An Application of a Generalized Life Cycle Cost Model to a Typical Pump From Industry

The objective of this paper is to develop a methodology for effective implementation of life cycle costing (LCC) in design and procurement of repairable and non-repairable products. For this purpose, a generalized model for LCC of repairable and non-repairable products has been proposed. The equations of cost components of the proposed generalized model have been formulated for repairable systems based on the reliability and maintainability aspects to enable the life-time cost conscious design of such systems. The repairable systems typically have a life span of 10 to 20 years and experience multiple failures over their life span. The life cycle cost of a repairable system is significantly influenced by its reliability and maintainability. The life time energy and/or maintenance cost often dominate LCC for most of the repairable systems. Under the condition of constant failure rate the repairable system reliability is characterized by mean time between failures (MTBF) and maintainability by mean time to repair (MTTR). A higher value of MTBF and lower value of MTTR results into lower life cycle cost and therefore a due consideration to these factors is essential while designing repairable systems. The generalized LCC model presented in this paper will assist the designers to compare the life cycle cost of their different design alternatives at product design phase wherein most of the life cycle costs are committed. The developed generalized LCC model is applied to a typical repairable system, a pump from industry and the results obtained are presented.Copyright © 2009 by ASME