The International Institute of Obsolescence Management, from its roots in obsolescence management of electronic and other components, now supports manufacturers, service providers and obsolescence practitioners from across industry, and is holding its 2nd International Conference and Exhibition in Bristol, England from 20th to 22nd June 2017.

The relentless pace of innovation and globalisation continues across the supply chain, from electronic components to complete systems, and is increasingly in conflict with the challenge of climate change and the need to reduce consumption of resources. For long life cycle assets, the discipline of Obsolescence Management can reduce life cycle cost by better management of obsolescence risk, from conception to final recycling. Owners of high value assets are increasingly looking to transfer some or all the obsolescence risk to manufacturers and service providers, and the winning businesses will be those who successfully adapt their business models.

The Conference, Exhibition and Workshop is being held at the Mercure Grand Hotel in the heart of the city. The Gala Dinner is on the SS Great Britain, providing great networking opportunities in an historic setting.

A one day workshop on Tuesday 20th June 2017 launches the event. The workshop is entitled “Obsolescence Management Challenges within the New Servitisation Landscape”. Research suggests that manufacturing industry is switching focus from products and production to building revenue streams from supplying products as services. This is now evident in such offers as “Power by the Hour”, and long term maintenance contracts for planes, jet engines and trains. In future, profitability will no longer depend on the margin on the product sale, but on managing the life-cycle cost of the product, ensuring that product achieves its planned life expectancy. Under this model, obsolescence risk is transferred to the manufacturer so that correctly managing obsolescence from the beginning of the design phase is essential.

Conference attendees will benefit from presentations from Defence and Aerospace companies, and new perspectives from the Rail, Space and Oil & Gas sectors

Day one of the Conference starts with a keynote address by Marijan Jozic of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – “Tentacle Number 8 – In the grip of the Octopus” which explains the requirements for aircraft support and how Obsolescence Management relates to the other seven factors.

Session One – Process Development within Obsolescence Management.

Stuart Broadbent from Alstom presents his thoughts on long-term support for products and systems and how the language used to describe the status of equipment, such as “Obsolete”, is unhelpful in respect of sustainable solutions.

Jo Hursell from BMT Reliability Consultants describes a journey from reactive to proactive Obsolescence Management, and the lessons learnt.

Timothy Zitkewitz from Lockheed Martin in the USA discusses the science of proactive management and how it affects software elements.

The final presentation in the session is from Gregory Wood from IHS Markit in the USA reporting on new semiconductor technologies that will increase both counterfeiting and hacking risks.

Session Two – New Developments.

The Chairman of the German Chapter of IIOM, Wolfgang Heinbach, explains how a German initiative called SmartPCN is improving the speed and ease of processing product change notices.

Oliver Hoffman’s presentation “David v Goliath” reveals an attempt to challenge some of the myths surrounding Obsolescence Management.

Willie Brown from BAE Systems in the USA demonstrates a cost analysis tool for use in complex programmes.

Session Three – Environmental Impacts.

Terry Rees-Pedlar and Dave Probert from BAE Systems explain how environmental legislation is impacting on the lifecycle of munitions production.

Dr Thomas Rohr from ESTEC (European Space Tech) in the Netherlands explains the results of a European coordinated effort to manage REACh.

Chris Green from CMCA UK talks about the ticking time bomb that is REACh and how it effects the obsolescence manager’s workload.

The keynote address opening the 2nd day of the conference is by former Brigadier Martin Boswell who recently left the military and joined Jacobs Engineering Consultancy business. His presentation covers his transition and early lessons learnt.

Day two – Session Four – Project Case Studies

The first case study is delivered by David Willliams of Through Life Support Ltd, covering a 10-year obsolescence cost prediction programme developed for the UK Type 45 Destroyer.

Siby Vasidevan from Moog India Technology Centre (MITC) explains how establishing an obsolescence management system is benefitting the business.

Oliver Vivancos from Alstom presents Railway Obsolescence Management Contract – a practical example of meeting a customer request.

Peter Marston from Rochester Electronics covers the increased risk of obsolescence arising from the recent swathe of acquisitions in the semiconductor industry and the likely impact on technology.

Raul Gonzalez from Spain representing Airbus Industries describes his research at Cranfield University on developing a strategy for managing industrial software obsolescence.

Ian Rennie from Asset Guardian Solutions Ltd offers a management tool for software components.

David Saul representing the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology poses the question “Is the Maritime Industry facing a New Obsolescence risk?”

Session Five – Future Opportunities

Alan Baker from Winslow Adaptics opens this session asking the question “Is it really obsolete or just hiding?” Alan explores the need for functional compatible, not identical, replacement parts.

A presentation on Obsolescence Management for Industrial IOT & Industry 4.0. is included to clarify the OM aspects in this new shift in thinking.

Jonathon Wilkins from Eu Automation discusses Obsolescence Management – a key to the Circular Economy. A phrase often said but not well understood.

Rob Picken of Converge Inc tackles personnel and knowledge obsolescence.

The final presentation of the Conference reflects on the challenges of connected and autonomous cars and possible spin off benefits.

The IIOM leadership are excited to present the most internationally diverse programme for any obsolescence event in the world this year.

We encourage you to register early via the website for this popular event. Please contact the IIOM team if you have any questions.

Written by Justine Sanders

Translate »