Basic GoldSim Elements that Support Modeling of Events

In addition to elements within the Reliability Module, GoldSim provides a wide variety of other elements that can be triggered by events or can output discrete event signals. These elements are important, as they can be used in conjunction with the reliability elements to represent complex risk and reliability models. For example, the outputs of these elements can trigger reliability elements to turn on or off. In other cases, discrete event signals from reliability elements may trigger them to perform a particular action (set a Status element to True or False).

Some of the event elements that are likely to be most useful to risk and reliability modelers are summarized in the following table:

Element	Default Symbol	Function
Timed Event		Generates events based on a specified rate of occurrence, regularly or according to a specified distribution (i.e., randomly).
Triggered Event		Generates events based on one or more specified conditions.
Event Delay		Delays an event for a specified time. Can also be used to simulate queues.
Decision		Generates one of up to three alternative events based on specified conditions.
Random Choice		Generates a user defined event based on specified probabilities.
Milestone		Records the time at which a particular event or specified condition(s) occurs.
Status		Outputs a condition (True/False) in response to particular events or specified conditions.

Note that elements such as the Triggered and Timed Events are often used to create initiating events (e.g., events external to the system being modeled, such as an earthquake or a random interruption) that can lead to the failure of a system component.