The study of optimization problems of the components of a complex system can be carried out on the basis of a systems approach. In accordance with the principle of dual consideration, no system element is an isolated object, since it is included in another system of a higher level. In complex systems models, sufficiently integrable subsystems with given properties and relations between them should be considered as initial elements. Without taking into account the interconnectedness of the elements of the system, the results of local optimization may not only not correspond to the global extremum, but even contradict it. Therefore, in the systems approach, an important role is played by the study of the technological features of the system and its structure. The description of such components makes it possible to clarify the qualitative links that unite the individual links in the system, and also characterize them with the help of some quantitative relationships.