Planned obsolescence
The Planned obsolescence, wear and planned or built-in vulnerability, is a special form of obsolescence.
The lifetime of products from the manufacturers is intentionally reduced. The phenomenon was already the subject of several scientific and social debates, but is still not clearly defined. In particular, the proof of intentionality and the demarcation from the breaking point is difficult.
Definition
The term dates back to the publication Ending the Depression Through Planned Obsolescence by Bernard London in the year 1932.
What is meant with him now a part of a product strategy in which during the manufacturing process aware of weaknesses in the product in question installed solutions to their expiry dates and / or raw materials are used of inferior quality, leading to it that the product is quickly damaged or defective will not and can not be used in full.
On the planned obsolescence also includes measures which do not focus on the direct ( destruction) of disturbance of the actual functionality, but consciously incorporate ways of wear. So may be affected by such selection of material the look and feel of a product that ( say) a direct comparison with new products can stand the latter significantly better after the expiry of the warranty period, than would be the case with a mere comparison of their functionality. So be aware slightly Required push trays or enclosures are used with artificial leather proportions as in mobile phones that appear worn significantly after some time.
It is also possible the incorporation of mechanisms that after a certain number of operating hours (which it should be greater than the warranty period) cause either a destruction of important functional components or at least feign an anomaly. The device can not be documented only by one in the manual, only the service technicians familiar action be brought back on track. The latter was (and probably still is) in some PC printers the case. Also due to incorrect or inadequate information on use and repair instructions, the longevity of products can be shortened.
Delimitation of a predetermined breaking point
A predetermined breaking point is a defined security feature of a product, which is deliberately included to meet safety requirements in the event of operation outside pre-defined operating parameters. The Duden describes as a breaking point a " point in one component or the like. , Which is designed so that in the event of damage, only here it breaks. " This feature is planned and documented open as a feature or part of the security concept. From other security measures, such as Most relief valves are rated break points are different insofar as it is no longer useful after release the product. A breaking point has the property of fail-safe. This means that the product in the event of an overload or a technical or human error ( "failure" ) fails in a defined way, which neither men nor endangered attracts more technical collateral damage by itself. To cracks in complex devices ideally designed so that the affected component is easy and cheap to replace.
An example from the mechanics are shear bolts which shear in the event of an overload, thus interrupting the power flow. This behavior is more secure than the continued operation of damage or a break in the system to an unpredictable place, with unpredictable consequences.
Also all fuses in power supplies are predetermined breaking points. They are documented in the design schematics of the equipment and should also be listed in the user-accessible documentation. Borderline safeguards against engine overheating example of kitchen appliances that are not documented in the user documentation nor exchangeable and therefore are mostly mean the end of life of the device, but on the other hand, clearly serve the fire protection and appeal resulting from improper use or a defect. The installation of a slightly more complex solution such as a self- resetting thermal fuse or a replaceable fuse and documentation would ensure both the protection of the device and its re-use. Here obsolescence is not scheduled immediately, but may consciously in favor of lower production costs at the expense of life into account.
A well designed breaking point does not reduce the durability or usability of a product, but only for product safety. The installation safety unnecessary or sensitive predetermined breaking points can be motivated by excessive caution, or simply be the result of faulty dimensioning. Planned obsolescence is in such cases of regular breaking points are not always clearly distinguishable, evidence to assess this, sometimes, however, offer the documentation and, if necessary, repair ability of such breaking points.
Differentiation from aging and wear
Wear or aging many components inherent, for example, mechanical components, electronic components such as light bulbs and Elektrolytkondesatoren or gas discharge lamps. By choice and purity of the raw materials as well as the more or less good mastery of production technologies occur in components of the same type serious differences in quality, which often but not always reflected, in the price. Furthermore, there are component parameters such as voltage and temperature stress, which may have great influence on the life and can be exploited in the dimensioning by the developer, more or less.
From a planned Osoleszenz one can speak when a manufacturer deliberately (not only to save costs) takes a failure of components in purchase and this correlates with the warranty period. Often, these plans have not prove or distinguish from a unsustainable sizing or incorrect component type selection. Influences how usage habits or environmental factors make it difficult to specifically dimensioned on downtime back. Nevertheless, the cost minimization is the disadvantage of the reasonable lifetime of a product in itself an engineering technically dubious procedure.
Development
As the inventor of " planned obsolescence " applies Alfred P. Sloan, who in his capacity as President of GM- annual configuration changes and modifications on automobiles introduced in the 1920s. With this strategy, he wanted to bring consumers to once every three years to buy a new car.
A frequently cited case is that of Phoebuskartells founded in 1924, in which the nominal focal length of incandescent lamps was limited internationally to no more than 1000 hours.
