Contrast in low-cost operational concepts for orbiting satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Walyus, Keith D.; Reis, James; Bradley, Arthur J.

2002-12-01

Older spacecraft missions, especially those in low Earth orbit with telemetry intensive requirements, required round-the-clock control center staffing. The state of technology relied on control center personnel to continually examine data, make decisions, resolve anomalies, and file reports. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a prime example of this description. Technological advancements in hardware and software over the last decade have yielded increases in productivity and operational efficiency, which result in lower cost. The re-engineering effort of HST, which has recently concluded, utilized emerging technology to reduce cost and increase productivity. New missions, of which NASA's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer Satellite (TRACE) is an example, have benefited from recent technological advancements and are more cost-effective than when HST was first launched. During its launch (1998) and early orbit phase, the TRACE Flight Operations Team (FOT) employed continually staffed operations. Yet once the mission entered its nominal phase, the FOT reduced their staffing to standard weekday business hours. Operations were still conducted at night and during the weekends, but these operations occurred autonomously without compromising their high standards for data collections. For the HST, which launched in 1990, reduced cost operations will employ a different operational concept, when the spacecraft enters its low-cost phase after its final servicing mission in 2004. Primarily due to the spacecraft"s design, the HST Project has determined that single-shift operations will introduce unacceptable risks for the amount of dollars saved. More importantly, significant cost-savings can still be achieved by changing the operational concept for the FOT, while still maintaining round-the-clock staffing. It"s important to note that the low-cost solutions obtained for one satellite may not be applicable for other satellites. This paper will contrast the differences between

Integrated approach to optimize operation and maintenance costs for operating nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-06-01

In the context of increasingly open electricity markets and the 'unbundling' of generating companies from former utility monopolies, an area of major concern is the economic performance of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants. Nuclear power, inevitably, must compete directly with other electricity generation sources. Coping with this competitive pressure is a challenge that the nuclear industry should meet if the nuclear option is to remain a viable one. This competitive environment has significant implications for nuclear plant operations, including, among others, the need for the more cost effective management of plant activities, and the greater use of analytical tools to balance the costs and benefits of proposed activities, in order to optimize operation and maintenance costs, and thus insure the economic competitiveness of existing nuclear power plants. In the framework of the activities on Nuclear Economic Performance Information System (NEPIS), the IAEA embarked in developing guidance on optimization of operation and maintenance costs for nuclear power plants. The report was prepared building on the fundamental that optimization of operation and maintenance costs of a nuclear power plant is a key component of a broader integrated business strategic planning process, having as overall result achievement of organization's business objectives. It provides advice on optimization of O and M costs in the framework of strategic business planning, with additional details on operational planning and controlling. This TECDOC was elaborated in 2004-2005 in the framework of the IAEA's programme on Nuclear Power Plant Operating Performance and Life Cycle Management, with the support of two consultants meetings and one technical meeting and based on contributions provided by participants. It can serve as a useful reference for the management and operation staff within utilities, nuclear power plant operators and regulators and other organizations involved in

Cost Analysis In A Multi-Mission Operations Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, M.; Felton, L.; Bornas, N.; Botts, D.; Roth, K.; Ijames, G.; Montgomery, P.

2014-01-01

Spacecraft control centers have evolved from dedicated, single-mission or single missiontype support to multi-mission, service-oriented support for operating a variety of mission types. At the same time, available money for projects is shrinking and competition for new missions is increasing. These factors drive the need for an accurate and flexible model to support estimating service costs for new or extended missions; the cost model in turn drives the need for an accurate and efficient approach to service cost analysis. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) provides operations services to a variety of customers around the world. HOSC customers range from launch vehicle test flights; to International Space Station (ISS) payloads; to small, short duration missions; and has included long duration flagship missions. The HOSC recently completed a detailed analysis of service costs as part of the development of a complete service cost model. The cost analysis process required the team to address a number of issues. One of the primary issues involves the difficulty of reverse engineering individual mission costs in a highly efficient multimission environment, along with a related issue of the value of detailed metrics or data to the cost model versus the cost of obtaining accurate data. Another concern is the difficulty of balancing costs between missions of different types and size and extrapolating costs to different mission types. The cost analysis also had to address issues relating to providing shared, cloud-like services in a government environment, and then assigning an uncertainty or risk factor to cost estimates that are based on current technology, but will be executed using future technology. Finally the cost analysis needed to consider how to validate the resulting cost models taking into account the non-homogeneous nature of the available cost data and the

An analysis of nuclear plant operating costs: A 1991 update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-05-01

This report updates a 1988 Energy Information Administration (EIA) report which examined trends in nonfuel operating costs at the Nation's nuclear power plants. Nonfuel operating costs are comprised of operating and maintenance (O ampersand M) costs and capital expenditures incurred after a plant begins operating. Capital expenditures are typically called ''capital additions'' because the costs are added to the utility's rate base and recovered as a depreciation expense over several years, the number of years being regulated by State Public Utility Commissions. These costs consist of large maintenance expenditures needed to keep a plant operational as well as those needed to make plant modifications mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or implemented at the utility's discretion. The 1988 report found that from 1974 through 1984, the last year for which data were available, nuclear power plant nonfuel operating costs escalated by 14 percent annually in real terms. The objective of the present study was to determine whether trends in nonfuel operating costs have changed since 1984, if there was any change in the underlying factors influencing these costs, and if so, how these changes affect the basic conclusions of the 1988 report. The general trends are encouraging: Total nonfuel operating costs peaked in 1984 and have been lower since that time; O ampersand M costs have been rising, but at a much lower rate than seen from 1974 through 1984; capital additions costs have actually been declining. 9 figs., 12 tabs

Computerized operating cost model for industrial steam generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powers, T.D.

1983-02-01

Pending EPA regulations, establishing revised emission levels for industrial boilers are perceived to have an effect on the relative costs of steam production technologies. To aid in the comparison of competitive boiler technologies, the Steam Cost Code was developed which provides levelized steam costs reflecting the effects of a number of key steam cost parameters. The Steam Cost Code is a user interactive FORTRAN program designed to operate on a VAX computer system. The program requires the user to input a number of variables describing the design characteristics, capital costs, and operating conditions for a specific boiler system. Part of the input to the Steam Cost Code is the capital cost of the steam production system. The capital cost is obtained from a program called INDCEPT, developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory under Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center sponsorship.

AP1000 construction and operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, J.W.; Corletti, M.M.; Thompson, M.

2001-01-01

Market analysis of the U.S. electricity generating market indicates that the generating cost of competitive new generating capacity must be less than $0.03/kw-hr. When such factors as an attractive return on investment and payback period are considered for a new nuclear electric generating facility, this results in the requirement to have an overnight capital cost of approximately $1000/kw. Industry executives indicate that any new nuclear plant must be able to compete in the de-regulated generation wholesale marketplace and provide a return to the shareholders. Against this standard, the costs of advanced nuclear power plants currently available are still too high. In the United States, the Utility Requirements Document for advanced light water reactor plants included a cost goal that was based on the cost of coal generated electricity at the time the document was written. Since that time, the cost of new generating capacity and the overall operating cost of generating electricity has gone down. This is a result of low natural gas prices, more efficient plants in general and the current record breaking reductions in outage times and operating costs for nuclear plants. The plant designs resulting from the United States advanced light water reactor plant programs received Design Certification from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Some are being deployed, with variations, in countries other than the United States. But they can not compete today with other sources of central station generation in the United States. (author)

AP1000 construction and operating costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winters, J.W.; Corletti, M.M. [Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Thompson, M

2001-07-01

Market analysis of the U.S. electricity generating market indicates that the generating cost of competitive new generating capacity must be less than $0.03/kw-hr. When such factors as an attractive return on investment and payback period are considered for a new nuclear electric generating facility, this results in the requirement to have an overnight capital cost of approximately $1000/kw. Industry executives indicate that any new nuclear plant must be able to compete in the de-regulated generation wholesale marketplace and provide a return to the shareholders. Against this standard, the costs of advanced nuclear power plants currently available are still too high. In the United States, the Utility Requirements Document for advanced light water reactor plants included a cost goal that was based on the cost of coal generated electricity at the time the document was written. Since that time, the cost of new generating capacity and the overall operating cost of generating electricity has gone down. This is a result of low natural gas prices, more efficient plants in general and the current record breaking reductions in outage times and operating costs for nuclear plants. The plant designs resulting from the United States advanced light water reactor plant programs received Design Certification from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Some are being deployed, with variations, in countries other than the United States. But they can not compete today with other sources of central station generation in the United States. (author)

Simulation-Based Approach to Operating Costs Analysis of Freight Trucking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ozernova Natalja

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of costs uncertainty in road freight transportation services. The article introduces the statistical approach, based on Monte Carlo simulation on spreadsheets, to the analysis of operating costs. The developed model gives an opportunity to estimate operating freight trucking costs under different configuration of cost factors. Important conclusions can be made after running simulations regarding sensitivity to different factors, optimal decisions and variability of operating costs.

Operations and maintenance costs - Selected observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirk, M.W.

1991-01-01

The operations and maintenance (O and M) costs associated with nuclear power plants have been rising continuously over the past decade. The Nuclear Management and Resources Council (NUMARC) has undertaken an examination of this issue to determine what components of O and M costs are driven by regulatory activity. Observers from various perspectives within the nuclear industry have cited staffing, outages, training, and management structure among others as large contributors to O and M costs. NUMARC is currently analyzing utility cost data to isolate the regulatory components for further action

Operations and support cost modeling of conceptual space vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ebeling, Charles

1994-01-01

The University of Dayton is pleased to submit this annual report to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center which documents the development of an operations and support (O&S) cost model as part of a larger life cycle cost (LCC) structure. It is intended for use during the conceptual design of new launch vehicles and spacecraft. This research is being conducted under NASA Research Grant NAG-1-1327. This research effort changes the focus from that of the first two years in which a reliability and maintainability model was developed to the initial development of an operations and support life cycle cost model. Cost categories were initially patterned after NASA's three axis work breakdown structure consisting of a configuration axis (vehicle), a function axis, and a cost axis. A revised cost element structure (CES), which is currently under study by NASA, was used to established the basic cost elements used in the model. While the focus of the effort was on operations and maintenance costs and other recurring costs, the computerized model allowed for other cost categories such as RDT&E and production costs to be addressed. Secondary tasks performed concurrent with the development of the costing model included support and upgrades to the reliability and maintainability (R&M) model. The primary result of the current research has been a methodology and a computer implementation of the methodology to provide for timely operations and support cost analysis during the conceptual design activities.

Operations and Maintenance Cost for Stratified Buildings: A Critical Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Che-Ghani Nor Zaimah

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Building maintenance is essential in preserving buildings’ appearance and performance. It needs to upkeep the building performance to prolong its value and building life cycle. Malaysia is still lacking in managing cost for building operation and maintenance. It has been found that the cost for housing maintenance is high due to poor maintenance practices. In order to get better understanding on how to manage the cost, this study reviews the contributing factors that affecting operation and maintenance cost of stratified buildings in Malaysia. The research first identified the factors through extensive literature review and scrutinize on factors that affecting and can minimize operation and maintenance cost. This literature review offers insight into building maintenance scenario in Malaysia focusing on the issues and challenges. The study also finds that operation and maintenance cost for housing in Malaysia is still in poor state. Interestingly, this paper revealed that operation and maintenance cost is also influenced by three significant factors like expectation of tenants, building characteristics and building defects. Measures to reduce the housing operation and maintenance cost are also highlighted so that this study can be a stepping stone towards proposing efficient and effective facilities management strategies for affordable housing in future.

19 CFR 10.814 - Direct costs of processing operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Direct costs of processing operations. 10.814... Free Trade Agreement Rules of Origin § 10.814 Direct costs of processing operations. (a) Items included. For purposes of § 10.810(b) of this subpart, the words “direct costs of processing operations”, with...

19 CFR 10.774 - Direct costs of processing operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Direct costs of processing operations. 10.774... Free Trade Agreement Rules of Origin § 10.774 Direct costs of processing operations. (a) Items included. For purposes of § 10.770(b) of this subpart, the words “direct costs of processing operations”, with...

U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Operating Cost and Experience Summaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reid, RL

2003-01-01

The ''U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Operating Cost and Experience Summaries'' (NUREG/CR-6577, Supp. 2) report has been prepared to provide historical operating cost and experience information on U.S. commercial nuclear power plants during 2000-2001. Costs incurred after initial construction are characterized as annual production costs, which represent fuel and plant operating and maintenance expenses, and capital expenditures related to facility additions/modifications, which are included in the plant capital asset base. As discussed in the report, annual data for these two cost categories were obtained from publicly available reports and must be accepted as having different degrees of accuracy and completeness. Treatment of inconclusive and incomplete data is discussed. As an aid to understanding the fluctuations in the cost histories, operations summaries for each nuclear unit are provided. The intent of these summaries is to identify important operating events; refueling, major maintenance, and other significant outages; operating milestones; and significant licensing or enforcement actions. Information used in the summaries is condensed from operating reports submitted by the licensees, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) database for enforcement actions, and outage reports

Operating Costs Reducing in MDF Manufacturing Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Augusto Coeve Florino

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The sustained efforts by electric motors when subjected to cutting, trimming or finishing are directly related to the material being machined and the angle of attack of the tool. Choosing the right tool for this operation depends on an expected result. So the engines behave differently to each operation. The optimization between strength, speed, power, material and type of operation, can be found to reduce operational costs of production, besides determining the exact time to make the set-up of worn tool. The reduction in operating costs is an item of sustainability that outlines the strategic positioning on companies to become competitive in the global marketplace. With the great technological development present today, this issue goes away with the very latest products on the market for professionals who productivity will be dealt with in these modern maintenance equipment such as power quality analyzer, Imager, profile projector and microscope for research. The result of this work is the optimization of the cutting operation and energy consumption thereby demonstrating an optimum point of operation in a case study presented in this work.

Operations and support cost modeling using Markov chains

Science.gov (United States)

Unal, Resit

1989-01-01

Systems for future missions will be selected with life cycle costs (LCC) as a primary evaluation criterion. This reflects the current realization that only systems which are considered affordable will be built in the future due to the national budget constaints. Such an environment calls for innovative cost modeling techniques which address all of the phases a space system goes through during its life cycle, namely: design and development, fabrication, operations and support; and retirement. A significant portion of the LCC for reusable systems are generated during the operations and support phase (OS). Typically, OS costs can account for 60 to 80 percent of the total LCC. Clearly, OS costs are wholly determined or at least strongly influenced by decisions made during the design and development phases of the project. As a result OS costs need to be considered and estimated early in the conceptual phase. To be effective, an OS cost estimating model needs to account for actual instead of ideal processes by associating cost elements with probabilities. One approach that may be suitable for OS cost modeling is the use of the Markov Chain Process. Markov chains are an important method of probabilistic analysis for operations research analysts but they are rarely used for life cycle cost analysis. This research effort evaluates the use of Markov Chains in LCC analysis by developing OS cost model for a hypothetical reusable space transportation vehicle (HSTV) and suggests further uses of the Markov Chain process as a design-aid tool.

Wood fuelled boiler operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandars, D.L.

1995-01-01

This report is a management study into the operating costs of wood-fired boilers. Data obtained from existing wood-fired plant has been analysed and interpreted using the principles of machinery management and the science that underlies the key differences between this fuel and any other. A set of budgeting principles has been developed for the key areas of labour requirement, insurance, maintenance and repair and electricity consumption. Other lesser cost centres such as the provision of shelter and the effects of neglect and accidents have also been considered, and a model constructed. (author)

EOS Operations Systems: EDOS Implemented Changes to Reduce Operations Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Cordier, Guy R.; Gomez-Rosa, Carlos; McLemore, Bruce D.

2007-01-01

The authors describe in this paper the progress achieved to-date with the reengineering of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Operations System (EDOS), the experience gained in the process and the ensuing reduction of ground systems operations costs. The reengineering effort included a major methodology change, applying to an existing schedule driven system, a data-driven system approach.

The Application of Architecture Frameworks to Modelling Exploration Operations Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Shishko, Robert

2006-01-01

Developments in architectural frameworks and system-of-systems thinking have provided useful constructs for systems engineering. DoDAF concepts, language, and formalisms, in particular, provide a natural way of conceptualizing an operations cost model applicable to NASA's space exploration vision. Not all DoDAF products have meaning or apply to a DoDAF inspired operations cost model, but this paper describes how such DoDAF concepts as nodes, systems, and operational activities relate to the development of a model to estimate exploration operations costs. The paper discusses the specific implementation to the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) operational functions/activities currently being developed and presents an overview of how this powerful representation can apply to robotic space missions as well.

Modeling Optimal Scheduling for Pumping System to Minimize Operation Cost and Enhance Operation Reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin Luo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Traditional pump scheduling models neglect the operation reliability which directly relates with the unscheduled maintenance cost and the wear cost during the operation. Just for this, based on the assumption that the vibration directly relates with the operation reliability and the degree of wear, it could express the operation reliability as the normalization of the vibration level. The characteristic of the vibration with the operation point was studied, it could be concluded that idealized flow versus vibration plot should be a distinct bathtub shape. There is a narrow sweet spot (80 to 100 percent BEP to obtain low vibration levels in this shape, and the vibration also follows similar law with the square of the rotation speed without resonance phenomena. Then, the operation reliability could be modeled as the function of the capacity and rotation speed of the pump and add this function to the traditional model to form the new. And contrast with the tradition method, the result shown that the new model could fix the result produced by the traditional, make the pump operate in low vibration, then the operation reliability could increase and the maintenance cost could decrease.

Operational costs induced by fluctuating wind power production in Germany and Scandinavia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meibom, Peter; Weber, C.; Barth, R.

2009-01-01

Adding wind power generation in a power system changes the operational patterns of the existing units due to the variability and partial predictability of wind power production. For large amounts of wind power production, the expectation is that the specific operational costs (fuel costs, start......-up costs, variable operation and maintenance costs, costs of consuming CO2 emission permits) of the other power plants will increase due to more operation time in part-load and more start-ups. The change in operational costs induced by the wind power production can only be calculated by comparing...... the operational costs in two power system configurations: with wind power production and with alternative wind production having properties such as conventional production, that is, being predictable and less variable. The choice of the characteristics of the alternative production is not straightforward...

Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) - Operations concept. [decreasing development and operations cost

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Richard B.

1992-01-01

The development and operations costs of the Space IR Telescope Facility (SIRTF) are discussed in the light of minimizing total outlays and optimizing efficiency. The development phase cannot extend into the post-launch segment which is planned to only support system verification and calibration followed by operations with a 70-percent efficiency goal. The importance of reducing the ground-support staff is demonstrated, and the value of the highly sensitive observations to the general astronomical community is described. The Failure Protection Algorithm for the SIRTF is designed for the 5-yr lifetime and the continuous venting of cryogen, and a science driven ground/operations system is described. Attention is given to balancing cost and performance, prototyping during the development phase, incremental development, the utilization of standards, and the integration of ground system/operations with flight system integration and test.

OPERATIONAL COSTS OF CANAL COMPANIES AND IRRIGATION DISTRICTS IN THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION

OpenAIRE

Wilkins-Wells, John; Lagae, Hubert J.; Anderson, Raymond L.; Anwer, Muhammad Sarfraz

1999-01-01

This study reports on the trends of operational costs of farmer owned and operated irrigation enterprises (irrigation districts and canal companies) in five intermountain states. Administrative costs have risen faster then operation and maintenance costs. While salaries of employees have not risen significantly over time, legal costs have greatly escalated.

Applying cost accounting to operating room staffing in otolaryngology: time-driven activity-based costing and outpatient adenotonsillectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Balakrishnan, Karthik; Goico, Brian; Arjmand, Ellis M

2015-04-01

(1) To describe the application of a detailed cost-accounting method (time-driven activity-cased costing) to operating room personnel costs, avoiding the proxy use of hospital and provider charges. (2) To model potential cost efficiencies using different staffing models with the case study of outpatient adenotonsillectomy. Prospective cost analysis case study. Tertiary pediatric hospital. All otolaryngology providers and otolaryngology operating room staff at our institution. Time-driven activity-based costing demonstrated precise per-case and per-minute calculation of personnel costs. We identified several areas of unused personnel capacity in a basic staffing model. Per-case personnel costs decreased by 23.2% by allowing a surgeon to run 2 operating rooms, despite doubling all other staff. Further cost reductions up to a total of 26.4% were predicted with additional staffing rearrangements. Time-driven activity-based costing allows detailed understanding of not only personnel costs but also how personnel time is used. This in turn allows testing of alternative staffing models to decrease unused personnel capacity and increase efficiency. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

Economic implications of nuclear operating and maintenance costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, C.

1994-01-01

Nuclear operating and maintenance (O and M) costs for U.S. plants have been increasing during the decade of the 1980's. Costs have stabilized over the last five years but have not yet significantly declined. Annual capacity factors have considerably improved during the last eight years and unit O and M costs expressed in Mills Kwh have thus declined. Two other important trends evident over the last five years have been the decline in fossil fuel prices and the transition to deregulated electric utilities market, accelerated with the passage of the 1992 Energy Policy Act. Within the next five years it may be possible for large scale industrial customers to directly contract with electricity generators, by they utilities or independent power producers (IPP's) for supplying their power requirements. The ability of such customers to directly contract with potential supplies based on low cost performance bypassing their local utility, may have significant implications for the structure of the utility industry in the near term and for plant operations. A greater pressure will likely be exerted on all plants, including nuclear to reduce operating costs so as to remain competitive with other power suppliers in their markets. Nuclear O and M costs are likely to be heavily scrutinized for possible savings and reductions. The electric utilities mergers waves and the nuclear industry's initiative on O and M cost control both aim at improving plant economics so as to better compete in the more deregulated environment. In this climate the issues of why nuclear O and M costs have increased, what can be done to reduce costs and what are the implications for advanced reactors design and economics are discussed. 14 figs

Operational costs induced by fluctuating wind power production in Germany and Scandinavia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meibom, P. [Risoe National Lab., DTU, System Analysis Dept., Roskilde (Denmark); Weber, C. [Univ. Duisburg-Essen, Chai og Energy Management (Germany); Barth, R.; Brand, H. [Univ. of Stuttgart, Inst. of Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy (Germany)

2007-05-15

Adding wind power generation in a power system changes the operational patterns of the existing units due to the variability and unpredictability of wind power production. For large amounts of wind power production the expectation is that the operational costs of the other power plants will increase due to more operation time in part-load and more start-ups. The change in operational costs induced by the wind power production can only be calculated by comparing the operational costs in two power system configurations: with wind power production and with alternative production having properties like conventional production, i.e. being predictable and less variable. The choice of the characteristics of the alternative production is not straight forward and will therefore influence the operational costs induced by wind power production. This paper presents a method for calculating the change in operational costs due to wind power production using a stochastic optimization model covering the power systems in Germany and the Nordic countries. Two cases of alternative production are used to calculate the change in operational costs namely perfectly predictable wind power production enabling calculation of the costs connected to unpredictability, and constant wind power production enabling calculation of the operational costs connected to variability of wind power production. A 2010 case with three different wind power production penetration levels is analysed in the paper. (au)

Critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment: a multiple case study

Science.gov (United States)

Sansone, C.; Hilletofth, P.; Eriksson, D.

2018-04-01

Operations capabilities have been a popular research area for many years and several frameworks have been proposed in the literature. The current frameworks do not take specific contexts into consideration, for instance a high cost environment. This research gap is of particular interest since a manufacturing relocation process has been ongoing the last decades, leading to a huge amount of manufacturing being moved from high to low cost environments. The purpose of this study is to identify critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment. The two research questions were: What are the critical operations capabilities dimensions in a high cost environment? What are the critical operations capabilities in a high cost environment? A multiple case study was conducted and three Swedish manufacturing firms were selected. The study was based on the investigation of an existing framework of operations capabilities. The main dimensions of operations capabilities included in the framework were: cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, service, innovation and environment. Each of the dimensions included two or more operations capabilities. The findings confirmed the validity of the framework and its usefulness in a high cost environment and a new operations capability was revealed (employee flexibility).

Maintenance and operations cost model for DSN subsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, R. W.; Lesh, J. R.

1977-01-01

A procedure is described which partitions the recurring costs of the Deep Space Network (DSN) over the individual DSN subsystems. The procedure results in a table showing the maintenance, operations, sustaining engineering and supportive costs for each subsystems.

Hospital financing: calculating inpatient capital costs in Germany with a comparative view on operating costs and the English costing scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogl, Matthias

2014-04-01

The paper analyzes the German inpatient capital costing scheme by assessing its cost module calculation. The costing scheme represents the first separated national calculation of performance-oriented capital cost lump sums per DRG. The three steps in the costing scheme are reviewed and assessed: (1) accrual of capital costs; (2) cost-center and cost category accounting; (3) data processing for capital cost modules. The assessment of each step is based on its level of transparency and efficiency. A comparative view on operating costing and the English costing scheme is given. Advantages of the scheme are low participation hurdles, low calculation effort for G-DRG calculation participants, highly differentiated cost-center/cost category separation, and advanced patient-based resource allocation. The exclusion of relevant capital costs, nontransparent resource allocation, and unclear capital cost modules, limit the managerial relevance and transparency of the capital costing scheme. The scheme generates the technical premises for a change from dual financing by insurances (operating costs) and state (capital costs) to a single financing source. The new capital costing scheme will intensify the discussion on how to solve the current investment backlog in Germany and can assist regulators in other countries with the introduction of accurate capital costing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrating cost management and work management concepts for operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanditmars, C.

1995-01-01

Development of B C Gas Utility Limited's integrated work and cost management system was described, with emphasis on cost management without reliance on the financial systems, and standard costing and operational side benefits. The objectives of the system were identified as dynamic monitoring and control, and local empowerment. The concept underlying the two systems was explained in detail. In the case of the work management system the ability to manage all work in operations areas was stressed, along with its universal availability. Other benefits expected included improved resource utilization, improved productivity, better control of cost, improved revenue generation, superior customer service, a simplified financial system, and improved employee motivation through empowerment

Effect of facility on the operative costs of distal radius fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Mather, Richard C; Wysocki, Robert W; Mack Aldridge, J; Pietrobon, Ricardo; Nunley, James A

2011-07-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ambulatory surgery centers can deliver lower-cost care and to identify sources of those cost savings. We performed a cost identification analysis of outpatient volar plating for closed distal radius fractures at a single academic medical center. Multiple costs and time measures were taken from an internal database of 130 consecutive patients and were compared by venue of treatment, either an inpatient facility or an ambulatory, stand-alone surgery facility. The relationships between total cost and operative time and multiple variables, including fracture severity, patient age, gender, comorbidities, use of bone graft, concurrent carpal tunnel release, and surgeon experience, were examined, using multivariate analysis and regression modeling to identify other cost drivers or explanatory variables. The mean operative cost was considerably greater at the inpatient facility ($7,640) than at the outpatient facility ($5,220). Cost drivers of this difference were anesthesia services, post-anesthesia care unit, and operating room costs. Total surgical time, nursing time, set-up, and operative times were 33%, 109%, 105%, and 35% longer, respectively, at the inpatient facility. There was no significant difference between facilities for the additional variables, and none of those variables independently affected cost or operative time. The only predictor of cost and time was facility type. This study supports the use of ambulatory stand-alone surgical facilities to achieve efficient resource utilization in the operative treatment of distal radius fractures. We also identified several specific costs and time measurements that differed between facilities, which can serve as potential targets for tertiary facilities to improve utilization. Economic and Decisional Analysis III. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Life Cycle Costs in Education: Operations & Maintenance Considered.

Science.gov (United States)

Moussatche, Helena; Languell-Urquhart, Jennifer; Woodson, Carol

2000-01-01

Discusses life cycle cost analysis when deciding on flooring finishes and examines operations and maintenance cost effectiveness relative to hard, resilient, and soft flooring. A chart of evaluated flooring materials' characteristics, appropriate maintenance procedures, and recommended frequency is included. (GR)

OpCost: an open-source system for estimating costs of stand-level forest operations

Science.gov (United States)

Conor K. Bell; Robert F. Keefe; Jeremy S. Fried

2017-01-01

This report describes and documents the OpCost forest operations cost model, a key component of the BioSum analysis framework. OpCost is available in two editions: as a callable module for use with BioSum, and in a stand-alone edition that can be run directly from R. OpCost model logic and assumptions for this open-source tool are explained, references to the...

Organizing for low cost space operations - Status and plans

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, C.

1976-01-01

Design features of the Space Transportation System (vehicle reuse, low cost expendable components, simple payload interfaces, standard support systems) must be matched by economical operational methods to achieve low operating and payload costs. Users will be responsible for their own payloads and will be charged according to the services they require. Efficient use of manpower, simple documentation, simplified test, checkout, and flight planning are firm goals, together with flexibility for quick response to varying user needs. Status of the Shuttle hardware, plans for establishing low cost procedures, and the policy for user charges are discussed.

Cost and radiation exposure optimization of demineralizer operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernal, F.E.; Burn, R.R.; Cook, G.M.; Simonetti, L.; Simpson, P.A.

1985-01-01

A pool water demineralizer is utilized at a research reactor to minimize impurities that become radioactive; to minimize impurities that react chemically with reactor components; to maintain optical clarity of the pool water; and to minimize aluminum fuel cladding corrosion by maintaining a slightly acidic pH. Balanced against these advantages are the dollar costs of equipment, resins, recharging chemicals, and maintenance; the man-rem costs of radiation exposure during maintenance, demineralizer recharges, and resin replacement; and hazardous chemical exposure. At the Ford Nuclear Reactor (FNR), maintenance of the demineralizer system is the second largest source of radiation exposure to operators. Theoretical and practical aspects of demineralizer operation are discussed. The most obvious way to reduce radiation exposure due to demineralizer system operation is to perform recharges after the reactor has been shut down for the maximum possible time. Setting a higher depletion limit and operating with the optimum system lineup reduce the frequency between recharges, saving both exposure and cost. Recharge frequency and resin lifetime seem to be relatively independent of the quality of the chemicals used and the personnel performing recharges, provided consistent procedures are followed

Cost management in a nuclear operating environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steckel, J.K.; Gruber, C.O.

1985-01-01

This paper presents an integrated philosophy and program for managing costs in a nuclear operating environment. The ideas presented here are being used by Pennsyvania Power and Light Company (PPandL) at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. Three basic ideas necessary to successful cost management are listed and include: recognize the framework that is needed to ''manage'': treat cost as part of an integrated plan; and apply different techniques to different types of work activities. It is the author's opinion that the technical framework of a successful cost management system must include all work activities but recognize types. Project activities should be managed to a defined scope and authorized cost using a well communicated estimating program, aggressive trending and forecasting, and a change identification process

Optimising costs in WLCG operations

CERN Document Server

Pradillo, Mar; Flix, Josep; Forti, Alessandra; Sciabà, Andrea

2015-01-01

The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid project (WLCG) provides the computing and storage resources required by the LHC collaborations to store, process and analyse the 50 Petabytes of data annually generated by the LHC. The WLCG operations are coordinated by a distributed team of managers and experts and performed by people at all participating sites and from all the experiments. Several improvements in the WLCG infrastructure have been implemented during the first long LHC shutdown to prepare for the increasing needs of the experiments during Run2 and beyond. However, constraints in funding will affect not only the computing resources but also the available effort for operations. This paper presents the results of a detailed investigation on the allocation of the effort in the different areas of WLCG operations, identifies the most important sources of inefficiency and proposes viable strategies for optimising the operational cost, taking into account the current trends in the evolution of the computing infrastruc...

