Drift Detection#

Within the Manufacturing Substrate Regime Model (MSRM), drift refers to the gradual degradation of calibration assumptions within a declared regime.

Drift does not imply malfunction, error, or failure. It indicates increasing misalignment between a regime’s declared operating envelope and the system’s evolving conditions.

MSRM treats drift detection as a structural concern rather than a metric‑driven or corrective process. The model does not prescribe thresholds, sensors, or algorithms for detecting drift. Instead, it provides a framework for reasoning about drift as a loss of regime validity.

Drift detection serves the following purposes:

• Distinguish gradual assumption degradation from abrupt failure
• Enable early recognition of regime boundary approach
• Support mediated response without enforcing control
• Prevent silent collapse of calibration assumptions

Drift may be continuous or discontinuous, observable or inferred, and may occur across multiple dimensions simultaneously. MSRM does not require drift to be quantified to be structurally meaningful.

By formalizing drift detection at the substrate level, MSRM enables manufacturing systems to recognize when recalibration, mediation, or regime re‑declaration may be warranted without conflating drift with error.