22nd FVI Expert Breakfast

Topic: "The Death of the Old Machine?" – Strategic Obsolescence Management in the Brownfield.

Carsten Finke (INspares) was a guest, discussing with Marcel Hahn and Jens Reisenweber the problem of keeping old systems alive even though there are no spare parts available.

• Pain as a driver: Carsten Finke summed it up: "Obsolescence is only taken seriously when it has really hurt once." Only when the system is down and the spare part is no longer available (and the downtime costs millions) is the issue budgeted. Before that, it's a "nice to have."
• The "Car Radio Paradox" (Reloaded): As mentioned in Ep 2: In the past, parts could be easily swapped. Today, components are so interconnected that a discontinued sensor can cripple the entire control system. When the manufacturer says "Do a retrofit," it often costs a hundred times the spare part.
• Transparency is key: You need to know what you have. Many companies have "skeletons in the closet" – components that have been discontinued for 5 years, but no one knows because they are deeply embedded in the control cabinet. Without an inventory ("control cabinet scan"), you are blind.
• Designers are partly to blame: Carsten reported that often already at the delivery of a new machine, discontinued components are installed because the designer did "copy & paste" from old plans. The customer buys a new machine that is already obsolete.
• Digitizing old treasures: Tina (IT expert) provided examples from DB Cargo: Old wagons have no digital plans. They need to be scanned (3D scan) or reconstructed with AI from old manuals to reproduce spare parts via 3D printing. This is "reverse engineering" as a lifeline.

Classification: Knowledge saves lives (of the machine)

This episode shows that obsolescence is not a technical problem, but an information problem.

• ADAM as "Obsolescence Radar": If ADAM knows which parts are installed (through the digital life cycle), it can automatically warn: "Warning, component X will be discontinued in 6 months. Stock up 3 more pieces now!" This turns panic into strategy.

• Connection to SparePartsNow (Ep 19): This closes the loop. When ADAM detects obsolescence, the link to SparePartsNow (for refurbished parts) is the rescue. We offer not only the warning but also the solution.

• The "Copy & Paste" protection: If designers would use ADAM (or the data from it), they could see: "This part is marked red, please do not install anymore." ADAM also protects against "new old burdens."

Conclusion: Those who do not know their "skeletons in the closet" will be surprised by them. Transparency is the only insurance against costly downtimes.