Radium removal processes capital and operating cost estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, F.J.

1979-09-01

An estimate of the fixed capital and operating costs for two alternative processes for the removal of dissolved Ra-226 from uranium mill effluent in Elliot Lake, Ontario is presented. Process 1 consists of barium-radium coprecipitation followed by coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation. Process 2 consists of barium-radium coprecipitation followed by gravity media filtration, sand filter backwashing and sedimentation. Cost estimates were prepared for 18 different plant configurations designed to treat 1000 and 4000 imperial gallons per minute (ig/m) of effluent, 24 hrs per day, 7 days per week and 365 days per year with several equipment options. The estimated fixed capital costs for plants equipped with gravity filters were less than those equipped with circular clarifiers. The capital costs ranged from $552,000 with a flow rate of 1000 ig/m to $2,578,000 with a flow rate of 4000 ig/m. Estimated annual operating costs, based on a plant life of 10 years, ranged from $298,000 with a flow rate of 1000 ig/m to $1,061,000 with a flow rate of 4000 ig/m

Cost analysis of operating an all-digital radiology department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arenson, R.L.; Soshadri, S.B.; DeSimone, D.; Hiss, S.S.

1988-01-01

Using the current film system as a baseline, this study analyzes the cost of digital acquisition, transmission, archiving, and display of all images generated in our department. Two approaches are considered: (1) conventional x-ray films are digitized with a laser scanning film digitizer; (2) images are captured with a direct digital receptor and no film is created. In both approaches, images from digital modalities are acquired directly from the scanners. The cost of equipment and its maintenance, film, supplies, storage space, operations, personnel, and so forth are analyzed for all approaches. The annual cost of operating the film system is $2.5 million. The estimated annual cost is $2.3 million for the first digital approach, $1.8 million for the second. This analysis demonstrates that these digital approaches can be cost-effective, viable alternatives to film-bases systems

Multiagent-based Distributed Control for Operation Cost Minimization of Droop Controlled DC Microgrid Using Incremental Cost Consensus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez; Guerrero, Josep M.

2015-01-01

In this paper, a multiagent based distributed control is proposed for DC microgrid to minimize the operation cost. The power of each distributed generator (DG) is dispatched in a distributed manner in a multiagent system by means of voltage scheduling. Every DG unit is taken as an agent......, and they share the load corresponding to the operation cost of all the units in the system with only communication with direct neighbors through incremental cost consensus. The power regulation according to the power reference generated by consensus is implemented through voltage scheduling in local primary...... controllers. Simulation verification shows that total operation cost of the DC microgrid is successfully reduced though the proposed method....

Multiagent based Distributed Control for Operation Cost Minimization of Droop Controlled AC Microgrid Using Incremental Cost Consensus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; Firoozabadi, Mehdi Savaghebi; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez

2015-01-01

sharing based on the power rating. With various types of distributed generator (DG) units in the system, factors that closely related to the operation cost, such as fuel cost and efficiencies of the generator should be taken into account in order to improve the efficiency of the whole system....... In this paper, a multiagent based distributed method is proposed to minimize operation cost of the AC microgrid. Each DG is acting as an agent which regulates the power individually using proposed frequency scheduling method. Optimal power command is obtained through carefully designed consensus algorithm...... with only light communication between neighboring agents. Case studies verified that the proposed control strategy can effectively reduce the operation cost....

Fundamental Drivers of the Cost and Price of Operating Reserves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hummon, Marissa [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Denholm, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jorgenson, Jennie [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Palchak, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kirby, Brendan [Kirby Consultant; Ma, Ookie [U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

2013-07-01

Operating reserves impose a cost on the electric power system by forcing system operators to keep partially loaded spinning generators available for responding to system contingencies variable demand. In many regions of the United States, thermal power plants provide a large fraction of the operating reserve requirement. Alternative sources of operating reserves, such as demand response and energy storage, may provide more efficient sources of these reserves. However, to estimate the potential value of these services, the cost of reserve services under various grid conditions must first be established. This analysis used a commercial grid simulation tool to evaluate the cost and price of several operating reserve services, including spinning contingency reserves and upward regulation reserves. These reserve products were evaluated in a utility system in the western United States, considering different system flexibilities, renewable energy penetration, and other sensitivities. The analysis demonstrates that the price of operating reserves depend highly on many assumptions regarding the operational flexibility of the generation fleet, including ramp rates and the fraction of fleet available to provide reserves.

Cost of Maple Sap Production for Various Size Tubing Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Niel K. Huyler

2000-01-01

Reports sap production costs for small (500 to 1,000 taps), medium (1,000 to 5,000), and large (5,000 to 15,000) maple syrup operations that use plastic tubing with vacuum pumping. The average annual operating cost per tap ranged from $4.64 for a 500-tap sugarbush operation to $1.84 for a sugarbush with 10,000 taps. The weighted average was $2.87 per tap or $11.48 per...

Operating Dedicated Data Centers - Is It Cost-Effective?

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, M.; Hogue, R.; Hollowell, C.; Strecker-Kellog, W.; Wong, A.; Zaytsev, A.

2014-06-01

The advent of cloud computing centres such as Amazon's EC2 and Google's Computing Engine has elicited comparisons with dedicated computing clusters. Discussions on appropriate usage of cloud resources (both academic and commercial) and costs have ensued. This presentation discusses a detailed analysis of the costs of operating and maintaining the RACF (RHIC and ATLAS Computing Facility) compute cluster at Brookhaven National Lab and compares them with the cost of cloud computing resources under various usage scenarios. An extrapolation of likely future cost effectiveness of dedicated computing resources is also presented.

Process-Costing, Job-Order-Costing, Operation Costing (også kaldet Batch Costing og Functional Costing - Når Systemtankegangen ligger til grund for økonomistyringen og dens beslutninger)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Steen

2005-01-01

De tre begreber process-costing, job-order-costing, operation-costing samt functional-based costing er faktisk historiske begreber som stammer langt tilbage i økonomistyringslitteraturen, faktisk tilbage til Scientific Management bevægelsen fra 20'erne og 30'erne. Man kan derfor ikke sige, at disse...... ordreregnskabet, f.eks. som dette er analyseret hos Palle Hansen og Vagn Madsen. Begrebet operational costing anvendes også, men dette dækker i realiteten over, hvordan og hvilke elementer der indgår i hele virksomhedens regnskabs-information-system. Dvs. at dette mere er et spørgsmål om, hvordan systemerne er...... Aktivitets-Baseret Cost Management systemerne. Det er derfor vigtigt dels at kende sin historie på området, dels at gøre sig klart, om de under visse antagelser stadig har deres berettigelse. De samme begreber har også deres pendant til de danske begreber, afdelings- eller funktionsregnskabet samt...

Cost-effectiveness of Crohn’s disease post-operative care

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Emily K; Kamm, Michael A; Dr Cruz, Peter; Hamilton, Amy L; Ritchie, Kathryn J; Bell, Sally J; Brown, Steven J; Connell, William R; Desmond, Paul V; Liew, Danny

2016-01-01

AIM: To define the cost-effectiveness of strategies, including endoscopy and immunosuppression, to prevent endoscopic recurrence of Crohn’s disease following intestinal resection. METHODS: In the “POCER” study patients undergoing intestinal resection were treated with post-operative drug therapy. Two thirds were randomized to active care (6 mo colonoscopy and drug intensification for endoscopic recurrence) and one third to drug therapy without early endoscopy. Colonoscopy at 18 mo and faecal calprotectin (FC) measurement were used to assess disease recurrence. Administrative data, chart review and patient questionnaires were collected prospectively over 18 mo. RESULTS: Sixty patients (active care n = 43, standard care n = 17) were included from one health service. Median total health care cost was $6440 per patient. Active care cost $4824 more than standard care over 18 mo. Medication accounted for 78% of total cost, of which 90% was for adalimumab. Median health care cost was higher for those with endoscopic recurrence compared to those in remission [$26347 (IQR 25045-27485) vs $2729 (IQR 1182-5215), P cost by $1010 per patient over 18 mo. Active care was associated with 18% decreased endoscopic recurrence, costing $861 for each recurrence prevented. CONCLUSION: Post-operative management strategies are associated with high cost, primarily medication related. Calprotectin use reduces costs. The long term cost-benefit of these strategies remains to be evaluated. PMID:27076772

Droop Scheme With Consideration of Operating Costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nutkani, I. U.; Loh, Poh Chiang; Blaabjerg, Frede

2014-01-01

considered even though they are different for different types of DGs. This letter thus proposes an alternative droop scheme, which can better distinguish the different operating characteristics and objectives of the DGs grouped together in a weighted droop expression. The power sharing arrived in the steady...... state will meet the intended objectives, as demonstrated in the experiment with a defined objective of minimizing the total microgrid operating cost....

Operational strategy and marginal costs in simple trigeneration systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lozano, M.A.; Carvalho, M.; Serra, L.M.

2009-01-01

As a direct result of economic pressures to cut expenses, as well as the legal obligation to reduce emissions, companies and businesses are seeking ways to use energy more efficiently. Trigeneration systems (CHCP: Combined Heating, Cooling and Power generation) allow greater operational flexibility at sites with a variable demand for energy in the form of heating and cooling. This is particularly relevant in buildings where the need for heating is restricted to a few winter months. In summer, the absorption chillers make use of the cogenerated heat to produce chilled water, avoiding waste heat discharge. The operation of a simple trigeneration system is analyzed in this paper. The system is interconnected to the electric utility grid, both to receive electricity and to deliver surplus electricity. For any given demand required by the users, a great number of operating conditions are possible. A linear programming model provides the operational mode with the lowest variable cost. A thermoeconomic analysis, based on marginal production costs, is used to obtain unit costs for internal energy flows and final products as well as to explain the best operational strategy as a function of the demand for energy services and the prices of the resources consumed. (author)

Cost comparison of transcatheter and operative closures of ostium secundum atrial septal defects

Science.gov (United States)

O’Byrne, Michael L.; Gillespie, Matthew J.; Shinohara, Russell T.; Dori, Yoav; Rome, Jonathan J.; Glatz, Andrew C.

2015-01-01

Background Clinical outcomes for transcatheter and operative closures of atrial septal defects (ASDs) are similar. Economic cost for each method has not been well described. Methods A single-center retrospective cohort study of children and adults cost of operative and transcatheter closures of ASD. A propensity score weight-adjusted multivariate regression model was used in an intention-to-treat analysis. Costs for reintervention and crossover admissions were included in primary analysis. Results A total of 244 subjects were included in the study (64% transcatheter and 36% operative), of which 2% (n = 5) were ≥18 years. Crossover rate from transcatheter to operative group was 3%. Risk of reintervention (P = .66) and 30-day mortality (P = .37) were not significantly different. In a multivariate model, adjusted cost of operative closure was 2012 US $60,992 versus 2012 US $55,841 for transcatheter closure (P cost favoring transcatheter closure were length of stay, medications, and follow-up radiologic and laboratory testing, overcoming higher costs of procedure and echocardiography. Professional costs did not differ. The rate of 30-day readmission was greater in the operative cohort, further increasing the cost advantage of transcatheter closure. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that costs of follow-up visits influenced relative cost but that device closure remained favorable over a broad range of crossover and reintervention rates. Conclusion For single secundum ASD, cost comparison analysis favors transcatheter closure over the short term. The cost of follow-up regimens influences the cost advantage of transcatheter closure. PMID:25965721

A cost and operational effectiveness analysis of alternative anti-surface warfare platforms

OpenAIRE

Skinner, Walter Mark.

1993-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. A Cost and Operational Effectiveness Analysis (COEA) is performed for three alternative anti-surface warfare (ASUW) platforms that will conduct operations in multi-service regional scenarios. Estimated program costs, historical cost variances, and measures of operational effectiveness are determined for each COEA alternative, and service life extension effects are examined. The data is merged in a mixed-integer optimization model, MPA...

Capital and operating cost estimates for high temperature superconducting magnetic energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoenung, S.M.; Meier, W.R.; Fagaly, R.L.; Heiberger, M.; Stephens, R.B.; Leuer, J.A.; Guzman, R.A.

1992-01-01

Capital and operating costs have been estimated for mid-scale (2 to 200 Mwh) superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) designed to use high temperature superconductors (HTS). Capital costs are dominated by the cost of superconducting materials. Operating costs, primarily for regeneration, are significantly reduced for HTS-SMES in comparison to low temperature, conventional systems. This cost component is small compared to other O and M and capital components, when levelized annual costs are projected. In this paper, the developments required for HTS-SMES feasibility are discussed

Reducing Operating Costs by Optimizing Space in Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

Design: Mapping the High Performance Workscape. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco. Berkman, Elliot. (2012). A Conceptual Guide to Statistics using SPSS. Sage ...Cleaning: Includes labor costs for in-house and contract service, payroll , taxes and fringe benefits, plus salaried supervisors and managers, as well as...Labor costs include payroll , taxes and fringe benefits for employees and contracted workers. Personnel include operating engineers, general

25 CFR 39.101 - Does ISEF assess the actual cost of school operations?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Does ISEF assess the actual cost of school operations? 39... SCHOOL EQUALIZATION PROGRAM Indian School Equalization Formula § 39.101 Does ISEF assess the actual cost of school operations? No. ISEF does not attempt to assess the actual cost of school operations either...

25 CFR 39.201 - Does ISEF reflect the actual cost of school operations?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Does ISEF reflect the actual cost of school operations... Does ISEF reflect the actual cost of school operations? ISEF does not attempt to assess the actual cost of school operations either at the local school level or in the aggregate nationally. ISEF is a...

Cost Analysis of Operation Theatre Services at an Apex Tertiary Care Trauma Centre of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddharth, Vijaydeep; Kumar, Subodh; Vij, Aarti; Gupta, Shakti Kumar

2015-12-01

Operating room services are one of the major cost and revenue-generating centres of a hospital. The cost associated with the provisioning of operating department services depends on the resources consumed and the unit costs of those resources. The objective of this study was to calculate the cost of operation theatre services at Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi. The study was carried out at the operation theatre department of Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNATC), AIIMS from April 2010 to March 2011 after obtaining approval from concerned authorities. This study was observational and descriptive in nature. Traditional (average or gross) costing methodology was used to arrive at the cost for the provisioning of operation theatre (OT) services. Cost was calculated under two heads; as capital and operating cost. Annualised cost of capital assets was calculated according to the methodology prescribed by the World Health Organization and operating costs were taken on actual basis; thereafter, per day cost of OT services was obtained. The average number of surgeries performed in the trauma centre per day is 13. The annual cost of providing operating room services at JPNATC, New Delhi was calculated to be 197,298,704 Indian rupees (INR) (US$ 3,653,679), while the per hour cost was calculated to be INR 22,626.92 (US$ 419). Majority of the expenditures were for human resource (33.63 %) followed by OT capital cost (31.90 %), consumables (29.97 %), engineering maintenance cost (2.55 %), support services operating cost (1.22 %) and support services capital cost (0.73 %). Of the total cost towards the provisioning of OT services, 32.63 % was capital cost while 67.37 % is operating cost. The results of this costing study will help in the future planning of resource allocation within the financial constraints (US$ 1 = INR 54).

Launch vehicle operations cost reduction through artificial intelligence techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Tom C., Jr.

1988-01-01

NASA's Kennedy Space Center has attempted to develop AI methods in order to reduce the cost of launch vehicle ground operations as well as to improve the reliability and safety of such operations. Attention is presently given to cost savings estimates for systems involving launch vehicle firing-room software and hardware real-time diagnostics, as well as the nature of configuration control and the real-time autonomous diagnostics of launch-processing systems by these means. Intelligent launch decisions and intelligent weather forecasting are additional applications of AI being considered.

The costs and quality of operative training for residents in tympanoplasty type I.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mao-Che; Yu, Eric Chen-Hua; Shiao, An-Suey; Liao, Wen-Huei; Liu, Chia-Yu

2009-05-01

A teaching hospital would incur more operation room costs on training surgical residents. To evaluate the increased operation time and the increased operation room costs of operations performed by surgical residents. As a model we used a very common surgical otology procedure -- tympanoplasty type I. From January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004, we included in this study 100 patients who received tympanoplasty type I in Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Fifty-six procedures were performed by a single board-certified surgeon and 44 procedures were performed by residents. We analyzed the operation time and surgical outcomes in these two groups of patients. The operation room cost per minute was obtained by dividing the total operation room expenses by total operation time in the year 2004. The average operation time of residents was 116.47 min, which was significantly longer (pcost USD $40.36 more for each operation performed by residents in terms of operation room costs. The surgical success rate of residents was 81.82%, which was significantly lower (p=0.016) than that of the board-certified surgeon (96.43%).

The cost of trauma operating theatre inefficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Ang, W W; Sabharwal, S; Johannsson, H; Bhattacharya, R; Gupte, C M

2016-05-01

The National Health Service (NHS) is currently facing a financial crisis with a projected deficit of £2billion by the end of financial year 2015/16. As operating rooms (OR) are one of the costliest components in secondary care, improving theatre efficiency should be at the forefront of efforts to improve health service efficiency. The objectives of this study were to characterize the causes of trauma OR delays and to estimate the cost of this inefficiency. A 1-month prospective single-centre study in St. Mary's Hospital. Turnaround time (TT) was used as the surrogate parameter to measure theatre efficiency. Factors including patient age, ASA score and presence of surgical and anaesthetic consultant were evaluated to identify positive or negative associations with theatre delays. Inefficiency cost was calculated by multiplying the time wasted with staff capacity costs and opportunity costs, found to be £24.77/minute. The commonest causes for increased TT were delays in sending for patients (50%) and problems with patient transport to the OR (31%). 461 min of delay was observed in 12 days, equivalent to loss of £951.58/theatre/day. Non-statistically significant trends were seen between length of delays and advancing patient age, ASA score and absence of either a senior clinician or an anaesthetic consultant. Interestingly, the trend was not as strong for absence of an anaesthetic consultant. This study found delays in operating TT to represent a sizable cost, with potential efficiency savings based on TT of £347,327/theatre/year. Further study of a larger sample is warranted to better evaluate the identified trends.

A life cycle cost economics model for automation projects with uniformly varying operating costs. [applied to Deep Space Network and Air Force Systems Command

Science.gov (United States)

Remer, D. S.

1977-01-01

The described mathematical model calculates life-cycle costs for projects with operating costs increasing or decreasing linearly with time. The cost factors involved in the life-cycle cost are considered, and the errors resulting from the assumption of constant rather than uniformly varying operating costs are examined. Parameters in the study range from 2 to 30 years, for project life; 0 to 15% per year, for interest rate; and 5 to 90% of the initial operating cost, for the operating cost gradient. A numerical example is presented.

An Optimal Operating Strategy for Battery Life Cycle Costs in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinghua Han

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Impact on petroleum based vehicles on the environment, cost, and availability of fuel has led to an increased interest in electric vehicle as a means of transportation. Battery is a major component in an electric vehicle. Economic viability of these vehicles depends on the availability of cost-effective batteries. This paper presents a generalized formulation for determining the optimal operating strategy and cost optimization for battery. Assume that the deterioration of the battery is stochastic. Under the assumptions, the proposed operating strategy for battery is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem considering reliability and failure number. And an explicit expression of the average cost rate is derived for battery lifetime. Results show that the proposed operating strategy enhances the availability and reliability at a low cost.

Operating dedicated data centers – is it cost-effective?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ernst, M; Hogue, R; Hollowell, C; Strecker-Kellog, W; Wong, A; Zaytsev, A

2014-01-01

The advent of cloud computing centres such as Amazon's EC2 and Google's Computing Engine has elicited comparisons with dedicated computing clusters. Discussions on appropriate usage of cloud resources (both academic and commercial) and costs have ensued. This presentation discusses a detailed analysis of the costs of operating and maintaining the RACF (RHIC and ATLAS Computing Facility) compute cluster at Brookhaven National Lab and compares them with the cost of cloud computing resources under various usage scenarios. An extrapolation of likely future cost effectiveness of dedicated computing resources is also presented.

Avoided operating costs in thermal generating systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chowdhury, N.; Billinton, R.; Gupta, R.

1995-01-01

A simple and straightforward technique was developed to assess avoided system operating costs associated with non-utility generation (NUG). The technique was based on optimum loading configurations of the committed units both before and after the inclusion of NUG energy. The salient features of the technique were presented in this paper. Assessment of avoided operating cost with deterministic and probabilistic criteria were explained. A time differentiated price system was adopted in the algorithms to reflect the different value placed on purchased price by a utility at different times of the day. The algorithms show the utility effects of dispatchable and non-dispatchable NUG energies. The IEEE Reliability Test System (RTS) was utilized for numerical analysis. Results were illustrated. It was found that sensitivity studies similar to those performed on the IEEE-RTS could be utilized to determine the amount of energy and the time period during which utilities and NUGs can maximize their economic benefits. 7 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

Multiple-factor analysis of the net cost of drilling operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karnaushevskaya, Zh I; Kukhtevich, L I; Lisovskaya, G F; Maguryak, N S; Nasinnik, Z A

1979-01-01

Basic factors in the rise in net cost of drilling operations are examined in the association ''Ukrneft''. A mathematical model of their net cost is constructed which takes into consideration the given factors. A number of measures are suggested and their specific influence on the decrease in net cost of well construction is defined.

A parametric cost model for estimating operating and support costs of US Navy (non-nuclear) surface ships

OpenAIRE

Brandt, James M.

1999-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited With few effective decision-making tools to assess the affordability of major weapon systems, management of total ownership costs is continually misunderstood. Cost analysis provides a quick and reliable assessment of affordability. Because there is no standardized method for calculating reliable estimates of operating and support (O&S) costs (the principal component of total ownership cost), this thesis formulates a parametric cost mo...

Operation and maintenance cost data for residential photovoltaic modules/panels

Science.gov (United States)

Oster, J. R., Jr.; Zaremski, D. R., Jr.; Albert, E. M.; Hawkins, S. L.

1980-01-01

Costs associated with the operation and maintenance of residential photovoltaic modules and arrays are studied. Six basic topics related to operation and maintenance to photovoltaic arrays are investigated: maintenance; cleaning; panel replacement; gasket repair/replacement; wiring repair/replacement; and termination repair/replacement. The effects of the mounting types (rack mount, stand off mount, direct mount and integral mount) and the installation/replacement type (sequential, partial interruption and independent) are identified and described. Methods of reducing maintenance costs are suggested.

Analysis of capital and operating costs associated with high level waste solidification processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckman, R.A.; Kniazewycz, B.G.

1978-03-01

An analysis was performed to evaluate the sensitivity of annual operating costs and capital costs of waste solidification processes to various parameters defined by the requirements of a proposed Federal waste repository. Five process methods and waste forms examined were: salt cake, spray calcine, fluidized bed calcine, borosilicate glass, and supercalcine multibarrier. Differential cost estimates of the annual operating and maintenance costs and the capital costs for the five HLW solidification alternates were developed

Estimating the Costs of Military Operations in Iraq

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gilmore, J. M

2007-01-01

This testimony, given by J. Michael Gilmore, Assistant Director for National Security, before the Committee on the Budget, United States Senate, discusses the costs of operations in the Iraq theater and issues associated...

Cost, energy use and GHG emissions for forest biomass harvesting operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Fengli; Johnson, Dana M.; Wang, Jinjiang; Yu, Chunxia

2016-01-01

For forest-based biomass to become a significant contribution to the United States' energy portfolio, harvesting operations must be physically feasible and economically viable. An assessment of cost, energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of forest biomass harvesting was conducted. The assessment differentiates harvesting systems by cut-to-length and whole tree; harvest types of 30%, 70%, and 100% cut; and forest types of hardwoods, softwoods, mixed hardwood/softwood, and softwood plantations. Harvesting cost models were developed for economic assessment and life cycle energy and emission assessment was applied to calculate energy and emissions for different harvesting scenarios, considering material and energy inputs (machinery, diesel, etc.) and outputs (GHG emissions) for each harvesting process (felling, forwarding/skidding, etc.). The developed harvesting cost models and the life cycle energy and emission assessment method were applied in Michigan, U.S. using information collected from different sources. A sensitivity analysis was performed for selected input variables for the harvesting operations in order to explore their relative importance. The results indicated that productivity had the largest impact on harvesting cost followed by machinery purchase price, yearly scheduled hours, and expected utilization. Productivity and fuel use, as well as fuel factors, are the most influential environmental impacts of harvesting operations. - Highlights: • Life cycle energy and emissions for forest biomass harvesting operations. • Harvesting cost models were developed for economic assessment. • Productivity had the largest impact on harvesting cost. • Fuel use contributes the most emissions while lubricants contribute the least.

Operations Assessment of Launch Vehicle Architectures using Activity Based Cost Models

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Torres, Alex J.; McCleskey, Carey

2000-01-01

The growing emphasis on affordability for space transportation systems requires the assessment of new space vehicles for all life cycle activities, from design and development, through manufacturing and operations. This paper addresses the operational assessment of launch vehicles, focusing on modeling the ground support requirements of a vehicle architecture, and estimating the resulting costs and flight rate. This paper proposes the use of Activity Based Costing (ABC) modeling for this assessment. The model uses expert knowledge to determine the activities, the activity times and the activity costs based on vehicle design characteristics. The approach provides several advantages to current approaches to vehicle architecture assessment including easier validation and allowing vehicle designers to understand the cost and cycle time drivers.

Estimated Costs of Continuing Operations in Iraq and Other Operations of the Global War on Terrorism

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Holtz-Eakin, Douglas

2004-01-01

At the request of Senator Conrad, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other operations associated with the global war on terrorism (GWOT...

Operating cost reduction by optimization of I and C backfitting strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraft, Heinz-U.

2002-01-01

Full text: The safe and economic operation of a nuclear power plant requires a large scope of automation systems to act properly in combination. The associated maintenance costs, necessary to test these systems periodically and to repair or to replace them partly or completely, are one important factor in the overall operating costs of a nuclear power plant. Reducing these costs by reducing the maintenance effort could decrease the availability of the power plant and by this way increase the operating costs significantly. The minimization of the overall operating costs requires a well-balanced maintenance strategy taking into account all these opposite influences. The replacement of an existing I and C system by a new one reduces the maintenance cost in the long term and increases the plant availability. However, it requires some investments in the short term. On the other hand the repair of an I and C system avoids investments, but it doesn't solve the aging problems. That means maintenance costs will increase in the long term and the plant availability could be decreased. An optimized maintenance strategy can be elaborated on a plant specific base taking into account the residual lifetime of the plant, the properties of the installed I and C systems as well as their influence on the plant availability. As a general result of such an optimization performed by FANP it has been found as a rule that the replacement of I and C systems becomes the most economic way the longer the expected lifetime is and the stronger the I and C system influences, the availability of the plant. (author)

19 CFR 10.178 - Direct costs of processing operations performed in the beneficiary developing country.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Direct costs of processing operations performed in... processing operations performed in the beneficiary developing country. (a) Items included in the direct costs of processing operations. As used in § 10.176, the words “direct costs of processing operations...

Reducing Operating Room Costs Through Real-Time Cost Information Feedback: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabib, Christian H; Bahler, Clinton D; Hardacker, Thomas J; Ball, Kevin M; Sundaram, Chandru P

2015-08-01

To create a protocol for providing real-time operating room (OR) cost feedback to surgeons. We hypothesize that this protocol will reduce costs in a responsible way without sacrificing quality of care. All OR costs were obtained and recorded for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Before the beginning of this project, costs pertaining to the 20 most recent cases were analyzed. Items were identified from previous cases as modifiable for replacement or omission. Timely feedback of total OR costs and cost of each item used was provided to the surgeon after each case, and costs were analyzed. A cost analysis of the robot-assisted partial nephrectomy before the washout period indicates expenditures of $5243.04 per case. Ten recommended modifiable items were found to have an average per case cost of $1229.33 representing 23.4% of the total cost. A postwashout period cost analysis found the total OR cost decreased by $899.67 (17.2%) because of changes directly related to the modifiable items. Therefore, 73.2% of the possible identified savings was realized. The same stepwise approach was applied to laparoscopic donor nephrectomies. The average total cost per case before the washout period was $3530.05 with $457.54 attributed to modifiable items. After the washout period, modifiable items costs were reduced by $289.73 (8.0%). No complications occurred in the donor nephrectomy cases while one postoperative complication occurred in the partial nephrectomy group. Providing surgeons with feedback related to OR costs may lead to a change in surgeon behavior and decreased overall costs. Further studies are needed to show equivalence in patient outcomes.

TRIUMF: Regional government offers KAON operating costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1992-09-15

After a period of uncertainty, confidence in the major KAON project for the Canadian TRIUMF Laboratory in Vancouver was boosted on 28 May at a rally of about a thousand KAON supporters in downtown Vancouver when the regional government of British Columbia announced its willingness to pay part of KAON's operating costs.

Mobile Offshore Base Operational Utility and Cost Study

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Greer, William

2001-01-01

.... This study responds to the portion of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 that directs the Secretary of Defense to provide an analysis of the operational utility and life cycle costs of the MOB...

Operating cost budgeting methods: quantitative methods to improve the process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Olegário Rodrigues da Silva

Full Text Available Abstract Operating cost forecasts are used in economic feasibility studies of projects and in budgeting process. Studies have pointed out that some companies are not satisfied with the budgeting process and chief executive officers want updates more frequently. In these cases, the main problem lies in the costs versus benefits. Companies seek simple and cheap forecasting methods without, at the same time, conceding in terms of quality of the resulting information. This study aims to compare operating cost forecasting models to identify the ones that are relatively easy to implement and turn out less deviation. For this purpose, we applied ARIMA (autoregressive integrated moving average and distributed dynamic lag models to data from a Brazilian petroleum company. The results suggest that the models have potential application, and that multivariate models fitted better and showed itself a better way to forecast costs than univariate models.

