How do I read this documentation?

explains the mindset - prevents misinterpretations - massively reduces follow-up questions

Goal: Take away fear Content:

• Document is not linear to read

• Separation of:

  • Concept

  • structure

  • Application

  • Reference

• Explanation of the terms used & presentation logic

How do I read Selmo?

This documentation is not a linear guide and not a tutorial. It is a reference for thinking, modeling and understanding.

This chapter helps you to read Selmo correctly – without overwhelm and without false expectations.

---

1. What you should know when reading

Selmo describes machines not via code, but via a formal behavior model.

This means:

• Contents build logically on each other

• many chapters can be read independently

• each topic exists only once

• Repetitions are deliberately avoided

If a term is unclear, look it up in the glossary.

---

2. Two lines of thought – one content

This documentation can be read in two ways:

2.1 Analytical – from the problem (“Why?”)

This path explains:

• why classical machine logic reaches limits

• which requirements arise from that

• why Selmo is structured the way it is

Recommended chapters:

• Introduction & Attitude

• Problem & Attitude

• Diagnosis, HMI & Documentation

👉 Ideal for:

• Decision makers

• Project managers

• Safety & audit responsible persons

---

2.2 Synthetic – toward the model (“How?”)

This path explains:

• how Selmo structures machines

• how behavior is modeled

• how operation, safety and diagnosis arise

Recommended sequence:

1. Sequence

2. Zone

3. Bit-Control

4. hardware zone

5. Manual & automatic operation

6. CMZ

👉 Ideal for:

• Automation technicians

• Commissioning engineer

• Developers

---

3. What Selmo consciously does not explain

This documentation explains not:

• how PLC code is written

• how an HMI is designed

• how hardware is safely shut down

• how projects are managed organizationally

Selmo describes:

What a machine does, when it does it and why it is allowed to.

---

4. How you should read a chapter

Each reference chapter follows the same internal structure:

1. Why does this concept exist? (Problem & Motivation)

2. What exactly is it? (clear definition)

3. How does it fit in? (relationship to other elements)

4. How does it act in operation? (behavior, reactions)

5. What are typical mistakes? (experiential knowledge)

If you recognize this structure, you'll find your way quickly.

---

5. Recommended entry points by goal

I want to understand processes

→ Sequence

I want to classify technology and signals

→ Zone

I want to understand monitoring & logic

→ Bit-Control

I want to understand operation & start logic

→ hardware zone

I want to understand safe operation

→ Manual & automatic operation

I want to understand safety & integrity

→ CMZ

---

6. How Selmo is “correctly” understood

Selmo is not understood when you:

• read only individual chapters

• look for abbreviations

• immediately think of code

Selmo is understood when you:

• think in states

• explicitly formulate expectations

• describe behavior instead of signals

• seek responsibility in the model

Selmo is not a tool – it is a way of thinking.

---

7. One last note

If a chapter seems “strict” or “unusual” to you, that's not by chance.

Selmo enforces:

• Clarity

• Unambiguity

• Responsibility

This is exhausting – but it is the prerequisite for explainable machines.

Do not read Selmo quickly. Read Selmo precisely.