108
Engineering Systems Integration
Determining Systemness
Consider placing two pieces of wood together, one on top of the other, so that
their individual intrinsic properties and traits resist movement through the
forces of friction and gravity. Each piece of wood is a part (object). Stacking
the wood makes two parts (object), yet these two parts do not make a whole
that is different than the individual pieces of wood. The wood parts interact
as a result of their physical contact, but they are not integrated. Each piece of
wood retains its individuality. Now, nail these two pieces of wood together—
the three parts (two pieces of wood and a nail) combined to make a whole.
The interactions are between the wood (part 1) and the wood (part 2), the
wood (part 1) and the nail (one end), and the wood (part 2) and the nail (the
other end). Additionally, one end of the nail interacts with both pieces of
wood (during the “drive the nail” procedure). But the wood is still the wood
and the nail is still the nail. Neither the wood parts nor the nail have changed
because of the combining; they are still individually the same pieces of wood
and the nail. Yes, there is now a hole in both pieces of wood, but the pieces
retain their substantial identities and characteristics. Were the nail to be
removed from the pieces of wood, the hole would probably remain depending on the age of the wood, the moisture content within the fibers of the
wood, and the size of the nail (i.e., the hole). Interaction—yes, but no integration has occurred. The wood–wood–nail aggregation is not a system.
Combining the two pieces of wood with a nail provides some additional
benefits (and different functionality) over that of a nail, or one piece of wood,
or the placement of one piece of wood on another piece of wood, or the placement of a nail on top of the two stacked pieces of wood, or the placement of
two stacked pieces of wood on top of a nail. If the wood were nailed so that
one plane face of the wood was along the x-axis and the other plane face of
wood was along the y-axis, then the wood–wood–nail combination would
form a right angle. Figure 3.1 depicts the configuration of wood–wood–nail.
A piece of wood (object e 1.1.2 ) is joined to another piece of wood (object e 1.1.3 )
by a nail (object e 1.1.1 ). This new object (object e 2 ) can be used, for example, as
a bookend to provide lateral support for edge-standing books or as a bracket
to hold a shelf.
Stability
In some sense, stability can be thought of as a change in a “state” which has
certain properties that are desirable to maintain. We can think of “trigger
events” that change the stability and therefore the “state”; the desirable state
is lost. In this case, stability is defined as the ability to apply restoring forces
to mitigate events that trigger changes in the status quo. One example of a
stable system that can turn unstable is a supply chain. In the world of providing goods to people, there are oftentimes a number of organizational entities
involved in moving goods that fall betwixt the completion of a product or
Engineering Systems Integration
Determining Systemness
Consider placing two pieces of wood together, one on top of the other, so that
their individual intrinsic properties and traits resist movement through the
forces of friction and gravity. Each piece of wood is a part (object). Stacking
the wood makes two parts (object), yet these two parts do not make a whole
that is different than the individual pieces of wood. The wood parts interact
as a result of their physical contact, but they are not integrated. Each piece of
wood retains its individuality. Now, nail these two pieces of wood together—
the three parts (two pieces of wood and a nail) combined to make a whole.
The interactions are between the wood (part 1) and the wood (part 2), the
wood (part 1) and the nail (one end), and the wood (part 2) and the nail (the
other end). Additionally, one end of the nail interacts with both pieces of
wood (during the “drive the nail” procedure). But the wood is still the wood
and the nail is still the nail. Neither the wood parts nor the nail have changed
because of the combining; they are still individually the same pieces of wood
and the nail. Yes, there is now a hole in both pieces of wood, but the pieces
retain their substantial identities and characteristics. Were the nail to be
removed from the pieces of wood, the hole would probably remain depending on the age of the wood, the moisture content within the fibers of the
wood, and the size of the nail (i.e., the hole). Interaction—yes, but no integration has occurred. The wood–wood–nail aggregation is not a system.
Combining the two pieces of wood with a nail provides some additional
benefits (and different functionality) over that of a nail, or one piece of wood,
or the placement of one piece of wood on another piece of wood, or the placement of a nail on top of the two stacked pieces of wood, or the placement of
two stacked pieces of wood on top of a nail. If the wood were nailed so that
one plane face of the wood was along the x-axis and the other plane face of
wood was along the y-axis, then the wood–wood–nail combination would
form a right angle. Figure 3.1 depicts the configuration of wood–wood–nail.
A piece of wood (object e 1.1.2 ) is joined to another piece of wood (object e 1.1.3 )
by a nail (object e 1.1.1 ). This new object (object e 2 ) can be used, for example, as
a bookend to provide lateral support for edge-standing books or as a bracket
to hold a shelf.
Stability
In some sense, stability can be thought of as a change in a “state” which has
certain properties that are desirable to maintain. We can think of “trigger
events” that change the stability and therefore the “state”; the desirable state
is lost. In this case, stability is defined as the ability to apply restoring forces
to mitigate events that trigger changes in the status quo. One example of a
stable system that can turn unstable is a supply chain. In the world of providing goods to people, there are oftentimes a number of organizational entities
involved in moving goods that fall betwixt the completion of a product or