This Appendix sets out a generic product life cycle plan template (hereinafter ‘the template’) to guide the development of a product specific product life cycle plan (hereinafter ‘the plan’). The manufacturer of an avionics product in series production is expected to maintain a plan for each product and to maintain the plan current throughout the life cycle as the hardware design evolves for any reason. Modifications may occur for a variety of reasons, e.g., functional upgrade, obsolescence recovery, and reliability improvement. Given the dynamic nature of both the product market and the supply base, it may be advantageous for the plan owner to implement it as a data or web-based computer application utilizing live data feeds from various engineering and manufacturing IT infrastructure assets, but this is not a requirement.
1. PURPOSE
Avionics products are in a constant state of evolution as the availability of manufacturing facilities, materiel and customer demand changes over time. Current life cycle management processes mostly react to changes in order backlog or to EOL notices issued by component suppliers. One of a number of available actions (e.g., BB, LTB, redesign, and EOL) is then selected and the process repeats until EOL. The reactive approach typically provides only 6-12 months of reaction time. This is insufficient for the longer term planning that is necessary to implement and certify complex design change and to efficiently manage the wider portfolio of multiple product life cycles that share common components. Efficient management of the life cycles requires that a product plan be established for each product early on so that investment and recurring cost optimized decision points can be planned for and the necessary materiel, budget and staffing can be prioritized among competing demands. A product life cycle plan shows the expected substance and timing of life cycle events that would impact the avionics supplier’s ability or willingness to continue with production and support of a particular product and what actions are to be taken at those events.
It is assumed that product design and modification will be accomplished in satisfaction of the, as from time to time amended, currently applicable Title 14 CFR airworthiness assurance regulations, standards and guidance and that the supplier will maintain documented processes and procedures to accomplish this.
The template defines a set of objectives to be met by the plan, categorized under various headings. The template does not specify or define how those objectives will be satisfied; activities to satisfy the objectives and the resulting artifacts will be defined in the plan, or incorporated by reference to managed and documented standards and procedures.
It is expected that;
• The referenced internal company standards and procedures will be controlled under the manufacturer’s approved configuration management and quality system.
• This template will be available to regulators and customers to guide their evaluation of a plan offered or proposed by an avionics supplier.
• The avionics product manufacturer will develop, for internal use only, a plan according to the provisions of this template.
• The plan is not required to be (but may be) publicly available since it may contain proprietary information.
• Disclosure of the plan may be subject to the terms of a proprietary information agreement if so desired by the manufacturer.
• The avionics product manufacturer will provide regular evidence of continued plan compliance.
There is no expectation that the plan will be provided to regulators or customers, since it may include confidential, proprietary or competition sensitive information. For plan compliance, see section 6 of this Appendix.
The manufacturer may choose to minimize product life cycle costs by using optimization methods for the selection and timing of upgrades, obsolescence recoveries and EOL or end of support (EOS) notification. Manufacturers are free to optimize a product plan atomically or globally across a portfolio of products.
Explanatory notes are given in italicized text. These are intended for guidance only; they are not intended to be plan objectives. The plan owner may use any suitable, documented methods and processes to accomplish the objectives.
2. SCOPE
This template is applicable to a product life cycle plan for any avionics product.
3. REFERENCES
For dated references, the issue of the given date shall be applicable; otherwise the latest issue is applicable.
[1] IEC, “Preparation of an Electronic Components Management Plan,” Geneva TS 62239, May 2003.
No other references are provided. It is expected that all activities associated with life cycle management will satisfy the current and applicable Title 14 CFR Regulations, Guidance, Policy and Standards as from time to time amended.
4. DEFINITIONS
First we provide some definitions of terms used in this appendix.
Term Definition
Product An avionics product whose design authority is held by the plan owner
Component A COTS electronic component, material, non-repairable sub- assembly, software code version, software license, IP version, or IP license listed in the product BOM. A component carries a unique component manufacturer part number recorded in the users
component information database that is linked to the AEH product manufacturer’s internal unique part number
LTB date Date by which a LTB of a product should be made. No further orders can be entered after this date.
BOM Bill of Materials for a product comprising a list of components used for product manufacture, test and release
EOL End of Life of a component or product. The product will no longer be manufactured
EOS End of Support
• of a product – will no longer be maintained or supported by the plan owner
• of a repairable sub-assembly – will no longer be maintained or supported by the sub-assembly manufacturer or his licensed designees
EOL Notice A document detailing any or all of a product EOL date, EOS date or LTB date
Functionally obsolete Forecast demand is zero or small
Obsolete A component is not manufactured by any source. Diminishing stock may continue to be available from holdings or the market
Licensing Transfer of product design authority, production drawings, tooling, test procedures, test software and technical documentation to a third party
Product life cycle Extends from initial product type sale to the later of EOL or EOS date
Product life cycle plan template
A document detailing the contents of a product life cycle plan (this document)
Product life cycle plan A detailed plan for the management of a product life cycle in accordance with the provisions of this template
Regulator Internationally recognized aviation safety organization that approves certification applications, e.g., FAA, EASA
In the sub-sections that follow, 25 plan objectives in 7 groups are defined. A product plan shall show how each of these objectives is satisfied. Mandatory requirements are indicated by “shall”.
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY SHOW SATISFACTION BY ANY SUITABLE MEANS INCLUDING BY REFERENCE
TO OTHER CONTROLLED COMPANY DOCUMENTS OR DATA SOURCES.
A. PLAN SCOPE AND MAINTENANCE
Objective-01: Each certified avionics product currently in production, maintained or supported by the plan owner shall have a plan
Objective-02: The plan shall be revised on significant events to reflect new or updated information
NOTE:MANUFACTURERS SHOULD DEFINE APPROPRIATE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS, E.G. COMPONENT EOL
NOTICES, CHANGE IN PRODUCT DEMAND, PRODUCT UPGRADES.
