Yesterday I touched on why the oil industry needs to have an obsolescence planning strategy. Assets that remain in production for over 25 years, including their associated automation and control systems and in many situations, these assets will be in use beyond their anticipated life expectancy.
Meanwhile, technology continues to evolve, availability of spare parts decline and eventually, manufacturers and third parties are unable to provide technical support, all of this coupled with the ever-changing industry legislation.
Obsolescence can be a costly challenge; therefore, careful consideration should be taken when choosing suppliers. Cutting corners may achieve immediate cost savings but, it is likely to cause greater expense. Issues arise throughout the lifecycle of the product, especially if components fail or are unsafe.
Safety is paramount, and organisations need to continuously invest in training their workforce, keeping them up to date with the latest industry regulations and meeting gaps in skills and knowledge. Whilst these gaps can result in costly project delays, resource wastage and the worst-case scenario “accident”.
What steps are you taking to avoid obsolescence? Or are you procrastinating?