Glossary · Maintenance and diagnostics
Error management
Also known as: Error handling, Fault management
German: Fehlermanagement
In automation software engineering, error management is the systematic handling of errors in a control system: detecting them, classifying them by severity, reacting in a defined way, informing the operator and recording them for later analysis.
- Maintenance
In one sentence
Error management is the systematic detection, classification, reaction, reporting and recording of errors in machine and control software.
Example
A filling machine's error management maps each fault to a class: warnings keep the machine running, errors stop the current cycle, and severe errors trigger a controlled stop.
How it applies
- Engineering: A consistent error concept defines error numbers, severity classes, the machine reaction per class, acknowledgment rules and how errors propagate from modules to the machine level. It is best agreed before programming starts.
- Operation: Operators see clear messages with the cause and the next step, instead of raw codes. Acknowledgment and reset behavior must be predictable.
- Maintenance: Recorded errors with timestamps and context support Fault diagnosis and Root-cause analysis.
- Documentation: The documentation team needs the error list as structured data (number, text, cause, remedy, severity) so that HMI texts, the manual and translations stay consistent. Each message should say what happened, why and what to do.
Error management vs. fault reaction
Error management is the overall concept across the software. A Fault reaction is the specific, often safety-relevant behavior the system shows once a fault is detected. Safety-related fault reactions are specified and verified in the safety lifecycle; general error management does not make a machine safe on its own.