Changing Societal Expectations and the Need for Dynamic Asset Lifecycling and Obsolescence Management

Current revolutions within the consumer electronics market are having dramatic effects upon how businesses are able to deliver their services with the continued embedding of technology within our lives. Conversely, this is currently having a direct impact upon long life assets with life expectancy in the region of 15+ years, an impact, which is believed to only increase. The term asset in this context refers to systems and their internal components, for example security systems and their orthogonal components i.e. intruder detector components, CCTV cameras, recording equipment, automated security doors, controls etc. This is a rather middle to top-level view upon the term asset and components; you will find literature referring to components as the individual electrical and material elements of a product. The mismatching of lifecycles due to contrasting market conditions is driving unforeseen obsolescence investments across the Built Environment, highlighting the current neglect of obsolescence within static asset lifecycle planning. As society changes, so do the expectations of service delivery from the Built Environment. The pressures imposed by these changes upon Facilities Managers will demand resultant changes in how services are delivered, maintained and supported throughout their useful lives. It is the combination of societal demands for a greater connected, interactive and smarter Built Environment and the effects of technological change upon obsolescence that will be covered in this paper. This paper will build upon a current Engineering Doctorate project into obsolescence and asset management to speculate both the importance of developing a dynamic approach to planning asset lifecycles and possibly how this would materialise in the future. Evidence will be provided in the form of a case study, reviewed literature and current live trends, supporting the title of this paper. The main conclusions include the growing evidence that what is being witnessed across the Built Environment will likely increase and also that more advanced industries have experienced the same problems previously. It is therefore seen as a growth area for the Built Environment to reduce the impact of obsolescence and ensure that service delivery continues to meet societal expectations.