1. Industrial systems and energy chains

1.1 Automated industrial systems

An industrial system is a set of dynamically interacting elements organized to achieve a goal. An industrial system :

• performs an activity on a material to satisfy a need;

• fulfills a function of use by producing added value.

Reading an industrial technological system involves three concepts:

• the context, which delimits the system in relation to the surrounding environment (system boundaries);

• the point of view adopted to observe the system (designer, user, maintenance personnel) ;

• the purpose of the analysis (understanding...