Citation:
F. J. Romero Rojo, R. Roy, E. Shehab, P. J. Wardle, Obsolescence Challenges for Product-Service Systems in Aerospace and Defence Industry, Proceedings of the 1st CIRP Industrial Product-Service Systems (IPS2) Conference, Cranfield University, 1-2 April 2009, pp255
Abstract:
The aerospace and defence industries are moving towards new types of agreement such as availability
contracts based on Product-Service System (PSS) business models. Obsolescence has become one of the
main problems that will impact on many areas of the system during its life cycle. This paper presents the
major challenges to managing obsolescence for availability contracts, identified by means of a
comprehensive literature review and several interviews and forums with experts in obsolescence
management. It is observed that there is a lack of understanding of the impact of obsolescence on whole life
cost. Experts agree that the development of a framework to support estimation, management, and mitigation
of these costs is desirable, but the difficulty in forecasting future obsolescence issues constrains industry to
a reactive approach rather than proactive.