Last June we took at a look at the 3 most common PacDrive M search terms to see the main issues facing users. These were:
- Troubleshooting which included:
- Error Diagnosis and ReportingFirmware and Software CompatibilityCommunication and Connectivity Issues
- Spare Parts:
- Obsolete Components
- Compatibility of Replacements
- Global Availability
- Long-Term Maintenance Strategies
- Obsolescence Planning
- Preventative Maintenance
- Partial Upgrades
- Emergency Support
- Site Risk Assessment
Now, 12 months later the search terms look like this:
- Manual/operating manual:
- documentation to install, configure or troubleshoot systems.
- operating manuals and programming guides.
- Upgrade/replacement/obsolescence:
- strategies to manage end‑of‑life and how to extend its life.
- upgrading or partial upgrading of PacDrive M to e.g. PacDrive 3.
- Faults/diagnostics/error codes
- help diagnosing issues.
- diagnostic messaging and error handling used in troubleshooting.
Whilst the headline topics may appear to differ the underlying content remains largely the same. This is probably not surprising given it is now 8 years since PacDrive M became obsolete. However, many companies around the world – not just the UK – continue to use PacDrive M. If they have few issues then there is no reason why they cannot continue to do so for some years to come. But, they would of course need a proper obsolescence management plan in place which should include:
- establishing a specialist spares partner for sourcing legacy PacDrive M items.
- finding a partner for repairs.
- identifying internal skills gaps and ensuring engineers have appropriate training.
- additional 3rd party PacDrive M expertise offering lifecycle support.
Treating PacDrive M as a long term asset with the appropriate specialist support can extend its working life-time. It also allows for a proper planned migration to PacDrive when the time is right avoiding what could be signicant costs for premature replacement.
So in conclusion there’s been little change over the past 12 months. We’ll maybe take another look in June 27, but would anyone bet there will have been significant developments by then?