Chapter 6 - Analyses of an innovative approach: Mitigation of Obsolescence Cost Analysis (MOCA).
Ideally, in order to make forehead the numerous problems of obsolescence, that they plague the electronic systems with a long operating life, there is need of a methodology, supposing that it is possible to preview the obsolescence of the members of such systems, that it determines which is the better moment in order to carry out a redesign and which it is the mix winning of actions to implement and during this participation, and for all the phase of I use of the system.
It objects you of a plan of sopportabilità with such attempts would have been 1:
- When to put into effect the redesign or the design refresh;
- Which you leave present in the system, and by now obsolete, convene to replace in one determined redesign or a design refresh, rather than to continue to support them with other strategies in order to mitigate the effect of the obsolescence;
- Which you leave present in the system, also not being still obsolete, convene to replace in a determined participation of redesign or design refresh.
Moreover, like pointed out in chapter previous, it is sure worthy of merit to strain for a optimization of the practical reactive to the problem obsolescence, but the objective that is being attempted to pursue from some years, in the within of the search in matter, is that one to develop a proattivo approach that sure allows one more effective resolution of the problem obsolescence. Some between the main reasons in order to prefer an approach that it allows the forecast of the obsolescence more soon possible, are the next2:
- One more taken care of allocation of the budget since the gathering phase;
- Lines guide, on as the systems will be modified in the participations of redesign, preciser;
- Operational availability sure improved;
- Faculty to consider the impact of the corrective actions, when these come decided;
- Possibility to render condivisibili some solutions in order more systems or applications;
- Ability to carry out strategies in order to improve the performances of the system.
A small becomes necessary to this point excursus face to emphasize the frequently present terminology in the successive phrases and to which already it has been rerun in the previous speeches: in the paragraphs succeeded to you, in fact, it will often come used the expression design refresh; in many scientific articles, the previous formula often comes used in interchanging way with the term redesign, but it must emphasize the formal difference that exists between the two situations3.
Design refresh, when used in rigorous way, refers to the action that they are necessary, that is “have to be done”, so that the functionalities of the system on which work they are remained unchanged and available; with the term redesign or technological insertion the reviews of the system are identified times to the inclusion of new technologies that can increase the functionalities of the same one or simply they maintain pregresse its functionalities, already implemented with previous technologies, that is actions that “want to be done”.
A methodology that it tries to pursue objects it anticipates to you to you in the previous paragraph, and its implementazione, the MOCA (Mitigation Of Obsolescence Cost Analysis), has been develops in the center of the Consortium LIME (Computer Aided Life Cycle Engineering) to the University of Maryland, like part of the plan Air Force Electronic Part Obsolescence Initiatives.
Such approach, being based on future projections, manutentive requirements and forecasts of obsolescence, determines the impact on the costs in order to support the cycle of life of an electronic system with life long-field.
Based on an taken care of cost analysis, the MOCA determines the plan of better redesign, from the economic point of view, in order to support this type of systems in their long operating life: it confronts, in fact, various actions apt to mitigate the effect of the obsolescence, of it it simulates the economic effect on the system and determines a action plan to implement in order to support the system in the time, putting into effect the mix of cost-effective corrective measures thought.
In particular, the plan that the tool it supplies consists in one list of participations of redesign, the activities to carry out in everyone and the dates to which carrying out them.
The philosophy on which the developed methodology is based, follows logic to put a sure corrective action practically in the short term, like as an example last a Time buy or the search of suppliers alternated to you, in the moment in which verification the obsolescence, in the wait that the redesign is implementabile.
Obviously the eventuality of life a Time is taken also in consideration buy that it can comply with the future requirements.
In the successive figure, it comes shown the conceptual development, in the time, of such approach4.
Figure 6.1: Timeline of a supplied design refresh planning from tool the MOCA.
For semplicità, such timeline refers to a single part or sottoparte of the system, but, applicativo in the event real, it must think next to numerous of the sort municipal processes in parallel.
Tool the MOCA is implemented in JAVA.
- 1: P. Sandborn, P. Singh, Forecasting technology insertion concurrent with design refresh planning for COTS-based electronic systems, Proc. Reliability and Maintainability Symposium, Arlington, GO, January 2005
- 2: Reactive P. Sandborn, Beyond thinking - We should be developing for-active approaches to obsolescence management too! , DMSMS Center of Excellence Newsletter, volume 2, Issue 3, june 2004.
- 3: Herald, T.E., Technology refreshment strategy and plan for application in military systems - To “how-to systems development process” and linkage with CAIV, from the actions of the National Aerospace and Electronics Conference (NAECON), 2000.
- 4: P. Sandborn, P. Singh, Determining optimum redesign plans for avionics based on electronic part obsolescence forecasts, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 2002.