In-Service Support and Obsolescence Management - A necessary symbiosis

Since the large-scale industrialization of our planet in the mid-19th century, the role of maintenance policies has become increasingly crucial over time.

Whatever the type of industry, system, application, service, etc., maintenance in operational condition (MCO) has evolved, moving from initially simple maintenance activities to tasks requiring proactive, robust upstream decisions by experts. Today's maintenance policies are unavoidable, even if a number of companies still regard maintenance as an expense rather than an investment. The international community working on this theme under the name of "Prognostic and Health Management" (PHM) has structured itself to propose different methods and tools that provide strategies for data processing (measurements), anomaly detection, diagnosis and prognosis, all in line with the challenges associated with risk and cost reduction. These maintenance policies must also take into account the challenges of component obsolescence and scarcity, as well as software obsolescence. The armed forces and the defense industry were the first to be truly affected by obsolescence and shortage problems. This is why the first obsolescence and shortage management methods and tools were developed, notably under the aegis of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The ultimate aim of these methods and tools is to reduce the unavailability of equipment, while offering solutions at reasonable cost and acceptable risk.

This article is positioned within a relatively broad framework studying the components of MCO and their links with the management of obsolescence and scarcity. It is divided into three sections. The first section is devoted to obsolescence and scarcity. The second section presents the issues associated with the MCO theme. The third section explains the links between the main MCO activities and the management of obsolescence and scarcity. We end with a conclusion.