Simplified guides have a lot of value for students, as they offer information on the fly.
EIT has decades of experience to assist students, and have published an online and in-depth list of abbreviations students will need to know while completing an engineering course. You can access our Acronym Master list here.
The beauty of engineering acronyms is that they are universally understood, and a good way to be in touch with fellow engineers.
As a refresher, here are some common acronyms you’ll see often while completing a course in engineering.
A
AC – Alternating Current
ACS – Advanced Control System
AIC – Autonomous Intelligent Controller
APC – Advanced Process Control
AS/R – Automated Storage and Retrieval
ASIC – Application Specific Integrated Circuit
B
BACP – Bandwidth Allocation Control Protocol
BAV – Business Analysis and Visualization
BCU – Backup Control Unit
BFW – Boiler Feedwater
BMS – Burner Management System
BOM – Bill of Material
C
CAA – Clean Air Act
CAM – Computer-Aided Manufacturing
CAN – Controller Area Network
CCA – Common Component Architecture
CEM – Continuous Emission Monitor/s
CIP – Control and Information Protocol/s
D
DCD – Data Carrier Detect
DCOM – Distributed Component Object Model
DCS – Digital Control System, Distributed Control System, Document Control System
DDE – Dynamica Data Exchange
DDL – Device Description Language
DPDT – Double Pole Double Throw
DH – Data Highway
DH+ – Data Highway Plus
DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
E
EDA – Electronic Design Automation
EDC – Electronic Data Capture
EDFA – Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier
EDS – Engineering Design/s Specification/s
EWBS – Engineering Work Breakdown Structure
EW-CRDS – Evanescent Wave Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy
F
FBAP – Function Block Application Program
FBD – Functional Block Diagram
FGD – Flue Gas De-Sulfuriser
FIM – Field Interface Module
FMCW – Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave
FMEDA – Failure Modes, Effects, and Diagnostic Analysis
G
GFC – Gas Filter Correlation
GHG – Greenhouse Gas
GPC – Global Project Controls
GPE – Global Project Engineering
GRP – Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester
GTG – Gas Turbine Generator
GAAP – Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
H
HAP – Hazardous Air Pollutant
HART – Highway Addressable Remote Transducer
HMI – Human Machine Interface
HPI – Hydrocarbon Processing Industry
HTU – Hydrotreater Unit
HWL – Honeywell
HEETP – Height Equivalent to one Effective Theoretical Plate
I
IBP – Internet-Based Procurement
ICA – Independent Computing Architecture
ICE – Instrumentation and Control Engineering
ICMP – Internet Control Message Protocol
IFC – Integrated Function Controller, Issue for Construction
IIS – Instrument Information System
IPS – Inclined Plate Settler
J
JEA – Job Execution Authorization
JIT – Just In Time
JSA – Job Safety Analysis
K
KDD – Knowledge Discovery in Databases
KM – Knowledge Management
KPI – Key Performance Indicator
L
L2TP – Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol
LAN – Local Area Network
LCA – Life Cycle Assessment
M
MAP – Media Access Protocol
MCL – Maximum Contaminant Level
MCU – MUX Control Unit
MDI – Multiple Digital Input
MDO – Multiple Digital Output
N
NCF – Network Configuration File
NEP – Noise Equivalent Power
NIU – Network Interface Unit
NM – Network Management
NPR – Noise Power Ratio
O
OA – Office Automation
OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer
OEP – Operator Entry Panel
OSS – Open Source Software
OTSG – Once Through Steam Generator
P
P&ID – Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
P2P – Path to Profitability
PCIU – Programmable Controller Interface Unit
Q
QA – Quality Assurance
QC – Quality Control
QDW – Quality Data Warehouse
QoS – Quality of Service
R
RAS – Reliability, Availability and Serviceability
RASI – Responsibility, Authority, Support, Inform
RMON – Remote Monitor
RO – Restriction Orifice, Reverse Osmosis
RTZ – Return To Zero
S
SAM – Sensor Analytical Manager
SAP – Service Advertising Protocol
SAT – Site Acceptance Test
SCADA – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
SDS – Smart Distributed System SEA – Scalable Ethernet Architecture
T
TA – Terminal Adapter
TAR – Test and Assessment Report
TFTP – Trivial File Transfer Protocol
THD – Total Harmonic Distortion
TIA – Telephone Industries of America
TIC – Total Installed Cost
U
UCN – Universal Control Network
UDE – Unified Development Environment
UDP – User Datagram Protocol
UHCI – Universal Host Controller Interface
UML – Universal Modeling Language
V
VAC – Volts Alternating Current
VAP – Value-Added Process
VAR – Value Added Reseller
VAS – Value Added Service
VB – Visual Basic
W
WAN – Wide Area Network
WBS – Work Breakdown Structure
WDM – Wavelength Division Multiplexing
WML – Wireless Markup Language
WMS – Warehouse Management System
X
XML – eXtensible Mark-up Language
XSL – Extensible Style Sheets, eXtensible Stylesheet Language
XSLT – Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations
Numbers
1oo1 – One out of One
1oo2 – One out of two
2oo3 – Two out of Three
3G – Third Generation
3IM – Third Order Intermodulation Distortion
A simple guide to engineering accords
• EIT have three accords.
