Life Cycle Costing For Construction

This comprehensive resource provides expert guidance on how Life Cycle Costing (LCC) can optimize decision-making and enhance long-term profit. Sixteen case studies show how to apply LCC to particular facility types and building components, in a new construction and remodeling.

The construction industry is becoming increasingly aware of the need to adopt a holistic approach to the design, building, and disposal of structures. With 60 per cent of the total construction budget in most developed countries being spent on repair and maintenance, there is an obvious need to design for reliability and durability, with more carefully planned maintenance and repair schedules. One important facet is to look at how costs are distributed and spent during the lifetime of a structure: an approach known as life cycle costing, which has the ultimate aim of minimising total lifetime expenditure. As an example, choosing an inexpensive coating for steelwork may require maintenance every three years, whereas a coating which is more expensive may require repairing only once per decade. It is a question of balance - taking the lifetime costs of the structure into consideration. This new book provides an insight into how whole life costing is affecting our approach to designing, building, maintaining and disposing of structures. The book is written for consulting engineers in the fields of civil and structural engineering, building designers, architects, quantity surveyors, refurbishing specialists, as well as practising civil and structural engineers engaged in planning, design, construction, repair and refurbishment of structures.

This revised second edition of the standard reference for design professionals supplies an arsenal of economic weapons for constructing, operating, and managing buildings at the lowest cost possible. Everything professionals need to put the latest construction-related strategies to work is right here in one convenient, quick reference guide.

Whole life-cycle costing (WLCC) is rapidly becoming the standard method for the long-term cost appraisal of buildings and civil infrastructure projects. With clients now demanding buildings that demonstrate value for money over the long term, WLCC has become an essential tool for those involved in the design, construction, operation and risk analysis of construction projects. Whole-life costing: risk and risk responses offers a thorough grounding in both the theory and practical application of WLCC. Part I deals with the fundamentals, providing the general background to appreciate WLCC concepts and whole life risk management techniques at the key decision-making milestones through a project’s life. Part II covers the design stage, including service life forecasting and environmental life-cycle assessment techniques in WLCC. Practical frameworks both for assessing whole life risks and risk responses, as well as guidance on developing WLCC budget estimates are also developed. In Part III, the authors consider WLCC during the construction and operations stages, with a strong emphasis upon risk analysis methods and dynamic WLCC assessment. With its mixture of established theory, best practice and innovative approaches, this book will help you make more accurate assessments of the long-term cost effectiveness of projects by: providing a thorough grounding in the theory of WLCC demonstrating how decision-making uncertainty can be reduced by basing choices on sound risk management principles identifying a systematic approach to planning the post-occupancy costs.

The financing of modern construction projects reflects the need to address the costs and benefits of the whole life of the project. This means that end of life economics can now have a far greater impact on the planning and feasibility phases. During the project itself, decisions on construction materials and processes all influence the schedule as well as both immediate and down-the-line costs. Massimo Pica and his co-authors explain in detail the fundamentals of project life cycle economics and how they apply in the context of complex modern construction. This is an essential guide for those involved in construction project design, tendering and contracting; to help ensure the sustainability of the project or their contribution to it, from the start. It is also important for those involved in the delivery of the project to help them make the choices to keep the project on a financial even keel. Government, corporations and other organizations are looking for new models of collaborative working to fund their large construction and infrastructure projects in the face of changing attitudes to risk; a better educated and more demanding base of end-user clients and the increasing requirements for projects that are environmentally responsible and sustainable. Project Life Cycle Economics is a fundamental primer for those commissioning and those delivering construction.

The key areas of life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and whole life costing (WLC) are exemplified in this volume with accounts of their application to housing stock, a community hydroelectric power system, various aspects of highway infrastructure, and corrosion protective coatings. Sustainable construction and design requires more than compliance with safety requirements and economic constraints; there is also the impact on the environment, the surrounding population, and users of the infrastructure. This requires a multidimensional perspective of sustainability to be considered in life cycle costing (LCC) combining current design criteria with these other aspects. It has become increasingly important to understand the full costs of civil engineering infrastructure, and the main sources of cost, along the whole supply chain and to identify cost reduction opportunities. The conventional procurement approach without the integration of probabilistic life cycle cost modelling induces substantial long-term maintenance costs. Once deterioration and life cycle cost models have been established, appropriate partnership procurement strategies, associated financing methods, and determination of the project period can be developed. LCC includes the cost of planning, design, acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal of buildings and other construction assets, while WLC additionally includes incomes and other costs such as non-construction costs and externalities. In whole life costing, social, environmental, or business costs or benefits are considered as externalities and care must be taken not to double count the impacts when WLC is used together with LCCA. The international examples included in this book illustrate practically the methodology of life cycle costing and the application of life cycle cost analysis to identify the most appropriate method for assessing the relative merits of competing project implementation alternatives.