What is the meaning of watchdog relay?

IM AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PRACTIONER. IM ASSIGNED AT A POWER PLANT AND MY ASSIGNMENT IS IN THE PROTECTION PANEL. MY QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF WATCHDOG RELAY AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A watchdog relay changes state if the input signal does not repeatedly cycle on and off. It's basically a safety mechanism, because a short could cause the relay to click on and off repeatedly, so if there's a short, the watchdog relay wouldn't switch, preventing a power surge from reaching other parts of the circuit. It also prevents accidental switching. If someone switches a switch on and off a few times because they're unsure if it should be active or not, and it shouldn't be, this would keep it from turning on.