IHS White Paper: Risks to the System from Electronic Parts Obsolescence

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The increasingly short lifespan of electronic components has led to a push for electronic advancements with means economic efficiency. Manufacturers are forced to phase older parts out of production in favor of more profitable items that perform twice as fast.

Brief manufacturing cycles can present potentially catastrophic results. A vanishing source of a single avionic part jeopardizes the maintainability of the whole assemble. Thus is true for other large products containing electronic and computerized controls, such as automobiles, factory equipment and military weaponry face extreme losses in long-term value due to phasing out of its outsourced components.

This paper explores the military’s program, Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Materials Shortages (DMSM), as well as four major strategies for both government and commercial organizations to replace parts that have been discontinued by the original manufacturer, and outlines several practical ways to reduce the risks and costs associated with electronic obsolete parts. Four basic strategies:

• Redesign
• LOT Purchase
• Reclamation
• Substitution and Alteration

Additionally, the report details the practical tactics available to part substitution, the most common and cost effective strategy. These tactics range from immediate courses of action and available research resources in response to a student discontinuance of a component, to long-term organizational policies and practices that minimize the impact of obsolescence on an agencies budget and time. Such tactics include:

• Immediate Response – Searching for Substitutes and Alternatives
• Proactive Management – Forecasting and Monitoring
• Long-term Planning – Standardized Design and Integrated Management

A new set of resources and tactics need to be implemented to counter the ever-expanding effects of obsolete parts. Coping with the issue is most effective when component obsolescence management is incorporated as a standard business process.

Related topics:

• U.S. Department of Defense
• Moore’s Law
• EU environmental compliance standards
• Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics (DUSD(L))
• OEMs
• Information Handling Systems (IHS)
• Q-Tech
• Silicon Expert
• PartMiner
• Arrow Electronics
• Cross-industry databases
• Bill of materials (BOM)
• Manufacturer’s announcement of end-of-life (EOL)
• Product Change Notices (OCNs)
• Product Data Management (PDM) system