1.

What is Obsolescence and provide some examples in a Malaysian context

According to the Defense Acquisition University’s Glossary of Defense Acquisition Acronyms

& Terms, 16th ed., obsolescence is a lack of availability of an item or raw material resulting
from statutory and process changes, as well as new designs. Obsolescence deals with the
process or condition by which a piece of equipment becomes no longer useful, or a form and
function no longer is currently available for production or repair (Department of Defense ,
2018).

1a provide some examples in a Malaysian context

The Royal Malaysian Air Force acquired the British BAE Hawk prototypes of ten (10) Hawk
108s and 18 Hawk 208s in the late 1990 replacing the old A-4 Skyhawk PTM. The BAE
Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It has been
used in a training capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft. (Wikipedia, 2019).

RMAF has an annual obsolescence conference between BAE Hawk/RMAF called

Obsolescence Working Group which redefines obsolescence as diminishing manufacturing
sources and material shortages (DMSMS). The DMSMS program seeks to mitigate the
effect of obsolescence on RMAF BAE Hawk 108/208 from acquisition through disposal.
Users can generate forecasting reports such as component health projections, create
current system and assembly health analysis, or project the health analysis 20 years out to
evaluate future obsolescence (BAE Systems, 2019).

2. Is a proactive approach to Obsolescence necessary and why can a purely

reactive one not be used?

Obsolescence management strategies of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) can be

characterized within two dissimilar dominions: Proactive & Reactive ( SiliconExpert
Technologies, 2008).

Proactive approaches to obsolescence emphasis on forecasting component obsolescence

prior to the issuance of the Product Discontinuance Notice (PDN). OEMs adopting a
proactive passage to obsolescence management assign risk grades to each component and
have suitable measures in place to deal with the lifecycle alteration of a component in the
future. Such an approach permits the OEM to forecast lifecycle events long before a PDN is
ever issued, permitting time to commit resources, pursue for solutions and forecast cost
months or years in advance (Peter Sandborn, 2006).

Whereas a reactive approach to obsolescence management depends on acting once a

component event such as the release of a PDN has already taken place, advising the OEM
of an impending change in the component’s lifecycle. Reactive obsolescence management
is concerned with determining an appropriate, immediate resolution to the problem of
components becoming obsolete. Some of the mutual reactive strategies are lifetime buy,
bridge buy, purchasing parts from aftermarket sources, part replacement, emulation, and
reclamation.

In proactive management, steps are taken prior to actual obsolescence of a part. This
strategy is mainly used for critical parts that have high risk of becoming obsolete or if the
availability of the component is low after the part becomes obsolete. Proactive management
involves using forecasting methodology to predict obsolescence dates of various parts in a
product, analysing the risk of obsolescence of critical parts in a Bill of Material (BOM) and
then taking necessary steps to manage obsolescence (Reactive Obsolescence
Management, 2012).

2a Why can a purely reactive one not be used?

Most shared resolution strategies are reactive in nature, as these provide “quick-fix”
resolutions once the obsolescence has already befallen. There are a plenty of parties that
recommend applying proactive obsolescence management strategies in order to curtail the
risk of obsolescence and associated costs. However, it is vital to do the risk assessment of
all components in the Bill of Material (BOM), prior to choosing a reactive or proactive
strategy.

If obsolescence of a component has low impact on costs, then it may be prudent to use a
reactive strategy as these strategies are easier to implement. If the probability of
obsolescence is low and the impact is high costs, then it is advisable to use proactive
mitigation measures. If both the probability of obsolescence and impact costs are high, then
these components are regarded as ‘critical’ and hence, it is necessary to adopt a proactive
mitigation strategy (Pingle, 2015).

A reactive management would mean simply reacting to occurring issues: replace parts when
they are defective, check the availability of instrumentation when its phase-out is announced
and plan to implement a new automation system when the existing one fails.

This reactive management approach logically increases the risk of unexpected production/
operation/availability downtimes. Thus, it is highly not recommended a to opt for a purely
reactive approach for the entire set of instrumentation but maybe for those parts of it that
aren’t critical, comparatively cheap and alternative is easily available. It would be best to go
for an amalgamation of best practices that have proven to be easily realized and to generate
concrete advantages.
 3. Consider the varying advantages and disadvantages of delivering OM either through
an “in-house” Malaysian Armed Forces solution or by using an external commercial option,
or gradual blend of two.

Obsolescence is progressively affecting Malaysian Armed Forces systems at a primary

phase of their life cycles. Availability of replacement parts is a high-risk for operational
readiness, but the wave of progress in electronics and material innovations in the past 10
years has speed-up parts obsolescence.

Old-style support choices are no longer effective in minimising the risk of obsolescence and
effect to the system’s cost and availability. It has become apparent that a more inclusive
approach is needed, where obsolescence management is performed from the planning to
retirement phase. During front-end planning, actions can be taken to anticipate
obsolescence issues and adjourn their onset in the life cycle of the system.

Adopting an active or proactive approach towards obsolescence management is of course

highly beneficial for any maintenance and reliability organization. The more it is plan and
predict obsolescence in advance, the easier it will be able to control risks. When
implementing proactive obsolescence management, attention should be paid to the following
measures:

 Negotiation of services: I recommend setting up a long-term service

agreement with each supplier of critical equipment. Ideally, you should
make the agreement before the material is phased out.
 Stock of spare parts: For critical instrumentation you can arrange a
supply of spare parts in advance. This includes buying spare parts before
there is a concrete need for replacement and before the instrumentation
is declared as being obsolete.
 Regular analysis of risks: When developing an overview of possible
obsolescence risks, it pays to analyze your facility on a regular basis. This
analysis should not only consider the life cycle stage of your equipment,
but also current innovation potential and technological mega-trends.
 Retention of inhouse competences: This point is often
underestimated. If you want your plant to run seamlessly, you will
always need competent staff in charge of operations. Try to retain skilled
maintenance and reliability managers as well as engineers who have a
good knowledge of the installed equipment.
Of course, being able implement all these measures, can be regarded as
quite a privilege. It’s not possible for every maintenance and reliability
manager in every industrial plant to make in-depth obsolescence plans
for the future. Many have to deal with equipment that was installed
decades ago when even life cycle management was still in its infancy and
obsolescence management entirely unknown.

Moreover, the pro-active approach won’t be suitable for all cases, as you
don’t want to get into the situation of excessive maintenance practices,
where the costs outweigh the benefits. That’s why I would also like to
present some best practices for getting quick wins when handling
obsolete equipment.

4. How do you reconcile the needs of IT security with the OM needs for an
integrated transfer and storage of data between internal and external sources?

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5. Present a convincing argument with advantages and disadvantages to your

Command as to why the cost of implementing an OM process will represent a Value
for Money solution both in terms of material reliability and operational capability.

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6. Brief your staff on the requirements of a new OM team justifying each position of
its rank, skill-set, branch specialisation and experience.

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