• One of the accords which is the Dublin accord only deals with Advanced Diploma courses.
• At the moment EIT has only three courses accredited under the Dublin accord which are the DEE, DIA and the DME courses.
• EIT has applied for the DEP and the DCS courses to be added under the Dublin accord.
• The second accord which is the Sydney accord, deals with the Bachelor’s programmes.
• The third accord deals with your Masters’s courses or post-graduate which is the Washington Accord.
Country Acronyms
The thrilling part of engineering is that information comes from each nation on the planet, and it’s always worthwhile to know how different countries are abbreviated.
A standard form of country abbreviations is two-letter acronyms and three-letter acronyms.
A
Afghanistan – AF, AFG
Albania – AL, ALB
Algeria – DZ, DZA
American Samoa – AS, ASM
Andorra – AD, AND
Angola – AO, AGO
Anguilla – AI, AIA
Antarctica – AQ, ATA
Antigua and Barbuda – AG, ATG
Argentina – AR, ARG
Armenia – AM, ARM
Aruba – AW, ABW
Australia – AU, AUS
Austria – AT, AUT
Azerbaijan – AZ, AZE
B
Bahamas (the) -BS, BHS
Bahrain – BH, BHR
Bangladesh – BD, BGD
Barbados – BB, BRB
Belarus – BY, BLR
Belgium – BE, BEL
Belize – BZ, BLZ
Benin – BJ, BEN
Bermuda – BM, BMU
Bhutan – BT, BTN
Bolivia – BO, BOL
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba – BQ, BES
Bosnia and Herzegovina – BA, BIH
Botswana – BW, BWA
Bouvet Island – BV, BVT
Brazil – BR, BRA
British Indian Ocean Territory – IO, IOT
Brunei Darussalam – BN, BRN
Bulgaria – BG, BGR
Burkina Faso – BF
Burundi – BI, BDI
C
Cabo Verde – CV, CPV
Cambodia – KH, KHM
Cameroon – CM, CMR
Canada – CA, CAN
Cayman Islands – KY, CYM
Central African Republic – CF, CAF
Chad – TD, TCD
Chile – CL, CHL
China – CN, CHN
Christmas Island – CX, CXR
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (the) – CC, CCK
Colombia – CO, COL
Comoros (the) – KM, COM
Democratic Republic of the Congo – CD, COD
The Congo – CG, COG
Cook Islands – CK, COK
Costa Rica – CR, CRI
Croatia – HR, HRV
Cuba – CU, CUB
Curaçao – CW, CUW
Cyprus – CY, CYP
Czechia – CZ, CZE
Côte d’Ivoire – CI, CIV
D
Denmark – DK, DNK
Djibouti – DJ, DJI
Dominica – DM, DMA
Dominican Republic – DO, DOM
E
Ecuador – EC, ECU
Egypt – EG, EGY
El Salvador – SV, SLV
Equatorial Guinea – GQ, GNQ
Eritrea – ER, ERI
Estonia – EE,EST
Eswatini – SZ, SWZ
Ethiopia – ET, ETH
F
Falkland Islands – FK, FLK
Faroe Islands (the) – FO, FRO
Fiji – FJ, FJI
Finland – FI, FIN
France – FR, FRA
French Guiana – GF, GUF
French Polynesia – PF, PYF
French Southern Territories (the) – TF, ATF
G
Gabon – GA, GAB
Gambia (the) – GM, GMB
Georgia – GE, GEO
Germany – DE, DEU
Ghana – GH, GHA
Gibraltar – GI, GIB
Greece – GR, GRC
Greenland – GL, GRL
Grenada – GD, GRD
Guadeloupe – GP, GLP
Guam – GU, GUM
Guatemala – GT, GTM
Guernsey – GG, GGY
Guinea – GN, GIN
Guinea-Bissau – GW, GNB
Guyana – GY, GUY
H
Haiti – HT, HTI
Heard Island and McDonald Islands – HM, HMD
Holy See (the) – VA, VAT
Honduras – HN, HND
Hong Kong – HK, HKG Hungary – HU, HUN
I
Iceland – IS, ISL
India – IN, IND
Indonesia – ID, IDN
Iran (Islamic Republic of) – IR, IRN
Iraq – IQ, IRQ
Ireland – IE, IRL
Isle of Man – IM, IMN
Israel – IL, ISR
Italy – IT, ITA
J
Jamaica – JM, JAM
Japan – JP, JPN
Jersey – JE, JEY
Jordan – JO, JOR
K
Kazakhstan – KZ, KAZ
Kenya – KE, KEN
Kiribati – KI, KIR
Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of) – KP, PRK
Korea (the Republic of) – KR, KOR
Kuwait – KW, KWT Kyrgyzstan – KG, KGZ
L
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the) – LA, LAO
Latvia – LV, LVA
Lebanon – LB, LBN
Lesotho – LS, LSO
Liberia – LR, LBR
Libya – LY, LBY
Liechtenstein – LI, LIE
Lithuania – LT, LTU
Luxembourg – LU, LUX
M
Macao – MO, MAC
Madagascar – MG, MDG
Malawi – MW, MWI
Malaysia – MY, MYS
Maldives – MV, MDV
Mali – ML, MLI
Malta – MT, MLT
Marshall Islands (the) – MH, MHL
Martinique – MQ, MTQ
Mauritania – MR, MRT
Mauritius – MU, MUS
Mayotte – YT, MYT
Mexico – MX, MEX
Micronesia (Federated States of) – FM, FSM
Moldova (the Republic of) – MD, MDA
Monaco – MC, MCO
Mongolia – MN, MNG
Montenegro – ME, MNE
Montserrat – MS, MSR
Morocco – MA, MAR
Mozambique – MZ, MOZ
Myanmar – MM, MMR
N
Namibia – NA, NAM
Nauru – NR, NRU
Nepal – NP, NPL
Netherlands (the) – NL, NLD
New Caledonia – NC, NCL
New Zealand – NZ, NZL
Nicaragua – NI, NIC
Niger (the) – NE, NER
Nigeria – NG, NGA
Niue – NU, NIU
Norfolk Island – NF, NFK
Northern Mariana Islands (the) – MP, MNP
Norway – NO, NOR
O
Oman – OM, OMN
P
Pakistan – PK, PAK
Palau – PW, PLW
Palestine, State of – PS, PSE
Panama – PA, PAN
Papua New Guinea – PG, PNG
Paraguay – PY, PRY
Peru – PE, PER
Philippines (the) – PH, PHL
Pitcairn – PN, PCN
Poland – PL, POL
Portugal – PT, PRT
Puerto Rico – PR, PRI
Q
Qatar – QA, QAT
R
Republic of North Macedonia – MK, MKD
Romania – RO, ROU
Russian Federation (the) – RU, RUS
Rwanda – RW, RWA
Réunion – RE, REU
S
Saint Barthélemy – BL, BLM
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha – SH, SHN
Saint Kitts and Nevis – KN, KNA
Saint Lucia – LC, LCA
Saint Martin (French part) – MF, MAF
Saint Pierre and Miquelon – PM, SPM
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – VC, VCT
Samoa – WS, WSM
San Marino – SM, SMR
Sao Tome and Principe – ST, STP
Saudi Arabia – SA, SAU
Senegal – SN, SEN
Serbia – RS, SRB
Seychelles – SC, SYC
Sierra Leone – SL, SLE
Singapore – SG, SGP
Sint Maarten (Dutch part) – SX, SXM
Slovakia – SK, SVK
Slovenia – SI, SVN
Solomon Islands – SB, SLB
Somalia – SO, SOM
South Africa – ZA, ZAF
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands – GS, SGS
South Sudan – SS, SSD
Spain – ES, ESP
Sri Lanka – LK, LKA
Sudan (the) – SD, SDN
Suriname – SR, SUR
Svalbard and Jan Mayen – SJ, SJM
Sweden – SE, SWE
Switzerland – CH, CHE
Syrian Arab Republic – SY, SYR
T
Taiwan (Province of China) – TW, TWN
Tajikistan – TJ, TJK
Tanzania, United Republic of – TZ, TZA
Thailand – TH, THA
Timor-Leste – TL, TLS
Togo – TG, TGO
Tokelau – TK, TKL
Tonga – TO, TON
Trinidad and Tobago – TT, TTO
Tunisia – TN, TUN
Turkey – TR, TUR
Turkmenistan – TM, TKM
Turks and Caicos Islands (the) – TC, TCA Tuvalu – TV, TUV
U
Uganda – UG, UGA
Ukraine – UA, UKR
United Arab Emirates (the) – AE, ARE
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the) – GB, GBR
United States Minor Outlying Islands (the) – UM, UMI
United States of America (the) – US, USA
Uruguay – UY, URY
Uzbekistan – UZ, UZB
V
Vanuatu – VU, VUT
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) – VE, VEN
Viet Nam – VN, VNM
Virgin Islands (British) – VG, VGB
Virgin Islands (U.S.) – VI, VIR
W
Wallis and Futuna – WF, WLF
Western Sahara – EH, ESH
Y
Yemen – YE, YEM
Z
Zambia – ZM, ZMB
Zimbabwe – ZW, ZWE
Å
Åland Islands – AX, ALA