38th Annual Maintenance & Operations Cost Study for Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Agron, Joe

2009-01-01

The nation's colleges are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, and maintenance and operations (M&O) budgets especially are under pressure. This article presents data from the 38th annual Maintenance & Operations Cost Study for colleges that can help one in benchmarking expenditures at one's institution. Data provided only targets two-year…

38th Annual Maintenance & Operations Cost Study for Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Agron, Joe

2009-01-01

Despite the worst economic environment in generations, spending by K-12 institutions on maintenance and operations (M&O) held its own--defying historical trends that have shown M&O spending among the most affected in times of budget tightening. This article presents data from the 38th annual Maintenance & Operations Cost Study for…

Costs of construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants - determinant factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, R.A. da

1981-01-01

A study about the construction costs of the Angra-1 nuclear power plant, including direct costs, equipment costs, installation and indirect costs such as: engineering, job-training and administration is presented. The operation and maintenance costs of the Angra-1 nuclear power plant and costs of energy generation are still studied. (E.G.) [pt

TRIUMF: Regional government offers KAON operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

After a period of uncertainty, confidence in the major KAON project for the Canadian TRIUMF Laboratory in Vancouver was boosted on 28 May at a rally of about a thousand KAON supporters in downtown Vancouver when the regional government of British Columbia announced its willingness to pay part of KAON's operating costs

The System 80+ standard plant design reduces operations and maintenance costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chari, D.R.; Robertson, J.E.

1998-01-01

To be cost-competitive, nuclear power plants must maximize plant availability and minimize operations and maintenance (O and M) costs. A plant whose design supports these goals will generate more power at less cost and thereby have a lower unit generating cost. The ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Systems (ABB-CE) System 80+ Standard Nuclear Power Plant, rated at 1400 megawatts electric (MWe), is designed for high availability at reduced cost. To demonstrate that the duration of refueling outages, the major contributor to plant unavailability, can be shortened, ABB-CE developed a detailed plan that shows a System 80+ plant can safely perform a refueling and maintenance outage in 18 days. This is a significant reduction from the average current U.S. plant outages of 45 days, and is possible due to a two-part outage strategy: use System 80+ advanced system design features and relaxed technical specification (TS) time limits to shift some maintenance from outages to operating periods: and, use System 80+ structural, system, and component features, such as the larger operating floor, permanent pool seal, integral reactor head area cable tray system and missile shield, and longer life reactor coolant pump seals, to reduce the scope and duration of outage maintenance activities. Plant staffing level is the major variable, or controllable contributor to operations costs. ABB-CE worked with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) to perform detailed staffing analyses that show a System 80+ plant can be operated reliably with 30 percent less staff than currently operating nuclear plants of similar size. Safety was not sacrificed when ABB-CE developed the System 80+ refueling outage plan and staffing level. The outage plan was developed utilizing a defense-in-depth concept for shutdown safety. The defense in-depth concept is implemented via systematic control of outage risk evaluation (SCORE) cards. The SCORE cards identify primary and alternate means of

Operational cost minimization in cooling water systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Castro M.M.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, an optimization model that considers thermal and hydraulic interactions is developed for a cooling water system. It is a closed loop consisting of a cooling tower unit, circulation pump, blower and heat exchanger-pipe network. Aside from process disturbances, climatic fluctuations are considered. Model constraints include relations concerning tower performance, air flowrate requirement, make-up flowrate, circulating pump performance, heat load in each cooler, pressure drop constraints and climatic conditions. The objective function is operating cost minimization. Optimization variables are air flowrate, forced water withdrawal upstream the tower, and valve adjustment in each branch. It is found that the most significant operating cost is related to electricity. However, for cooled water temperatures lower than a specific target, there must be a forced withdrawal of circulating water and further makeup to enhance the cooling tower capacity. Additionally, the system is optimized along the months. The results corroborate the fact that the most important variable on cooling tower performance is not the air temperature itself, but its humidity.

On-line determination of operating limits incorporating constraint costs and reliability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meisingset, M.; Lovas, G. G.

1997-01-01

Problems regarding power system operation following deregulation were discussed. The problems arise as a result of the increased power flow pattern created by deregulation and competitive power markets, resulting in power in excess of N-1, (the capacity of transmission lines available), which in turn creates bottlenecks. In a situation like this, constraint costs and security costs (i.e. the cost of supply interruptions) are incurred as the direct result of the deterministic criteria used in reliability assessment. This paper describes an on-line probabilistic method to determine operating limits based on a trade-off between constraint costs and security costs. The probability of the contingencies depend on the existing weather conditions, which therefore has significant impact on the calculated operating limit. In consequence, the proposed method allows power flow to exceed the N-1 limit during normal weather. Under adverse weather conditions the N-1 criteria should be maintained. 15 refs., 13 figs

Construction and operation costs of constructed wetlands treating wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Gkika, Dimitra; Gikas, Georgios D; Tsihrintzis, Vassilios A

2014-01-01

Design data from nine constructed wetlands (CW) facilities of various capacities (population equivalent (PE)) are used to estimate construction and operation costs, and then to derive empirical equations relating the required facility land area and the construction cost to PE. In addition, comparisons between the costs of CW facilities based on various alternative construction materials, i.e., reinforced concrete and earth structures (covered with either high density polyethylene or clay), are presented in relation to the required area. The results show that earth structures are economically advantageous. The derived equations can be used for providing a preliminary cost estimate of CW facilities for domestic wastewater treatment.

Control and operation cost optimization of the HISS cryogenic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porter, J.; Anderson, D.; Bieser, F.

1984-01-01

This chapter describes a control strategy for the Heavy Ion Spectrometer System (HISS), which relies upon superconducting coils of cryostable design to provide a particle bending field of 3 tesla. The control strategy has allowed full time unattended operation and significant operating cost reductions. Microprocessor control of flash boiling style LIN circuits has been successful. It is determined that the overall operating cost of most cryogenic systems using closed loop helium systems can be minimized by properly balancing the total heat load between the helium and nitrogen circuits to take advantage of the non-linearity which exists in the power input to 4K refrigeration characteristic. Variable throughput compressors have the advantage of turndown capability at steady state. It is concluded that a hybrid system using digital and analog input for control, data display and alarms enables full time unattended operation

43 CFR 426.23 - Recovery of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. (a) General. All new, amended, and renewed contracts shall provide... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Recovery of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. 426.23 Section 426.23 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands BUREAU OF...

Operating cost guidelines for benchmarking DOE thermal treatment systems for low-level mixed waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salmon, R.; Loghry, S.L.; Hermes, W.H.

1994-11-01

This report presents guidelines for estimating operating costs for use in benchmarking US Department of Energy (DOE) low-level mixed waste thermal treatment systems. The guidelines are based on operating cost experience at the DOE Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) mixed waste incinerator at the K-25 Site at Oak Ridge. In presenting these guidelines, it should be made clear at the outset that it is not the intention of this report to present operating cost estimates for new technologies, but only guidelines for estimating such costs

Analysis of operating costs a Low-Level Mixed Waste Incineration Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loghry, S.L.; Salmon, R.; Hermes, W.H.

1995-01-01

By definition, mixed wastes contain both chemically hazardous and radioactive components. These components make the treatment and disposal of mixed wastes expensive and highly complex issues because the different regulations which pertain to the two classes of contaminants frequently conflict. One method to dispose of low-level mixed wastes (LLMWs) is by incineration, which volatizes and destroys the organic (and other) hazardous contaminants and also greatly reduces the waste volume. The US Department of Energy currently incinerates liquid LLMW in its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Incinerator, located at the K-25 Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This incinerator has been fully permitted since 1991 and to date has treated approximately 7 x 10 6 kg of liquid LLMW. This paper presents an analysis of the budgeted operating costs by category (e.g., maintenance, plant operations, sampling and analysis, and utilities) for fiscal year 1994 based on actual operating experience (i.e., a ''bottoms-up'' budget). These costs provide benchmarking guidelines which could be used in comparing incinerator operating costs with those of other technologies designed to dispose of liquid LLMW. A discussion of the current upgrade status and future activities are included in this paper. Capital costs are not addressed

Optimizing power plant cycling operations while reducing generating plant damage and costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lefton, S A; Besuner, P H; Grimsrud, P [Aptech Engineering Services, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (United States); Bissel, A [Electric Supply Board, Dublin (Ireland)

1999-12-31

This presentation describes a method for analyzing, quantifying, and minimizing the total cost of fossil, combined cycle, and pumped hydro power plant cycling operation. The method has been developed, refined, and applied during engineering studies at some 160 units in the United States and 8 units at the Irish Electric Supply Board (ESB) generating system. The basic premise of these studies was that utilities are underestimating the cost of cycling operation. The studies showed that the cost of cycling conventional boiler/turbine fossil power plants can range from between $2,500 and $500,000 per start-stop cycle. It was found that utilities typically estimate these costs by factors of 3 to 30 below actual costs and, thus, often significantly underestimate their true cycling costs. Knowledge of the actual, or total, cost of cycling will reduce power production costs by enabling utilities to more accurately dispatch their units to manage unit life expectancies, maintenance strategies and reliability. Utility management responses to these costs are presented and utility cost savings have been demonstrated. (orig.) 7 refs.

Optimizing power plant cycling operations while reducing generating plant damage and costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lefton, S.A.; Besuner, P.H.; Grimsrud, P. [Aptech Engineering Services, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (United States); Bissel, A. [Electric Supply Board, Dublin (Ireland)

1998-12-31

This presentation describes a method for analyzing, quantifying, and minimizing the total cost of fossil, combined cycle, and pumped hydro power plant cycling operation. The method has been developed, refined, and applied during engineering studies at some 160 units in the United States and 8 units at the Irish Electric Supply Board (ESB) generating system. The basic premise of these studies was that utilities are underestimating the cost of cycling operation. The studies showed that the cost of cycling conventional boiler/turbine fossil power plants can range from between $2,500 and $500,000 per start-stop cycle. It was found that utilities typically estimate these costs by factors of 3 to 30 below actual costs and, thus, often significantly underestimate their true cycling costs. Knowledge of the actual, or total, cost of cycling will reduce power production costs by enabling utilities to more accurately dispatch their units to manage unit life expectancies, maintenance strategies and reliability. Utility management responses to these costs are presented and utility cost savings have been demonstrated. (orig.) 7 refs.

Operating and support costs and affordability of a 324 ship Naval battle force

OpenAIRE

Antonucci, Kevin C.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine both the added operating and support (OandS) costs and affordability of operating and maintaining a future naval battle force of 324 ships as proposed in the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan. Cost estimation including regression, 3-year moving averages, point, expert and analogous modeling was used to capture both historical and future OandS costs from FY1991 to FY2024. With an emphasis on the three main cost drivers, (manpower, fuel and maintena...

Nuclear power costs in the build, operate, transfer approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aybers, M.N.; Sahin, B.

1990-01-01

The costs of nuclear power are discussed with special reference to the economic problems faced by developing countries, and the relative merit of a new accounting approach, viz., the build, operate, transfer contract model, which was proposed in Turkey for the Akkuyu nuclear power project, is illustrated. In this context, the general methodology of calculating nuclear power costs is summarized and a capital cost analysis for a 986 MW pressurized water reactor plant is given in terms of constant monetary units for the above contract model and the turnkey contract model. Adjustment of the costs taking into account regional conditions such as inflation and higher interest rates is also indicated. (orig.) [de

Supply chain cost improvement opportunities through streamlining cross-border operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Hendrik Havenga

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA in South Africa aims to encourage and facilitate trade between South Africa and its neighbouring countries. The CBRTA sponsored a study by Stellenbosch University (SU to determine the logistics cost impact of cross-border delays between South Africa and its major neighbouring trading partners, and prioritise opportunities for improvement. SU is the proprietor of both a comprehensive freight demand model and a logistics cost model for South Africa, which enable extractions and extensions of freight flows and related costs for specific purposes. Through the application of these models, the following information is identified and presented in this paper: South Africa’s most important border posts (based on traffic flows; a product profile for imports and exports through these border posts; the modal split (road and rail; the annual logistics costs incurred on the corridors feeding the border posts, as well as the additional costs incurred due to border delays. The research has proved that the streamlining of border-post operations that take a total supply chain view (i.e. of both border operations and those that could be moved from the border is beneficial.

Operational Impacts of Operating Reserve Demand Curves on Production Cost and Reliability: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krad, Ibrahim; Ibanez, Eduardo; Ela, Erik; Gao, Wenzhong

2015-10-27

The electric power industry landscape is continually evolving. As emerging technologies such as wind, solar, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems become more cost-effective and present in the system, traditional power system operating strategies will need to be reevaluated. The presence of wind and solar generation (commonly referred to as variable generation) may result in an increase in the variability and uncertainty of the net load profile. One mechanism to mitigate this is to schedule and dispatch additional operating reserves. These operating reserves aim to ensure that there is enough capacity online in the system to account for the increased variability and uncertainty occurring at finer temporal resolutions. A new operating reserve strategy, referred to as flexibility reserve, has been introduced in some regions. A similar implementation is explored in this paper, and its implications on power system operations are analyzed.

Alternatives for operational cost reduction in oil pipelines; Alternativas para reducao de custos energeticos operacionais em oleodutos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krause, Philipe Barroso; Carneiro, Leonardo Motta; Pires, Luis Fernando Goncalves [Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (SIMDUT/DEM/ PUC-Rio), RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecancia. Nucleo de Simulacao Termo-Hidraulica de Dutos

2012-07-01

This paper intends to give a brief overview of some cost reduction alternatives in oil pipelines, to optimize the pipeline operation. Four different alternatives are presented, based on previous studies made on existing pipelines, to demonstrate the response obtained with these solutions. Pipeline operation, especially on mature ones, tends to have a high operational cost, be by tradition, the aging of the installation, change of operational characteristics - such as nominal flow, product, or even flow direction - for which the pipeline wasn't originally designed. The alternatives showed allow for an increase survival time of the pipeline, without resorting to major changes, such as replacement of pipes or adding pumping stations to the system. The alternative studied varies from no implementation cost to high installation cost or operational cost increase, depending on the system and the alternative chosen. From changing the pump arrays during operation or changing the products viscosity with different blends, that represent virtually no cost to the pipeline operation, to the use of VFDs, with a high installation cost or DRA, which increase the operational cost. (author)

Understanding cost growth during operations of planetary missions: An explanation of changes

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, J. F.; Chapman, E. L.; Sklar, M. E.

In the development of project cost estimates for interplanetary missions, considerable focus is generally given to the development of cost estimates for the development of ground, flight, and launch systems, i.e., Phases B, C, and D. Depending on the project team, efforts expended to develop cost estimates for operations (Phase E) may be relatively less rigorous than that devoted to estimates for ground and flight systems development. Furthermore, the project team may be challenged to develop a solid estimate of operations cost in the early stages of mission development, e.g., Concept Study Report or Systems Requirement Review (CSR/SRR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), as mission specific peculiarities that impact cost may not be well understood. In addition, a methodology generally used to develop Phase E cost is engineering build-up, also known as “ grass roots” . Phase E can include cost and schedule risks that are not anticipated at the time of the major milestone reviews prior to launch. If not incorporated into the engineering build-up cost method for Phase E, this may translate into an estimation of the complexity of operations and overall cost estimates that are not mature and at worse, insufficient. As a result, projects may find themselves with thin reserves during cruise and on-orbit operations or project overruns prior to the end of mission. This paper examines a set of interplanetary missions in an effort to better understand the reasons for cost and staffing growth in Phase E. The method used in the study is discussed as well as the major findings summarized as the Phase E Explanation of Change (EoC). Research for the study entailed the review of project materials, including Estimates at Completion (EAC) for Phase E and staffing profiles, major project milestone reviews, e.g., CSR, PDR, Critical Design Review (CDR), the interviewing of select project and mission management, and review of Phase E replan materials. From this work, a detai- ed

43 CFR 404.55 - Who is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Miscellaneous § 404.55 Who is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs? You will be responsible for 100 percent of the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs for any rural water facility... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Who is responsible for the operation...

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Economics of tobacco control research initiative: Operating costs for capacity building ... (but misinformed) beliefs about the economic benefits of the tobacco industry ... Nutrition, health policy, and ethics in the age of public-private partnerships.

Capital and operating costs of irradiated natural uranium reprocessing plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiriet, L.; Jouannaud, C.; Couture, J.; Duboz, J.

1966-01-01

This paper presents first a method of analysing natural uranium reprocessing plants investment costs (method similar to LANG and BACH well known in the fuel oil industry) and their operating costs (analysed according to their economic type). This method helps establishing standard cost structures for these plants, allowing thus comparisons between existing or planned industrial facilities. It also helps evaluating the foreseeable consequences of technical progress. Some results obtained are given, concerning: the investment costs sensitivity to the various technical parameters defining the fuel and their comparison according to the country or the economic area taken into account. Finally, the influence of the plants size on their investment costs is shown. (author) [fr

Operation Cost Minimization of Droop-Controlled AC Microgrids Using Multiagent-Based Distributed Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; Savaghebi, Mehdi; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

on the power rating of the power converters. With various primary source for the distributed generator (DG), factors that are closely related to the operation cost, such as fuel cost of the generators and losses should be taken into account in order to improve the efficiency of the whole system. In this paper......, a multiagent-based distributed method is proposed to minimize the operation cost in AC microgrids. In the microgrid, each DG is acting as an agent which regulates the power individually using a novel power regulation method based on frequency scheduling. An optimal power command is obtained through carefully...... designed consensus algorithm by using sparse communication links only among neighbouring agents. Experimental results for different cases verified that the proposed control strategy can effectively reduce the operation cost....

Reducing Development and Operations Costs using NASA's "GMSEC" Systems Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Dan; Bristow, John; Crouse, Patrick

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the role of Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) in reducing development and operation costs in handling the massive data from NASA missions. The goals of GMSEC systems architecture development are to (1) Simplify integration and development, (2)Facilitate technology infusion over time, (3) Support evolving operational concepts, and (4) All for mix of heritage, COTS and new components. First 3 missions (i.e., Tropical Rainforest Measuring Mission (TRMM), Small Explorer (SMEX) missions - SWAS, TRACE, SAMPEX, and ST5 3-Satellite Constellation System) each selected a different telemetry and command system. These results show that GMSEC's message-bus component-based framework architecture is well proven and provides significant benefits over traditional flight and ground data system designs. The missions benefit through increased set of product options, enhanced automation, lower cost and new mission-enabling operations concept options .

The role of information technology (IT) in reducing offshore operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, M.J.

1993-01-01

The rapid changes in information technology (IT) and its application have helped to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs offshore. Developments in IT itself, in terms of technology, organization and standards together with cultural change have created new opportunities. In the application of IT, the most significant impact on operations costs and effectiveness has come from the use of information throughout the life cycle, and improved telecommunications. This paper describes recent developments in IT and its application, and cites examples where oil companies have derived major benefits

Identifying Fixed Support Costs in Air Force Visibility and Management of Operating and Support Costs (VAMOSC).

Science.gov (United States)

1983-04-01

Algorithms I: Overview," Technical Report No. 115-2, Desmatics, Inc., 1983. 6. C. T. Horngren , Cost Accounting : A Managerial Emphasis, Prentice-Hall Inc...CHART NATIONA BUREAUJ OF STAf4DARO-I% 3-A S . . . . . . . . . . I.I i ". ’ 1).N’r1F𔃻I."U FmiXE Sc’pioir COSTS IN A VA,(),C * by Robert L. Gardner Dennis...operations and support (O& S ) costs for Air Force aircraft weapon systems and ground communications-electronics (C-E) systems. Included are fuel, materiel, pay

Fog-Assisted Operational Cost Reduction for Cloud Data Centers

OpenAIRE

Yu, Liang; Jiang, Tao; Zou, Yulong

2017-01-01

In this paper, we intend to reduce the operational cost of cloud data centers with the help of fog devices, which can avoid the revenue loss due to wide-area network propagation delay and save network bandwidth cost by serving nearby cloud users. Since fog devices may not be owned by a cloud service provider, they should be compensated for serving the requests of cloud users. When taking economical compensation into consideration, the optimal number of requests processed locally by each fog d...

Study of short-haul aircraft operating economics. Phase 2: an analysis of the impact of jet modernization on local service airline operating costs. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrastek, D.A.

1976-05-01

The objectives of this phase of the study were (1) to assess the 10 year operating cost trends of the local service airlines operating in the 1965 through 1974 period, (2) to glean from these trends the technological and operational parameters which were impacted most significantly by the transition to newer pure jet, short haul transports, and effected by changing fuel prices and cost of living indices, and (3) to develop, construct, and evaluate an operating cost forecasting model which would incorporate those factors which best predicted airline total operating cost behavior over that 10-year period.

Reducing capital and operating costs in gas processing, liquefaction, and storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krusen, III, L C [Phillips Petroleum Co., Bartlesville, OK (United States). Research Div.

1997-06-01

The LNG industry is unanimous that capital costs must be reduced throughout the chain, and especially at the liquefaction facility including associated gas processing and LNG storage. The Ken ai LNG plant provides an example of how both reduced capital and operating costs were attained. This paper will cover cost production strategies that can be applied to liquefaction processes in general, and will than focus on their realization in the Phillips Optimized Cascade LNG process. The paper concludes that reduced LNG plant costs are attainable. (Author).

Reducing capital and operating costs in gas processing, liquefaction, and storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krusen, L.C. III

1997-01-01

The LNG industry is unanimous that capital costs must be reduced throughout the chain, and especially at the liquefaction facility including associated gas processing and LNG storage. The Ken ai LNG plant provides an example of how both reduced capital and operating costs were attained. This paper will cover cost production strategies that can be applied to liquefaction processes in general, and will than focus on their realization in the Phillips Optimized Cascade LNG process. The paper concludes that reduced LNG plant costs are attainable. (Author)

Utilization and cost of log production from animal loging operations

Science.gov (United States)

Suraj P. Shrestha; Bobby L. Lanford; Robert B. Rummer; Mark Dubois

2006-01-01

Forest harvesting with animals is a labor-intensive operation. It is expensive to use machines on smaller woodlots, which require frequent moves if mechanically logged. So, small logging systems using animals may be more cost effective. In this study, work sampling was used for five animal logging operations in Alabama to measure productive and non-productive time...

43 CFR 404.40 - What is the non-Federal share of operation, maintenance, and replacement costs?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Cost-Sharing § 404.40 What is the non-Federal share of operation, maintenance, and replacement costs? You are required to pay 100 percent of the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of any rural... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What is the non-Federal share of operation...

19 CFR 10.197 - Direct costs of processing operations performed in a beneficiary country or countries.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Direct costs of processing operations performed in... TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. Caribbean Basin Initiative § 10.197 Direct costs of processing operations... operations. As used in § 10.195 and § 10.198, the words “direct costs of processing operations” mean those...

Cost of enlarged operating zone for an existing Francis runner

Science.gov (United States)

Monette, Christine; Marmont, Hugues; Chamberland-Lauzon, Joël; Skagerstrand, Anders; Coutu, André; Carlevi, Jens

2016-11-01

Traditionally, hydro power plants have been operated close to best efficiency point, the more stable operating condition for which they have been designed. However, because of changes in the electricity market, many hydro power plants operators wish to operate their machines differently to fulfil those new market needs. New operating conditions can include whole range operation, many start/stops, extensive low load operation, synchronous condenser mode and power/frequency regulation. Many of these new operating conditions may impose more severe fatigue damage than the traditional base load operation close to best efficiency point. Under these conditions, the fatigue life of the runner may be significantly reduced and reparation or replacement cost might occur sooner than expected. In order to design reliable Francis runners for those new challenging operating scenarios, Andritz Hydro has developed various proprietary tools and design rules. These are used within Andritz Hydro to design mechanically robust Francis runners for the operating scenarios fulfilling customer's specifications. To estimate residual life under different operating scenarios of an existing runner designed years ago for best efficiency base load operation, Andritz Hydro's design rules and tools would necessarily lead to conservative results. While the geometry of a new runner can be modified to fulfil all conservative mechanical design rules, the predicted fatigue life of an existing runner under off-design operating conditions may appear rather short because of the conservative safety factor included in the calculations. The most precise and reliable way to calculate residual life of an existing runner under different operating scenarios is to perform a strain gauge measurement campaign on the runner. This paper presents the runner strain gage measurement campaign of a mid-head Francis turbine over all the operating conditions available during the test, the analysis of the measurement signals

42 CFR 412.62 - Federal rates for inpatient operating costs for fiscal year 1984.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... determines national adjusted DRG prospective payment rates for operating costs, for each inpatient hospital... DRG prospective payment rates for inpatient operating costs for such discharges in each region, for... classifications. (1) For purposes of paragraph (e) of this section, the following definitions apply: (i) The term...

Estimation of the laser cutting operating cost by support vector regression methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Jović, Srđan; Radović, Aleksandar; Šarkoćević, Živče; Petković, Dalibor; Alizamir, Meysam

2016-09-01

Laser cutting is a popular manufacturing process utilized to cut various types of materials economically. The operating cost is affected by laser power, cutting speed, assist gas pressure, nozzle diameter and focus point position as well as the workpiece material. In this article, the process factors investigated were: laser power, cutting speed, air pressure and focal point position. The aim of this work is to relate the operating cost to the process parameters mentioned above. CO2 laser cutting of stainless steel of medical grade AISI316L has been investigated. The main goal was to analyze the operating cost through the laser power, cutting speed, air pressure, focal point position and material thickness. Since the laser operating cost is a complex, non-linear task, soft computing optimization algorithms can be used. Intelligent soft computing scheme support vector regression (SVR) was implemented. The performance of the proposed estimator was confirmed with the simulation results. The SVR results are then compared with artificial neural network and genetic programing. According to the results, a greater improvement in estimation accuracy can be achieved through the SVR compared to other soft computing methodologies. The new optimization methods benefit from the soft computing capabilities of global optimization and multiobjective optimization rather than choosing a starting point by trial and error and combining multiple criteria into a single criterion.

Manufacturing enterprise’s logistics operational cost simulation and optimization from the perspective of inter-firm network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun Fu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: By studying the case of a Changsha engineering machinery manufacturing firm, this paper aims to find out the optimization tactics to reduce enterprise’s logistics operational cost. Design/methodology/approach: This paper builds the structure model of manufacturing enterprise’s logistics operational costs from the perspective of inter-firm network and simulates the model based on system dynamics. Findings: It concludes that applying system dynamics in the research of manufacturing enterprise’s logistics cost control can better reflect the relationship of factors in the system. And the case firm can optimize the logistics costs by implement joint distribution. Research limitations/implications: This study still lacks comprehensive consideration about the variables quantities and quantitative of the control factors. In the future, we should strengthen the collection of data and information about the engineering manufacturing firms and improve the logistics operational cost model. Practical implications: This study puts forward some optimization tactics to reduce enterprise’s logistics operational cost. And it is of great significance for enterprise’s supply chain management optimization and logistics cost control. Originality/value: Differing from the existing literatures, this paper builds the structure model of manufacturing enterprise’s logistics operational costs from the perspective of inter-firm network and simulates the model based on system dynamics.

Cost Model for Risk Assessment of Company Operation in Audit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. V.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article explores the approach to assessing the risk of company activities termination by building a cost model. This model gives auditors information on managers’ understanding of factors influencing change in the value of assets and liabilities, and the methods to identify it in more effective and reliable ways. Based on this information, the auditor can assess the adequacy of use of the assumption on continuity of company operation by management personnel when preparing financial statements. Financial uncertainty entails real manifestations of factors creating risks of the occurrence of costs, revenue losses due their manifestations, which in the long run can be a reason for termination of company operation, and, therefore, need to be foreseen in the auditor’s assessment of the adequacy of use of the continuity assumption when preparing financial statements by company management. The purpose of the study is to explore and develop a methodology for use of cost models to assess the risk of termination of company operation in audit. The issue of methodology for assessing the audit risk through analyzing methods for company valuation has not been dealt with. The review of methodologies for assessing the risks of termination of company operation in course of audit gives grounds for the conclusion that use of cost models can be an effective methodology for identification and assessment of such risks. The analysis of the above methods gives understanding of the existing system for company valuation, integrated into the management system, and the consequences of its use, i. e. comparison of the asset price data with the accounting data and the market value of the asset data. Overvalued or undervalued company assets may be a sign of future sale or liquidation of a company, which may signal on high probability of termination of company operation. A wrong choice or application of valuation methods can be indicative of the risk of non

Reduce operational cost and extend the life of pipeline infrastructure by automating remote cathodic protection systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosado, Elroy [Freewave Technologies, Inc., Boulder, CO (United States). Latin America

2009-07-01

Energy and Pipeline Companies wrestle to control operating costs largely affected by new government regulations, ageing buried metal assets, rising steel prices, expanding pipeline operations, new interference points, HCA encroachment, restrictive land use policies, heightened network security, and an ageing soon-to-retire work force. With operating costs on the rise, seemingly out of control, many CP and Operations Professionals look to past best practices in cost containment through automation. Many companies achieve solid business results through deployment of telemetry and SCADA automation of remote assets and now hope to expand this success to further optimize operations by automating remote cathodic protection systems. This presentation will provide examples of how new remote cathodic protection systems are helping energy and pipeline companies address the growing issue of the aging pipeline infrastructure and reduce their costs while optimizing their operations. (author)

LIFE Cost of Electricity, Capital and Operating Costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anklam, T.

2011-01-01

Successful commercialization of fusion energy requires economic viability as well as technical and scientific feasibility. To assess economic viability, we have conducted a pre-conceptual level evaluation of LIFE economics. Unit costs are estimated from a combination of bottom-up costs estimates, working with representative vendors, and scaled results from previous studies of fission and fusion plants. An integrated process model of a LIFE power plant was developed to integrate and optimize unit costs and calculate top level metrics such as cost of electricity and power plant capital cost. The scope of this activity was the entire power plant site. Separately, a development program to deliver the required specialized equipment has been assembled. Results show that LIFE power plant cost of electricity and plant capital cost compare favorably to estimates for new-build LWR's, coal and gas - particularly if indicative costs of carbon capture and sequestration are accounted for.

ISS Operations Cost Reductions Through Automation of Real-Time Planning Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Timothy A.; Clancey, William J.; McDonald, Aaron; Toschlog, Jason; Tucker, Tyson; Khan, Ahmed; Madrid, Steven (Eric)

2011-01-01

In 2007 the Johnson Space Center s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) management team challenged their organizations to find ways to reduce the cost of operations for supporting the International Space Station (ISS) in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Each MOD organization was asked to define and execute projects that would help them attain cost reductions by 2012. The MOD Operations Division Flight Planning Branch responded to this challenge by launching several software automation projects that would allow them to greatly improve console operations and reduce ISS console staffing and intern reduce operating costs. These tasks ranged from improving the management and integration mission plan changes, to automating the uploading and downloading of information to and from the ISS and the associated ground complex tasks that required multiple decision points. The software solutions leveraged several different technologies including customized web applications and implementation of industry standard web services architecture; as well as engaging a previously TRL 4-5 technology developed by Ames Research Center (ARC) that utilized an intelligent agent-based system to manage and automate file traffic flow, archive data, and generate console logs. These projects to date have allowed the MOD Operations organization to remove one full time (7 x 24 x 365) ISS console position in 2010; with the goal of eliminating a second full time ISS console support position by 2012. The team will also reduce one long range planning console position by 2014. When complete, these Flight Planning Branch projects will account for the elimination of 3 console positions and a reduction in staffing of 11 engineering personnel (EP) for ISS.

