Using INITIALIZE or SET statements to initialize a table or data item is useful when you suspect that a problem is caused by residual data left in those fields. If your problem occurs intermittently and not always with the same data, the problem could be that a switch is not initialized, but is generally set to the right value (0 or 1). By including a SET statement to ensure that the switch is initialized, you can determine if the uninitialized switch is the cause of the problem.