AutoQuiz is edited by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.
This automation industry quiz question comes from the ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) certification program. ISA CAP certification provides a non-biased, third-party, objective assessment and confirmation of an automation professional's skills. The CAP exam is focused on direction, definition, design, development/application, deployment, documentation, and support of systems, software, and equipment used in control systems, manufacturing information systems, systems integration, and operational consulting. Click this link for more information about the CAP program.
In safety instrumented system design and safety integrity level selection, what is the most common top-down approach for describing the failures of complex systems?
a) Fault Tree Analysis
b) HAZOP Analysis
c) Root-Cause Analysis
d) Markov Analysis
e) none of the above
A fault tree analysis begins with the "top event," which is the result of a number of basic events that contribute to, or initiate, the system failure. The logic of a fault tree is displayed by the symbols that represent the basic events and gates that logically relate those events.
The correct answer is A, Fault Tree Analysis.
Reference: Edward M. Marszal, P.E., C.F.S.E and Dr. Eric W. Scharpf, MIPENZ; Safety Integrity Level Selection: Systematic Methods Including Layer of Protection Analysis.
About the Editor
Joel Don is the community manager for ISA and is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical marketing communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.
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