Obsolescence affects all products and it impacts upon all stages of their life cycle. Obsolescence is inevitable and it cannot be ignored but forethought and careful planning can minimize its impact and its potentially high costs.
The objective of obsolescence management is to ensure that obsolescence is managed as an integral part of design, development, production and in-service support in order to minimize cost and detrimental impact throughout the product life cycle.
Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and project-specific parts, e.g. new design tools and production processes, tend to have a much shorter life than those traditionally used. With the increased use of commercial parts in systems it has become essential to include obsolescence management within programme plans from the earliest stages. Furthermore environmental legislation has the potential to affect the use of some materials and should be considered at the outset of projects.
BS 7000-5:2001 address all these issues and gives guidance for establishing a framework for obsolescence management and for planning a cost-effective obsolescence management process that is applicable through all phases of the product life cycle.
This standard is applicable to all products that include electronic, electrical and electro-mechanical components, although its use can be extended to include other products and processes.
Obsolescence management is essential to achieve optimum cost-effectiveness throughout the life cycle of a product.