What MRO Teams in Chemical Manufacturing Are Getting Wrong About Obsolescence Planning

What MRO Teams in Chemical Manufacturing Are Getting Wrong About Obsolescence Planning

In an industry driven by uptime, safety, and cost control, chemical manufacturing teams have done a remarkable job advancing digital transformation—implementing predictive maintenance, automating asset monitoring, and streamlining workflows with cloud-based CMMS platforms.

But there’s one blind spot that continues to trip up even the most sophisticated MRO teams:

A lack of proactive planning for electrical and power component obsolescence.

It’s not just a technical oversight. It's a supply chain vulnerability, a compliance risk, and a hidden cost center that can turn a routine failure into days—or even weeks—of unplanned downtime.

 

 

The Reality: Obsolescence Risk Is Accelerating

Many chemical facilities still rely on drives, controllers, and power modules installed 15–25 years ago. These legacy systems are often in good working order—until a failure occurs and the part in question has been long discontinued by the OEM.

According to ARC Advisory Group:

More than 60% of industrial facilities in North America are running assets beyond their original design life.

And when these systems fail, standard procurement practices—POs routed through ERP systems, blanket orders with national distributors—don’t work. That’s because obsolete IGBTs, drivers, and semiconductors aren't readily available in traditional channels.

 

 

Five Common Mistakes MRO Teams Make with Obsolescence Planning

Let’s break down what’s going wrong—and what smarter teams are starting to do instead:

1. “We’ll deal with it when it breaks.”

This reactive mindset turns routine maintenance into crisis response. Without a plan in place, teams scramble, delays mount, and the plant risks production losses or safety shutdowns.

What to do instead: Develop a critical spares list and regularly review BOMs for aging equipment with end-of-life (EOL) components.

 

 

2. Relying Only on the OEM or Preferred Vendor List

OEMs phase out older SKUs frequently, especially after product line changes or acquisitions. Major vendors prioritize high-volume current components—not niche legacy parts.

What to do instead: Build relationships with specialty suppliers who focus on legacy and obsolete component sourcing.

 

 

3. No Visibility Into Part Lifecycles

Many facilities have no formal tracking of EOL dates or product lifecycle status. That means teams often find out a part is obsolete only after it fails—and discover it takes 8 to 12 weeks to replace.

What to do instead: Use asset lifecycle management tools (many CMMS platforms now support this) to flag at-risk parts and plan ahead.

 

 

4. Not Factoring Obsolescence into Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance helps anticipate failures—but what if the part you’re predicting a failure for is no longer manufactured? That’s a serious blind spot.

What to do instead: Integrate obsolescence data into PdM models and maintenance schedules. If a part is both high-risk and obsolete, replacement planning becomes essential.

 

 

5. Assuming Global Marketplaces Are a Safety Net

Many teams turn to overseas marketplaces or brokers when they’re in a bind. But this introduces risk: counterfeits, shipping delays, lack of traceability, and zero post-sale support.

What to do instead: Identify vetted, reliable sources for obsolete components well before they’re needed.

 

 

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Obsolescence risk isn't theoretical—it has measurable financial consequences.

  • A study by Aberdeen Group found that unscheduled downtime costs process manufacturers $260,000 per hour on average.
  • Deloitte reports that 36% of unplanned downtime is caused by equipment failure due to aging or unavailable parts.

In the chemical industry, where operations are continuous and heavily regulated, the impact is even greater—ranging from production losses and wasted batches to safety hazards and compliance violations.

 

 

Smarter MRO Teams Are Getting Ahead

The most resilient chemical plants are taking a proactive, data-driven approach to obsolescence planning:

  • Conducting spares audits with engineering and procurement teams
  • Tagging components as EOL or obsolete in their asset records
  • Establishing relationships with trusted specialty suppliers
  • Budgeting ahead for known high-risk replacements

They see obsolescence not as an isolated maintenance issue, but as part of a broader asset management and risk mitigation strategy.

 

 

Where ATI Fits In

At ATI Accurate Technology Inc., we help chemical manufacturers bridge the gap between predictive maintenance and real-world part availability.

We specialize in:

  • Sourcing obsolete and end-of-life IGBTs, power semiconductors, drivers, and modules
  • Maintaining verified inventory in North America
  • Providing same-day shipping with responsive customer support

Whether you’re maintaining a legacy drive system or planning for a future controls upgrade, we can help reduce downtime, sourcing risk, and stress on your MRO team.

If you're currently facing a hard-to-find component issue—or want to get ahead of one—we’re here to help.

Email: websales@igbt.us.com

Phone: 239.734.7566

 

 

#ChemicalManufacturing #MRO #ObsolescencePlanning #PlantMaintenance #LegacySystems #SupplyChainResilience #IndustrialProcurement

 

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