CRITICAL THINKING
MANAGING OBSOLESCENCE
of Rapidly Changing Network Technology
Critical Thinking, a new feature in Army AL&T Magazine, offers perspectives from those outside DOD and the defense industry on issues faced by the Army Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology community. Our intent is to provide fresh opinion and expertise on difficult challenges.
O
ur first Critical Thinking Q&A is with Dr. Peter Sand- born, a Professor in the Electronic Products and Sys-
tems Center at the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineer- ing. Sandborn’s group develops obsolescence forecasting algorithms and performs stra- tegic design refresh planning and lifetime buy quantity optimization. Sandborn is the developer of the Mitigation of Obsolescence Cost Analysis refresh planning tool, used by private and government organizations worldwide. He also performs research in several other life-cycle cost modeling areas, including maintenance planning, return on investment analysis, total cost of ownership of electronic parts, transition from tin-lead to lead-free electronics, and prognostics and health management for electronic systems.
Sandborn has taught industry short courses on electronic systems cost modeling and obsoles- cence management. He is a regular presenter at conferences on Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) and was a visiting fellow of the Royal Acad- emy of Engineering in 2010. Sandborn has been the principal investigator on programs for the Army, Navy, and Air Force; the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA); Lockheed Martin Corp.; Northrop Grumman Corp.; Textron Inc.; Motorola Inc.; Ericsson; and the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
The author of more than 150 technical pub- lications and several books, Sandborn has a B.S. in engineering physics from the Univer- sity of Colorado, and an M.S. in electrical science and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.
Following are his thoughts on managing obsolescence.
Q. Does the same planned obsolescence that you have observed in the world of consumer electronics also apply to mili- tary network communications?
A. Yes and no. Planned obsolescence in the consumer electronics world is one of the primary causes of obsolescence of military systems. However, planned obsolescence of military systems can be an effective strategy for managing obsolescence.
In this case, planned obsolescence means that you plan, fund, and actually carry out periodic refreshes of the system hardware and software that, among other benefits, mitigate obsolescence by keeping you
A S C . A RMY.MI L 103
CRITICAL THINKING
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