Methods of projecting operations and maintenance costs for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Operations and maintenance cost (OMC) had increased its relative importance to the total generation cost for future nuclear power stations, according to the latest update of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) study on Projected Costs of Generating Electricity (EGC studies). OMC is some 20 to 30% of total generation cost for future nuclear power stations in most NEA member countries. However, nuclear OMC that countries projected in the latest EGC study are spread over a wide range, from 5 to 16 US mills/kWh. In order to understand better the reasons for this wide diversity in nuclear OMC projections, the NEA set up an Expert Group. The focus of this study was on projected OMC that were reported in the past EGC studies, but the Group studied actual OMC experienced from existing units, because knowledge or experience concerning actual OMC certainly influences the choice of assumptions or calculation procedure for estimating OMC for future plants. Cost informations from 14 NEA countries have been analysed on the basis of a standardized framework of detailed components of OMC costs. The rationale for different OMC cost projections reported in previous NEA studies on generation cost is discussed and suggestions are made for future studies on both generation cost and OMC cost. Despite the methodological approach and the reduced extent of differences when excluding exceptional figures, it was not possible fully to clarify the origins and to understand the remaining differences in OMC figures. Several countries which have a long and a good experience of operating nuclear units did not provide sufficient detailed data or did not provide any quantitative data at all. (J.S.). 14 refs., 5 figs., 19 tabs., 4 annexes

Cost estimates for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm: a budgetary analysis

OpenAIRE

Johnson, J. Andrew.

1991-01-01

Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (DS/DS) presented unique challenges for estimating the cost of that conflict. This analysis reviews the cost estimates and methodologies developed for that purpose by DoD, CBO and GAO. It considers the budget climate and the role of foreign cash and in-kind contributions. Finally, it reviews the budgeting innovations used to provide and monitor DS/DS defense spending. At the outset of the crisis, costs were estimated to determine the defense funding requir...

Is the system really the solution? Operating costs in hospital systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Lawton Robert; McCullough, Jeffrey S; Wholey, Douglas R; Kruse, Gregory; Kralovec, Peter; Muller, Ralph

2015-06-01

Hospital system formation has recently accelerated. Executives emphasize scale economies that lower operating costs, a claim unsupported in academic research. Do systems achieve lower costs than freestanding facilities, and, if so, which system types? We test hypotheses about the relationship of cost with membership in systems, larger systems, and centralized and local hub-and-spoke systems. We also test whether these relationships have changed over time. Examining 4,000 U.S. hospitals during 1998 to 2010, we find no evidence that system members exhibit lower costs. However, members of smaller systems are lower cost than larger systems, and hospitals in centralized systems are lower cost than everyone else. There is no evidence that the system's spatial configuration is associated with cost, although national system hospitals exhibit higher costs. Finally, these results hold over time. We conclude that while systems in general may not be the solution to lower costs, some types of systems are. © The Author(s) 2015.

ISS Operations Cost Reductions Through Automation of Real-Time Planning Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Timothy A.

2011-01-01

In 2008 the Johnson Space Center s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) management team challenged their organization to find ways to reduce the costs of International Space station (ISS) console operations in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Each MOD organization was asked to identify projects that would help them attain a goal of a 30% reduction in operating costs by 2012. The MOD Operations and Planning organization responded to this challenge by launching several software automation projects that would allow them to greatly improve ISS console operations and reduce staffing and operating costs. These projects to date have allowed the MOD Operations organization to remove one full time (7 x 24 x 365) ISS console position in 2010; with the plan of eliminating two full time ISS console support positions by 2012. This will account for an overall 10 EP reduction in staffing for the Operations and Planning organization. These automation projects focused on utilizing software to automate many administrative and often repetitive tasks involved with processing ISS planning and daily operations information. This information was exchanged between the ground flight control teams in Houston and around the globe, as well as with the ISS astronaut crew. These tasks ranged from managing mission plan changes from around the globe, to uploading and downloading information to and from the ISS crew, to even more complex tasks that required multiple decision points to process the data, track approvals and deliver it to the correct recipient across network and security boundaries. The software solutions leveraged several different technologies including customized web applications and implementation of industry standard web services architecture between several planning tools; as well as a engaging a previously research level technology (TRL 2-3) developed by Ames Research Center (ARC) that utilized an intelligent agent based system to manage and automate file traffic flow

41 CFR 102-33.190 - What are the aircraft operations and ownership costs for which we must account?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... operations and ownership costs for which we must account? 102-33.190 Section 102-33.190 Public Contracts and... Parts Accounting for the Cost of Government Aircraft § 102-33.190 What are the aircraft operations and ownership costs for which we must account? You must account for the operations and ownership costs of your...

The costs and benefits of embedded generation islanding operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro-Sayas, F.; Clarke, G.D.

2002-07-01

This report describes the results of a study commissioned by the UK Department of Trade and Industry to identify the technical, legal and commercial issues of islanded embedded generation and to quantify the costs and benefits. Technical considerations affecting island mode operation include security of supply requirements, the licence duty of distribution network operators (DNOs) to comply with 'group demand' restoration times, 'guaranteed standards' licence requirements governing restoration of supplies to customers, and frequency and voltage control. The economics of islanded embedded generation are discussed and key factors noted.

Operation Cost Minimization of Droop-Controlled AC Microgrids Using Multiagent-Based Distributed Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chendan Li

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Recently, microgrids are attracting increasing research interest as promising technologies to integrate renewable energy resources into the distribution system. Although many works have been done on droop control applied to microgrids, they mainly focus on achieving proportional power sharing based on the power rating of the power converters. With various primary source for the distributed generator (DG, factors that are closely related to the operation cost, such as fuel cost of the generators and losses should be taken into account in order to improve the efficiency of the whole system. In this paper, a multiagent-based distributed method is proposed to minimize the operation cost in AC microgrids. In the microgrid, each DG is acting as an agent which regulates the power individually using a novel power regulation method based on frequency scheduling. An optimal power command is obtained through carefully designed consensus algorithm by using sparse communication links only among neighbouring agents. Experimental results for different cases verified that the proposed control strategy can effectively reduce the operation cost.

78 FR 56911 - Notice of Certain Operating Cost Adjustment Factors for 2014

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-16

... Cost Adjustment Factors for 2014 AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner, HUD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice establishes operating cost adjustment factors (OCAFs... date on or after February 11, 2014. OCAFs are annual factors used to adjust Section 8 rents renewed...

Costs and indices for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations 1990 through 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-07-08

This report presents estimated costs and indice for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations for 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. The costs of all equipment and serives were those in effect during June of each year. The sums (aggregates) of the costs for representative leases by region, depth, and production rate were averaged and indexed. This provides a general measure of the increased or decreased costs from year to year for lease equipment and operations. These general measures do not capture changes in industry-wide costs exactly because of annual variations in the ratio of oil wells to gas wells. The body of the report contains summary tables, and the appendices contain detailed tables. Price changes for oil and gas, changes in taxes on oil and gas revenues, and environmental factors (costs and lease availability) have significant impact on the number and cost of oil and gas wells drilled. These changes also impact the cost of oil and gas production equipment and operations.

Costs and indices for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations 1990 through 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

This report presents estimated costs and indice for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations for 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. The costs of all equipment and serives were those in effect during June of each year. The sums (aggregates) of the costs for representative leases by region, depth, and production rate were averaged and indexed. This provides a general measure of the increased or decreased costs from year to year for lease equipment and operations. These general measures do not capture changes in industry-wide costs exactly because of annual variations in the ratio of oil wells to gas wells. The body of the report contains summary tables, and the appendices contain detailed tables. Price changes for oil and gas, changes in taxes on oil and gas revenues, and environmental factors (costs and lease availability) have significant impact on the number and cost of oil and gas wells drilled. These changes also impact the cost of oil and gas production equipment and operations

Streamlining: Reducing costs and increasing STS operations effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

Petersburg, R. K.

1985-01-01

The development of streamlining as a concept, its inclusion in the space transportation system engineering and operations support (STSEOS) contract, and how it serves as an incentive to management and technical support personnel is discussed. The mechanics of encouraging and processing streamlining suggestions, reviews, feedback to submitters, recognition, and how individual employee performance evaluations are used to motivation are discussed. Several items that were implemented are mentioned. Information reported and the methodology of determining estimated dollar savings are outlined. The overall effect of this activity on the ability of the McDonnell Douglas flight preparation and mission operations team to support a rapidly increasing flight rate without a proportional increase in cost is illustrated.

The COST model for calculation of forest operations costs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ackerman, P.; Belbo, H.; Eliasson, L.; Jong, de J.J.; Lazdins, A.; Lyons, J.

2014-01-01

Since the late nineteenth century when high-cost equipment was introduced into forestry there has been a need to calculate the cost of this equipment in more detail with respect to, for example, cost of ownership, cost per hour of production, and cost per production unit. Machine cost calculations

16 CFR 305.5 - Determinations of estimated annual energy consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and energy efficiency rating, and of water use rate. 305.5... RULE CONCERNING DISCLOSURES REGARDING ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND WATER USE OF CERTAIN HOME APPLIANCES AND... § 305.5 Determinations of estimated annual energy consumption, estimated annual operating cost, and...

Experiences of operational costs of HPV vaccine delivery strategies in Gavi-supported demonstration projects

Science.gov (United States)

Holroyd, Taylor; Nanda, Shreya; Bloem, Paul; Griffiths, Ulla K.; Sidibe, Anissa; Hutubessy, Raymond C. W.

2017-01-01

From 2012 to 2016, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, provided support for countries to conduct small-scale demonstration projects for the introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccine, with the aim of determining which human papillomavirus vaccine delivery strategies might be effective and sustainable upon national scale-up. This study reports on the operational costs and cost determinants of different vaccination delivery strategies within these projects across twelve countries using a standardized micro-costing tool. The World Health Organization Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Costing Tool was used to collect costing data, which were then aggregated and analyzed to assess the costs and cost determinants of vaccination. Across the one-year demonstration projects, the average economic and financial costs per dose amounted to US$19.98 (standard deviation ±12.5) and US$8.74 (standard deviation ±5.8), respectively. The greatest activities representing the greatest share of financial costs were social mobilization at approximately 30% (range, 6–67%) and service delivery at about 25% (range, 3–46%). Districts implemented varying combinations of school-based, facility-based, or outreach delivery strategies and experienced wide variation in vaccine coverage, drop-out rates, and service delivery costs, including transportation costs and per diems. Size of target population, number of students per school, and average length of time to reach an outreach post influenced cost per dose. Although the operational costs from demonstration projects are much higher than those of other routine vaccine immunization programs, findings from our analysis suggest that HPV vaccination operational costs will decrease substantially for national introduction. Vaccination costs may be decreased further by annual vaccination, high initial investment in social mobilization, or introducing/strengthening school health programs. Our analysis shows that drivers of cost are dependent on

Post-operative telephone review is cost-effective and acceptable to patients.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Gray, R T

2012-02-01

INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing selective minor emergency and elective procedures are followed up by a nurse-led structured telephone review six weeks post-operatively in our hospital. Our study objectives were to review patients\\' satisfaction, assess cost-effectiveness and compare our practice with other surgical units in Northern Ireland (NI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Completed telephone follow-up forms were reviewed retrospectively for a three-year period and cost savings calculated. Fifty patients were contacted prospectively by telephone using a questionnaire to assess satisfaction of this follow-up. A postal questionnaire was sent to 68 general and vascular surgeons in NI, assessing individual preferences for patient follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 1378 patients received a telephone review from September 2005 to September 2008. One thousand one hundred and seventy-seven (85.4%) were successfully contacted, while 201 (14.6%) did not respond despite multiple attempts. One hundred and forty-seven respondents (10.7%) required further outpatient follow-up, thereby saving 1231 outpatient reviews, equivalent to pound41,509 per annum. Thirty-nine (78%) patients expected post-operative follow-up, with 29 (58%) expecting this in the outpatient department. However, all patients were satisfied with the nurse-led telephone review. Fifty-three (78%) consultants responded. Those who always, or occasionally, review patients post-operatively varies according to the operation performed, ranging from 2.2% appendicectomy patients to 40.0% for varicose vein surgery. CONCLUSION: Current practice in NI varies, but a significant proportion of patients are not routinely reviewed. This study confirmed that patients expect post-operative follow-up. A nurse-led telephone review service is acceptable to patients, cost-effective and reduces the number of unnecessary outpatient reviews.

Operative delay to laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Racking up the cost of health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Diane A; Shah, Adil A; Zogg, Cheryl K; Nicholas, Lauren H; Velopulos, Catherine G; Efron, David T; Schneider, Eric B; Haider, Adil H

2015-07-01

Health care providers are increasingly focused on cost containment. One potential target for cost containment is in-hospital management of acute cholecystitis. Ensuring cholecystectomy within 24 hours for cholecystitis could mitigate costs associated with longer hospitalizations. We sought to determine the cost consequences of delaying operative management. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2003-2011) was queried for adult patients (≥16 years) who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for a primary diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Patients who underwent open procedures or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography were excluded. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to analyze costs for each day's delay in surgery. Multivariable analyses adjusted for patient demographics, hospital descriptors, Charlson comorbidity index, mortality, and length of stay. We analyzed 191,032 records. Approximately 65% of the patients underwent surgery within 24 hours of admission. The average cost of care for surgery on the admission day was $11,087. Costs disproportionately increased by 22% on the second hospital day ($13,526), by 37% on the third day ($15,243), by 52% on the fourth day ($16,822), by 64% on the fifth day ($18,196), by 81% on the sixth day ($20,125), and by 100% on the seventh day ($22,250) when compared with the cost of care for procedures performed within 24 hours of admission. Subset analysis of patients discharged 24 hours or earlier from the time of surgery demonstrated similar trends. After controlling for patient- and hospital-related factors, we noted significant costs associated with each day's delay in operative management. Cost containment practices for acute cholecystitis justify consideration of same-day or next-day surgery where the diagnosis is straightforward. Economic and value-based analysis, level III.

Operation optimization of a distributed energy system considering energy costs and exergy efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Somma, M.; Yan, B.; Bianco, N.; Graditi, G.; Luh, P.B.; Mongibello, L.; Naso, V.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Operation optimization model of a Distributed Energy System (DES). • Multi-objective strategy to optimize energy cost and exergy efficiency. • Exergy analysis in building energy supply systems. - Abstract: With the growing demand of energy on a worldwide scale, improving the efficiency of energy resource use has become one of the key challenges. Application of exergy principles in the context of building energy supply systems can achieve rational use of energy resources by taking into account the different quality levels of energy resources as well as those of building demands. This paper is on the operation optimization of a Distributed Energy System (DES). The model involves multiple energy devices that convert a set of primary energy carriers with different energy quality levels to meet given time-varying user demands at different energy quality levels. By promoting the usage of low-temperature energy sources to satisfy low-quality thermal energy demands, the waste of high-quality energy resources can be reduced, thereby improving the overall exergy efficiency. To consider the economic factor as well, a multi-objective linear programming problem is formulated. The Pareto frontier, including the best possible trade-offs between the economic and exergetic objectives, is obtained by minimizing a weighted sum of the total energy cost and total primary exergy input using branch-and-cut. The operation strategies of the DES under different weights for the two objectives are discussed. The operators of DESs can choose the operation strategy from the Pareto frontier based on costs, essential in the short run, and sustainability, crucial in the long run. The contribution of each energy device in reducing energy costs and the total exergy input is also analyzed. In addition, results show that the energy cost can be much reduced and the overall exergy efficiency can be significantly improved by the optimized operation of the DES as compared with the

Integrated Emission Management strategy for cost-optimal engine-aftertreatment operation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cloudt, R.P.M.; Willems, F.P.T.

2011-01-01

A new cost-based control strategy is presented that optimizes engine-aftertreatment performance under all operating conditions. This Integrated Emission Management strategy minimizes fuel consumption within the set emission limits by on-line adjustment of air management based on the actual state of

An innovative multivariate tool for fuel consumption and costs estimation of agricultural operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirko Guerrieri

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The estimation of operating costs of agricultural and forestry machineries is a key factor in both planning agricultural policies and farm management. Few works have tried to estimate operating costs and the produced models are normally based on deterministic approaches. Conversely, in the statistical model randomness is present and variable states are not described by unique values, but rather by probability distributions. In this study, for the first time, a multivariate statistical model based on Partial Least Squares (PLS was adopted to predict the fuel consumption and costs of six agricultural operations such as: ploughing, harrowing, fertilization, sowing, weed control and shredding. The prediction was conducted on two steps: first of all few initial selected parameters (time per surface-area unit, maximum engine power, purchase price of the tractor and purchase price of the operating machinery were used to estimate the fuel consumption; then the predicted fuel consumption together with the initial parameters were used to estimate the operational costs. Since the obtained models were based on an input dataset very heterogeneous, these resulted to be extremely efficient and so generalizable and robust. In details the results show prediction values in the test with r always ≥ 0.91. Thus, the approach may results extremely useful for both farmers (in terms of economic advantages and at institutional level (representing an innovative and efficient tool for planning future Rural Development Programmes and the Common Agricultural Policy. In light of these advantages the proposed approach may as well be implemented on a web platform and made available to all the stakeholders.

An innovative multivariate tool for fuel consumption and costs estimation of agricultural operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerrieri, M.; Fedrizzi, M.; Antonucci, F.; Pallottino, F.; Sperandio, G.; Pagano, M.; Figorilli, S.; Menesatti, P.; Costa, C.

2016-07-01

The estimation of operating costs of agricultural and forestry machineries is a key factor in both planning agricultural policies and farm management. Few works have tried to estimate operating costs and the produced models are normally based on deterministic approaches. Conversely, in the statistical model randomness is present and variable states are not described by unique values, but rather by probability distributions. In this study, for the first time, a multivariate statistical model based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) was adopted to predict the fuel consumption and costs of six agricultural operations such as: ploughing, harrowing, fertilization, sowing, weed control and shredding. The prediction was conducted on two steps: first of all few initial selected parameters (time per surface-area unit, maximum engine power, purchase price of the tractor and purchase price of the operating machinery) were used to estimate the fuel consumption; then the predicted fuel consumption together with the initial parameters were used to estimate the operational costs. Since the obtained models were based on an input dataset very heterogeneous, these resulted to be extremely efficient and so generalizable and robust. In details the results show prediction values in the test with r always ≥ 0.91. Thus, the approach may results extremely useful for both farmers (in terms of economic advantages) and at institutional level (representing an innovative and efficient tool for planning future Rural Development Programmes and the Common Agricultural Policy). In light of these advantages the proposed approach may as well be implemented on a web platform and made available to all the stakeholders.

An innovative multivariate tool for fuel consumption and costs estimation of agricultural operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerrieri, M.; Fedrizzi, M.; Antonucci, F.; Pallottino, F.; Sperandio, G.; Pagano, M.; Figorilli, S.; Menesatti, P.; Costa, C.

2016-01-01

The estimation of operating costs of agricultural and forestry machineries is a key factor in both planning agricultural policies and farm management. Few works have tried to estimate operating costs and the produced models are normally based on deterministic approaches. Conversely, in the statistical model randomness is present and variable states are not described by unique values, but rather by probability distributions. In this study, for the first time, a multivariate statistical model based on Partial Least Squares (PLS) was adopted to predict the fuel consumption and costs of six agricultural operations such as: ploughing, harrowing, fertilization, sowing, weed control and shredding. The prediction was conducted on two steps: first of all few initial selected parameters (time per surface-area unit, maximum engine power, purchase price of the tractor and purchase price of the operating machinery) were used to estimate the fuel consumption; then the predicted fuel consumption together with the initial parameters were used to estimate the operational costs. Since the obtained models were based on an input dataset very heterogeneous, these resulted to be extremely efficient and so generalizable and robust. In details the results show prediction values in the test with r always ≥ 0.91. Thus, the approach may results extremely useful for both farmers (in terms of economic advantages) and at institutional level (representing an innovative and efficient tool for planning future Rural Development Programmes and the Common Agricultural Policy). In light of these advantages the proposed approach may as well be implemented on a web platform and made available to all the stakeholders.

Operative time and cost of resident surgical experience: effect of instituting an otolaryngology residency program.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollei, Taylor R; Barrs, David M; Hinni, Michael L; Bansberg, Stephen F; Walter, Logan C

2013-06-01

Describe the procedure length difference between surgeries performed by an attending surgeon alone compared with the resident surgeon supervised by the same attending surgeon. Case series with chart review. Tertiary care center and residency program. Six common otolaryngologic procedures performed between August 1994 and May 2012 were divided into 2 cohorts: attending surgeon alone or resident surgeon. This division coincided with our July 2006 initiation of an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency program. Operative duration was compared between cohorts with confounding factors controlled. In addition, the direct result of increased surgical length on operating room cost was calculated and applied to departmental and published resident case log report data. Five of the 6 procedures evaluated showed a statistically significant increase in surgery length with resident involvement. Operative time increased 6.8 minutes for a cricopharyngeal myotomy (P = .0097), 11.3 minutes for a tonsillectomy (P operative time difference. Cost of increased surgical time was calculated per surgery and ranged from $286 (cricopharyngeal myotomy) to $2142 (mastoidectomy). When applied to reported national case log averages for graduating residents, this resulted in a significant increase of direct training-related costs. Resident participation in the operating room results in increased surgical length and additional system cost. Although residency is a necessary part of surgical training, associated costs need to be acknowledged.

Costs and indices for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations 1994 through 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

This report presents estimated costs and cost indices for domestic oil and natural gas field equipment and production operations for 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The costs of all equipment and services are those in effect during June of each year. The sums (aggregates) of the costs for representative leases by region, depth, and production rate were averaged and indexed. This provides a general measure of the increased or decreased costs from year to year for lease equipment and operations. These general measures do not capture changes in industry-wide costs exactly because of annual variations in the ratio of the total number of oil wells to the total number of gas wells. The detail provided in this report is unavailable elsewhere. The body of this report contains summary tables, and the appendices contain detailed tables. Price changes for oil and gas, changes in taxes on oil and gas revenues, and environmental factors (compliance costs and lease availability) have a significant impact on the number and cost of oil and gas wells drilled. These changes also impact the cost of oil and gas equipment and production operations

Optimization of costs of Port Operations in Nigeria: A Scenario For ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-03-01

Mar 1, 2013 ... +Department of Maritime Management Technology,. Federal ... Abstract. This study attempts to optimize the cost of port operations in Nigeria. ..... Slack. Original Value. Lower. Bound. Upper Bound. Const. 1. 0. 685.7727. 672.

Application of Activity-Based Costing Management System by Key Success Paths to Promote the Competitive Advantages and Operation Performance

OpenAIRE

Mei-Fang Wu; Shu-Li Wang; Feng-Tsung Cheng

2015-01-01

Highly developed technology and highly competitive global market highlight the important role of competitive advantages and operation performances in sustainable company operation. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) provides accurate operation cost and operation performance information. Rich literatures provide relevant research with cases study on Activity-Based Costing application, but the research on cause relationship between key success factors and its specific outcome, su...

A cost prediction model for machine operation in multi-field production systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Sopegno

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Capacity planning in agricultural field operations needs to give consideration to the operational system design which involves the selection and dimensioning of production components, such as machinery and equipment. Capacity planning models currently onstream are generally based on average norm data and not on specific farm data which may vary from year to year. In this paper a model is presented for predicting the cost of in-field and transport operations for multiple-field and multiple-crop production systems. A case study from a real production system is presented in order to demonstrate the model’s functionalities and its sensitivity to parameters known to be somewhat imprecise. It was shown that the proposed model can provide operation cost predictions for complex cropping systems where labor and machinery are shared between the various operations which can be individually formulated for each individual crop. By so doing, the model can be used as a decision support system at the strategic level of management of agricultural production systems and specifically for the mid-term design process of systems in terms of labor/machinery and crop selection conforming to the criterion of profitability.

Costs and indices for domestic oil and gas field equipment and production operations, 1992--1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-08-01

This report presents estimated costs and cost indices for domestic oil and natural gas field equipment and production operations for 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995. The costs of all equipment and services are those in effect during June of each year. The sum (aggregates) of the costs for representative leases by region, depth, and production rate were averaged and indexed. This provides a general measure of the increased or decreased costs from year to year for lease equipment and operations. These general measured do not capture changes in industry-wide costs exactly because of annual variations in the ratio of the total number of oil wells to the total number of gas wells. The detail provided in this report is unavailable elsewhere. The body of this report contains summary tables, and the appendices contain detailed tables

A new harvest operation cost model to evaluate forest harvest layout alternatives

Science.gov (United States)

Mark M. Clark; Russell D. Meller; Timothy P. McDonald; Chao Chi Ting

1997-01-01

The authors develop a new model for harvest operation costs that can be used to evaluate stands for potential harvest. The model is based on felling, extraction, and access costs, and is unique in its consideration of the interaction between harvest area shapes and access roads. The scientists illustrate the model and evaluate the impact of stand size, volume, and road...

Estimating truck operating costs for domestic trips – case studies from Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sdoukopoulos Eleftherios

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The transport sector represents a vital component of national economies and has significant impacts on productivity and social welfare. In 2012, the transport sector in Europe was estimated to account for 3.7% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP and 5.1% for employment. Road transport proves to be the predominant mode for moving goods within Europe holding a share of approximately 45.8% in 2012 (in ton-kms. In Greece, the share of road freight transport is significantly higher (98% indicating the importance of this sector for the Greek economy. To this end and considering the existing needs of road freight transport operators in Greece, the objective of this research is to establish an analytical and documented basis for estimating the operating cost of a truck on specific urban or national freight transport routes. To achieve this goal, an extended literature review has been conducted resulting in the identification of the main components comprising the total truck operating cost, which were then updated and validated through a series of personal interviews with selected road freight transport professionals. An excel-based application tool was also developed in order to facilitate operating cost estimates for different cases, through selection of the proper values of the relevant parameters. The resulting tool was used to analyse four test cases, which demonstrate the tool’s usability and applicability. Results from this analysis have been also validated by industry experts and they reflect real-world transport scenarios.

Cost and operational acceptability improvements to gasifiers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connor, A.

2003-07-01

This work reports on the operation of two gasifiers by Biomass Engineering Ltd. in Northern Ireland, and the simplification of their gas conditioning system. Details are given of the high tar destruction levels achieved, the locally available wood waste and pallet wood, and the use of a back-pulsable dry ceramic filtration system for removing trace organics and particulates from the resulting gas prior to gas cooling, final filtration and use in a gas engine. The results of a techno-economic assessment of the original scrubbing system and the new ceramic filtration system indicating cost savings are presented. Further work to optimise the parameters of the filters is planned.

[Operating cost analysis of anaesthesia: activity based costing (ABC analysis)].

Science.gov (United States)

Majstorović, Branislava M; Kastratović, Dragana A; Vučović, Dragan S; Milaković, Branko D; Miličić, Biljana R

2011-01-01

Cost of anaesthesiology represent defined measures to determine a precise profile of expenditure estimation of surgical treatment, which is important regarding planning of healthcare activities, prices and budget. In order to determine the actual value of anaestesiological services, we started with the analysis of activity based costing (ABC) analysis. Retrospectively, in 2005 and 2006, we estimated the direct costs of anestesiological services (salaries, drugs, supplying materials and other: analyses and equipment.) of the Institute of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. The group included all anesthetized patients of both sexes and all ages. We compared direct costs with direct expenditure, "each cost object (service or unit)" of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. The Summary data of the Departments of Anaesthesia documented in the database of the Clinical Centre of Serbia. Numerical data were utilized and the numerical data were estimated and analyzed by computer programs Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and SPSS for Windows. We compared using the linear model of direct costs and unit costs of anaesthesiological services from the Costs List of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. Direct costs showed 40% of costs were spent on salaries, (32% on drugs and supplies, and 28% on other costs, such as analyses and equipment. The correlation of the direct costs of anaestesiological services showed a linear correlation with the unit costs of the Republican Healthcare Insurance. During surgery, costs of anaesthesia would increase by 10% the surgical treatment cost of patients. Regarding the actual costs of drugs and supplies, we do not see any possibility of costs reduction. Fixed elements of direct costs provide the possibility of rationalization of resources in anaesthesia.

Understanding Costs of Care in the Operating Room.

Science.gov (United States)

Childers, Christopher P; Maggard-Gibbons, Melinda

2018-04-18

Increasing value requires improving quality or decreasing costs. In surgery, estimates for the cost of 1 minute of operating room (OR) time vary widely. No benchmark exists for the cost of OR time, nor has there been a comprehensive assessment of what contributes to OR cost. To calculate the cost of 1 minute of OR time, assess cost by setting and facility characteristics, and ascertain the proportion of costs that are direct and indirect. This cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis examined annual financial disclosure documents from all comparable short-term general and specialty care hospitals in California from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to FY2014 (N = 3044; FY2014, n = 302). The analysis focused on 2 revenue centers: (1) surgery and recovery and (2) ambulatory surgery. Mean cost of 1 minute of OR time, stratified by setting (inpatient vs ambulatory), teaching status, and hospital ownership. The proportion of cost attributable to indirect and direct expenses was identified; direct expenses were further divided into salary, benefits, supplies, and other direct expenses. In FY2014, a total of 175 of 302 facilities (57.9%) were not for profit, 78 (25.8%) were for profit, and 49 (16.2%) were government owned. Thirty facilities (9.9%) were teaching hospitals. The mean (SD) cost for 1 minute of OR time across California hospitals was $37.45 ($16.04) in the inpatient setting and $36.14 ($19.53) in the ambulatory setting (P = .65). There were no differences in mean expenditures when stratifying by ownership or teaching status except that teaching hospitals had lower mean (SD) expenditures than nonteaching hospitals in the inpatient setting ($29.88 [$9.06] vs $38.29 [$16.43]; P = .006). Direct expenses accounted for 54.6% of total expenses ($20.40 of $37.37) in the inpatient setting and 59.1% of total expenses ($20.90 of $35.39) in the ambulatory setting. Wages and benefits accounted for approximately two-thirds of direct expenses (inpatient, $14.00 of $20

A HEDONIC APPROACH TO ESTIMATING OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR NEW YORK MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS

OpenAIRE

Schmit, Todd M.; Boisvert, Richard N.

1997-01-01

A hedonic cost function is used to isolate the operation and maintenance costs for water treatments. For small systems, costs are substantial for some technologies, but not for others. When regional differences in input costs are accounted for, small systems located in rural areas may have a cost advantage over similar systems closer to urban centers; however, costs of water treatment to meet Safe Drinking Water Act amendments may still be substantial.

