Vern Densler, Senior Project Manager from SiliconExpert speaks on the importance of people in your obsolescence management strategy at the annual Converge event FOM2019 in Dallas, TX.

2. Obsolescence Management,
People, Process and Tools:
Have We Forgotten the People?
Vernon Densler
Senior Product Manager
October 2019

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The Problem
 Too often we focus heavily on our
Obsolescence Management process and
making sure we have the tools in place to
support and enforce our process. At the same
time we tend to forget that we need people to
perform the work in the process.
 The best tools and process are nothing
without the right people.

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Agenda
 What is your Statement of Work (SOW)?
 What are the correct resources to support your
SOW?
 How do you ensure communication between
disciplines?
 How do you ensure your team has the right data
at the right time?
 How do you ensure your team is up to date on
the current trends?
 How do you deal with Personnel Obsolescence?
 Conclusion

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What is your Statement of Work (SOW)?
 Are you an OEM that subcontracts out a majority of
your development and production of electronic
systems?
 Are you one of those subcontractors that is
developing and producing electronic systems?
 Are you a contract manufacturer making large
quantities of consumer grade products for another
company?

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What are the correct resources
to support your SOW?
 Are you an OEM that subcontracts out a majority of your
development and production of electronic systems?
The Obsolescence team for an OEM will tend to
be performing a lot of subcontractor management
and relations.
Because of this your team should have some
experience with subcontract management. This
is something you may not want to have Electrical
Engineers or Component Engineers devoting
their time to.
A basic understanding of Electronics and
Components may be enough.

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What are the correct resources
to support your SOW?
 Are you one of those subcontractors that is developing and
producing electronic systems?
The Obsolescence team for a Major
Subcontractor is usually a mixed team.
You will need hard core Electrical
Engineers and Component Engineers.
That said, you may also need team
members with contract and subcontract
management experience.

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What are the correct resources
to support your SOW?
 Are you a contract manufacturer making large quantities of
consumer grade products for another company?
The Obsolescence team for a Contract
Manufacturer is usually an Engineering
team.
You will need hard core Electrical
Engineers and Component Engineers.
You need those Engineers to be able to
assess and address Obsolescence
quickly in order to not impact the
production line

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How do you ensure communication
between disciplines?
 Get involvement and buy in from Supply Chain
Management, Procurement, Engineering,
Maintenance/Repair teams.
 Ensure that your organization understands what
the Obsolescence team does, what data they
need, and how working with the Obsolescence
team can reduce unplanned costs and schedule
slips.
 Reward those that are involved with resolving
larger Obsolescence issues.

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How do you ensure your team has the
right data at the right time?
 Subscribe to a data tool that provides alerts on
Electronic Components.
 Integrate your systems so that your Obsolescence
team has the data they need to make sound decisions
on Obsolescence issues.
 Ensure designers have access to the data, so that the
design is as clean as possible.
 Ensure your team knows how to access and use the
tools they need to identify and resolve Obsolescence.

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How do you ensure your team is up to
date on the current trends?
 Give them time for training
 Send them to conferences
 FOM!
 Encourage them to attend Webinars
 Collaborate with peers

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How do you deal with
Personnel Obsolescence?
 The Problem
 We are currently in a deficit of workers in the US
 People who have entered the workforce recently are being told to change jobs
about every 5 years to move through the ranks faster
 Some people don’t find Obsolescence Management fun
 Some Solutions
 It is critical that you keep good records of issues and resolutions so that anyone
coming in can have the history of your issues.
 Tacit knowledge must be handed down to the new/replacement team members.
 Don’t assume your team will stay the same into the future

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Conclusion
When we talk about People, Process, and tools,
there is a reason they put the People first and
we should too. Invest in your people to keep
them happy and up to date with their skills.
Enhance communication and ensure
knowledge transfer.
While Obsolescence Management is a small
community, it is a community none the less.
The more we work together the better the
Obsolescence discipline will become and in
turn that will allow Obsolescence Management
professionals to perform better for their
companies.

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Thank you!
Questions?
The SiliconExpert GPS Platform
The Best Integrated Solution for Complete Parts Management
Contact:
Vernon R Densler, Sr. Product Manager
vernon.densler@siliconexpert.com
Office/Mobile: +1 321.272.3590