Glossary & Reference

81. Lifecycle Engineering

Lifecycle Engineering is the discipline through which an Engineering Entity is planned, designed, produced, verified, delivered, installed, operated, maintained, changed, retired, and recovered as one continuous engineering responsibility.

Lifecycle Engineering considers:

requirements and design intent;

sourcing and manufacturing;

logistics and installation;

inspection and commissioning;

operation and maintenance;

repair, replacement, and upgrade;

disassembly, reuse, and remanufacturing;

recycling, recovery, and disposal;

associated physical, digital, economic, environmental, and evidentiary records.

Decisions made in one lifecycle period shall consider their effects on later periods. Reduced initial cost shall not justify unacceptable maintenance, safety, accessibility, waste, or recovery burdens.

Lifecycle Engineering shall preserve identities, configurations, responsibilities, evidence, events, and unresolved conditions across organizational and technological changes.

The lifecycle is not necessarily linear. Components may be repaired, requalified, reconfigured, reused, or returned to manufacturing processes multiple times.

Lifecycle Engineering does not require prediction of every future condition. It requires that foreseeable transitions, uncertainties, replacement needs, and end-of-life responsibilities be intentionally considered rather than left undocumented.