Assurance
The DICRI Assurance Framework
Engineering decisions rely on evidence. A reported observation or result, on its own, does not establish whether the evidence behind it is sufficient to support an engineering position.
The DICRI Assurance Framework governs the interdependent conditions through which engineering evidence is produced, preserved and evaluated. Together, those conditions establish the evidentiary basis through which Engineering Confidence can be supported and independently examined.
The Evidence Behind the Result
An inspection result reports what was observed. Relying on it for an engineering decision also depends on the conditions under which it was produced: the requirement it answers, who produced it and with what equipment, where it was captured, and how the record has been kept.
Engineering reliance also depends on the applicable Engineering Basis, whether the activity was authorized, whether the professional and equipment were eligible for the work, and whether the supporting evidence retains the authenticity, provenance and integrity required for later verification. These are questions of assurance; they do not presume that the reported result itself is wrong.
An isolated result
A measurement, image, checklist response or stated outcome may indicate what was observed.
- Measurement
- Value recorded
- Photograph
- Image attached
- Checklist
- Items complete
- Outcome
- Pass
Taken alone, the record does not establish the engineering context required to determine whether the result can support reliance.
The evidentiary context
DICRI treats evidence as part of a governed engineering context rather than as an isolated artifact. Reliance depends on the relationships among these conditions.
- Engineering BasisWhat requirement applied?
- Authorized activityWas the activity authorized?
- Professional eligibilityWas the professional eligible for the activity?
- Equipment eligibilityWas the equipment eligible for its use?
- Evidence authenticityIs the evidence genuine, and attributable to the infrastructure and activity it claims to represent?
- Evidence provenanceIs the provenance of the evidence preserved?
- Evidentiary integrityDo the evidence and the relationships that give it meaning remain intact?
- Independent verifiabilityCan an authorized relying party examine the evidentiary basis independently?
- Engineering DeterminationCan the Engineering Determination be traced to supporting Governed Engineering Evidence?
The DICRI Assurance Framework addresses these conditions together.
The DICRI Assurance Framework
The DICRI Assurance Framework is an integrated system of interdependent Assurance Domains through which the evidentiary basis of Engineering Confidence is established, preserved and made independently verifiable throughout the infrastructure lifecycle.
Each domain addresses a distinct source of uncertainty in engineering evidence. The domains operate together across governed engineering activity rather than as sequential stages. Strength in one domain does not compensate for a material weakness in another; each contributes to the Engineering Confidence the evidence can support.
The Framework sets out the conditions for reliance. It is not itself a workflow, a score or a certification.
The Seven Assurance Domains
Each Assurance Domain addresses a distinct condition on which engineering reliance depends. The domains are interdependent: none operates as a standalone assurance mechanism, and their presentation does not imply sequence or precedence.
Professional Competency
Establishes whether the professional performing governed work has the required capability and authorization. Competency is specific to the activity being performed.
Equipment Assurance
Establishes whether instruments satisfy the conditions required to support the evidence they produce. Applicable manufacturer requirements and, where relevant, calibration or verification evidence contribute to equipment assurance status and eligibility for governed use.
Evidence Authenticity
Establishes whether evidence is genuine and attributable to the event it claims to represent.
Evidence Provenance
Preserves the origin and context through which evidence acquires its engineering meaning.
Evidentiary Integrity
Preserves the evidence and the relationships that keep its engineering meaning intact.
Independent Verifiability
Allows an authorized relying party to examine the engineering position and its evidentiary basis. Verification remains possible beyond the people and organizations that originally produced the evidence and through time.
Assurance Governance
Coordinates the requirements, controls and accountability through which the domains operate together. Where an assurance requirement is not satisfied, the resulting limitation remains visible in the engineering position the evidence can support.
Engineering Confidence
“The degree of professionally supportable reliance that can be placed upon an engineering position based upon the evidence and assurance relationships through which that position has been established and preserved.”
Engineering Confidence emerges from the evidence and assurance relationships supporting an engineering position. It is supported to the extent that those relationships have been established and preserved across the Assurance Domains.
Engineering Confidence is not a numerical score, rating, certification or software output, nor does it replace engineering judgment. Its basis remains traceable to the evidence and governance through which the engineering position was established, allowing subsequent reliance to be independently examined.
From Engineering Basis to Governed Record
Governed engineering activity begins with an established Engineering Basis: the applicable requirements, such as approved designs, specifications, codes and regulatory requirements, against which evidence and observed conditions are evaluated. The Engineering Basis is established from the requirements governing the infrastructure; DICRI evaluates evidence against that basis.
From that basis, activity proceeds when its readiness conditions are satisfied; Governed Engineering Evidence is then produced and evaluated, and the resulting Engineering Determination is preserved in the governed record. Each state answers a distinct assurance question, from whether the activity may proceed to how the resulting engineering position is preserved. DICRI describes this progression as the Evidence-to-Determination Chain.
Governed evidence may be produced through any authorized evidence pathway that satisfies the applicable evidentiary and assurance requirements.
Readiness
Engineering Basis
The applicable requirements against which evidence and observed conditions are evaluated. It is identified before an Engineering Determination is made.
Authorized Activity
The activity proceeds within an authorized scope, which establishes the context in which evidence is produced and later evaluated.
Professional Eligibility
The professional performing the activity has the demonstrated capability and authorization that the defined activity requires.
Equipment Eligibility
The instrument used satisfies the applicable identity, manufacturer and calibration or verification requirements for the activity at the time of use.
Evidence and Determination
Governed Engineering Evidence
Evidence produced within the authorized activity under the applicable professional, equipment and assurance controls, preserving the observations and relationships required for later evaluation.
Engineering Evidence Evaluation
The governed evaluation of that evidence against the applicable Engineering Basis.
Engineering Determination
The engineering conclusion the evaluation supports. It extends only to the condition the governed evidence establishes.
Governed record
Preserves the evidence, the Engineering Basis and the Engineering Determination distinctly, so the resulting position can be reconstructed and examined through time.
Assurance Domains
The seven Assurance Domains operate across the whole progression rather than as steps within it. They establish the conditions under which the evidence it produces can support evaluation, determination and subsequent reliance.
Assurance and Certification
Assurance is the broader system through which the conditions supporting Engineering Confidence are established and examined. Certification is a formal institutional determination made against an applicable Engineering Basis, within a defined scope and at a defined point in time.
Assurance
DICRI assurance establishes Governed Engineering Evidence, evaluates it against the applicable Engineering Basis and preserves the resulting Engineering Determination in the governed record. DICRI-governed evidence and Engineering Evidence Evaluation may support engagements in which issuance of a DICRI infrastructure certificate is not the requested outcome.
Equipment Assurance establishes whether an instrument satisfies the conditions required for the evidence it produces; it remains assurance, not equipment certification. Professional credentials support the determination of whether a professional is eligible for a defined activity.
An Engineering Determination does not necessarily establish a Governed Engineering State, and a governed record is not necessarily a certificate.
Certification
Infrastructure Certification establishes a Governed Engineering State supported by applicable Governed Engineering Evidence and evaluated against the applicable Engineering Basis. A Birth Certificate establishes that state at commissioning; a Health Certificate establishes a later Governed Engineering State in service, extending the governed history rather than rewriting it.
Evidence capture may occur across authorized organizations, professionals and locations. Certification authority remains centralized: DICRI infrastructure certificates, including Birth Certificates and Health Certificates, are issued only by DICRI.
Assurance establishes the evidentiary basis on which an engineering position can be supported and examined. Certification rests on that basis as a formal institutional determination, made by DICRI when the defined certification requirements are satisfied.