Review of selected cost drivers for decisions on continued operation of older nuclear reactors. Safety upgrades, lifetime extension, decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-05-01

Lately, the approach to the operation of relatively old NPPs has become an important issue for the nuclear industry for several reasons. First, a large part of operating NPPs will reach the planned end of their lives relatively soon. Replacing these capacities can involve significant investment for the concerned countries and utilities. Second, many operating NPPs while about 30 years old are still in very good condition. Their continued safe operation appears possible and may bring about essential economic gains. Finally, with the costs of new NPPs being rather high at present, continued operation of existing plants and eventually their lifetime extension are viable options for supporting the nuclear share in power generation. This is becoming especially important in view of the growing attention to the issue of global warming and the role of nuclear energy in greenhouse gas mitigation. This report is a review of information related to three cost categories that are part of such cost-benefit analysis: costs of safety upgrades for continued operation of a nuclear unit, costs of lifetime extension and costs of decommissioning. It can serve as a useful reference source for experts and decision makers involved in the economics of operating NPPs

The Role of Logistics in Practical Levelized Cost of Energy Reduction Implementation and Government Sponsored Cost Reduction Studies: Day and Night in Offshore Wind Operations and Maintenance Logistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Thomas; Hasager, Charlotte Bay; Jensen, Christian Munk

2017-01-01

This paper reveals that logistics make up at least 17% of annual operational expenditure costs for offshore wind farms. Annual operational expenditure is found to vary by a factor of 9.5, making its share of levelized cost of energy for offshore wind range from 13% to 57%. These are key findings...... contrast to the shore-based office personnel who develop studies directing cost reduction efforts. This paper details the company motivation to join industry-wide cost reduction initiatives. A business case for offshore wind operations and maintenance logistics yielding 1% savings in levelized cost...... of a 20-month research project targeting cost reduction initiatives for offshore wind systems. The findings reveal that cost-out measures are difficult to implement due to cultural differences. Implementation efforts are rendered by personnel located offshore in a harsh sea environment which is in stark...

Procedure for estimating nonfuel operation and maintenance costs for large steam-electric power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, M.L.; Fuller, L.C.

1979-01-01

Revised guidelines are presented for estimating annual nonfuel operation and maintenance costs for large steam-electric power plants, specifically light-water-reactor plants and coal-fired plants. Previous guidelines were published in October 1975 in ERDA 76-37, a Procedure for Estimating Nonfuel Operating and Maintenance Costs for Large Steam-Electric Power Plants. Estimates for coal-fired plants include the option of limestone slurry scrubbing for flue gas desulfurization. A computer program, OMCOST, is also presented which covers all plant options

Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) to Support Low-Cost Spacecraft Operation via the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Paul; Repaci, Max; Sames, David

1998-01-01

Various issues associated with Simple Automatic File Exchange (SAFE) are presented in viewgraph form. Specific topics include: 1) Packet telemetry, Internet IP networks and cost reduction; 2) Basic functions and technical features of SAFE; 3) Project goals, including low-cost satellite transmission to data centers to be distributed via an Internet; 4) Operations with a replicated file protocol; 5) File exchange operation; 6) Ground stations as gateways; 7) Lessons learned from demonstrations and tests with SAFE; and 8) Feedback and future initiatives.

Operating cost analysis of an annexed ethanol distillery in a rural, landlocked African country

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Amigun, B

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Given the high cost of crude oil, uncertainties regarding future reserves as well as the phenomenon of global warming, alternative fuels such as bioethanol need to be developed and deployed. This work presents an economic analysis (operating cost...

Post operation: The changing characteristics of nuclear fuel cycle costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, F.J.

1986-01-01

Fundamental changes have occurred in the nuclear fuel cycle. These changes forged by market forces, legislative action, and regulatory climate appear to be a long term characteristic of the nuclear fuel cycle. The nature of these changes and the resulting emerging importance of post-operation and its impact on fuel cycle costs are examined

Evaluation of low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf autopilot systems for SUAS operations

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Calvin Thomas

With this increase in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations, there is a need for a structured process to evaluate different commercially available systems, particularly autopilots. The Remotely Operated Aircraft Management, Interpretation, and Navigation from Ground or ROAMING scale was developed to meet this need. This scale is a modification of the widely accepted Handling Qualities Rating scale developed by George Cooper and Robert Harper Jr. The Cooper-Harper scale allows pilots to rate a vehicle's performance in completing some task. Similarly, the ROAMING scale allows UAS operators to evaluate the management and observability of UAS in completing some task. The standardized evaluative process consists of cost, size, weight, and power (SWAP) analysis, ease of implementation through procedural description of setup, ROAMING scale rating, a slightly modified NASA TLX rating, and comparison of manual operation to autonomous operation of the task. This standard for evaluation of autopilots and their software will lead to better understanding of the workload placed on UAS operators and indicate where improvements to design and operational procedures can be made. An assortment of low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) autopilots were selected for use in the development of the evaluation and results of these tests demonstrate the commonalities and differences in these systems.

Development and application of a model for the analysis of trades between space launch system operations and acquisition costs

Science.gov (United States)

Nix, Michael B.

2005-12-01

Early design decisions in the development of space launch systems determine the costs to acquire and operate launch systems. Some sources indicate that as much as 90% of life cycle costs are fixed by the end of the critical design review phase. System characteristics determined by these early decisions are major factors in the acquisition cost of flight hardware elements and facilities and influence operations costs through the amount of maintenance and support labor required to sustain system function. Operations costs are also dependent on post-development management decisions regarding how much labor will be deployed to meet requirements of market demand and ownership profit. The ability to perform early trade-offs between these costs is vital to the development of systems that have the necessary capacity to provide service and are profitable to operate. An Excel-based prototype model was developed for making early analyses of trade-offs between the costs to operate a space launch system and to acquire the necessary assets to meet a given set of operational requirements. The model, integrating input from existing models and adding missing capability, allows the user to make such trade-offs across a range of operations concepts (required flight rates, staffing levels, shifts per workday, workdays per week and per year, unreliability, wearout and depot maintenance) and the number, type and capability of assets (flight hardware elements, processing and supporting facilities and infrastructure). The costs and capabilities of hypothetical launch systems can be modeled as a function of interrelated turnaround times and labor resource levels, and asset loss and retirement. The number of flight components and facilities required can be calculated and the operations and acquisition costs compared for a specified scenario. Findings, based on the analysis of a hypothetical two stage to orbit, reusable, unmanned launch system, indicate that the model is suitable for the

Cost related sensitivity analysis for optimal operation of a grid-parallel PEM fuel cell power plant

Science.gov (United States)

El-Sharkh, M. Y.; Tanrioven, M.; Rahman, A.; Alam, M. S.

Fuel cell power plants (FCPP) as a combined source of heat, power and hydrogen (CHP&H) can be considered as a potential option to supply both thermal and electrical loads. Hydrogen produced from the FCPP can be stored for future use of the FCPP or can be sold for profit. In such a system, tariff rates for purchasing or selling electricity, the fuel cost for the FCPP/thermal load, and hydrogen selling price are the main factors that affect the operational strategy. This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary programming and Hill-Climbing based approach to evaluate the impact of change of the above mentioned cost parameters on the optimal operational strategy of the FCPP. The optimal operational strategy of the FCPP for different tariffs is achieved through the estimation of the following: hourly generated power, the amount of thermal power recovered, power trade with the local grid, and the quantity of hydrogen that can be produced. Results show the importance of optimizing system cost parameters in order to minimize overall operating cost.

Costs and benefits of lunar oxygen: Engineering, operations, and economics

Science.gov (United States)

Sherwood, Brent; Woodcock, Gordon R.

1991-01-01

Oxygen is the most commonly discussed lunar resource. It will certainly not be the easiest to retrieve, but oxygen's fundamental place in propulsion and life support guarantees it continued attention as a prime candidate for early in situ resource utilization (ISRU). The findings are reviewed of recent investigation, sponsored by NASA-Ames, into the kinds of technologies, equipment, and scenarios (the engineering and operations costs) that will be required even to initiate lunar oxygen production. The infrastructure necessary to surround and support a viable oxygen-processing operation is explained. Selected details are used to illustrate the depth of technology challenges, extent of operations burdens, and complexity of decision linkages. Basic assumptions, and resulting timelines and mass manifests, are listed. These findings are combined with state-of-the-art knowledge of lunar and Mars propulsion options in simple economic input/output and internal-rate-of-return models, to compare production costs with performance benefits. Implications for three realistic scales of exploration architecture - expeditionary, aggressive science, and industrialization/settlement - are discussed. Conclusions are reached regarding the contextual conditions within which production of lunar oxygen (LLOX) is a reasonable activity. LLOX appears less useful for Mars missions than previously hoped. Its economical use in low Earth orbit hinges on production of lunar hydrogen as well. LLOX shows promise for lunar ascent/descent use, but that depends strongly on the plant mass required.

Cost of Operating Central Cancer Registries and Factors That Affect Cost: Findings From an Economic Evaluation of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Program of Cancer Registries.

Science.gov (United States)

Tangka, Florence K L; Subramanian, Sujha; Beebe, Maggie Cole; Weir, Hannah K; Trebino, Diana; Babcock, Frances; Ewing, Jean

2016-01-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) evaluated the economics of the National Program of Cancer Registries to provide the CDC, the registries, and policy makers with the economics evidence-base to make optimal decisions about resource allocation. Cancer registry budgets are under increasing threat, and, therefore, systematic assessment of the cost will identify approaches to improve the efficiencies of this vital data collection operation and also justify the funding required to sustain registry operations. To estimate the cost of cancer registry operations and to assess the factors affecting the cost per case reported by National Program of Cancer Registries-funded central cancer registries. We developed a Web-based cost assessment tool to collect 3 years of data (2009-2011) from each National Program of Cancer Registries-funded registry for all actual expenditures for registry activities (including those funded by other sources) and factors affecting registry operations. We used a random-effects regression model to estimate the impact of various factors on cost per cancer case reported. The cost of reporting a cancer case varied across the registries. Central cancer registries that receive high-quality data from reporting sources (as measured by the percentage of records passing automatic edits) and electronic data submissions, and those that collect and report on a large volume of cases had significantly lower cost per case. The volume of cases reported had a large effect, with low-volume registries experiencing much higher cost per case than medium- or high-volume registries. Our results suggest that registries operate with substantial fixed or semivariable costs. Therefore, sharing fixed costs among low-volume contiguous state registries, whenever possible, and centralization of certain processes can result in economies of scale. Approaches to improve quality of data submitted and increasing electronic reporting can also reduce cost.

The cost of operating with failed fuel at Virginia power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ford, C.A.

1988-01-01

Virginia Power has completed a study of the costs incurred due to fuel failures in its pressurized water reactors. This study was prompted by histories of high primary coolant activity and subsequent fuel inspections at the North Anna and Surry power stations. The study included an evaluation of the total costs of fuel failures as well as an evaluation of the economics of postirradiation fuel inspections. The major costs of fuel failures included personnel radiation exposure, permanently discharged failed fuel, radwaste generation, increased labor requirements, containment entry delays due to airborne radioactivity, and ramp rate restrictions. Although fuel failures affect a utility in several other areas, the items evaluated in the study were thought to be the most significant of the costs. The study indicated that performing a postirradiation failed fuel examination can be economically justified at tramp-corrected 131 I levels of > 0.015 μCi/g. The savings to the utility can be on the order of several million dollars. Additionally, the cost penalty of performing a fuel inspection at lower iodine levels is generally in the range of $200,000. This economic penalty is expected to be outweighed by the intangible benefits of operating with a defect-free core

The Role of Logistics in Practical Levelized Cost of Energy Reduction Implementation and Government Sponsored Cost Reduction Studies: Day and Night in Offshore Wind Operations and Maintenance Logistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Poulsen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper reveals that logistics make up at least 17% of annual operational expenditure costs for offshore wind farms. Annual operational expenditure is found to vary by a factor of 9.5, making its share of levelized cost of energy for offshore wind range from 13% to 57%. These are key findings of a 20-month research project targeting cost reduction initiatives for offshore wind systems. The findings reveal that cost-out measures are difficult to implement due to cultural differences. Implementation efforts are rendered by personnel located offshore in a harsh sea environment which is in stark contrast to the shore-based office personnel who develop studies directing cost reduction efforts. This paper details the company motivation to join industry-wide cost reduction initiatives. A business case for offshore wind operations and maintenance logistics yielding 1% savings in levelized cost of energy is included on how to expand working hours from daytime to also work at night.

20 CFR 662.270 - How are the costs of providing services through the One-Stop delivery system and the operating...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... through the One-Stop delivery system and the operating costs of the system to be funded? 662.270 Section... and the operating costs of the system to be funded? The MOU must describe the particular funding arrangements for services and operating costs of the One-Stop delivery system. Each partner must contribute a...

Analysis operating and maintenance cost of Danish wind turbines in 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godtfredsen, F.

1994-10-01

A study of operation and maintenance (O and M) cost of Danish wind turbines has been carried out. The study is based on a questionnaire survey by the wind turbine owners association. The study shows a significant decline in the O and M cost from 55 kW machines installed in 1980-87 to modern machines. In 1993, the average total O and M cost for 55 kW and 150 kW turbines was approximately 0.22 DKK/kWh and 0.07 DKK/kWh, respectively. For 150 kW turbines, insurance and administration costs amounted to 0.04 DKK/kWh while repair and maintenance costs came to 0.03 DKK/kWh. In 1993, repair and maintenance cost were significantly higher for older vintages of 55 kW and 150 kW turbines, but it is not possible based on this study to conclude whether increasing O and M costs generally comes with increasing age. The statistical basis of this study is not large enough to conclude whether there are positive scale effects for ST's from 105 kW. Similarly, because of relatively few large WT are older than 10 years, it is not possible based on this study to predict the size of major future repair costs/reinvestments. To estimate the O and M costs more exactly, a larger empirical basis is needed. (au) (8 tabs., 17 ills., 11 refs.)

From Consumption to Prosumption - Operational Cost Optimization for Refrigeration System With Heat Waste Recovery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minko, Tomasz; Garcia, Jesus Lago; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon

2017-01-01

Implementation of liquid cooling transforms a refrigeration system into a combined cooling and heating system. Reclaimed heat can be used for building heating purposes or can be sold. Carbon dioxide based refrigeration systems are considered to have a particularly high potential for becoming ecient...... heat energy producers. In this paper a CO2 system that operates in the subcritical region is examined. Modelling approach is presented, and used for operation optimisation by way of non-linear model predictive control techniques. Assuming that the heat is sold when using both objective functions......, it turns out that the system have negative operational cost. In case when Cost Minimization objective function is used daily revenue is about 7:9 [eur], for Prosumption one it is 11:9 [eur]....

ROBucket: A low cost operant chamber based on the Arduino microcontroller.

Science.gov (United States)

Devarakonda, Kavya; Nguyen, Katrina P; Kravitz, Alexxai V

2016-06-01

The operant conditioning chamber is a cornerstone of animal behavioral research. Operant boxes are used to assess learning and motivational behavior in animals, particularly for food and drug reinforcers. However, commercial operant chambers cost several thousands of dollars. We have constructed the Rodent Operant Bucket (ROBucket), an inexpensive and easily assembled open-source operant chamber based on the Arduino microcontroller platform, which can be used to train mice to respond for sucrose solution or other liquid reinforcers. The apparatus contains two nose pokes, a drinking well, and a solenoid-controlled liquid delivery system. ROBucket can run fixed ratio and progressive ratio training schedules, and can be programmed to run more complicated behavioral paradigms. Additional features such as motion sensing and video tracking can be added to the operant chamber through the array of widely available Arduino-compatible sensors. The design files and programming code are open source and available online for others to use.

EOS MLS Lessons Learned: Design Ideas for Safer and Lower Cost Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Dominick

2012-01-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) is a complex instrument with a front end computer and 32 subsystem computers. MLS is one of four instruments on NASA's EOS Aura spacecraft With almost 8 years in orbit, MLS has a few lessons learned which can be applied during the design phase of future instruments to effect better longevity, more robust operations and a significant cost benefit during operations phase.

Low-cost management aspects for developing, producing and operating future space transportation systems

Science.gov (United States)

Goehlich, Robert A.; Rücker, Udo

2005-01-01

It is believed that a potential means for further significant reduction of the recurrent launch cost, which results also in a stimulation of launch rates of small satellites, is to make the launcher reusable, to increase its reliability and to make it suitable for new markets such as mass space tourism. Therefore, not only launching small satellites with expendable rockets on non-regular flights but also with reusable rockets on regular flights should be considered for the long term. However, developing, producing and operating reusable rockets require a fundamental change in the current "business as usual" philosophy. Under current conditions, it might not be possible to develop, to produce or to operate a reusable vehicle fleet economically. The favorite philosophy is based on "smart business" processes adapted by the authors using cost engineering techniques. In the following paper, major strategies for reducing costs are discussed, which are applied for a representative program proposal.

Guidebook : managing operating costs for rural and small urban public transit systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

This guidebook is a resource for rural and small urban transit agency managers to use in better understanding, predicting, and managing operational costs. Doing so can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of public transit in the...

The integrated business information system: using automation to monitor cost-effectiveness of park operations

Science.gov (United States)

Dick Stanley; Bruce Jackson

1995-01-01

The cost-effectiveness of park operations is often neglected because information is laborious to compile. The information, however, is critical if we are to derive maximum benefit from scarce resources. This paper describes an automated system for calculating cost-effectiveness ratios with minimum effort using data from existing data bases.

Seaplane Economics: A Quantitative Cost Comparison of Seaplanes and Land Planes for Sea Base Operations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Denz, Thomas; Smith, Stephanie; Shrestha, Rajeev

2007-01-01

...) operating from an air base and concept seaplanes operating from a Sea Base. Using published current and historical data a total cost per flight hour was determined for both land planes and seaplanes...

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Belasco, Amy

2007-01-01

... of about $610 billion fo for military r operations, b base security security, reconstruction, foreig foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks...

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Belasco, Amy

2006-01-01

...) Congress would have appropriated a total of about $437 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks...

Operating cost minimization of a radial distribution system in a deregulated electricity market through reconfiguration using NSGA method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandramohan, S.; Atturulu, Naresh; Devi, R.P. Kumudini; Venkatesh, B.

2010-01-01

In the future, mechanisms for trade in ancillary services such as reactive power will be implemented in many deregulated power systems. In such an operating framework, a Distribution Corporation (DisCo) would have to purchase reactive power along with real power from the connected transmission corporation. A DisCo would want to minimize its operating costs by minimizing the total amount of real and reactive power drawn from the connected transmission system. Optimally reconfiguring the network will achieve such a goal. In this work, we use a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA) for reconfiguring a radial DisCo to minimize its operating costs considering real and reactive power costs while maximizing its operating reliability and satisfying the regular operating constraints. This method is tested on sample test systems and reported. (author)

Energy Hub’s Structural and Operational Optimization for Minimal Energy Usage Costs in Energy Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanh Tung Ha

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The structural and optimal operation of an Energy Hub (EH has a tremendous influence on the hub’s performance and reliability. This paper envisions an innovative methodology that prominently increases the synergy between structural and operational optimization and targets system cost affordability. The generalized energy system structure is presented theoretically with all selective hub sub-modules, including electric heater (EHe and solar sources block sub-modules. To minimize energy usage cost, an energy hub is proposed that consists of 12 kinds of elements (i.e., energy resources, conversion, and storage functions and is modeled mathematically in a General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS, which indicates the optimal hub structure’s corresponding elements with binary variables (0, 1. Simulation results contrast with 144 various scenarios established in all 144 categories of hub structures, in which for each scenario the corresponding optimal operation cost is previously calculated. These case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the suggested model and methodology. Finally, avenues for future research are also prospected.

Cost of post-operative intravenous iron therapy in total lower limb arthroplasty: a retrospective, matched cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Manuel; Gómez-Ramírez, Susana; Martín-Montañez, Elisa; Naveira, Enrique; Seara, Javier; Pavía, José

2014-01-01

Background Requirements for allogeneic red cell transfusion after total lower limb arthroplasty are still high (20–50%), and post-operative intravenous iron has been shown to reduce transfusion requirements for this surgery. We performed a cost analysis to ascertain whether this alternative is also likely to be cost-effective. Materials and methods Data from 182 matched-pairs of total lower limb arthroplasty patients, managed with a restrictive transfusion protocol and without (control group) or with post-operative intravenous iron (iron group), were retrospectively reviewed. Acquisition and administration costs of iron (iron sucrose or ferric carboxymaltose) and allogeneic red cell concentrates, haemoglobin measurements, and prolonged stay in hospital were used for blood management cost analysis. Results Patients in the iron group received 600 mg intravenous iron, without clinically relevant incidents, and had a lower allogeneic transfusion rate (11.5% vs 26.4% for the iron and control groups, respectively; p=0.001). The reduction in transfusion rate was more pronounced in anaemic patients (17% vs 40%; p=0.015) than in non-anaemic ones (9.6% vs 21.2%; p=0.011). There were no differences with respect to post-operative infection rate. Patients receiving allogeneic transfusion stayed in hospital longer (+1.9 days [95% CI: 1.2–2.6]). As intravenous iron reduces the allogeneic transfusion rate, both iron formulations were cost-neutral in the different cost scenarios (−25.5 to 62.1 €/patient for iron sucrose, and −51.1 to 64.4 €/patient for ferric carboxymaltose). Discussion In patients presenting with or without pre-operative anaemia, post-operative intravenous iron after total lower limb arthroplasty seems to be safe and is associated with reduced transfusion rates, without incremental costs. For anaemic patients, its efficacy could be increased by associating some other blood-saving method. PMID:24120595

Dynamic analysis of hybrid energy systems under flexible operation and variable renewable generation – Part II: Dynamic cost analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Humberto E.; Mohanty, Amit; Lin, Wen-Chiao; Cherry, Robert S.

2013-01-01

Dynamic analysis of HES (hybrid energy systems) under flexible operation and variable renewable generation is considered in this two-part communication to better understand various challenges and opportunities associated with the high system variability arising from the integration of renewable energy into the power grid. Advanced HES solutions are investigated in which multiple forms of energy commodities, such as electricity and chemical products, may be exchanged. In particular, a comparative dynamic cost analysis is conducted in this part two of the communication to determine best HES options. The cost function includes a set of metrics for computing fixed costs, such as fixed operations and maintenance and overnight capital costs, and also variable operational costs, such as cost of operational variability, variable operations and maintenance cost, and cost of environmental impact, together with revenues. Assuming natural gas, coal, and nuclear as primary heat sources, preliminary results identify the level of renewable penetration at which a given advanced HES option (e.g., a nuclear hybrid) becomes increasingly more economical than a traditional electricity-only generation solution. Conditions are also revealed under which carbon resources may be better utilized as carbon sources for chemical production rather than as combustion material for electricity generation. - Highlights: ► Dynamic analysis of HES to investigate challenges related to renewable penetration. ► Evaluation of dynamic synergies among HES constituents on system performance. ► Comparison of traditional versus advanced HES candidates. ► Dynamic cost analysis of HES candidates to investigate their economic viability. ► Identification of conditions under which an energy commodity may be best utilized

Instructor guide : managing operating cost for rural and small urban transit systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

The purpose of the workshop is to provide rural and small urban transit managers and staff with tools to analyze, track, predict, and manage operational costs. The workshop will have a beginning and ending general session, and will provide six sessio...

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Belasco, Amy

2006-01-01

Through FY2006, Congress has appropriated a total of about $437 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks...

Productivity and Cost Analysis of Forest Harvesting Operation in Matang Mangrove Forest, Perak, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Empawi Tindit

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Matang Mangrove Forest is under systematic management since 1902 and still considered as the best managed mangrove forest in the world. This research was conducted to measure the time and productivity of forest harvesting operation and also to analyze the cost and revenue of mangrove forest harvesting operation at Matang mangrove forest. This project had been carried out in cooperation with Seri Sepetang Enterprise, one of the harvesting licenses in Kuala Sepetang, Perak. Data collections were taken in every station starting from standing tree until to the Kiln-Drying jetty. The data then calculated by using the formulas of productivity and cost analysis. As the result, the productivity for felling, bucking and debarking, the manual skidding using wheel-barrow and the water transportation are 1.84 tan/hour, 3.82 tan/hour and 4.64 tan/hour respectively. The cost for each operation of 9 tan log volume for felling, bucking and debarking, the manual skidding using wheel-barrow and the water transportation are RM 56.88, RM 10.80 and RM 36.72 respectively. As the revenue, the company paid RM 260 per 9 tan of log for the in-forest operation (felling, manual skidding and loading to the ship and pay RM 80 per 9 tan for the water transportation, and they gained the net profit of RM 192.32 and RM 43.28 respectively. The average of forest harvesting operation is twice operation in a day (equal with 2 x 9-ton volume of log production a day, so they will gain a double profit. In conclusion, the forest harvesting operation is sustainably managed for supplying the raw material of charcoal industries in Matang mangrove forest. Since, they work manually and spend much energy in this forest harvesting operation, so for further study it recommends to conduct the ergonomics evaluation during forest harvesting operation at Matang Mangrove Forest.

Lower operating cost due to compressed-air recirculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schauwecker, F

1979-01-01

Compressed air containing dirt and aggressive substances may cause damage in pipelines and pneumatic tools, equipment and systems. In consequence, operating costs can be greatly reduced by cleaning and recirculation of compressed air. Compressed-air driers are among the most common systems used for this purpose. Most of these driers are refrigeration driers; adsorption driers are less common. Refrigeration driers consist of a heat exchanger system, a separation system, and a power-controlled refrigerator. The water vapour concentration is proportional to the air temperature; for this reason, the pressure dew point should be as low as possible, i.e. about 1.5/sup 0/C.

Oil prices touch fifty year low - industry gears up for further cuts in operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1999-01-01

International crude oil prices hit a 50-year low (inflation adjusted) in December 1998. Prices are now lower than in 1973 and are expected to remain low for several years; so much so that the future of production activities are under threat. The paper goes on to discuss the UK Government's initiative to tackle the problem and of the activities of the CRINE (Cost Reduction in the New Era) Network to reduce operating costs. The Government Oil and Gas Task Force aimed to develop strategies to reduce the cost base of UK gas and oil operations and recommend action by Government and/or the industry by summer 1999. The concern is that current costs of production on the UK continental shelf will make new offshore development uneconomic. A meeting in January 1999 agreed six key areas for action. The work of the Task Force overlaps that of Crine which, since 1992 has been working to drive down capital costs of developing oil and gas fields by innovative approaches including cooperation between companies. (UK)

Modification and Performance Evaluation of a Low Cost Electro-Mechanically Operated Creep Testing Machine

OpenAIRE

John J. MOMOH; Lanre Y. SHUAIB-BABATA; Gabriel O. ADELEGAN

2010-01-01

Existing mechanically operated tensile and creep testing machine was modified to a low cost, electro-mechanically operated creep testing machine capable of determining the creep properties of aluminum, lead and thermoplastic materials as a function of applied stress, time and temperature. The modification of the testing machine was necessitated by having an electro-mechanically operated creep testing machine as a demonstration model ideal for use and laboratory demonstrations, which will prov...

Costs of Clostridium difficile infection in pediatric operations: A propensity score-matching analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulaylat, Afif N; Rocourt, Dorothy V; Podany, Abigail B; Engbrecht, Brett W; Twilley, Marianne; Santos, Mary C; Cilley, Robert E; Hollenbeak, Christopher S; Dillon, Peter W

2017-05-01

The purpose of this analysis was to assess the burden of Clostridium difficile infection in the hospitalized pediatric surgical population and to characterize its influence on the costs of care. There were 313,664 patients age 1-18 years who underwent a general thoracic or abdominal procedure in the Kids' Inpatient Database during 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012. Logistic regression was used to model factors associated with the development of C difficile infection. A propensity score-matching analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of C difficile infection on mortality, duration of stay, and costs in similar patient cohorts. Population weights were used to estimate the national excess burden of C difficile infection on these outcomes. The overall prevalence of C difficile infection in the sampled cohort was 0.30%, with an increasing trend of C difficile infection over time in non-children's hospitals (P difficile infection was associated with younger age, nonelective procedures, increasing comorbidities, and urban teaching hospital status (P difficile infection after operation. After propensity score matching, the mean excess duration of stay and costs attributable to C difficile infection were 5.8 days and $12,801 (P difficile infection is a relatively uncommon but costly complication after pediatric operative procedures. Given the increasing trend of C difficile infection among hospitalized surgical patients, there is substantial opportunity for reduction of inpatient burden and associated costs in this potentially preventable nosocomial infection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced methods for operating refueling station tube-trailers to reduce refueling cost

Science.gov (United States)

Elgowainy, Amgad; Reddi, Krishna

2017-08-22

A method and apparatus are provided for operating a refueling station including source tube-trailers and at least one compressor to reduce refueling cost. The refueling station includes a gaseous fuel supply source including a plurality of tanks on a tube trailer coupled to a first control unit, and high pressure buffer storage having predefined capacity coupled to a second control unit and the first tanks by a pressure control valve and the first control unit, and at least one compressor. The refueling station is operated at different modes depending on a state of the refueling station at the beginning of each operational mode. The refueling system is assessed at the end of each operational mode to identify the state of the system and select a next mode of operation. The operational modes include consolidating hydrogen, or any gaseous fuel, within the tubes mounted on the trailer.

Modelling the Cost Performance of a Given Logistics Network Operating Under Regular and Irregular Conditions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janic, M.

2009-01-01

This paper develops an analytical model for the assessment of the cost performance of a given logistics network operating under regular and irregular (disruptive) conditions. In addition, the paper aims to carry out a sensitivity analysis of this cost with respect to changes of the most influencing

Cost and Operational Effectiveness Analysis of Aiternative Force Structures for Fulfillment of the United States Marine Corps Operational Support Airlift and Search and Rescue Missions

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chase, Eric

2000-01-01

This thesis provides a preliminary cost and operational effectiveness analysis of alternative force structures for the United States Marine Corps operational support airlift and search and rescue missions...

Advanced launch system (ALS) - Electrical actuation and power systems improve operability and cost picture

Science.gov (United States)

Sundberg, Gale R.

1990-01-01

To obtain the Advanced Launch System (ALS) primary goals of reduced costs and improved operability, there must be significant reductions in the launch operations and servicing requirements relative to current vehicle designs and practices. One of the primary methods for achieving these goals is by using vehicle electrrical power system and controls for all aviation and avionics requirements. A brief status review of the ALS and its associated Advanced Development Program is presented to demonstrate maturation of those technologies that will help meet the overall operability and cost goals. The electric power and actuation systems are highlighted as a sdpecific technology ready not only to meet the stringent ALS goals (cryogenic field valves and thrust vector controls with peak power demands to 75 hp), but also those of other launch vehicles, military ans civilian aircraft, lunar/Martian vehicles, and a multitude of comercial applications.

Advanced Launch System (ALS): Electrical actuation and power systems improve operability and cost picture

Science.gov (United States)

Sundberg, Gale R.