Often, whilst ensuring that a repair would be excessively expensive or not even possible, so that the customer must replace the Product with a new or wants. The planned obsolescence is independent of the product life cycle, which is not related to the durability of each product, but the entire period of the development to sales end.
Frequency of the phenomenon
The German Federal Environment Agency has announced a research project in April 2013, which is to investigate the "phenomenon of obsolescence " of electrical appliances for residential consumers.
A report for the Parliamentary Group of Alliance 90/The Greens in the spring of 2013, according to enter the households in Germany per year, an estimated 101 billion euros more than necessary, because the shelf life of many products has been artificially reduced. The report does not mention any statistics on the scale of the phenomenon.
Stiftung Warentest found in 2013 tests no signs of planned obsolescence in the sense of breaking points, but criticized the lack of quality. Were examined, among other things washers and LED lamps in candle form.
The Technical testing organization Semiconductors Test & Test GmbH ( HTV ) announced in June 2013 that she found a "multitude of examples of products," were true to the company's internal definition of built- break points. Striking is "the use of special heat sensitive components (eg electrolytic capacitors ) in close proximity to heat sources ." The company has been certified since April 2013, products with no " planned, lebensdauerbegrenzende breaking points " with the seal of HTV -life.
Computers and Electronics
The service life of electrical components is predetermined in part by their basic structure. Examples are the chemical processes in electrolytic capacitors and batteries, the electromigration in tension loaded Hochohmwiderständen and self-healing processes in film capacitors. Also, the data retention EEPROM is often guaranteed for a minimum period. Supposedly you can so the service life of a device such as be adjusted over the life of electrolytic capacitors which have been extensively studied. In contrast, however, the quality of these capacitors is particularly cost- sensitive, and would unduly saving measures often lead to failures before the warranty period.
Failures due to faulty components or unfavorable constructive solutions cause great economic losses and costs. For example, a frequent source of error in ear headphones and are cable breaks, the superfine through use, but would avoid expensive strands. Due to the usually low purchase prices repair is often uneconomical.
For many components from the manufacturer a failure rate or MTBF is specified, are based on the operating conditions (eg ambient temperature, current or voltage stress, humidity). Bring about planned outages on the basis of this information requires at least constant, equal conditions of use and is therefore difficult.
Allegations to operate Planned obsolescence, met in 2013 and the processor manufacturer Intel, with the new CPU generation Intel Haswell - microarchitecture. In this thermal connection of the chip and heat spreader and is made to dissipate heat through thermal paste. Previously, this area was soldered. As a result of Intel in production, although savings of a few cents per CPU. These are Critics, however, no relation to the retail price of about 250 euro for performance CPUs such as the i7- 4770K and its susceptibility to failures due to overheating. In contrast, the chip bonding is due to the heat sink by means of solder a technological challenge, particularly for large-scale, alternating thermal strains exposed to chips: it occur thermally induced mechanical stresses that can cause aging of the solder joint or the chip.
The manufacturers of RAM memories and PC power supplies advertise in contrast with warranty periods of ten years or even a lifetime (DDR3- RAM bars). Here it is assumed that a rapid renewal rate of the technology, why not really such comparatively extremely high lifetimes must be planned.
The manufacturers of inkjet printers are partly in criticism to operate planned obsolescence. Some devices set their service after a certain number have been carried out by cleaning operations of the print head, regardless of whether the waste ink sponge is actually already soaked or not. The device must then be disposed of because it is so constructed that the replacement of the sponge for the layman is too complicated and the repair by the skilled person would exceed the residual value of the equipment.
In software, the open source movement can be seen as a critical backlash against planned obsolescence: Software products under a free software license (eg GPL) can not be planned through the guarantee of the source code and finally phased out (how else to deal with proprietary software products available).
Economic theory of planned obsolescence
Various studies devoted to the question of the conditions under which products are offered with inefficient shorter life spans.
The journal Journal of Consumer Policy (now the Journal of Consumer Policy) devoted himself since 1975 with a number of reviews of the topic. Were involved, inter alia, Burkhardt Roper, Karl -Heinz Hill, Gerhard Bodenstein, Hans Leuer, Hans Raffée and Klaus Peter Wiedmann.
The economist Jeremy Bulows examined in 1986, the phenomenon theoretical model. He came to the conclusion that planned obsolescence would depend on the market structure. An incentive would only monopoly on non- contestable markets, whilst competitors of a Cournot oligopoly would tend to produce products with higher durability.
Discourse
Andreas Hirstein designated in the NZZ am Sonntag " planned obsolescence in terms of specific products - self-destruction to stimulate consumption " as an urban legend. He argued that manufacturers would have to make a trade-off between life span and price or willingness to pay on the other side. That conclusion is contrary to that often cost-neutral or with very little effort (cost ) feasible changes cause a significant life extension of products. The actions of some printer manufacturers for non- reusability of Empty Printer Cartridges even require additional costs.