Product lifecycle has been under constant redefinition over the past decades. Driven by changes in the concepts of downstream responsibility for customer satisfaction, warranty support, and recapture, it has become necessary to plan product life well beyond the shipping dock. As product operating lifetimes begin clashing with component lifecycles and availability, warranty support and end–of–life component inventories for lifetime product support become critical items. Producer responsibility is now being extended by statute to recapture and reprocessing of the spent products post-life. This along with new and robust accounting rules are forcing companies to come to grips with proper warranty and end-of-life financial reserves that affect their company’s bottom line finances thus driving a new focus into product lifecycle planning.

To better understand the product lifecycle concept and complexities, DCA has developed the figure shown above. This represents a stylized depiction of a typical product lifecycle broken into 6 major phases from product concept through disposal and take-back. The following paragraphs give a brief description of the key elements of each phase.

Phase 0: Concept

It is during this conceptual phase of product development that the product’s functional and cost objectives, requirements, and initial specifications are determined before any actual design work occurs. This stage must also take into consideration existing and emerging environmental requirements that may impact the product during its lifecycle. These requirements include restrictions on the usage of certain materials, as well as additional requirements regarding power consumption and carbon footprint. Expect future regulations to look at the entire ecological impact of the product from raw material extraction to energy and hazardous substance issues associated with recapture and reuse or recycling. Do you know what these emerging regulations are? Do your product teams know? DCA can keep you informed and also insure your special needs are identified to those agencies drafting these new regulations and standards.

Phase 1: Design

Product conception is complete, specifications are developed, and the project moves to the design teams. There are many areas to be focused on here:

• How well do they understand the environmental design parameters?
• Do they have the proper tools and knowledge to make the correct supplier and technology choices to support this product through a lifetime of emerging (and tightening) standards and accelerated component and technology obsolescence curves?
• Are they capturing material content and MSL information from the supplier during this period of maximum leverage?
• Are DFE and DFM requirements properly understood and communicated across all stakeholders including subcontractors?

The wrong choices here can mean shortened product lifecycles, increased warranty costs, inability to meet customer disclosure requirements and expensive redesign. DCA can educate your engineers about environmental regulation, audit your business processes, and keep you informed of emerging regulations and standards.

Phase 2: Prototype and New Product Introduction/Launch

This phase includes design verification and manufacturing readiness.

• How robust is your new product introduction process?
• How do you insure your products are in compliance with all applicable government and customer environmental requirements?
• How do you know you have met all of the design objectives and you truly have a robust supply chain to support this product?
• Have all the components been properly qualified to the new higher temperature assembly processes?
• Have the shop floor systems been updated to address the changed MSL ratings for some components?
• Are your subcontractors on-board and up to date with data and engineering changes?

Look to DCA for the answers. Our highly skilled auditing team can research your business processes, make recommendations and audit to determine compliance.

Phase 3: Manufacturing & Production

The product is delivered to manufacturing and the ramp to volume begins. Here is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. Now we see how well we did in the earlier phases. Hopefully the qualification of your manufacturing partner has been thorough and complete. You should already know how they manage their raw material inventories to insure product and supply chain integrity and conformance to hazardous materials directives. Their processes should have already been qualified to the new SAC profiles and they have the proper training and skill necessary to insure quality in this new manufacturing environment. Your component engineering and materials management people have properly positioned the suppliers and staged the material necessary for launch. Your data systems are up-to-date and communicating properly with your subcontractors.

All systems are go and you can take a much needed break. – Wrong! Now is not the time to let down the guard. Constant surveillance is the key to continuing high quality production. Periodic supplier audits and reviews are necessary to keep processes aligned. Compliance audits requested by customers or governmental agencies require hoards of real-time data available upon demand. Everlasting vigilance is required to insure systems are properly built to specification without unapproved material substitutions or counterfeit parts.

How well does your company do? Are your product ramps timely and trouble-free? If you are having problems, DCA can help. With our Black-Belt certified quality engineers and our extensive industry experience, we can audit your systems and processes and make recommendations, train, or otherwise assist in taking corrective actions. We stand ready to deploy resources to your site(s) should you need help in any of these areas. Better yet, let us help proactively before the critical launch. We can provide a readiness audit that will ensure a trouble free product ramp.

Phase 4: Use and End of Life Support

Products are pouring off the line and into the hands of our customers. Our attention now turns to warranty support, upgrades, and End-of-Life (EOL) issues.

Now is the real test of how well you qualified the suppliers and the components and how robust your technology roadmap was.

• Are you faced with increasing difficulty obtaining replacement parts?
• Are you using the non-franchised distributor marketplace and dealing with brokers for EOL components?
• Are you being forced to take financial risks with “last time buy” notices from your suppliers?

There are very real risks associated with all of the above. The breakdown of the qualified supply chain allows easy entry of counterfeit or altered branded materials. Design Chain Associates can assist you in proper planning for EOL supply. We understand the risks associated with the gray market and can point you to reputable brokers and test facilities that can substantiate the origin of the products. Better yet, we can assist you in other proactive means of maintaining an EOL inventory at reduced cost.

Phase 5: Disposal and Take-Back

We go into detail in this area under our environmental service offerings. Here is an abbreviated list of common questions:

• How well have you designed your products for disassembly? Recovery? Recycleability?
• How do these things affect your final costs?
• Are you taking proper financial reserves?
• What is producer responsibility?
• How do you define producer? (hint-it varies)
• Are you aware of EU WEEE regulations? Do you know how to register and comply?
• Do you know which states in the US have enacted take-back and recycling laws? Do you know how they differ from state to state?
• How well do you understand emerging requirements in China? Korea? Japan?

At DCA, this is our core business. Count on us for the answers to these and other questions as well as high quality translations of international regulations. DCA is a regular advisor to the policy-making legislative branches of these governments as well as serving on industry councils and nongovernmental organizations that specialize in environmental issues. Let DCA be your total solution to keeping abreast and compliant in this rapidly evolving area.

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