1990-01-01

To obtain the Advanced Launch System (ALS) primary goals of reduced costs and improved operability, there must be significant reductions in the launch operations and servicing requirements relative to current vehicle designs and practices. One of the primary methods for achieving these goals is by using vehicle electrical power system and controls for all actuation and avionics requirements. A brief status review of the ALS and its associated Advanced Development Program is presented to demonstrate maturation of those technologies that will help meet the overall operability and cost goals. The electric power and actuation systems are highlighted as a specific technology ready not only to meet the stringent ALS goals (cryogenic field valves and thrust vector controls with peak power demands to 75 hp), but also those of other launch vehicles, military and civilian aircraft, lunar/Martian vehicles, and a multitude of commercial applications.

Operation Cost Minimization of Droop-Controlled DC Microgrids Based on Real-Time Pricing and Optimal Power Flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; de Bosio, Federico; Chaudhary, Sanjay Kumar

2015-01-01

In this paper, an optimal power flow problem is formulated in order to minimize the total operation cost by considering real-time pricing in DC microgrids. Each generation resource in the system, including the utility grid, is modeled in terms of operation cost, which combines the cost...... problem is solved in a heuristic way by using genetic algorithms. In order to test the proposed algorithm, a six-bus droop-controlled DC microgrid is used as a case-study. The obtained simulation results show that under variable renewable generation, load, and electricity prices, the proposed method can...

Solid Waste Operations Complex W-113: Project cost estimate. Preliminary design report. Volume IV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

This document contains Volume IV of the Preliminary Design Report for the Solid Waste Operations Complex W-113 which is the Project Cost Estimate and construction schedule. The estimate was developed based upon Title 1 material take-offs, budgetary equipment quotes and Raytheon historical in-house data. The W-113 project cost estimate and project construction schedule were integrated together to provide a resource loaded project network

Cost-effective computations with boundary interface operators in elliptic problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khoromskij, B.N.; Mazurkevich, G.E.; Nikonov, E.G.

1993-01-01

The numerical algorithm for fast computations with interface operators associated with the elliptic boundary value problems (BVP) defined on step-type domains is presented. The algorithm is based on the asymptotically almost optimal technique developed for treatment of the discrete Poincare-Steklov (PS) operators associated with the finite-difference Laplacian on rectangles when using the uniform grid with a 'displacement by h/2'. The approach can be regarded as an extension of the method proposed for the partial solution of the finite-difference Laplace equation to the case of displaced grids and mixed boundary conditions. It is shown that the action of the PS operator for the Dirichlet problem and mixed BVP can be computed with expenses of the order of O(Nlog 2 N) both for arithmetical operations and computer memory needs, where N is the number of unknowns on the rectangle boundary. The single domain algorithm is applied to solving the multidomain elliptic interface problems with piecewise constant coefficients. The numerical experiments presented confirm almost linear growth of the computational costs and memory needs with respect to the dimension of the discrete interface problem. 14 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Strategies to Reduce the Cost of Offshore Wind Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maples, B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Saur, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hand, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); van de Pietermen, R. [Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (Netherlands); Obdam, T. [Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (Netherlands)

2013-07-01

Currently, installation, operation, and maintenance (IO&M) costs contribute approximately 30% to the LCOE of offshore wind plants. To reduce LCOE while ensuring safety, this paper identifies principal cost drivers associated with IO&M and quantifies their impacts on LCOE. The paper identifies technology improvement opportunities and provides a basis for evaluating innovative engineering and scientific concepts developed subsequently to the study. Through the completion of a case study, an optimum IO&M strategy for a hypothetical offshore wind project is identified.

Economic Dispatch for Operating Cost Minimization under Real Time Pricing in Droop Controlled DC Microgrid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; Federico, de Bosio; Chen, Fang

2017-01-01

In this paper, an economic dispatch problem for total operation cost minimization in DC microgrids is formulated. An operating cost is associated with each generator in the microgrid, including the utility grid, combining the cost-efficiency of the system with demand response requirements...... achieving higher control accuracy and faster response. The optimization problem is solved in a heuristic method. In order to test the proposed algorithm, a six-bus droop-controlled DC microgrid is used in the case studies. Simulation results show that under variable renewable energy generation, load...... of the utility. The power flow model is included in the optimization problem, thus the transmission losses can be considered for generation dispatch. By considering the primary (local) control of the grid-forming converters of a microgrid, optimal parameters can be directly applied to this control level, thus...

Short-radius horizontal well re-entry learning curve: prize, cost and operational experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boote, K. [Ocelot Energy Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); MacDonald, R. [Lauron Engineering Ltd, Calgary, AB (Canada)

1997-12-01

Six mature vertical wells in Alberta belonging to Ocelot Energy Inc., were reentered and drilled horizontally. Experiences gained, the modifications made to the drilling program and the rewards in the form of incremental oil, were discussed. Details of pre- and post-performance, operational experiences with exiting the casing, building the curve, overbalance versus underbalanced drilling, motors, directional equipment, setting liners, remedial workovers and the cost of the operation were part of the discussion.

Capital and Operating Costs of Full-Scale Fecal Sludge Management and Wastewater Treatment Systems in Dakar, Senegal

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

A financial comparison of a parallel sewer based (SB) system with activated sludge, and a fecal sludge management (FSM) system with onsite septic tanks, collection and transport (C&T) trucks, and drying beds was conducted. The annualized capital for the SB ($42.66 capita–1 year–1) was ten times higher than the FSM ($4.05 capita–1 year–1), the annual operating cost for the SB ($11.98 capita–1 year–1) was 1.5 times higher than the FSM ($7.58 capita–1 year–1), and the combined capital and operating for the SB ($54.64 capita–1 year–1) was five times higher than FSM ($11.63 capita–1 year–1). In Dakar, costs for SB are almost entirely borne by the sanitation utility, with only 6% of the annualized cost borne by users of the system. In addition to costing less overall, FSM operates with a different business model, with costs spread among households, private companies, and the utility. Hence, SB was 40 times more expensive to implement for the utility than FSM. However, the majority of FSM costs are borne at the household level and are inequitable. The results of the study illustrate that in low-income countries, vast improvements in sanitation can be affordable when employing FSM, whereas SB systems are prohibitively expensive. PMID:22413875

Capital and operating costs of full-scale fecal sludge management and wastewater treatment systems in Dakar, Senegal.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodane, Pierre-Henri; Mbéguéré, Mbaye; Sow, Ousmane; Strande, Linda

2012-04-03

A financial comparison of a parallel sewer based (SB) system with activated sludge, and a fecal sludge management (FSM) system with onsite septic tanks, collection and transport (C&T) trucks, and drying beds was conducted. The annualized capital for the SB ($42.66 capita(-1) year(-1)) was ten times higher than the FSM ($4.05 capita(-1) year(-1)), the annual operating cost for the SB ($11.98 capita(-1) year(-1)) was 1.5 times higher than the FSM ($7.58 capita(-1) year(-1)), and the combined capital and operating for the SB ($54.64 capita(-1) year(-1)) was five times higher than FSM ($11.63 capita(-1) year(-1)). In Dakar, costs for SB are almost entirely borne by the sanitation utility, with only 6% of the annualized cost borne by users of the system. In addition to costing less overall, FSM operates with a different business model, with costs spread among households, private companies, and the utility. Hence, SB was 40 times more expensive to implement for the utility than FSM. However, the majority of FSM costs are borne at the household level and are inequitable. The results of the study illustrate that in low-income countries, vast improvements in sanitation can be affordable when employing FSM, whereas SB systems are prohibitively expensive.

Study on the Development of Methodology for Cost Calculations and Financial Planning of Decommissioning Operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-12-01

The following study deals with the development of methodology for cost calculations and financial planning of decommissioning operations. It has been carried out by EDF / FRAMATOME / VUJE / SCK-CEN in the frame of the contract B7-032/2000/291058/MAR/C2 awarded by the European Commission. This study consists of 4 parts. The first task objective is to develop a reliable and transparent methodology for cost assessment and financial planning sufficient precise but without long and in depth investigations and studies. This methodology mainly contains: Calculation methods and algorithms for the elaboration of costs items making up the whole decommissioning cost. Estimated or standard values for the parameters and for the cost factors to be used in the above-mentioned algorithms Financial mechanism to be applied as to establish a financial planning. The second part task is the provision of standard values for the different parameters and costs factors described in the above-mentioned algorithms. This provision of data is based on the own various experience acquired by the members of the working team and on existing international references (databases, publications and reports). As decommissioning operations are spreading over several dozens of years, the scope of this task the description of the financial mechanisms to be applied to the different cost items as to establish a complete financial cost. It takes into account the financial schedule issued in task 1. The scope of this task consists in bringing together in a guideline all the information collected before: algorithms, data and financial mechanisms. (A.L.B.)

The cost of post-operative shed blood salvage after total knee arthroplasty: an analysis of 1,093 consecutive procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Manuel; Ariza, Daniel; Campos, Arturo; Martín-Montañez, Elisa; Pavía, José

2013-01-01

Background Requirements for allogeneic red cell transfusion after total knee arthroplasty are still high (20–50%), and salvage and reinfusion of unwashed, filtered post-operative shed blood is an established method for reducing transfusion requirements following this operation. We performed a cost analysis to ascertain whether this alternative is likely to be cost-effective. Materials and methods Data from 1,093 consecutive primary total knee arthroplasties, managed with (reinfusion group, n=763) or without reinfusion of unwashed salvaged blood (control group, n=330), were retrospectively reviewed. The costs of low-vacuum drains, shed blood collection canisters (Bellovac ABT®, Wellspect HealthCare and ConstaVac CBC II®, Stryker), shed blood reinfusion, acquisition and transfusion of allogeneic red cell concentrate, haemoglobin measurements, and prolonged length of hospital stay were used for the blood management cost analysis. Results Patients in the reinfusion group received 152±64 mL of red blood cells from postoperatively salvaged blood, without clinically relevant incidents, and showed a lower allogeneic transfusion rate (24.5% vs 8.5%, for the control and reinfusion groups, respectively; p =0.001). There were no differences in post-operative infection rates. Patients receiving allogeneic transfusions stayed in hospital longer (+1.9 days [95% CI: 1.2 to 2.6]). As reinfusion of unwashed salvaged blood reduced the allogeneic transfusion rate, both reinfusion systems may provide net savings in different cost scenarios (€ 4.6 to € 106/patient for Bellovac ABT, and € −51.9 to € 49.9/patient for ConstaVac CBCII). Discussion Return of unwashed salvaged blood after total knee arthroplasty seems to save costs in patients with pre-operative haemoglobin between 12 and 15 g/dL. It is not cost-saving in patients with a pre-operative haemoglobin >15 g/dL, whereas in those with a pre-operative haemoglobin cost-saving, its efficacy could be increased by

Factory '82 - 30% reduction of operation cost at short term. Fabrik '82. Kurzzeitig 30% der Betriebskosten beeinflussen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1982-01-01

The present-day situation of many companies is characterized by a decreasing production volume. Consequences and effects of this phenomenon on production and ancillary branches are presented and analysed under aspects of cost, measures are described for influencing operation cost in an effective and continuing way at short term: cost of energy and disposal, heat insulation and heat recovery, cost reduction by computer application, cost reduction with material flow, operational cost analyses with detection of weak spots. Replanning factories and subsections which frequently have shown to be necessary - new planning projects have become more or less rare these days - is accounted for by the range of problem-related topics. Next to issues of CAD in factory planning, another approach is demonstrated which is still underutilized when designing and using factory buildings in keeping with cost: value-analysis factory planning.

Wind turbine reliability :understanding and minimizing wind turbine operation and maintenance costs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walford, Christopher A. (Global Energy Concepts. Kirkland, WA)

2006-03-01

Wind turbine system reliability is a critical factor in the success of a wind energy project. Poor reliability directly affects both the project's revenue stream through increased operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and reduced availability to generate power due to turbine downtime. Indirectly, the acceptance of wind-generated power by the financial and developer communities as a viable enterprise is influenced by the risk associated with the capital equipment reliability; increased risk, or at least the perception of increased risk, is generally accompanied by increased financing fees or interest rates. This paper outlines the issues relevant to wind turbine reliability for wind turbine power generation projects. The first sections describe the current state of the industry, identify the cost elements associated with wind farm O&M and availability and discuss the causes of uncertainty in estimating wind turbine component reliability. The latter sections discuss the means for reducing O&M costs and propose O&M related research and development efforts that could be pursued by the wind energy research community to reduce cost of energy.

U.S. Geological Survey Streamgage Operation and Maintenance Cost Evaluation...from the National Streamflow Information Program

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, J. Michael

2010-01-01

To help meet the goal of providing earth-science information to the Nation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates and maintains the largest streamgage network in the world, with over 7,600 active streamgages in 2010. This network is operated in cooperation with over 850 Federal, tribal, State, and local funding partners. The streamflow information provided by the USGS is used for the protection of life and property; for the assessment, allocation, and management of water resources; for the design of roads, bridges, dams, and water works; for the delineation of flood plains; for the assessment and evaluation of habitat; for understanding the effects of land-use, water-use, and climate changes; for evaluation of water quality; and for recreational safety and enjoyment. USGS streamgages are managed and operated to rigorous national standards, allowing analyses of data from streamgages in different areas and spanning long time periods, some with more than 100 years of data. About 90 percent of USGS streamgages provide streamflow information real-time on the web. Physical measurements of streamflow are made at streamgages multiple times a year, depending on flow conditions, to ensure the highest level of accuracy possible. In addition, multiple reviews and quality assurance checks are performed before the data is finalized. In 2006, the USGS reviewed all activities, operations, equipment, support, and costs associated with operating and maintaining a streamgage program (Norris and others, 2008). A summary of the percentages of costs associated with activities required to operate a streamgage on an annual basis are presented in figure 1. This information represents what it costs to fund a 'typical' USGS streamgage and how those funds are utilized. It should be noted that some USGS streamgages have higher percentages for some categories than do others depending on location and conditions. Forty-one percent of the funding for the typical USGS streamgage is for labor

A cost analysis of operative repair of major laparoscopic bile duct injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmeyr, S; Krige, J E J; Bornman, P C; Beningfield, S J

2015-06-01

Major bile duct injuries occur infrequently after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but may result in life-threatening complications. Few data exist on the financial implications of duct repair. This study calculated the costs of operative repair in a cohort of patients who underwent reconstruction of the bile duct after major ductal injury. To calculate the total in-hospital cost of surgical repair of patients referred with major bile duct injuries. A prospective database was reviewed to identify all patients referred to the University of Cape Town Private Academic Hospital, South Africa, between 2002 and 2013 for assessment and repair of major laparoscopic bile duct injuries. The detailed clinical records and billing information were evaluated to determine all costs from admission to discharge. Total costs for each patient were adjusted for inflation between the year of repair and 2013. Results. Forty-four patients (33 women, 11 men; median age 48 years, range 30 - 78) underwent reconstruction of a major bile duct injury. First-time repairs were performed at a median of 24.5 days (range 1 - 3,662) after initial surgery. Median hospital stay was 15 days (range 6 - 86). Mean cost of repair was ZAR215,711 (range ZAR68,764 - 980,830). Major contributors to cost were theatre expenses (22%), admission to intensive care (21%), radiology (17%) and specialist fees (12%). Admission to a general ward (10%), consumables (7%), pharmacy (5%), endoscopy (3%) and laboratory costs (3%) made up the balance. The cost of repair of a major laparoscopic bile duct injury is substantial owing to prolonged hospitalisation, complex surgicalintervention and intensive imaging requirements.

(Super Variable Costing-Throughput Costing)

OpenAIRE

Çakıcı, Cemal

2006-01-01

(Super Variable Costing-Throughput Costing) The aim of this study is to explain the super-variable costing method which is a new subject in cost and management accounting and to show it’s working practicly.Shortly, super-variable costing can be defined as a costing method which is use only direct material costs in calculate of product costs and treats all costs except these (direct labor and overhead) as periad costs or operating costs.By using super-variable costing method, product costs ar...

The Effect of Infrastructure Sharing in Estimating Operations Cost of Future Space Transportation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sundaram, Meenakshi

2005-01-01

NASA and the aerospace industry are extremely serious about reducing the cost and improving the performance of launch vehicles both manned or unmanned. In the aerospace industry, sharing infrastructure for manufacturing more than one type spacecraft is becoming a trend to achieve economy of scale. An example is the Boeing Decatur facility where both Delta II and Delta IV launch vehicles are made. The author is not sure how Boeing estimates the costs of each spacecraft made in the same facility. Regardless of how a contractor estimates the cost, NASA in its popular cost estimating tool, NASA Air force Cost Modeling (NAFCOM) has to have a method built in to account for the effect of infrastructure sharing. Since there is no provision in the most recent version of NAFCOM2002 to take care of this, it has been found by the Engineering Cost Community at MSFC that the tool overestimates the manufacturing cost by as much as 30%. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a methodology to assess the impact of infrastructure sharing so that better operations cost estimates may be made.

Evaluation of a "no-cost" Internet technology-based system for teleradiology and co-operative work.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergh, B; Schlaefke, A; Pietsch, M; García, I; Vogl, T J

2003-02-01

The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of a no-cost system based on standard Internet technology components for teleradiology. The system was composed of free software (communication, DICOM viewer, compression) and standard off-the-shelf hardware components. For different image (CR, CT, MR) and network types (LAN and ISDN) the File Transfer, Audio and Video Conference, and Co-operative Work properties were examined and compared with the literature referring to standard complete packages and dedicated teleradiology systems. The main advantages of the no-cost system are: price; ease of use; independence from specific hardware; and potential connection to any possible partner. The performance of the File Transfer and the Audio and Video Conference was comparable to the other system groups with slight disadvantages in the usability. For Co-operative Work the employed "application sharing" technology does not meet the clinical requirements, which applies identically to the standard complete packages. Here the specialized systems prove superior, although they are proprietary. With minimal restraints the evaluated no-cost solution can be used for File Transfer and Conference scenarios. The usage for Co-operative Work with ISDN is not recommended, unless for the purpose of gaining experience or when dealing with small amounts of cases or images.

Evaluation of a ''no-cost'' Internet technology-based system for teleradiology and Co-operative Work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergh, B.; Schlaefke, A.; Pietsch, M.; Garcia, I.; Vogl, T.J.

2003-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of a no-cost system based on standard Internet technology components for teleradiology. The system was composed of free software (communication, DICOM viewer, compression) and standard off-the-shelf hardware components. For different image (CR, CT, MR) and network types (LAN and ISDN) the File Transfer, Audio and Video Conference, and Co-operative Work properties were examined and compared with the literature referring to standard complete packages and dedicated teleradiology systems. The main advantages of the no-cost system are: price; ease of use; independence from specific hardware; and potential connection to any possible partner. The performance of the File Transfer and the Audio and Video Conference was comparable to the other system groups with slight disadvantages in the usability. For Co-operative Work the employed ''application sharing'' technology does not meet the clinical requirements, which applies identically to the standard complete packages. Here the specialized systems prove superior, although they are proprietary. With minimal restraints the evaluated no-cost solution can be used for File Transfer and Conference scenarios. The usage for Co-operative Work with ISDN is not recommended, unless for the purpose of gaining experience or when dealing with small amounts of cases or images. (orig.)

Server Operation and Virtualization to Save Energy and Cost in Future Sustainable Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun-Ho Huh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Since the introduction of the LTE (Long Term Evolution service, we have lived in a time of expanding amounts of data. The amount of data produced has increased every year with the increase of smart phone distribution in particular. Telecommunication service providers have to struggle to secure sufficient network capacity in order to maintain quick access to necessary data by consumers. Nonetheless, maintaining the maximum capacity and bandwidth at all times requires considerable cost and excessive equipment. Therefore, to solve such a problem, telecommunication service providers need to maintain an appropriate level of network capacity and to provide sustainable service to customers through a quick network development in case of shortage. So far, telecommunication service providers have bought and used the network equipment directly produced by network equipment manufacturers such as Ericsson, Nokia, Cisco, and Samsung. Since the equipment is specialized for networking, which satisfied consumers with their excellent performances, they are very costly because they are developed with advanced technologies. Moreover, it takes much time due to the purchase process wherein the telecommunication service providers place an order and the manufacturer produces and delivers. Accordingly, there are cases that require signaling and two-way data traffic as well as capacity because of the diversity of IoT devices. For these purposes, the need for NFV (Network Function Virtualization is raised. Equipment virtualization is performed so that it is operated on an x86-based compatible server instead of working on the network equipment manufacturer’s dedicated hardware. By operating in some compatible servers, it can reduce the wastage of hardware and cope with the change thanks to quick hardware development. This study proposed an efficient system of reducing cost in network server operation using such NFV technology and found that the cost was reduced by 24

PV-BUK: Operating and maintenance costs of photovoltaic installations; PV-BUK - Betriebs- und Unterhaltskosten von PV-Anlagen - Schlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stettler, S.; Toggweiler, P. [Enecolo AG, Moenchaltorf (Switzerland); Ruoss, D.; Schudel, P. [Envision, Lucerne (Switzerland); Kottmann, A.; Steinle, F. [BE Netz AG, Lucerne (Switzerland)

2008-03-15

This final report elaborated for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at the results of a project carried out to determine the costs for facility management, to estimate future cost development and to propose activities for the further reduction of the operation and maintenance costs of photovoltaic systems. Information on the cost situation was collected by literature study, as well as in interviews and surveys with photovoltaic (PV) experts and the owners of PV installations. The discussion of the results at a workshop with about 20 Swiss PV experts is noted. The results are presented and discussed. These show that operating costs per kWh decrease with the size of the PV system. Figures are quoted. The major part of the costs are quoted as being those for spare parts, especially for the inverter. The authors are of the opinion that, in future, costs for facility management will further decrease, as they are partly linked to capital and insurance costs. Potential for optimisation is said to exist in several areas of facility management such as, for example, in system monitoring and fast reaction in the case of malfunctions.

Modification and Performance Evaluation of a Low Cost Electro-Mechanically Operated Creep Testing Machine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John J. MOMOH

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Existing mechanically operated tensile and creep testing machine was modified to a low cost, electro-mechanically operated creep testing machine capable of determining the creep properties of aluminum, lead and thermoplastic materials as a function of applied stress, time and temperature. The modification of the testing machine was necessitated by having an electro-mechanically operated creep testing machine as a demonstration model ideal for use and laboratory demonstrations, which will provide an economical means of performing standard creep experiments. The experimental result is a more comprehensive understanding of the laboratory experience, as the technology behind the creep testing machine, the test methodology and the response of materials loaded during experiment are explored. The machine provides a low cost solution for Mechanics of Materials laboratories interested in creep testing experiment and demonstration but not capable of funding the acquisition of commercially available creep testing machines. Creep curves of strain versus time on a thermoplastic material were plotted at a stress level of 1.95MPa, 3.25MPa and 4.55MPa and temperature of 20oC, 40oC and 60oC respectively. The machine is satisfactory since it is always ready for operation at any given time.

A framework for cost-aware process management: cost reporting and cost prediction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wynn, M.T.; Low, W.Z.; Hofstede, ter A.H.M.; Nauta, W.E.

2014-01-01

Organisations are constantly seeking efficiency gains for their business processes in terms of time and cost. Management accounting enables detailed cost reporting of business operations for decision making purposes, although significant effort is required to gather accurate operational data.

A Model of An Integration System for Operations and Cost Data Designed to Control Logistics Processes in Agricultural Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Wajszczuk

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a model of an integration system for operations and cost data designed for the needs of process controlling in agricultural enterprises, with special emphasis on logistics processes. The proposed model constituted the basis for the development of an IT tool to be used in the identification and analysis of logistics costs in agricultural enterprises in terms of the process based approach. As a result of research and programming efforts a model was developed, which made it possible in agricultural enterprises to determine the type-based relationship of cost dynamics and structure with realized actions, operating processes (including logistics processes and products, as well as the relationship of these costs with used resources, maintained stocks, applied materials and work methods. Moreover, this model facilitates cost allocation to products and processes as well as cost centers and points, and makes it possible to determine multidimensional dependencies of the result (divided into individual products on incurred costs.

Reducing IT costs and ensuring safe operation with application of the portfolio management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Livia Alice Mozsar Kovacsne

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Large companies need to give focus on their cost components related to their information technology. Business growths is supported by their IT and hundreds or thousands of applications worldwide. Top level management needs to focus more on their information strategy and the applications they need to manage. A structured and transparent application landscape supports not only the current business but it also enables faster business growth for the future as well. Structuring and organizing the applications related to the various risks supports secure business and information operations within a company. Capturing the applications gives the companies an overview of their information costs and provides the possibility of measurement and control of their IT costs elements. Application portfolio management and information security management are important elements of the corporate strategies.

A cost and time analysis of laryngology procedures in the endoscopy suite versus the operating room.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillel, Alexander T; Ochsner, Matthew C; Johns, Michael M; Klein, Adam M

2016-06-01

To assess the costs, charges, reimbursement, and efficiency of performing awake laryngology procedures in an endoscopy suite (ES) compared with like procedures performed in the operating room (OR). Retrospective review of billing records. Cost, charges, and reimbursements for the hospital, surgeon, and anesthesiologist were compared between ES injection laryngoplasty and laser excision procedures and matched case controls in the OR. Time spent in 1) the preoperative unit, 2) the operating or endoscopy suite, and 3) recovery unit were compared between OR and ES procedures. Hospital expenses were significantly less for ES procedures when compared to OR procedures. Reimbursement was similar for ES and OR injection laryngoplasty, though greater for OR laser excisions. Net balance (reimbursement-expenses) was greater for ES procedures. A predictive model of payer costs over a 3-year period showed similar costs for ES and OR laser procedures and reduced costs for ES compared to OR injection laryngoplasty. Times spent preoperatively and the procedure were significantly less for ES procedures. For individual laryngology procedures, the ES reduces time and costs compared to the OR, increasing otolaryngologist and hospital efficiency. This reveals cost and time savings of ES injection laryngoplasty, which occurs at a similar frequency as OR injection laryngoplasty. Given the increased frequency for ES laser procedures, total costs are similar for ES and OR laser excision of papilloma, which usually require repeated procedures. When regulated office space is unavailable, endoscopy rooms represent an alternative setting for unsedated laryngology procedures. NA Laryngoscope, 126:1385-1389, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Development of Low-Cost Microcontroller-Based Interface for Data Acquisition and Control of Microbioreactor Operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Abdul Rashid; Hadad, Yaser; Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham

2016-10-01

This article presents the development of a low-cost microcontroller-based interface for a microbioreactor operation. An Arduino MEGA 2560 board with 54 digital input/outputs, including 15 pulse-width-modulation outputs, has been chosen to perform the acquisition and control of the microbioreactor. The microbioreactor (volume = 800 µL) was made of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(methylmethacrylate) polymers. The reactor was built to be equipped with sensors and actuators for the control of reactor temperature and the mixing speed. The article discusses the circuit of the microcontroller-based platform, describes the signal conditioning steps, and evaluates the capacity of the proposed low-cost microcontroller-based interface in terms of control accuracy and system responses. It is demonstrated that the proposed microcontroller-based platform is able to operate parallel microbioreactor operation with satisfactory performances. Control accuracy at a deviation less than 5% of the set-point values and responses in the range of few seconds have been recorded. © 2015 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Next-generation nozzle check valve significantly reduces operating costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roorda, O. [SMX International, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2009-01-15

Check valves perform an important function in preventing reverse flow and protecting plant and mechanical equipment. However, the variety of different types of valves and extreme differences in performance even within one type can change maintenance requirements and life cycle costs, amounting to millions of dollars over the typical 15-year design life of piping components. A next-generation non-slam nozzle check valve which prevents return flow has greatly reduced operating costs by protecting the mechanical equipment in a piping system. This article described the check valve varieties such as the swing check valve, a dual-plate check valve, and nozzle check valves. Advancements in optimized design of a non-slam nozzle check valve were also discussed, with particular reference to computer flow modelling such as computational fluid dynamics; computer stress modelling such as finite element analysis; and flow testing (using rapid prototype development and flow loop testing), both to improve dynamic performance and reduce hydraulic losses. The benefits of maximized dynamic performance and minimized pressure loss from the new designed valve were also outlined. It was concluded that this latest non-slam nozzle check valve design has potential applications in natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and oil pipelines, including subsea applications, as well as refineries, and petrochemical plants among others, and is suitable for horizontal and vertical installation. The result of this next-generation nozzle check valve design is not only superior performance, and effective protection of mechanical equipment but also minimized life cycle costs. 1 fig.

Locating operations in high labor cost countries – Evidence from Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angel Diaz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The location of operations in high labor cost countries is increasingly discussed in the media, in part for recent declarations and actions from the president of USA, Donald Trump. While this particular instance can be labeled as populist or protectionist, the factors underlying the debate are extremely important: advances in systematic increases in productivity, low population growth, and the transfer of jobs to countries with lower labor costs are creating unemployment and underemployment in developed countries that could eventually result in protectionism and restrictions to free trade. This phenomenon has enormous social and economic implications, and has attracted considerable interest from researchers. In particular, this study provides empirical evidence of the location of manufacturing and services in the context of a European country (Spain, exploring the drivers, social implications and organizational theories that can explain it.

Harvest operations for density management: planning requirements, production, costs, stand damage, and recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Loren D. Kellogg; Stephen J. Pilkerton

2013-01-01

Since the early 1990s, several studies have been undertaken to determine the planning requirements, productivity, costs, and residual stand damage of harvest operations in thinning treatments designed to promote development of complex forest structure in order to enhance ecological functioning and biological diversity. Th ese studies include the Oregon State...

Reducing operational costs through MIPS management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwiatkowski, L.M.; Verhoef, C.

2015-01-01

We focus on an approach to reducing the costs of running applications. MIPS, which is a traditional acronym for millions of instructions per second, have evolved to become a measurement of processing power and CPU resource consumption. The need for controlling MIPS attributed costs is indispensable

Reduction in energy consumption and operating cost in a dried corn warehouse using logistics techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korrakot Y. Tippayawong

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Corn is one of the major economic crops in Thailand. Corn postharvest operation involves various practices that consume a large amount of energy. Different energy conservation measures have been implemented but logistics consideration is not normally employed. In this work, attempt has been made to demonstrate that logistics techniques can offer a significant reduction in energy and cost. The main objective of this work is to identify and demonstrate possible approaches to improving energy efficiency and reducing operating cost for a dried corn warehouse operator. Three main problems are identified: (i relatively high fuel consumption for internal transfer process, (ii low quality of dried corn, and (iii excess expenditure on outbound transportation. Solutions are proposed and implemented using logistics operations. Improvement is achieved using plant layout and shortest path techniques, resulting in a reduction of almost 50% in energy consumption for the internal transfer process. Installation of an air distributor in the grain storage unit results in a decrease in loss due to poor-quality dried corn from 17% to 10%. Excess expenditure on dried corn distribution is reduced by 6% with application of a global positioning system.

TOPEX: An expert system for estimating and analyzing the operating costs of oil and gas production facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greffioz, J.; Olver, A.J.; Schirmer, P.

