Section 79 of 103
78. Engineering State and State Machine
Stable section ID: S05-CON-015-SECTION-79 · 14 content blocks
An Engineering State is the declared condition of an Engineering Entity at a particular time and within a defined context.
States may describe physical, digital, manufacturing, assembly, verification, operational, safety, maintenance, or lifecycle conditions.
An Engineering State Machine is the controlled model defining:
permitted states;
allowable transitions;
transition conditions and guards;
authorized actors or systems;
required actions;
evidence and verification requirements;
failure and recovery behavior.
Possible assembly states may include manufactured, inspected, delivered, positioned, temporarily captured, aligned, seated, locked, verified, commissioned, operational, isolated, released, removed, or retired.
State names shall not be used without defined entry and exit criteria. “Installed” shall not automatically mean aligned, locked, inspected, or approved for service.
A digital state transition shall not override physical reality. Where a recorded state conflicts with verified physical evidence, the discrepancy shall be treated as a fault requiring resolution.
Safety-critical transitions shall be fail-safe, authorized, auditable, and supported by the required evidence.