Glossary · Systems engineering and MBSE
Integrated system
German: integriertes System
In systems engineering, an integrated system is a system in which multiple machines, subsystems, software elements and interfaces interact to produce system-level behavior. Its behavior cannot be fully derived from the behavior of its parts assessed in isolation.
- Integrated systems
- Systems engineering
- German source term
In one sentence
An integrated system combines machines, subsystems, software and interfaces into system-level behavior that must be assessed as a whole.
Example
An automated warehouse in which AGVs, conveyors, a robot picking cell and a warehouse management system share traffic rules and safety zones is an integrated system.
How it applies
- Integrated systems: Define the system boundary, the interfaces and who is responsible for each. System-level behavior belongs to whoever integrates, not to the individual suppliers.
- Machine safety: Assess the system as a whole. Couplings can create interaction hazards and shared safety zones that no single machine documentation covers. Where machines are controlled as an integral whole, EU law may treat the system as an assembly of machinery.
- Evidence: Component certificates and declarations are inputs. System-level verification and validation are still required for the integrated behavior.
- Technical documentation: Users need system-level instructions: startup and shutdown sequences, emergency behavior across machines, and responsibilities at interfaces.
Integrated system vs. assembly of machinery
“Integrated system” is an engineering description of interacting parts. “Assembly of machinery” is a legal concept in EU machinery law with its own obligations. Many integrated systems are assemblies of machinery, but the legal classification must be checked case by case.