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The 2008/2009 series of COG Workshops are listed below. Please telephone +44 (0) 1582 762934 before sending in a registration form to ensure that the course is not fully reserved. You can order by fax, post or with your credit card by completing the registration form. Register Now Workshop Programme17 Jan 2008 Managing Obsolescence in Legacy In-Service EquipmentThe future life of equipment in service today can be several tens of years, and in many cases this equipment will already have been in service for ten years or more. The users need and expect to maintain these systems throughout this extended life. During this life, components, materials, skills and processes can all become unavailable for a variety of reasons. Any one of these shortages can render the equipment unrepairable, and lead to mission failure. This problem is not limited to military equipment, it also applies to medical equipment, telecoms infrastructure, transport infrastructure and many others. Reliance on the original suppliers and sub-contractors may no longer be an option for those responsible for maintaining equipments with extended service life. Indeed, those companies may no longer exist. The application of some simple disciplines within an organization can improve awareness and reduce risk. Real-world solutions to these problems then require a range of strategies, coupled with an open-minded and innovative approach. This workshop will use real-life examples from speakers engaged in solving these issues on a daily basis. Their experiences will be used to demonstrate some of the options available to extend the working life of systems with service lives measured in decades.
15 October 2008 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Counterfeit Component SupplyObsolescence and other market forces can create shortages in the supply of components and materials. It is unfortunate, but there are unscrupulous people who seek to take advantage of such situations by manufacturing counterfeit components that they market as the real thing. The quality and make-up of such counterfeits is variable, but initially many can appear to be indistinguishable from the genuine article. They may unwittingly be supplied throughout the supply chain with documentation that support claims of authenticity. The use of these counterfeits during the manufacture of products can however lead to equipment failure and perhaps very expensive consequences for the purchaser. The objective of this workshop is to illustrate the breadth of the problem and the disciplines that can be used to reduce the risks of receiving and accepting such components into your business.
19 November 2008 Emerging Technologies - how to take advantage of new technology without compromising system performanceSemiconductor component development has been driven for the last few years by the mass markets of mobile phones and consumer electronics. The main considerations for these markets are performance and cost. Semiconductors used are not designed to survive military/aerospace environments and have very limited guaranteed longevity. Opportunities exist for high-rel applications to benefit from cost reductions and advances made in consumer electronics, for example in communication technologies such as Bluetooth, ultra-high speed processing, miniature cameras and new applications such as active cable monitoring. However, the new technologies that drive these advances are not designed for longevity and are prone to additional effects, such as Single Event Upsets (SEU), limited operating temperature ranges and short operational life. High-rel applications will require alternate design techniques to overcome the limitations of these emerging technologies. This workshop will look at some of the new technologies, especially electronics packaging, the opportunities available to high-rel design and the limitations that have to be worked around. The workshop will be of particular benefit to project managers, design engineers and anyone involved in the selection and review of advanced microelectronics to be used in high-rel or longer-life equipment (2-10 years and beyond).
14 January 2009 Developing an Obsolescence StrategyComponent obsolescence continues to be an ever-growing problem throughout the manufacturing industries. A strategic approach is required to manage the issues and challenges of an increasingly volatile component supply chain. This workshop is intended to provide suggestions and ideas so that delegates may formulate obsolescence and product life management strategies appropriate to their own products, organisation and industry Topics to be covered include:
This workshop is interactive, with delegates being prepared to discuss and share their own experiences and approaches to Obsolescence Management
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