Systems Engineering Approach to Electrical Wire Interconnection System (EWIS) Development

The development of the Electrical Wire Interconnection System, or EWIS, for today's advanced aircraft is one of the most complicated engineering activities around. In addition to having to respond to very high rates of change during development, the aircraft are continually evolving in electronic and electrical content through their entire lifecycle. Relatively new mandates, such as the CFR Part 25 Subpart H EWIS, have put additional demands on aircraft OEMs and their key suppliers, forcing companies to reassess their design practices and methodologies.

This paper investigates how a systems engineering approach to the development of the electrical wiring systems can enable and facilitate a more efficient EWIS development and maintenance methodology.