1993-01-01

TOPEX is a new approach to operating costs estimation of oil and gas installations. It does not rely on knowledge of the capital cost of the installation and uses a computerized expert system (or knowledge base). Estimates are generated from specific details of the equipment and systems and general databases of prices and man hours. A novel methodology has been developed for quantifying the operational complexity of an installation which is then correlated with operations manpower. The use of a computerized application allows rapid calculation of estimates so that what-if and sensitivity studies can be readily done. The knowledge base provides a powerful tool to handle the large amounts of data involved and acts as a repository for the expertise used in its development

A low-cost touchscreen operant chamber using a Raspberry Pi™.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, James D; O'Leary, Olivia F; Cryan, John F; Nolan, Yvonne M

2018-03-08

The development of a touchscreen platform for rodent testing has allowed new methods for cognitive testing that have been back-translated from clinical assessment tools to preclinical animal models. This platform for cognitive assessment in animals is comparable to human neuropsychological tests such as those employed by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, and thus has several advantages compared to the standard maze apparatuses typically employed in rodent behavioral testing, such as the Morris water maze. These include improved translation of preclinical models, as well as high throughput and the automation of animal testing. However, these systems are relatively expensive, which can impede progress for researchers with limited resources. Here we describe a low-cost touchscreen operant chamber based on the single-board computer, Raspberry Pi TM , which is capable of performing tasks similar to those supported by current state-of-the-art systems. This system provides an affordable alternative for cognitive testing in a touchscreen operant paradigm for researchers with limited funding.

Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flores Alsina, Xavier; Arnell, Magnus; Amerlinck, Youri

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies ...... evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.......The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies...

The Perceived Effect of Hidden Costs on the Operational Management of Information Technology Outsourcing: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Swift, Ian

2011-01-01

Information technology (IT) outsourcing is a business trend aimed at reducing costs and enabling companies to concentrate on their core competencies. This qualitative multiple case design research study explored the effects of hidden costs on the operational management of IT outsourcing. The study involved analyzing IT outsourcing agreements as…

Interactions between the performance aspects and requirements regarding Thermal and Hygric comfort, Energy, Operational and Investment Costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rudbeck, Claus Christian; Svendsen, Sv Aa Højgaard

1997-01-01

insulation was included in the walls, the indoor climate was better, the maintenance cost was lower etc. But how do we find the optimum of these factors?This report examine methods to find the optimal solution when examining the indoor environment and the investment, operation, and maintenance cost....

The impact of minimum pay implementation on small businesses operating cost and sustainability: A case of service business

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanim Rusly Fariza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The implementation of minimum wage requirement in Malaysia beginning mid 2016 seems to impact both employees and employers in different ways. While this implementation could increase household income and claimed to boost employees’ productivity, employers or business operators, on the other hand are experiencing stringent effect on their business operating cost. The effect is more significant for small business operators, including the childcare centers. Childcare industry operates in the service sector, which represents the main contributor of Malaysian SMEs. Unfortunately for the industry, there is an increasing numbers of childcare centers have to cease their operation due to inability to comply with the minimum pay requirement. In the absence of thorough understanding of the phenomena, the small businesses, particularly among institution-based childcare, is at the risk of losing their businesses. This exploratory study intends to assess how the implementation of minimum pay requirement affects the existing operating cost structure, and consequently business sustainability of Malaysian childcare industry.

Trends in workers compensation costs in a hotel-operating company over a six-year period.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelley, C R; Mark, C R

1995-03-01

A large Honolulu-based hotel-operating company reviewed its workers compensation costs over the last 6 years. Data retrieved from the company's computerized data base is used to describe trends in injury incidence rate, average cost per claim, average medical cost per claim, and medical expenses as a percentage of total costs. Factors that might have influenced these parameters include company reorganization, employee training and safety programs, changes in the economy, company morale, aggressive case management, and the quality of the adjusting services hired. Cause-and-effect relationships, although suggested, cannot be proven. The data is presented, in this year of imminent workers compensation legislative reform, to increase the available factual data base on which rational and efficacious reform proposals can be developed.

Perceptions of mobile network operators regarding the cost drivers of the South African mobile phone industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Musenga F. Mpwanya

2016-11-01

Implications: The findings of this study should assist MNOs in their monitoring of cost drivers and in the identification of cost reduction opportunities, in order to remain effective and efficient in the industry. This study’s findings should help regulating authorities (such as the Department of Communications and the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa [ICASA] to gain insights into the cost drivers of the South African mobile phone industry from the perspective of a network operator, and thus to develop appropriate mobile phone policies.

Low-cost USB interface for operant research using Arduino and Visual Basic.

Science.gov (United States)

Escobar, Rogelio; Pérez-Herrera, Carlos A

2015-03-01

This note describes the design of a low-cost interface using Arduino microcontroller boards and Visual Basic programming for operant conditioning research. The board executes one program in Arduino programming language that polls the state of the inputs and generates outputs in an operant chamber. This program communicates through a USB port with another program written in Visual Basic 2010 Express Edition running on a laptop, desktop, netbook computer, or even a tablet equipped with Windows operating system. The Visual Basic program controls schedules of reinforcement and records real-time data. A single Arduino board can be used to control a total of 52 inputs/output lines, and multiple Arduino boards can be used to control multiple operant chambers. An external power supply and a series of micro relays are required to control 28-V DC devices commonly used in operant chambers. Instructions for downloading and using the programs to generate simple and concurrent schedules of reinforcement are provided. Testing suggests that the interface is reliable, accurate, and could serve as an inexpensive alternative to commercial equipment. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Overseas Contingency Operations: OMB and DOD Should Revise the Criteria for Determining Eligible Costs and Identify the Costs Likely to Endure Long Term

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

the theater of operations; Within the theater, the incremental costs above the funding programmed in the base budget to: • support commanders in the...billion in funding for OCO. While DOD’s OCO budget request has included amounts for contingency operations primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, more...the extent to which OMB’s 2010 criteria address the activities included in DOD’s OCO budget request; and (2) whether DOD has developed and

Penerapan Operation Costing Dan Kaitannya Dengan Keakuratan Penetapan Harga Jual (Case Study at PT X — a Finishing Company in Printing Industries in Bandung)

OpenAIRE

Setiadi, Hendra; Permatasari, Paulina

2007-01-01

Pricing Decision is influenced by several factors, Le: cost, competitor and customer. In pricing decision process, its really important for companies to be able to accurately calculate its product costs so that the profile of product profitability could be figured. Many methods are available to be used in calculating product costs. One of the methods is Operation costing method, which is a hybrid costing system that is applied to batch of similar but not identic products. Operation costing is...

Cost and Morbidity Analysis of Chest Port Insertion: Interventional Radiology Suite Versus Operating Room.

Science.gov (United States)

LaRoy, Jennifer R; White, Sarah B; Jayakrishnan, Thejus; Dybul, Stephanie; Ungerer, Dirk; Turaga, Kiran; Patel, Parag J

2015-06-01

To compare complications and cost, from a hospital perspective, of chest port insertions performed in an interventional radiology (IR) suite versus in surgery in an operating room (OR). This study was approved by an institutional review board and is HIPAA compliant. Medical records were retrospectively searched on consecutive chest port placement procedures, in the IR suite and the OR, between October 22, 2010 and February 26, 2013, to determine patients' demographic information and chest port-related complications and/or infections. A total of 478 charts were reviewed (age range: 21-85 years; 309 women, 169 men). Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors associated with an increased complication rate. Cost data on 149 consecutive Medicare outpatients (100 treated in the IR suite; 49 treated in the OR) who had isolated chest port insertions between March 2012 and February 2013 were obtained for both the operative services and pharmacy. Nonparametric tests for heterogeneity were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis method. Early complications occurred in 9.2% (22 of 239) of the IR patients versus 13.4% (32 of 239) of the OR patients. Of the 478 implanted chest ports, 9 placed in IR and 18 placed in surgery required early removal. Infections from the ports placed in IR versus the OR were 0.25 versus 0.18 infections per 1000 catheters, respectively. Overall mean costs for chest port insertion were significantly higher in the OR, for both room and pharmacy costs (P chest ports in an OR setting was almost twice that of placement in the IR suite. Hospital costs to place a chest port were significantly lower in the IR suite than in the OR, whereas radiology and surgery patients did not show a significantly different rate of complications and/or infections. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reducing operating costs: A collaborative approach between industry and electric utilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyers, B.; Sibbald, L.

1993-01-01

The unit cost of electricity to industrial consumers is expected to increase at a rate of 5% annually in the 1990s. The partnership that has been created between Amoco Canada Petroleum Company and TransAlta Utilities to control the cost of electricity is described. To allow the company to receive lower rates for interruptible power, a number of measures have been taken. The Amoco Whitecourt plant has standby generators in reserve that can be used when utility power is not available. A Pembina compressor can be turned off for up to 12 hours, at 30 minutes notice, without affecting field pressure. At the East Crossfield plant sales gas can be compressed using electricity or a gas-driven engine. Spot market energy is used in a number of plants allowing electric drive alternatives to plant operators and offering short term energy markets. TransAlta invests in electrical equipment such as switchgear as well as transmission lines and transformers. New rate alternatives offered by TransAlta Utilities include review of the need for a demand ratchet, additional time of use rates, unbundling of rates allowing power purchase from alternative sources, rates that follow product costs, reduced rates for conversion of gas to electric drives certain circumstances, energy audits, and power factor credits. 5 figs

Cost of installing and operating an electronic clinical decision support system for maternal health care: case of Tanzania rural primary health centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Saronga, Happiness Pius; Dalaba, Maxwell Ayindenaba; Dong, Hengjin; Leshabari, Melkizedeck; Sauerborn, Rainer; Sukums, Felix; Blank, Antje; Kaltschmidt, Jens; Loukanova, Svetla

2015-04-02

Poor quality of care is among the causes of high maternal and newborn disease burden in Tanzania. Potential reason for poor quality of care is the existence of a "know-do gap" where by health workers do not perform to the best of their knowledge. An electronic clinical decision support system (CDSS) for maternal health care was piloted in six rural primary health centers of Tanzania to improve performance of health workers by facilitating adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and ultimately improve quality of maternal health care. This study aimed at assessing the cost of installing and operating the system in the health centers. This retrospective study was conducted in Lindi, Tanzania. Costs incurred by the project were analyzed using Ingredients approach. These costs broadly included vehicle, computers, furniture, facility, CDSS software, transport, personnel, training, supplies and communication. These were grouped into installation and operation cost; recurrent and capital cost; and fixed and variable cost. We assessed the CDSS in terms of its financial and economic cost implications. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis on the estimations. Total financial cost of CDSS intervention amounted to 185,927.78 USD. 77% of these costs were incurred in the installation phase and included all the activities in preparation for the actual operation of the system for client care. Generally, training made the largest share of costs (33% of total cost and more than half of the recurrent cost) followed by CDSS software- 32% of total cost. There was a difference of 31.4% between the economic and financial costs. 92.5% of economic costs were fixed costs consisting of inputs whose costs do not vary with the volume of activity within a given range. Economic cost per CDSS contact was 52.7 USD but sensitive to discount rate, asset useful life and input cost variations. Our study presents financial and economic cost estimates of installing and operating an

Designing Green Networks and Network Operations Saving Run-the-Engine Costs

CERN Document Server

Minoli, Daniel

2011-01-01

In recent years the confluence of socio-political trends toward environmental responsibility and the pressing need to reduce Run-the-Engine (RTE) costs has given birth to a nascent discipline of Green IT. A clear and concise introduction to green networks and green network operations, this book examines analytical measures and discusses virtualization, network computing, and web services as approaches for green data centers and networks. It identifies some strategies for green appliance and end devices and examines the methodical steps that can be taken over time to achieve a seamless migratio

Should solar photovoltaics be deployed sooner because of long operating life at low, predictable cost?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zweibel, Ken

2010-01-01

Governments subsidize the deployment of solar photovoltaics (PV) because PV is deployed for societal purposes. About seven thousand megawatts were deployed in 2009 and over 10,000 are expected in 2010. Yet this is too slow to strongly affect energy and environmental challenges. Faster societal deployment is slowed because PV is perceived to be too costly. Classic economic evaluations would put PV electricity in the range of 15-50 c/kWh, depending on local sunlight and system size. But PV has an unusual, overlooked value: systems can last for a very long time with almost no operating costs, much like, e.g., the Hoover Dam. This long life is rarely taken into account. The private sector cannot use it because far-future cash flow does not add to asset value. But we should not be evaluating PV by business metrics. Governments already make up the difference in return on investment needed to deploy PV. PV deployment is government infrastructure development or direct purchases. Thus the question is: Does the usually unevaluated aspect of long life at predictably low operating costs further motivate governments to deploy more PV, sooner?

Cidem approach for improving availability and operating costs of future nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordier, R.; Degrave, C.; Martin-Onraet, M.

1996-01-01

EDF decided to implement an analytical and systematic process for study of the new projects to optimize the design by integration of the maintenance (duration, costs), availability and radiation exposure goals from the related operating experience. This approach, called CIDEM (French acronym for Design Integrating Availability, operating Experience and Maintenance) aims at a single goal: to optimize the operating and maintenance costs. The first CIDEM application is centred on the future French nuclear unit construction program, known as the REP 2000 program and in the REP 2000/EPR project. This approach is conducted with the co-operation of the German at least for the EPR design. The studies results have shown that the availability aims are reached for a running campaign of 12 months and this availability can even reach 90% for cycles of 18 months. The stopping duration for fuel reloading is estimated at 19 days and is widely inferior to the initial aim (25 days). The studies have been completed by the analysis of the back end experiment as well as of the establishment of policies and maintenance methodologies. At last, the definition of an integration methodology of the maintenance logistics to the design, aiming more particularly to define the structure of a logistic data base has been carried out. This CIDEM process is a new approach of nuclear power plants design studies for EDF. In the design studies, the of the maintenance and of its associated logistic support must allow a best mastership of the running expenses. The nuclear energy competitiveness depends on the result of such an approach. (O.M.)

Convergence Analysis of Distributed Control for Operation Cost Minimization of Droop Controlled DC Microgrid Based on Multiagent

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Chendan; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

In this paper we present a distributed control method for minimizing the operation cost in DC microgrid based on multiagent system. Each agent is autonomous and controls the local converter in a hierarchical way through droop control, voltage scheduling and collective decision making....... The collective decision for the whole system is made by proposed incremental cost consensus, and only nearest-neighbor communication is needed. The convergence characteristics of the consensus algorithm are analyzed considering different communication topologies and control parameters. Case studies verified...... the proposed method by comparing it without traditional methods. The robustness of system is tested under different communication latency and plug and play operation....

In Search of the Economic Sustainability of Hadron Therapy: The Real Cost of Setting Up and Operating a Hadron Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vanderstraeten, Barbara, E-mail: barbara.vanderstraeten@uzgent.be [Department of Radiotherapy, Ghent University Hospital, Gent (Belgium); Verstraete, Jan [Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven (Belgium); De Croock, Roger [Belgian Hadron Therapy Center Foundation, Brussels (Belgium); De Neve, Wilfried; Lievens, Yolande [Department of Radiotherapy, Ghent University Hospital, Gent (Belgium)

2014-05-01

Purpose: To determine the treatment cost and required reimbursement for a new hadron therapy facility, considering different technical solutions and financing methods. Methods and Materials: The 3 technical solutions analyzed are a carbon only (COC), proton only (POC), and combined (CC) center, each operating 2 treatment rooms and assumed to function at full capacity. A business model defines the required reimbursement and analyzes the financial implications of setting up a facility over time; activity-based costing (ABC) calculates the treatment costs per type of patient for a center in a steady state of operation. Both models compare a private, full-cost approach with public sponsoring, only taking into account operational costs. Results: Yearly operational costs range between €10.0M (M = million) for a publicly sponsored POC to €24.8M for a CC with private financing. Disregarding inflation, the average treatment cost calculated with ABC (COC: €29,450; POC: €46,342; CC: €46,443 for private financing; respectively €16,059, €28,296, and €23,956 for public sponsoring) is slightly lower than the required reimbursement based on the business model (between €51,200 in a privately funded POC and €18,400 in COC with public sponsoring). Reimbursement for privately financed centers is very sensitive to a delay in commissioning and to the interest rate. Higher throughput and hypofractionation have a positive impact on the treatment costs. Conclusions: Both calculation methods are valid and complementary. The financially most attractive option of a publicly sponsored COC should be balanced to the clinical necessities and the sociopolitical context.

In Search of the Economic Sustainability of Hadron Therapy: The Real Cost of Setting Up and Operating a Hadron Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderstraeten, Barbara; Verstraete, Jan; De Croock, Roger; De Neve, Wilfried; Lievens, Yolande

2014-01-01

Purpose: To determine the treatment cost and required reimbursement for a new hadron therapy facility, considering different technical solutions and financing methods. Methods and Materials: The 3 technical solutions analyzed are a carbon only (COC), proton only (POC), and combined (CC) center, each operating 2 treatment rooms and assumed to function at full capacity. A business model defines the required reimbursement and analyzes the financial implications of setting up a facility over time; activity-based costing (ABC) calculates the treatment costs per type of patient for a center in a steady state of operation. Both models compare a private, full-cost approach with public sponsoring, only taking into account operational costs. Results: Yearly operational costs range between €10.0M (M = million) for a publicly sponsored POC to €24.8M for a CC with private financing. Disregarding inflation, the average treatment cost calculated with ABC (COC: €29,450; POC: €46,342; CC: €46,443 for private financing; respectively €16,059, €28,296, and €23,956 for public sponsoring) is slightly lower than the required reimbursement based on the business model (between €51,200 in a privately funded POC and €18,400 in COC with public sponsoring). Reimbursement for privately financed centers is very sensitive to a delay in commissioning and to the interest rate. Higher throughput and hypofractionation have a positive impact on the treatment costs. Conclusions: Both calculation methods are valid and complementary. The financially most attractive option of a publicly sponsored COC should be balanced to the clinical necessities and the sociopolitical context

Quality upgrading and cost reducing effects of using an operation control system for performance of maintenance tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramler, K.

1996-01-01

According to available results, the use of an operation control system has come up to expections with respect to a quality enhancement of maintenance work. The tasks are performed more safely and there is more insight into the processes. so that, as indirect results, cost savings and rationalisation effects are to be expected. However, the cost savings achieved through the operation control system for maintenance tasks will remain modest. The truly cost-effective optimisation potentials in the maintenance area primarily consist in a reduction of preventive measures to the required scope, i.e reduction of the envisaged quantity of processes for maintenance and recurrent inspection. In order to extend savings to the organisational level, with respect to personnel expenditure, by DP supported maintenance planning, a suitable optimisation of the organisational structure and personnel employment is inevitable, because otherwise the rationalisation potentials will remain utopia. (orig.) [de

Balancing low cost with reliable operation in the rotordynamic design of the ALS Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Turbopump

Science.gov (United States)

Greenhill, L. M.

1990-01-01

The Air Force/NASA Advanced Launch System (ALS) Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Turbopump (FTP) has primary design goals of low cost and high reliability, with performance and weight having less importance. This approach is atypical compared with other rocket engine turbopump design efforts, such as on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), which emphasized high performance and low weight. Similar to the SSME turbopumps, the ALS FTP operates supercritically, which implies that stability and bearing loads strongly influence the design. In addition, the use of low cost/high reliability features in the ALS FTP such as hydrostatic bearings, relaxed seal clearances, and unshrouded turbine blades also have a negative influence on rotordynamics. This paper discusses the analysis conducted to achieve a balance between low cost and acceptable rotordynamic behavior, to ensure that the ALS FTP will operate reliably without subsynchronous instabilities or excessive bearing loads.

42 CFR 412.405 - Preadmission services as inpatient operating costs under the inpatient psychiatric facility...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... under the inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system. 412.405 Section 412.405 Public... Services of Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities § 412.405 Preadmission services as inpatient operating costs under the inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system. The prospective payment system...

The impact of minimum pay implementation on small businesses operating cost and sustainability: A case of service business

OpenAIRE

Hanim Rusly Fariza; Yakimin Abdul Talib Yurita; Salleh Danilah

2017-01-01

The implementation of minimum wage requirement in Malaysia beginning mid 2016 seems to impact both employees and employers in different ways. While this implementation could increase household income and claimed to boost employees’ productivity, employers or business operators, on the other hand are experiencing stringent effect on their business operating cost. The effect is more significant for small business operators, including the childcare centers. Childcare industry operates in the ser...

Costs of disposable material in the operating room do not show high correlation with surgical time: Implications for hospital payment.

Science.gov (United States)

Delo, Caroline; Leclercq, Pol; Martins, Dimitri; Pirson, Magali

2015-08-01

The objectives of this study are to analyze the variation of the surgical time and of disposable costs per surgical procedure and to analyze the association between disposable costs and the surgical time. The registration of data was done in an operating room of a 419 bed general hospital, over a period of three months (n = 1556 surgical procedures). Disposable material per procedure used was recorded through a barcode scanning method. The average cost (standard deviation) of disposable material is €183.66 (€183.44). The mean surgical time (standard deviation) is 96 min (63). Results have shown that the homogeneity of operating time and DM costs was quite good per surgical procedure. The correlation between the surgical time and DM costs is not high (r = 0.65). In a context of Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) based hospital payment, it is important that costs information systems are able to precisely calculate costs per case. Our results show that the correlation between surgical time and costs of disposable materials is not good. Therefore, empirical data or itemized lists should be used instead of surgical time as a cost driver for the allocation of costs of disposable materials to patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Cost Analysis of the Decision to Cannibalize Major Components of the Navy's H-60 Helicopters at the Operational Level

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kowalski, Danny

2000-01-01

... often make a decision to cannibalize without considering the total cost of their decision This thesis examines the costs incurred by an operational H-6O helicopter squadron to cannibalize major...

Economics for wind turbines in Denmark. Investments, operation and maintenance costs for selected vintages of turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hjuler Jensen, P.; Morthorst, P.E.; Skriver, S.; Rasmussen, M.; Larsen, H.; Hansen, L.H.; Nielsen, P.; Lemming, J.

2002-10-01

During the last two decades of operational experience with wind turbines in Denmark, a number of investigations on wind energy economics have been carried out on behalf of the Danish Energy Agency. The aim of this study has been to analyse the development of investments cost, O and M-cost, insurance costs etc. including the economic and technical lifetime of wind turbines. Based on a questionnaire and an existing database, time series for O and M-cost components are established going back to the early 80's. These time series are used to analyse the development of O and M-costs during the lifetime of different turbine sizes and vintages. A major issue of the project is to use the results achieved for older turbines (55kW to 150 kW) to establish an expected development of O and M-costs for newer larger turbines, typically of the 500kW to 750kW sizes. (au)

The pilot plant in Geiselbullach for the gamma irradiation of sewage sludge - design, operation experience and cost calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lessel, T.; Hennig, E.

1976-01-01

The pilot plant for sewage sludge irradiation in Geiselbullach near Munich has been in operation from July '73 to October '75 with a capacity of 30 m 3 per day. Successful experiences during this period resulted in an increase of the installed radiation energy and in several improvements for the technique and the efficiency. From December 1975 on the plant has been operating with a daily capacity of 120 m 3 of sludge per day. The experience with this plant brought several problems which caused interruptions of the continuous operation and that had to be solved with new measures. But although the facility at Geiselbullach is a pilot plant the availability was more than 350 days per year. Due to the simple design of the plant and of the fully automatic operation no special trained personal is necessary for the maintenance. Beside the effect of the hygienization the irradiation caused improved sedimentation properties of the sludge. Presently investigations are undertaken to prove better mechanical sludge dewatering properties. Cost calculations resulted in about DM 2.30 for operating expenses and DM 2.25 for capital costs per m 3 of sludge for the fully charged plant. The capital costs will be less in commercial plants. The conditioning effect on the sludge by the irradiation means savings of about DM 1.00 per m 3 . The irradiation of sewage sludge proved to be possible at about equal costs compared to the wellknown heat treatment (pasteurization at 70 0 C during 30 minutes.). Further investigations have to be done to overcome the contrary development of the plant capacity, limited by the decaying radiation energy and the normally rising sludge quantities of a sewage water treatment plant. (author)

Capital and Operating Cost of Small Arsenic Removal System and their Most Frequent Maintenance Problems

Science.gov (United States)

This presentation will first summarize the capital and operating cost of treatment systems by type and size of the systems. The treatment systems include adsorptive media (AM) systems, iron removal (IR), coagulation/filtration (CF), ion exchange (IX) systems, and point-of-use rev...

Data Collection for Current U.S. Wind Energy Projects: Component Costs, Financing, Operations, and Maintenance; January 2011 - September 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin-Tretton, M.; Reha, M.; Drunsic, M.; Keim, M.

2012-01-01

DNV Renewables (USA) Inc. (DNV) used an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Cost Model to evaluate ten distinct cost scenarios encountered under variations in wind turbine component failure rates. The analysis considers: (1) a Reference Scenario using the default part failure rates within the O&M Cost Model, (2) High Failure Rate Scenarios that increase the failure rates of three major components (blades, gearboxes, and generators) individually, (3) 100% Replacement Scenarios that model full replacement of these components over a 20 year operating life, and (4) Serial Failure Scenarios that model full replacement of blades, gearboxes, and generators in years 4 to 6 of the wind project. DNV selected these scenarios to represent a broad range of possible operational experiences. Also in this report, DNV summarizes the predominant financing arrangements used to develop wind energy projects over the past several years and provides summary data on various financial metrics describing those arrangements.

Upgrading security at nuclear power plants: effect on utility operations and costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvesen, R.S.

1977-01-01

The impact of the new security regulation on Salem Unit No. 1 is discussed. The upgrading of security requirements in 10CFR 73.55 did not alter the basic elements of a security plan established in ANSI 18.17, but rather upgraded the level of the threat to which a security plan must respond. Its basic thrust is first to require a hardening of physical barriers and/or increase the security organization response capability to better neutralize a threat from the outside. Secondly, to implement more extensive search requirements to reduce the threat from inside by preventing the entry of unauthorized material that might be used for sabotage. Thirdly, it requires a reevaluation of security organization responsibilities and preplanning for contingencies to assure effective coordination of all involved parties. The new regulations impact most significantly on two of the five elements of a basic security plan--Physical Barriers and the Security Force and to some extent on administrative controls. At this time, I cannot accurately estimate the cost increase but would guess it will be double or triple our initial costs. There will be reduced productivity to some extent in stores and material handling activities and some impediment to all employees who must pass access control points, however, its overall affect on operating a its overall affect on operating activities should not be significant

Is There a Limit to Growth? Comparing the Environmental Cost of an Airport’s Operations with Its Economic Benefit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cherie Lu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With the growing global awareness of the requirement for sustainable development, economic development is no longer the sole objective of business activities. The need to find a balance between environmental impacts and economic benefits is especially the case for airport operations in or around cities. This study measured the environmental costs and economic benefits and of an airport for a period of 10 years, using Taipei Songshan Airport for the empirical analysis, to examine whether the environmental costs could outweigh the economic benefits. Of all the environmental negative side effects, aircraft engine emissions and noise nuisance are considered the main sources of environmental impacts. The dose-response method and the hedonic price method, respectively, were used for estimating the social costs of these. Income generation from both direct and secondary employment is measured as economic benefits by applying the Garin-Lowry model, originally developed in 1966, for estimation of the employment multiplier. The results show that, in general, the operation of Taipei Songshan Airport brought more economic benefits than environmental costs. The sensitivity analysis of emissions and noise social cost parameters shows that the environmental costs might have exceeded the economic benefits in 2008 and 2009 in certain high emissions and noise social cost cases.

Ventilation cost and air cleaning

Science.gov (United States)

Goodfellow, H. D.

The components associated with the costs of the purchase of pollution control equipment are discussed. These include the capital cost to purchase the equipment and installation, and the costs incurred to operate the control device on an annual basis. Although the capital costs can represent a significant outlay of money, typically these costs are spread out over the life of the equipment. In general, this amortized cost is combined with the operating cost and is referred to as an 'annualized cost'. The annualized cost is a commonly used indicator to demonstrate the actual year to year cost that the equipment and operation will represent. Values and methods used to estimate costs, typical cost indicators, and sources of computerized costing models are presented. A comparison of the capital cost expenditure required for a model case (a cement kiln operation), using three control device alternatives is made.

OOTW COST TOOLS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

HARTLEY, D.S.III; PACKARD, S.L.

1998-09-01

This document reports the results of a study of cost tools to support the analysis of Operations Other Than War (OOTW). It recommends the continued development of the Department of Defense (DoD) Contingency Operational Support Tool (COST) as the basic cost analysis tool for 00TWS. It also recommends modifications to be included in future versions of COST and the development of an 00TW mission planning tool to supply valid input for costing.

The use of 3D CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) models in operation and maintenance cost reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Didsbury, R.; Bains, N.; Cho, U.Y.

1998-01-01

The use of three dimensional(3D) computer-aided design and drafting(CADD) models, and the associated information technology and databases, in the engineering and construction phases of large projects is well established and yielding significant improvements in project cost, schedule and quality. The information contained in these models can also be extremely valuable to operating plants, particularly when the visual and spatial information contained in the 3D models is interfaced to other plant information databases. Indeed many plant owners and operators in the process and power industries are already using this technology to assist with such activities as plant configuration management, staff training, work planning and radiation protection. This paper will explore the application of 3D models and the associated databases in an operating plant environment and describe the resulting operational benefits and cost reduction benefits. Several industrial experience case studies will be presented along with suggestions for further future applications. (author). 4 refs., 1 tab., 8 figs

COST 296 scientific results designed for operational use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Pezzopane

2009-06-01

Full Text Available

The main objective of the COST 296 Action «Mitigation of Ionospheric Effects on Radio Systems» is the establishment/

improvement of ionospheric services by coordinating the development of specific algorithms, models,

and tools capable of operating in a near-real-time mode.

Key elements of these activities are contributions related to monitoring, modelling, and imaging of customer-relevant

ionospheric quantities. COST stimulates, coordinates, and supports Europe’s goals of development and

global cooperation by providing high quality information and knowledge of ionospheric and plasmaspheric conditions

enabling high quality and reliable operation of radio systems.

It also provides a platform for sharing such tools as algorithms or models, and for the joint development of advanced

technologies. It takes advantage of many national and European service initiatives, for example DIAS

(http://dias.space.noa.gr, SWACI (http://w3swaci.dlr.de, ESWUA (http://www.eswua.ingv.it/ingv, RWC-Warsaw

(http://www.cbk.waw.pl/rwc, the COST Prompt Ionospheric Database http://www.wdc.rl.ac.uk/cgibin/

digisondes/cost_database.pl, http://www.izmiran.ru/services, and others.

