition that causes a

functional unit In computer engineering, an execution unit (E-unit or EU) is a part of the central processing unit (CPU) that performs the operations and calculations as instructed by the computer program. It may have its own internal control sequence unit (not ...

to fail to perform its required function. See . #A defect that causes a reproducible or catastrophic malfunction. A malfunction is considered reproducible if it occurs consistently under the same circumstances. See . # In

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

systems, an unintentional

short circuit A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...

, or partial short circuit, between energized conductors or between an energized conductor and ground. A distinction can be made between

symmetric Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...

and

asymmetric fault In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a f ...

s. See

Fault (power engineering) In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which a live wire touches a neutral or ground wire. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by a fa ...

Random fault

A random fault is a fault that occurs as a result of

wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in m ...

or other

deterioration Deterioration may refer to: * Worsening of health * Physical wear See also * Decadence (disambiguation) * Degeneracy (disambiguation) * ''Deteriorata'', a parody of ''Desiderata'' * Decay * Decline Decline may refer to: *Decadence, involves a ...

. Whereas the time of a particular occurrence of such a fault cannot be determined, the rate at which such faults occur within the equipment population on average can be predicted with accuracy. Manufacturers will often accept random faults as a risk if the chances are virtually negligible. A fault can happen in virtually any object or appliance, most common with electronics and machinery. For example, an

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

console will deteriorate over time due to dust buildup in the

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

. This will cause the Xbox to overheat, cause an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

, and shut the console down.

Systematic fault

Systematic faults are often a result of an

in the

specification A specification often refers to a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. A specification is often a type of technical standard. There are different types of technical or engineering specificati ...

of the equipment and therefore affect all examples of that type. Such faults can remain undetected for years, until conditions conduce to create the

. Given the same circumstances, each and every example of the equipment would fail identically at that time. Failures in hardware can be caused by random faults or systematic faults, but failures in

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

are always systematic.