An initial electronic fingerprint for a vehicle and selected component of the vehicle, e.g. an aircraft windshield having a heatable member, is made. During operation of the aircraft, the initial electronic fingerprint of the aircraft and a real time electronic fingerprint of the aircraft are compared to determine the operating performance of the heatable member. The parameter that provides the performance of the component includes a time count within a predetermined time period. As the time count increases during the predetermined time period, the performance of the heatable member toward unacceptable performance increases.