Life Cycle Costing for Engineers

The life cycle cost is the sum of all costs incurred during the life time of an item. In today’s global economy, the procurement decisions of many engineering products are not entirely made on initial procurement costs alone but on their life cycle costs. Past experiences indicate that product ownership cost often exceeds the procurement cost. Eliminating the need to consult many different sources, this book brings together useful life cycle costing concepts for various industrial sectors. It explores the economics of life cycle costing, presents introductory engineering reliability and maintainability concepts, and includes numerous examples with solutions.

Cradle-to-grave analyses are becoming the norm, as an increasing amount of corporations and government agencies are basing their procurement decisions not only on initial costs but also on life cycle costs. And while life cycle costing has been covered in journals and conference proceedings, few, if any, books have gathered this information into an easily accessible resource. Eliminating the need to consult many different sources, Life Cycle Costing for Engineers brings together up-to-date life cycle costing concepts and explains their application in various industrial sectors.

The author sets the scene with a chapter on fundamental economics followed by a chapter on reliability and maintainability, providing background information and platform for further understanding. He then discusses life cycle costing fundamentals, models and estimation methods, reliability, quality, safety, and manufacturing costing, and maintenance, maintainability, usability, and warranty costing. The book includes life cycle costing for computer systems and software, transportation systems, aircraft turbine engines, cargo ships, rail systems, civil engineering structures, and energy systems. An in-depth look at cost estimation models and engineering reliability and maintainability topics such as bathtub hazard rate curve, common reliability networks, general reliability, mean time to failure, and hazard rate formulas round out the coverage.

Filled with examples, tables, figures, and equations, this book integrates life cycle costing concepts for use in industrial and other sectors. It provides a modern treatment of the subject that can easily be applied to any industry.