AI-Led Sustainability Strategy: Driving Product Value from Birth to Disposal

Product development in Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Turbomachinery and Aviation sectors are associated with complex engineering challenges and long lead time to materialize products. More so in Aerospace and Aviation sectors, unlike other sectors, they are highly cost intensive, consuming few millions of dollars for introducing minor modifications to billions of dollars for a major modifications along with regulatory constrains. In addition, the product development cycle is spread over years ranging from a couple of years for minor modification to nearly a decade or more for major modifications. The profitability of the product is derived through its Safety, Reliability and Availability in operation. The product is maintained in service until it sustains value in its operation and is discarded if the value deteriorates and the cost of upkeep exceeds the product value. Product Value in the present context is not the price tag but encompasses intangible elements like brand value, reputation etc., in addition to the monetary expenses for its upkeep and operation. Hence Sustaining Value of the product has been a major driver for the OEMs and associated service industries. The article presents an overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI) led, integrated strategy that could be adopted by organizations to Sustain the Value of the product. Technology development is a key enabler for Sustenance Management and the article presents how evolving technologies are leveraged and challenges associated with deploying some of the technologies available to enhance Sustenance Management. In addition, some established frameworks for sustenance management and associated Tools/processes are discussed. The article also attempts to distinguish Sustenance Management and Sustainability Management adopted by Organizations which is often used inter-changeably, by bringing out distinct differences between them.