The fieldbus Application Layer (FAL) provides user programs with a means to access the fieldbus communication environment. In this respect, the FAL can be viewed as a "window between corresponding application programs". The FAL is an Application Layer Communication Standard designed to support the conveyance of time-critical and non-time-critical application requests and responses among devices in an automation environment. The term "time-critical" is used to represent the presence of an application time-window, within which one or more specified actions are required to be completed with some defined level of certainty.