Ideal system

Ideal system is a system with infinite value. It may have no components or associated costs, but still deliver the intended functionality; in other words – it may not exist, but its main function is still being performed.

Overview

Ideality of the system is understood as the ratio of the total benefits provided by the system to the sum of all payment factors associated with it. Payment factors include not only direct costs but also required space, environmental damage, maintenance, etc. Conceptually, ideality is the same as value related to function ranking in function analysis. The only difference is that value of different components of an engineering system can be calculated and compared to assess their contribution to the system’s performance. No similar system has been developed for ideality. Neither benefits nor payment factors have established methods for estimation and calculation.

Ideality can be presented in the form of the following formula:

When all payments of the system become 0, we can call it ideal system.

Difference between ideal system and ideal final result (IFR)

Ideal system is sometimes confused with ideal final result (IFR). These concepts are significantly different, and it is a major mistake to equate them.

The ideal system referes to with infinite value. It has no components or associated costs, but still delivers the intended function(s). In other words, the system does not exist, but its main function is performed.

IFR is a term used in ARIZ. It is a model of the best solution to a specific problem, whereby the problem is fully eliminated with minimal changes to the system and without any deterioration of system parameters. However, the system exists, it occupies space, incurs costs, requires maintenance, etc.

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