See Also
Why You Might Not Want to Use Contingency Blocks
Before using Contingency Blocks, consider them a legacy feature that has been used to model scenarios that might better be modeled elsewhere, like Injection Group actions or Remedial Actions. Although contingency blocks will continue to be supported in traditional auxiliary files, a new concise file format for modeling contingencies and remedial action schemes does not support contingency blocks. When saving in this format, contingency blocks will automatically be merged into the Contingencies, Global Actions, and Remedial Actions using them, but if you want to do this manually there is a button on the bottom of the Contingency Element Block display to Merge Contingency Elements into other structures and remove contingency blocks. This same option is available on the local menus of several case information displays associated with contingency definitions.
Contingency Block Description
Contingency Blocks are very similar to a Contingency Record, however no results can be associated with them. Contingency Blocks consist of a list of contingency actions. The block is then given a name so that any Contingency Record can call on a Contingency Block. When a contingency block is included as part of a contingency, the Contingency Record will incorporate all the actions from the contingency block into the actions performed by the contingency.
Contingency blocks are defined from the Contingency Element Block display accessed via the Contingency Definitions grouping found on the Options tab of the Contingency Analysis dialog. Right-clicking in the Contingency Blocks grid and choosing Insert allows you to insert a new Contingency Block. A dialog very similar to the Contingency Definition Dialog will open. Use this dialog to insert elements into the contingency block, create additional contingency blocks, or modify existing contingency blocks. Once a new contingency block has been created, actions can be added to the block by right-clicking in the Contingency Definition grid and choosing Insert. This will open the Contingency Element Dialog that allows the addition and modification of elements in the contingency block. When using the Contingency Element Dialog with Contingency Blocks, the option to insert an Element Type of Contingency Block is not available. Time Delays cannot be specified.
The format of the string that describes the contingency block actions and the Model Criteria and Status fields are set in the same manner as described in the Contingency Definition Display. Contingency block actions cannot use a Status of SOLUTIONFAIL. Contingency blocks cannot contain Persistent actions.
To disable the use of a Contingency Block, set the Skip field to YES. When a Contingency Block is disabled, all of the actions defined in the block will be ignored in all of the contingencies in which the block is included.
Once Contingency Blocks have been defined, a new Element Type, Contingency Block will appear on the Contingency Element Dialog. You may then add a contingency block to a contingency by right-clicking on a contingency in the Contingency Records list display, choose show dialog (or insert if you are adding a new contingency record), click on Insert New Element, and choose Contingency Block from the list of element types.
Using a contingency block is an easy way to include a set of common actions in multiple contingency scenarios, without having to re-define the actions for each contingency.