Managing equipment obsolescence

There has been a marked increase in the number of cases of equipment obsolescence in various industries, particularly in the aeronautics, transport, energy and arms sectors. Off-the-shelf products tend to be renewed more and more rapidly, and the hold of consumer markets (multimedia, telecommunications, micro-computing, etc.) on technologies is shortening their lifespan. This situation, which used to affect mainly electronic components, is now affecting a growing number of different types of equipment (electrical, electromechanical, lifting equipment, valves, etc.), thus affecting and complicating the maintenance of long-life systems, which are designed to operate for a period that generally exceeds that of their constituent components.

Obsolescence is therefore a threat to companies, all the more so as it concerns all products (industrial goods, consumer goods, including software of course), but also skills and services. It is part of the industry "s business model, and is both a risk and a tool that needs to be managed. Indeed, while it is often a harmful consequence of innovation, it can also be one of its driving forces. By programming it, some manufacturers use it to limit the lifespan of their products and thus force their renewal. This method, used in the IT sector for example, limits the useful life of software packages by releasing new versions that are not fully compatible with their predecessors. Software also appears to be a means of outdating the hardware that uses it, which helps to speed up the progress of new technologies.

For product users, obsolescence is inevitable and generally detrimental, but it can be anticipated and its close interactions with maintenance must be taken into account to limit its effects on the life-cycle cost of goods as much as possible.

Today, we're seeing an amplification of this problem, linked to the industrial context which tends to favor company takeovers and restructuring, where market and technological developments are accelerating and regulations are tightening. Moreover, this phenomenon is combined with the new economic constraints facing companies, especially capital-intensive industries, leading them to extend the operating life of their facilities. We can therefore conclude that we must be prepared for an increase in the number of cases of equipment obsolescence in the future, and for growing difficulties in ensuring their long-term viability.

We begin by commenting on the concepts of obsolescence and durability, and then present the general approach to managing equipment obsolescence. After introducing the different strategies, we briefly describe the stages involved in detecting and prioritizing obsolescence, and then the search for applicable, effective and...