Lifecycle Archives - Page 2 of 2

Feb 06

The Risks of EOL: Lifetime Buy in “real world” terms

GDCA

Defense, Events, Obsolescence

In the past we’ve talked about the challenges of Last-time Buy and overstock. In Dr. Sandborn’s CALCE Obsolescence Management training, this question illustrates the challenges and risks in regards to what customers can face, at the time of EOL. The answer might be easy if you were looking at a “bridge buy”, where you only need enough to get you to the point of a planned upgrade. If I had to only buy shoes to get me through five years it would be challenging but I could probably come up with a pretty good estimate based on the last five years of my life.
Dec 03

Cutting Electronic Waste out of the Counterfeit Supply Chain

GDCA

Anti-Counterfeiting, Obsolescence

According to the EPA, although electronic waste (or sometimes known as “e-waste”) is less than 10% of the current solid waste stream, it is growing 2-3 times faster than any other waste stream. In 2005 an estimated 26-37 million computers became obsolete and the Consumer Electronics Association reported that roughly 304 million electronics—were removed from US households.

E-waste impacts the international community in many ways. New innovations in industrial and commercial technology have forced obsolescence in equipment like computers, mobile phones and televisions, and refrigerators. As consumers keep up with changing trends, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) estimates that 20-50 million metric tons of e-waste are generated each year and much of this electronic waste gets shipped overseas to developing areas in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Sep 26

What do vintage cars and embedded boards have in common?

GDCA

Defense, Obsolescence

They both get harder to maintain as they get older, and if you don’t plan for obsolescence, they can both fail.

It’s common sense. As things get older, they become more expensive to maintain. For example, an antique car was state-of-the art when it first came out. It performed beautifully, and the parts were easy to find. If it had any real problems, it could be taken into the dealer for repairs. However, now that the car is a classic, it requires a lot more upkeep. In the past, it only needed to be taken in for oil changes and tune ups. Now it needs a new transmission, replacement brakes, a new timing belt and a new radiator… and as time passes, the mechanic can’t even get the parts he needs to fix it.

As the components become harder to find, the odds that your car can even feasibly be repaired get more remote. At first, you might scour junkyards and advertise online, looking for those crucial pieces of equipment, but eventually you will probably end up having to find someone who can reverse engineer or custom build the needed parts for you. And now a part that may have been $300 new is going to cost you hundreds more — if not thousands.

With each transaction, that car gets more and more expensive to fix and maintain, but some cars just can’t be replaced.
Sep 12

Legacy and NI Week 2012

GDCA

Events, Manufacturing, Obsolescence

When people think of “legacy”, they often think of what is being passed along or left to the future. We believe a business’ legacy is the lasting mark they make […]
Aug 22

Obsolescence and why you can’t always just make more.

GDCA

Manufacturing, Obsolescence

When I first began my work with GDCA one of the questions I had was “Why is dealing with obsolete components not just about making more parts?”

As I have come to learn, unfortunately, obsolescence management is not just as simple as “making more parts.”

Imagine you manufacture various components. In the 1960s, the computers you were making parts for were relatively simple, without many customers who could even afford computers; quantities were low, the manufacturing was relatively easy, and products generally lasted longer.

Let’s jump forward to today. Over time, and as technology has evolved (Moore’s Law), your fabrication company’s production has also evolved. Now with each product line, you are cranking out hundreds of thousands of parts each day. Customers who need 50 parts are not happy to hear of a 5000 part minimum order quantity (MOQ). And besides, to some the manufacturers even a 5000 MOQ on an older part can be a distraction.
Aug 08

No one wants to be left with EOL overstock

GDCA

Manufacturing, Obsolescence

On one of the blogs I read, someone commented: “If you’re concerned about counterfeits in obsolete components… don’t worry about to-be-discontinued components — just design them in, and buy what […]
Jun 07

What does Brooks Stevens have to do with “Planned Obsolescence”?

GDCA

Manufacturing, Obsolescence

You may not know about Brooks Stevens, and today is his birthday.

Clifford Brooks Stevens, born June 7, 1911, was an American industrial designer of home furnishings, appliances, automobiles and motorcycles— as well as a graphic designer and stylist. At the time of his death, he was considered “a major force in industrial design.”

If Google was to do a custom sketch for his birthday, it would probably be the widely recognized Oscar Mayer “Wienermobile” or the Harley-Davidson motorcycles body he designed in the 60s (production of new bikes are still based on Stevens’ body designs).

But how many will reference a topic sure to light a fuse in any frugal consumer? Planned Obsolescence.
Mar 01

Condition-Based-Maintenance (CBM): The leading edge of proactive sustainment

GDCA

Events

Defense Maintenance & Sustainment Summit (DMS 2012) February 27-29, 2012, | La Jolla, California It was my first time attending WBR’s Defense Maintenance & Sustainment Summit, and it was fascinating […]
Jan 18

Reflecting on VITA’s Embedded Tech Trends (ETT 2012)

GDCA

Events

Following its development in the late 1970s by Motorola, VME bus continues to see wide use across many different equipment industries today. In fact, the first COTS VME boards to enter the domestic market (c 1983) were the MVME101 CPU and MVME110 CPU, both of which are still supported by GDCA today (though no one’s asked in a while).

Founded in 1984 from the VME Manufacturers Group, the VMEbus International Trade Association (VITA) champions working groups formed to develop specifications and standards important to designers of critical embedded systems around the world.

Considering our VME legacy and long-standing support for the folks at VITA, you can imagine how excited we were when VITA debuted their new, member-only conference, Embedded Tech Trends, January 16^th and 17^th, in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Formerly known as the Bus and Board Conference, Embedded Tech Trends (or ETT 2012) is the “business and technology forum for critical embedded systems.” This year’s focus was VITA technology applications, and the “fruits of the spec-developer’s labor.”