AS IEC 62402:2014 pdf download – Obsolescence management— Application guide.
As a general principle, the obsolescence phase of a product begins immediately after the information about discontinuance is issued and the product is considered as obsolescent, as shown in Figure 1 . The information at the obsolescent phase change is often in the form of a product discontinuance notice (PDN), end-of-life (EOL) notification or lifetime buy (LTB) notification. A product change notice (PCN) may also cause a product to enter the obsolescence phase for certain manufacturers (OCM or OEM). For a software product, the obsolescence phase commences once the original software manufacturer indicates that the software is no longer supported. A product may be considered obsolete once it is no longer available from the original manufacturer, even thought some product is still in the supply chain. 4.2 Obsolescence management process Dependability management encompasses obsolescence management, which is the process of assuring that the product is manufacturable and supportable for the intended life, see Figure 2. The process consists of planned and co-ordinated activities for providing availability of a product during its intended life, by the economic and practicable provision of replacement components and support activities. Figure 3 shows the relationship between obsolescence management and product life cycle.
Top management should – establish an obsolescence management policy that is consistent with the overall business strategy; – establish obsolescence management in the framework of dependability management system, see IEC 60300-1 ; – provide adequate resources to support obsolescence management activities consistent with the organization’s business. This may include the use of external component monitoring services. 5.2 Meeting customer needs The needs and expectations of customers regarding obsolescence should be translated into objectives for formulating a specific obsolescence management plan. As a minimum, early information about obsolescence issues should be provided. This can range from information on the organization’s internet ‘home page’, to directly addressed information to the customer. Where applicable, early customer involvement in obsolescence management planning can be essential to ensure achieving the best solution for the customer. Meeting customer needs and expectations also demands proper deployment of resources and assignment of dedicated technical responsibilities. NOTE The customer referred to above can be an OEM or the OEM customer.
5.3 Obsolescence contractual and regulatory implications Some obsolescence-related activities may be determined by contractual, regulatory and statutory requirements. Personnel assigned to obsolescence tasks should be aware of such situations and act accordingly. Typical contractual, regulatory and statutory issues involving obsolescence are long-term delivery obligations and those given in IEC 60300-2 Subclause 5.3 and IEC/TS 62239 for electronic component management plans. 5.4 Obsolescence management planning In the framework of the dependability management planning, an obsolescence management plan should be used to ensure adequate selection and timely implementation of relevant obsolescence activities. The objective of the obsolescence management plan should be to describe strategies for identification and mitigation of the effects of obsolescence through all stages of the product life cycle. The plan can be part of another plan or a separate document. The objectives include but are not limited to i) achieving the optimum compromise between life cycle costs for the system, product performance and product availability, maintainability and safety; ii) including all materiel regardless of whether it has been developed specifically for a customer.