Objective-03: The plan shall cover the planned life cycle up to the later of EOL or EOS Objective-04: The plan owner shall manage the plan under an approved configuration control
system
Objective-05: The plan shall identify the plan owner organization responsible for maintenance of the plan
Objective-06: The plan shall identify the documented implementation procedures that assure conformance to this template
Objective-07: The plan shall identify exceptions to this template
NOTE: IT IS EXPECTED THAT PRODUCTS WILL BE IN A CONTINUAL STATE OF EVOLUTION THROUGH
FUNCTIONAL UPGRADES AND OBSOLESCENCE RECOVERY ACTIONS THROUGHOUT THE LIFE
CYCLE.THE PLAN WILL LIKEWISE BE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF EVOLUTION
B. PRODUCT DEMAND
Objective-08: The plan shall identify the expected product demand profile showing the expected volume for each planning period over the planned product life cycle
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY USE ANY PLANNING PERIOD, TYPICALLY 1 YEAR HOWEVER SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS MAY PROMPT A PLAN REVISION
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY ELECT TO EOL A PRODUCT IF THE FORECAST DEMAND FALLS BELOW AN
ECONOMIC RATE OF PRODUCTION
Objective-09: The plan shall identify the expected repair component demand profile over the product life cycle for each component on the BOM for each planning period
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY USE ANY PLANNING PERIOD, TYPICALLY 1 YEAR
D. PRODUCT MODIFICATION
Objective-10: The plan shall identify the dates when product modifications are intended to be performed
Objective-11: The plan shall identify the manufacturers documented procedures and processes applicable to modifications
NOTE: PRODUCT MODIFICATIONS MAY OCCUR WHEN PERFORMING OBSOLESCENCE RECOVERY OR FOR
A VARIETY OF OTHER REASONS
E. PRODUCT EOL OR EOS
Objective-12: The plan shall identify planned product EOL and EOS dates, if any Objective-13: The plan shall identify if and when the product is planned to be licensed
Objective-14: Plan ownership shall be transferred to the licensee when the product is licensed Objective-15: An SB or SIL shall be issued to known users and customers within a reasonable
amount of time identifying the announced product EOL or EOS dates
NOTE: THE PRODUCT MANUFACTURER MAY OPT TO LICENSE THE PRODUCT AT ANY TIME
NOTE: IT IS NORMALLY EXPECTED THAT EOL WILL PRECEDE EOS, BUT THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE
NOTE: PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS MAY ELECT TO OBSOLETE A PRODUCT THROUGH AN EOLNOTICE
IF THE NECESSARY MODIFICATIONS WOULD BE TECHNICALLY OR ECONOMICALLY INFEASIBLE
F. COMPONENT OBSOLESCENCE, SELECTION AND USE
Objective-16: The plan shall maintain a current estimate of the expected obsolescence date of all components on the BOM
Objective-17: The plan shall forecast the dates and quantity of component LTBs Objective-18: The plan shall forecast the expected timing for the obsolescence of each
component
Objective-19: The plan shall identify the expected recovery action(s) for each forecast obsolescence event
Objective-20: The forecast component obsolescence date shall be updated in the plan if a new or alternate component is added or substituted in the BOM
Objective-21: The plan shall maintain a current forecast of run out dates for LTB/BB stock holdings
NOTE: COMPONENTS WILL BE SELECTED AND USED ACCORDING TO THE SUPPLIERS DOCUMENTED
PROCESSES.TYPICALLY THESE INCLUDE AN APPROVED ELECTRONIC COMPONENT
MANAGEMENT PLAN (ECMP) COMPLIANT TO IECTS62239(REFERENCE [1]IN THIS
APPENDIX)
NOTE: WHEN THE FUTURE OBSOLESCENCE DATE IS NOT KNOWN, AS IS THE CASE PRIOR TO THE ISSUE
OF A COMPONENT EOLNOTICE, THE OBSOLESCENCE DATE MAY BE ESTIMATED BY THE PLAN
OWNER’S OWN METHODS OR BY USING AN ESTIMATED VALUE PROVIDED BY A COMMERCIAL
COMPONENT INFORMATION SERVICE
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY CHOOSE TO CONSOLIDATE AND ALIGN OBSOLESCENCE RECOVERIES BY
THE USE OF BBS
G. DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING TOOLS AND FACILITIES
Objective-22: The plan shall identify the tools and facilities necessary to design, modify and verify product hardware and software
Objective-23: The plan shall identify the procedures and processes used to preserve the
availability of product hardware and software design facilities and tools until the later of the EOL or EOS dates
Objective-24: The plan shall specify the actions necessary to preserve the availability of product manufacturing process, materials, facilities and tooling until the later of the EOL or EOS dates
Objective-25: The plan shall identify the expected obsolescence date of the product manufacturing process, materials, facilities or tooling
NOTE: MANUFACTURERS MAY ELECT TO REPEATEDLY SUB-CONTRACT MANUFACTURING TO APPROVED
SUPPLIER WHILE RETAINING DESIGN AUTHORITY
NOTE: DOCUMENTATION ON THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF TOOLS AND FACILITIES WILL NORMALLY
BE MANAGED WITHIN THE NORMAL PRODUCT OR PROCESS DOCUMENTATION
6. PLAN COMPLIANCE
The plan shall be deemed accepted when the plan owner and the type certificate holder agree that the plan is acceptable to both parties, if the type certificate holder chooses to exercise the right of plan acceptance. Certification by a mutually acceptable and internationally recognized assessment body may be used as evidence that the plan satisfies the objectives of this document.