Rather, the lifecycles of these assets are often expected to
be deployable for several years and even decades. A well-
engineered system or subsystem design can go a long way to
helping a platform achieve the required lifecycle, but effective
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) can help ensure that parts
are available to service routine or emergency maintenance.
Equally important, a PLM program can anticipate technology
advances and allow for upgrades to embedded technology
with a minimum of hardware or software disruption. The end
result is the highest level of repeatable performance coupled
with the lowest possible cost of ownership across the lifecycle
of a given platform.
GE Intelligent Platforms has military and aerospace PLM
expertise that few, if any, other companies can match. PLM
has been a core tenet of GE for decades. GE’s long-established
PLM team maintains close contact with component suppliers
and industry groups such as the Component Obsolescence
Group to constantly monitor technology developments and
component obsolescence issues. At the heart of the program
is a dedication to providing both progressive and defensive
Long Term Support.
Progressive support begins on the design table, with embedded
products being designed for maximum compatibility or
upgradability even before they are qualified for a system. The
list of critical components will include only those elements for
which vendors have committed to a long-term production run.
After a product is launched, defensive PLM provides the
technical support and service to keep the product running,
as well as ensuring that sufficient stores of spare parts are
available to avoid the premature shutdown of a system or
even the entire platform. When technology obsolescence
occurs in the marketplace, GE’s Health Check program will
alert the customer and provide possible solutions such as
a last-time buy of the components, an appropriate replace-
ment component, a redesign of the original product for form,
fit, or function compatibility, technology insertion earlier than
planned or a lifetime purchase of the components. When
components are purchased in bulk, GE also can provide
secure, climate-controlled storage for as long as required
by the customer.
Long-term product lifecycles demand that critical engineering
knowledge is available regardless of personnel changes or
corporate restructures. Similarly, testing, diagnostic and repair
capabilities must be maintained. GE Intelligent Platforms’ PLM
program ensures that such knowledge, protocols and capabilities
are available throughout the lifecycle of the platform.
Major military and aerospace assets are not commodity
items that can be sent to the scrap heap whenever the next
generation of technology is rolled out.
product lifecycle management
photo courtesy of u.s. navy
