It is generally used to define the fault type to save space. The binary bit indicates whether the corresponding fault exists, and the corresponding decimal system is reported back. Suppose a product has four types of failure:
- No fault: decimal - > 0, binary - > 0000;
- The first kind of fault occurs: decimal - > 1; binary - > 0001;
- The first and second faults occur at the same time: decimal - > 3; binary - > 0011;
- All faults occur simultaneously: decimal - > 15; binary - > 1111;