FOR FREE MAGAZINE

Obsolescence, circular economy and futureproofing

4E Futures business development & partners manager, Tim Saiers, explains how planning component obsolescence early helps mitigate problems at the source.

4E Futures business development & partners manager, Tim Saiers

We’ve all been there, components on an 18-month lead time, tripled in price since last purchase or no longer stocked. Obsolescence management has always been a necessity for 4e as both CEM and design consultancy. Global events such as Covid, Brexit and world conflicts have meant that proactive management of component sourcing has progressed from being important to being crucial. Because we commit to this, we see a lot of first-time clients needing help with obsolescence management, both in sourcing for manufacture and for revitalising and refreshing designs that are sensitive to obsolescence.

It’s critical to consider obsolescence early in the product life cycle. We specialise in enduring products. In the early stages of design, we research and work with key supply partners to understand in depth the specific component lifecycle and enable multiple sourcing. In the past we supported a medical client that reached out when a key component was no longer available, risking product downtime with lengthy compliance and recertification. As we have design capability, we were able to create a drop-in replacement that was like-for-like to mitigate this. Planning component obsolescence early helps mitigate problems at the source. In addition, high risk functions can be modularised so they can be easily redeveloped with an alternative future chipset.

For existing designs in the manufacturing phase, we work with the client to identify risks and place a strategy in place that is proportional, prioritising critical components that are hard to source, on a long lead time or approaching end-of-life. Forecasting demand mitigates the probability of shortages. Identification is driven by data and product knowledge.

We use our engineering capability to respecify components if necessary. This often involves holding a supply of identified components to endure any possible shortages.

All industries have products reaching end- of-life with no practical support for the supply chain. We utilise refresh projects: taking the tried and tested existing design and modernising it. If you look at 30 years of Ford Escort production; the features and style change but it’s still a Ford Escort. With AI to enhance feature sets and increase efficiency, it’s possible to revamp a client product that contains the core elements that are known and trusted, but we can facelift and add features for a fraction of the cost. We added an OLED display to a design previously using LEDs for the user to interpret.

Our focus is turning obsolescence into a painless process. Looking to the future, we embrace concepts of circular economy. Rolls Royce effectively sells engine hours, at end-of-life the engine is returned to them, refurbished and recycled. Meaning they focus on building the most efficient engine. In a world of limited resources, we think supporting clients to achieve the same is both sustainable and profitable.