Construction and Operation Costs of Wastewater Treatment and Implications for the Paper Industry in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Kunyu; Wu, Jian; Yu, Fang; Guo, Jingli

2016-11-15

This paper aims to develop a construction and operation cost model of wastewater treatment for the paper industry in China and explores the main factors that determine these costs. Previous models mainly involved factors relating to the treatment scale and efficiency of treatment facilities for deriving the cost function. We considered the factors more comprehensively by adding a regional variable to represent the economic development level, a corporate ownership factor to represent the plant characteristics, a subsector variable to capture pollutant characteristics, and a detailed-classification technology variable. We applied a unique data set from a national pollution source census for the model simulation. The major findings include the following: (1) Wastewater treatment costs in the paper industry are determined by scale, technology, degree of treatment, ownership, and regional factors; (2) Wastewater treatment costs show a large decreasing scale effect; (3) The current level of pollutant discharge fees is far lower than the marginal treatment costs for meeting the wastewater discharge standard. Key implications are as follows: (1) Cost characteristics and impact factors should be fully recognized when planning or making policies relating to wastewater treatment projects or technology development; (2) There is potential to reduce treatment costs by centralizing wastewater treatment via industrial parks; (3) Wastewater discharge fee rates should be increased; (4) Energy efficient technology should become the future focus of wastewater treatment.

Control and operation cost optimization of the HISS cryogenic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porter, J.; Bieser, F.; Anderson, D.

1983-08-01

The Heavy Ion Spectrometer System (HISS) relies upon superconducting coils of cryostable design to provide a maximum particle bending field of 3 tesla. A previous paper describes the cryogenic facility including helium refrigeration and gas management. This paper discusses a control strategy which has allowed full time unattended operation, along with significant nitrogen and power cost reductions. Reduction of liquid nitrogen consumption has been accomplished by making use of the sensible heat available in the cold exhaust gas. Measured nitrogen throughput agrees with calculations for sensible heat utilization of zero to 70%. Calculated consumption saving over this range is 40 liters per hour for conductive losses to the supports only. The measured throughput differential for the total system is higher

Force-feedback tele operation of industrial robots a cost effective solution for decontamination of nuclear plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desbats, P.; Andriot, C.; Gicquel, P.; Viallesoubranne, J.P.; Souche, C.

1998-01-01

Decontamination and maintenance in hot cells are some new emerging applications of industrial robots in the nuclear fuel cycle plants. Industrial robots are low cost, accurate and reliable manipulator arms which are used in manufacturing industries usually. Thanks to the recent evolution of robotics technologies, some industrial robots may be adapted to nuclear environment. These robots are transportable, sealed and can be decontaminated, and they may be 'hardened' up to a level of irradiation dose sufficient for operation in low and medium irradiating/contaminating environments. Although industrial robots are usually programmed to perform specific and repetitive tasks, they may be remotely tele-operated by human operators as well. This allows industrial robots to perform usual tele-manipulation tasks encountered in the nuclear plants and more. The paper presents the computer based tele-operation control system TAO2000 TM , developed by the Tele-operation and Robotics Service of CEA, which has been applied to the RX90 TM industrial robot from ST-UBLI company. This robot has been selected in order to perform various maintenance and decontamination tasks in COGEMA plants. TAO2000 provides the overall tele-robotic and robotic functions necessary to perform any remote tele-operation application in hostile environment: force-feedback master-slave control; computer- assisted tele-operation of mechanical processes; trajectory programming as well as various robotics functions; graphical modelling of working environment and simulation; automatic path planning with obstacle avoidance; man-machine interface for tasks programming and mission execution. Experimental results reported in the paper demonstrate the feasibility of force-feedback master-slave control of standard industrial robots. Finally, the design of new, cost effective. tele-operation systems based on industrial robots may be intended for nuclear plants maintenance. (author)

Artificial intelligent decision support for low-cost launch vehicle integrated mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

Szatkowski, Gerard P.; Schultz, Roger

1988-01-01

The feasibility, benefits, and risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Expert Systems applied to low cost space expendable launch vehicle systems are reviewed. This study is in support of the joint USAF/NASA effort to define the next generation of a heavy-lift Advanced Launch System (ALS) which will provide economical and routine access to space. The significant technical goals of the ALS program include: a 10 fold reduction in cost per pound to orbit, launch processing in under 3 weeks, and higher reliability and safety standards than current expendables. Knowledge-based system techniques are being explored for the purpose of automating decision support processes in onboard and ground systems for pre-launch checkout and in-flight operations. Issues such as: satisfying real-time requirements, providing safety validation, hardware and Data Base Management System (DBMS) interfacing, system synergistic effects, human interfaces, and ease of maintainability, have an effect on the viability of expert systems as a useful tool.

Comparative economic efficiency, operating costs and fuel consumption rates of freight transport modes between the largest industrial cities and seaports in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W J (Wessel Pienaar

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with aspects of efficiency within the five modes of freight transport, with special reference to the operating cost and fuel consumption rates between South Africa’s largest industrial cities and seaports. In particular, the paper deals with (a the opportunities that exist for the achievement of efficiency in freight transport; (b the subgroups of economies that can enhance efficiency attainment in the freight transport industry; (c prevailing cost structures, operating cost and fuel consumption rates within the five modes of freight transport; and (d the salient economic features of the freight transport market. The research approach and methodology combine (a a literature survey; (b empiric research, (c an analysis of the cost structures of freight transport operators from different modes of transport; and (d interviews conducted with specialists in the freight transport industry.

Community College Finance: A Cost Analysis of Community College Expenditures Related to Maintenance and Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Michael T.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to develop a costing model for maintenance and operations expenditures among 16 single-campus California community college districts and assess the impact of a variety of variables including size of student enrollment, physical plant age, acreage, gross square footage, and general obligation facility bonds on district…

[Fuel Rod Consolidation Project]: The estimated total life cycle cost for the 30-year operation of prototypical consolidation demonstration equipment: Volume 4, Phase 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The Total Life Cycle Costs have been developed for the construction, operation and decommissioning of a single line of hot-cell-enclosed production consolidation equipment operating on spent fuel at the rate of 750 MTU/year for 30 years. The cost estimate is for a single production line that is part of an overall facility at either a Monitored Retrievable Storage or a Repository facility. This overall facility would include other capabilities and possibly other consolidation lines. However, no costs were included in the cost estimate for other portions of the plant, except that staff costs include an overhead charge that reflects the overhead support services in an overall facility

COST EFFECTIVE VOC EMISSION CONTROL STARTEGIES FOR MILITARY, AEROSPACE,AND INDUSTRIAL PAINT SPRAY BOOTH OPERATIONS: COMBINING IMPROVED VENTILATION SYSTEMS WITH INNOVATIVE, LOW COST EMISSION CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES

Science.gov (United States)

The paper describes a full-scale demonstration program in which several paint booths were modified for recirculation ventilation; the booth exhaust streams are vented to an innovative volatile organic compound (VOC) emission control system having extremely low operating costs. ...

On the evaluation of feed requirements and costs analysis of preirradiated fuel cycle operations for uranium fuelled light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Osery, I.A.; Yasso, K.A.; Abdel Salam, A.S.

1982-01-01

This work is a part of an integrated scheme for nuclear power cost evaluation. The paper gives a brief description of the different operations included to get enriched UO 2 in its final form. A Material Balance Sheet is developed to estimate quantitatively the input material reguirements to each fuel operation. An improved approach for fuel cost analysis is developed. The paper includes a complete FORTRAN listing for the computer program carried out for this purpose together with description of the program input data requirements and output facilities. Illustrative numerical results are provided

Operational Issues in the Development of a Cost-Effective Reusable LOX/LH2 Engine

Science.gov (United States)

Ballard, Richard O.

2003-01-01

The NASA Space Launch Initiative (SLI) was initiated in early 2001 to conduct technology development and to reduce the business and technical risk associated with developing the next-generation reusable launch system. In the field of main propulsion, two LOXLH2 rocket engine systems, the Pratt & Whitney / Aerojet Joint Venture (JV) COBRA and the Rocketdyne RS-83, were funded to develop a safe, economical, and reusable propulsion system. Given that a large-thrust reusable rocket engine program had not been started in the U.S. since 1971, with the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), this provided an opportunity to build on the experience developed on the SSME system, while exploiting advances in technology that had occurred in the intervening 30 years. One facet of engine development that was identified as being especially vital in order to produce an optimal system was in the areas of operability and maintainability. In order to achieve the high levels of performance required by the Space Shuttle, the SSME system is highly complex with very tight tolerances and detailed requirements. Over the lifetime of the SSME program, the engine has required a high level of manpower to support the performance of inspections, maintenance (scheduled and unscheduled) and operations (prelaunch and post-flight). As a consequence, the labor- intensive needs of the SSME provide a significant impact to the overall cost efficiency of the Space Transportation System (STS). One of the strategic goals of the SLI is to reduce cost by requiring the engine(s) to be easier (Le. less expensive) to operate and maintain. The most effective means of accomplishing this goal is to infuse the operability and maintainability features into the engine design from the start. This paper discusses some of the operational issues relevant to a reusable LOx/LH2 main engine, and the means by which their impact is mitigated in the design phase.

75 FR 33987 - Disposing of Unneeded Federal Real Estate Increasing Sales Proceeds, Cutting Operating Costs, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-16

... operations and maintenance costs. Past attempts at reducing the Federal Government's civilian real property..., save energy and water, and further reduce greenhouse gas pollution, I hereby direct executive... eliminating all forms of Government waste and to leading by example as our Nation transitions to a clean...

Applying operations management in client-oriented and cost-efficient provision of care, welfare and housing services

Science.gov (United States)

de Blok, Carolien; Meijboom, Bert; Luijkx, Katrien; Schols, Jos

2008-01-01

Purpose In all Western countries, ageing populations cause the demand for elderly care services to increase dramatically. In addition, elderly clients are getting more demanding about the services they require to fulfil their widely varying and multiple needs. Besides, cost reductions have been the focus of governmental policies and organisational practices for many years. Health care providers increasingly see operations management as a promising approach to align both client-orientation and cost-efficiency in their day-to-day practices. Theory The paper starts from operations management literature on front office—back office design and modular production. Organisations have several options for deciding which activities need to be performed by FO, BO, or the client himself, and in deciding which employees need to perform these activities. By applying modular production, organisations can differentiate care and related services to a high degree without major cost increases. Method A literature review will be presented leading to a theoretical framework. This formed the basis for explorative case studies in the elderly care sector. Results and conclusions It will be argued how insights provided with the framework may enhance a client-orientation in integrated care delivery without major cost increases. Although case studies need to be interpreted with caution, interesting implications for organisational structures and inter-organisational cooperation can be seen. We will discuss how combined supply of care services can be made transparent to enhance choice options in service products, and what is required at the level of professionals for providing care and service packages based on client demand.

Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) Cost Estimation, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Innovation Laboratory, Inc., proposes to build a tool to estimate airline costs under TBO. This tool includes a cost model that explicitly reasons about traffic...

Uranium milling costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coleman, R.B.

1980-01-01

Basic process flowsheets are reviewed for conventional milling of US ores. Capital costs are presented for various mill capacities for one of the basic processes. Operating costs are shown for various mill capacities for all of the basic process flowsheets. The number of mills using, or planning to use, a particular process is reviewed. A summary of the estimated average milling costs for all operating US mills is shown

Low-Cost Digital Implementation of Proportional-Resonant Current Controllers for PV Inverter Applications Using Delta Operator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sera, Dezso; Kerekes, Tamas; Lungeanu, Marian

2005-01-01

the possibility of selective harmonic compensation. However, in case of digital implementation on a low-cost fixedpoint DSP, the limited computational power and the limited numerical representation precision can restrict the utilization of it. The present paper proposes a different way of digital implementation...... of the P+Resonant controller with selective harmonic compensation on a low-cost fixed-point DSP. The resonant part of the P+R has been implemented as a second order filter based on Delta operator. The current controller, together with harmonic compensation for the 3rd, 5th, and 7th harmonics has been...

Low-cost engineering techniques in sustainable operation of a rural clean water plant in thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pengchai, P.; Keawkhun, K.; Suwapaet, N.

2012-01-01

Problems of water supply in many rural regions of Thailand result from the lack of awareness and financial limitations. Payanghang Clean Water Plant is an example of the rural water plant that has been suffering from the poor operation since 2003. The objective of this study was to modify the operation processes of this water plant to achieve cleaner water and better financial condition. Low-cost engineering techniques, such as the use of floating switches in filtration ponds, the use of water drip system for alum dosing and the addition of Tamarindus indica Linn seed solution was applied. As a result, 76% of turbidity removal efficiency was derived. Although, the difference was not statistically significant at 95% confidence level, higher removal efficiency in comparison with the one before modification (65%) suggested better operation. In the view of financial aspect, l07 dollars (1 baht = 0.0326 U.S. dollar) benefit was obtained from 7 month-operation period. (author)

A Model of Cost Reduction and Standardization: Improved Cost Savings While Maintaining the Quality of Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, Michael J; Gitelis, Matthew E; Linn, John G; Ujiki, Michael B; Waskerwitz, Matthew; Umanskiy, Konstantin; Muldoon, Joseph P

2015-11-01

Surgeon instrument choices are influenced by training, previous experience, and established preferences. This causes variability in the cost of common operations, such as laparoscopic appendectomy. Many surgeons are unaware of the impact that this has on healthcare spending. We sought to educate surgeons on their instrument use and develop standardized strategies for operating room cost reduction. We collected the individual surgeon instrument cost for performing a laparoscopic appendectomy. Sixteen surgeons were educated about these costs and provided with cost-effective instruments and techniques. This study was conducted in a university-affiliated hospital system. Patients included those undergoing a laparoscopic appendectomy within the hospital system. Patient demographics, operating room costs, and short-term outcomes for the fiscal year before and after the education program were then compared. During fiscal year 2013, a total of 336 laparoscopic appendectomies were performed compared with 357 in 2014. Twelve surgeons had a ≥5% reduction in average cost per case. Overall, the average cost per case was reduced by 17% (p day readmissions, postoperative infections, operating time, or reoperations. This retrospective study is subject to the accuracy of the medical chart system. In addition, specific instrument costs are based on our institution contracts and vary compared with other institutions. In this study we demonstrate that operative instrument costs for laparoscopic appendectomy can be significantly reduced by informing the surgeons of their operating room costs compared with their peers and providing a low-cost standardized instrument tray. Importantly, this can be realized without any incentive or punitive measures and does not negatively impact outcomes. Additional work is needed to expand these results to more operations, hospital systems, and training programs.

A Mathematical model to predict the US Airlines operation costs and airports charges per route per passenger

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carmona Benitez, R.B.; Lodewijiks, G.

2010-01-01

A mathematical model to estimate the average airlines operational costs and airports charges per route is important for airlines companies trying to open new routes and for data generation for other purpose such as transport modeling, simulation modeling, investment analyses for airlines and

Estimating Texas motor vehicle operating costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

A specific Vcost model was developed for Texas conditions based on a sophisticated fuel model for light : duty vehicles, several excellent sources of secondary vehicle cost data, and the ability to measure heavy truck fuel : consumption through both ...

Impact of coil price knowledge by the operator on the cost of aneurysm coiling. A single center study.

Science.gov (United States)

Finitsis, Stephanos; Fahed, Robert; Gaulin, Ian; Roy, Daniel; Weill, Alain

2017-09-15

Endovascular treatment of aneurysms with coils is among the most frequent treatments in interventional neuroradiology, and represents an important expense. Each manufacturer has created several types of coils, with prices varying among brands and coil types. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of cost awareness of the exact price of each coil by the operating physician on the total cost of aneurysm coiling. This was a comparative study conducted over 1 year in a single tertiary care center. The reference cohort and the experimental cohort consisted of all aneurysm embolization procedures performed during the first 6 months and the last 6 months, respectively. During the second period, physicians were given an information sheet with the prices of all available coils and were requested to look at the sheet during each procedure with the instruction to try to reduce the total cost of the coils used. Expenses related to the coiling procedures during each period were compared. 77 aneurysms (39 ruptured) in the reference cohort and 73 aneurysms (36 ruptured) in the experimental cohort were treated, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference regarding aneurysm location and mean size. The overall cost of the coiling procedures, the mean number of coils used per procedure, and the median cost of each procedure did not differ significantly between the two cohorts. Awareness of the precise price of coils by operators without any additional measure did not have a scientifically proven impact on the cost of aneurysm embolization. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Evaluation of a ''no-cost'' Internet technology-based system for teleradiology and Co-operative Work

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergh, B.; Schlaefke, A.; Pietsch, M.; Garcia, I. [Department of Information and Communication Technology, Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); Vogl, T.J. [Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main (Germany)

2003-02-01

The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of a no-cost system based on standard Internet technology components for teleradiology. The system was composed of free software (communication, DICOM viewer, compression) and standard off-the-shelf hardware components. For different image (CR, CT, MR) and network types (LAN and ISDN) the File Transfer, Audio and Video Conference, and Co-operative Work properties were examined and compared with the literature referring to standard complete packages and dedicated teleradiology systems. The main advantages of the no-cost system are: price; ease of use; independence from specific hardware; and potential connection to any possible partner. The performance of the File Transfer and the Audio and Video Conference was comparable to the other system groups with slight disadvantages in the usability. For Co-operative Work the employed ''application sharing'' technology does not meet the clinical requirements, which applies identically to the standard complete packages. Here the specialized systems prove superior, although they are proprietary. With minimal restraints the evaluated no-cost solution can be used for File Transfer and Conference scenarios. The usage for Co-operative Work with ISDN is not recommended, unless for the purpose of gaining experience or when dealing with small amounts of cases or images. (orig.)

Cost and Information Effectiveness Analysis (CIEA): A Methodology for Evaluating a Training Device Operational Readiness Assessment Capability (DORAC).

Science.gov (United States)

1981-02-01

Report 528 COST AIND I*FO•?JidTH ?i EFFECT•• ES1BS ANALYSIS (CDEA): A METiBLOBU Y FOR EVALUATIN1G A TRAINING DEMCE OPERATMDN1AL MAEA3 ],SE 3SSESS$ iElT ...8217, N. Within a military setting, the uses of training devices in performance evaluation have generally mirrored civilian uses and primarily...Technical Report 528 COST AND INFORMATION EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS (CIEA): A METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING A TRAINING DEVICE OPERATIONAL READINESS

Cost-based droop scheme with lower generation costs for microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nutkani, I. U.; Loh, Poh Chiang; Blaabjerg, Frede

2013-01-01

on the DG kVA ratings. Other operating characteristics like generation costs, efficiencies and emission penalties at different loadings have not been considered. This makes existing droop schemes not too well-suited for standalone microgrids without central management system, where different types of DGs...... usually exist. As an alternative, this paper proposes a cost-based droop scheme, whose objective is to reduce a generation cost realized with various DG operating characteristics taken into consideration. The proposed droop scheme therefore retains all advantages of the traditional droop schemes, while...... at the same time keep its generation cost low. These findings have been validated through simulation and scaled down lab experiment....

Rethinking sunk costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capen, E.C.

1991-01-01

As typically practiced in the petroleum/ natural gas industry, most economic calculations leave out sunk costs. Integrated businesses can be hurt by the omission of sunk costs because profits and costs are not allocated properly among the various business segments. Not only can the traditional sunk-cost practice lead to predictably bad decisions, but a company that operates under such a policy will have no idea how to allocate resources among its operating components; almost none of its calculated returns will be correct. This paper reports that the solution is to include asset value as part of the investment in the calculation

Spacelab Mission Implementation Cost Assessment (SMICA)

Science.gov (United States)

Guynes, B. V.

1984-01-01

A total savings of approximately 20 percent is attainable if: (1) mission management and ground processing schedules are compressed; (2) the equipping, staffing, and operating of the Payload Operations Control Center is revised, and (3) methods of working with experiment developers are changed. The development of a new mission implementation technique, which includes mission definition, experiment development, and mission integration/operations, is examined. The Payload Operations Control Center is to relocate and utilize new computer equipment to produce cost savings. Methods of reducing costs by minimizing the Spacelab and payload processing time during pre- and post-mission operation at KSC are analyzed. The changes required to reduce costs in the analytical integration process are studied. The influence of time, requirements accountability, and risk on costs is discussed. Recommendation for cost reductions developed by the Spacelab Mission Implementation Cost Assessment study are listed.

Is FDG PET/CT cost-effective for pre-operation staging of potentially operative non-small cell lung cancer? - From Chinese healthcare system perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yu-ting, E-mail: wangyuting_330@163.com [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine (China); Huang, Gang, E-mail: huang2802@163.com [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine (China); Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences - CAS (China)

2012-08-15

Objectives: The remarkable morbidity and mortality of lung cancer in the large population address major economic challenges to Chinese healthcare system. This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET)/CT for staging patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China. Methods: Management of potentially operative NSCLC was modeled on decision analysis employing data in China. The strategies compared were conventional CT staging (strategy A), additional PET/CT in all patients (strategy B) or only in patients with normal-sized lymph nodes on CT (strategy C). Published medical data for Chinese patients was extracted. The costs corresponded to reimbursement by Chinese public health provider in 2010. Uncertainly of employed parameters was calculated in sensitivity analysis. Results: Taking strategy A as baseline, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of strategy B was 23,800 RMB ($3500) per life year saved, which was acceptable in views of a developing country as China; while strategy C exhibited some loss of life years. Sensitivity analysis suggested the ICER (B-A) was raised more remarkably by a deterioration of PET specificity than by that of its sensitivity. The ICER was turned negative by PET specificity lower than 0.79. Economically, PET cost was proportional to the ICER (B-A), and decrease of palliative therapy cost could reduce both the ICER and overall cost. Conclusions: The PET/CT strategy is potentially cost-effective for management of NSCLC in China. Patients with nodal-positive CT results are not suggested to be excluded from further PET/CT. Furthermore, maintaining high specificity of PET in clinical scenarios is crucial. Prospective trials are warranted to transfer these results into policy making.

Productivity and cost of harvesting a stemwood biomass product from integrated cut-to-length harvest operations in Australian Pinus radiata plantations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walsh, D.; Strandgard, M.

2014-01-01

Significant quantities of woody biomass from the tops of trees and larger woody ‘waste’ pieces that fall outside existing sawlog and pulpwood specifications are left on site post final harvest in Australian radiata Pinus radiata (D. Don) (radiata pine) plantations. Woody biomass is a potential product for pulp making or energy generation. Commercial use of woody biomass from radiata pine plantations would add extra value to the Australian plantation estate through improved resource utilisation, and potentially reduced post-harvesting silvicultural costs. This study investigated the productivity and cost impact of the harvest and extraction to roadside of woody biomass in an integrated harvest operation in a typical Australian two machine (harvester/processor and forwarder), cut-to-length, clearfall operation in a mature, thinned radiata pine plantation. The harvest operation yielded 23 GMt/ha (5% of the total yield) of woody biomass (known as ‘fibreplus’), 443 GMt/ha of sawlogs and 28 GMt/ha of pulpwood. The mean quantity of biomass left on site was 128 GMt/ha, mainly consisting of branches and needles, sufficient to minimise nutrient loss and protect the soil from erosion. Woodchips derived from the fibreplus product were suitable for kraft pulp making, (when blended in small amounts with clean de-barked roundwood woodchips), and for energy generation. The method trialed with the fibreplus product being produced did not impact harvesting and processing productivity and costs, but extraction was 14% less productive. Through analysis of the productivities of each phase and development of a cost model the harvest and extraction of the fibreplus product was estimated to increase total unit costs by ∼4.9%. - Highlights: • Study of the productivity and cost impact of producing a woody biomass product. • We compared two scenarios – harvesting with and without the biomass product. • An additional 23 GMt/ha (5% of the total yield) of woody biomass

A maintenance and operations cost model for DSN

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, R. W.; Kirkbride, H. L.

1977-01-01

A cost model for the DSN is developed which is useful in analyzing the 10-year Life Cycle Cost of the Bent Pipe Project. The philosophy behind the development and the use made of a computer data base are detailed; the applicability of this model to other projects is discussed.

Waste management facilities cost information: System cost model product description. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundeen, A.S.; Hsu, K.M.; Shropshire, D.E.

1996-02-01

In May of 1994, Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company (LITCO) in Idaho Falls, Idaho and subcontractors developed the System Cost Model (SCM) application. The SCM estimates life-cycle costs of the entire US Department of Energy (DOE) complex for designing; constructing; operating; and decommissioning treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities for mixed low-level, low-level, transuranic, and mixed transuranic waste. The SCM uses parametric cost functions to estimate life-cycle costs for various treatment, storage, and disposal modules which reflect planned and existing facilities at DOE installations. In addition, SCM can model new facilities based on capacity needs over the program life cycle. The SCM also provides transportation costs for DOE wastes. Transportation costs are provided for truck and rail and include transport of contact-handled, remote-handled, and alpha (transuranic) wastes. The user can provide input data (default data is included in the SCM) including the volume and nature of waste to be managed, the time period over which the waste is to be managed, and the configuration of the waste management complex (i.e., where each installation's generated waste will be treated, stored, and disposed). Then the SCM uses parametric cost equations to estimate the costs of pre-operations (designing), construction costs, operation management, and decommissioning these waste management facilities

Impact of digital information and control system platform selection on nuclear power generating plant operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogard, T.; Radomski, S.; Sterdis, B.; Marta, H.; Bond, V.; Richardson, J.; Ramon, G.; Edvinsson, H.

1998-01-01

Information is presented on the benefits of a well-planned information and control systems (I and CS) replacement approach for aging nuclear power generating plants' I and CS. Replacement of an aging I and CS is accompanied by increases in plant profitability. Implementing a structured I and CS replacement with current technology allows improved plant electrical production in parallel with reduced I and CS operations and maintenance cost. Qualitative, quantitative, and enterprise management methods for cost benefit justification are shown to justify a comprehensive approach to I and CS replacement. In addition to the advantages of standard I and CS technologies, examples of new I and CS technologies are shown to add substantial cost benefit justification for I and CS replacements. Focus is upon I and CS replacements at nuclear power plants, however the information is applicable to other types of power generating facilities. (author)

Managing costs at Ginna Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mecredy, R.C.

1990-01-01

A nuclear power plant with a capital cost of $88 million and an annual operations and maintenance (O and M) cost of $3.2 million that is operated by a plant staff of 59 people? The Ginna nuclear power plant was indeed such a plant in 1970, its first full year of operation. Today that same plant has a total invested capital cost of $400 million with an annual capital cost, including upgrade projects which are being amortized, of $37 million. The annual O and M expenditure is nearly $60 million, and the total staffing, both plant and corporate support, is nearly 600 people. The result of this increased cost has been a dramatic narrowing of the cost margin between Ginna and coal units in the rochester Gas and Electric system. While increased expenditures have resulted in improved reliability and operability, and have increased the margins of safety, it is becoming necessary to implement cost monitoring and control measures so that each dollar spent provides maximum value. The factors which have contributed to the increased capital and O and M expenditures are well known. They include a broad range of safety, reliability, and operating projects and activities. Current upward pressures on cost include initiatives such as procurement control, procedure upgrades, configuration management, enhanced maintenance activities, and equipment replacements and upgrades

Distribution costs -- the cost of local delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winger, N.; Zarnett, P.; Carr, J.

2000-01-01

Most of the power transmission system in the province of Ontario is owned and operated as a regulated monopoly by Ontario Hydro Services Company (OHSC). Local distribution systems deliver to end-users from bulk supply points within a service territory. OHSC distributes to approximately one million, mostly rural customers, while the approximately 250 municipal utilities together serve about two million, mostly urban customers. Under the Energy Competition Act of 1998 local distribution companies will face some new challenges, including unbundled billing systems, a broader range of distribution costs, increased costs, made up of corporate taxes or payments in lieu of taxes and added costs for regulatory affairs. The consultants provide a detailed discussion of the components of distribution costs, the three components of the typical budget process (capital expenditures, (CAPEX), operating and maintenance (O and M) and administration and corporate (GA and C), a summary of some typical distribution costs in Ontario, and the estimated impacts of the Energy Competition Act (ECA) compliance on charges and rates. Various mitigation strategies are also reviewed. Among these are joint ventures by local distribution companies to reduce ECA compliance costs, re-examination of controllable costs, temporary reduction of the allowable return on equity (ROE) by 50 per cent, and/or reducing the competitive transition charge (CTC). It is estimated that either one of these two reductions could eliminate the full amount of the five to seven per cent uplift in delivered energy service costs. The conclusion of the consultants is that local distribution delivery charges will make up a greater proportion of end-user cost in the future than it has in the past. An increase to customers of about five per cent is expected when the competitive electricity market opens and unbundled billing begins. The cost increase could be mitigated by a combination of actions that would be needed for about

The construction and operation of a low-cost poultry waste digester.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinsberger, S C; Shih, J C

1984-05-01

A simple and low-cost poultry waste digester (PWD) was constructed to treat the waste from 4000 caged laying hens on University Research Unit No. 2 at North Carolina State University. The system was built basically of a plastic lining with insulation, a heating system, a hot-water tank, and other metering equipment. It was operated at 50 degrees C and pH 7.5-8.0. The initiation of methane production was achieved using the indigenous microflora in the poultry waste. At an optimal loading rate (7.5 kg volatile solids/m(3) day), the PWD produced biogas (55% methane) at a rate of 4.0 m(3)/m(3) day. The PWD was biologically stable and able to tolerate temporary overloads and shutdowns. A higher loading rate failed to maintain a high gas production rate and caused drops in methane content and pH value. Under optimal conditions, a positive energy balance was demonstrated with a net surplus of 50.6% of the gross energy. For methane production, the PWD system was proved to be technically feasible. The simple design and inexpensive materials used for this model could significantly reduce the cost of digestion compared to more conventional systems. More studies are needed to determine the durability, the required maintenance of the system, and the most economical method of biogas and solid residue utilization.

Parametric Analysis of the Exergoeconomic Operation Costs, Environmental and Human Toxicity Indexes of the MF501F3 Gas Turbine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edgar Vicente Torres-González

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This work presents an energetic, exergoeconomic, environmental, and toxicity analysis of the simple gas turbine M501F3 based on a parametric analysis of energetic (thermal efficiency, fuel and air flow rates, and specific work output, exergoeconomic (exergetic efficiency and exergoeconomic operation costs, environmental (global warming, smog formation, acid rain indexes, and human toxicity indexes, by taking the compressor pressure ratio and the turbine inlet temperature as the operating parameters. The aim of this paper is to provide an integral, systematic, and powerful diagnostic tool to establish possible operation and maintenance actions to improve the gas turbine’s exergoeconomic, environmental, and human toxicity indexes. Despite the continuous changes in the price of natural gas, the compressor, combustion chamber, and turbine always contribute 18.96%, 53.02%, and 28%, respectively, to the gas turbine’s exergoeconomic operation costs. The application of this methodology can be extended to other simple gas turbines using the pressure drops and isentropic efficiencies, among others, as the degradation parameters, as well as to other energetic systems, without loss of generality.

Operating cost estimate low-level radioactive waste volume reduction and packaging options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, P.C.; Collins, E.G.

1983-01-01

The projected operating cost data examine the differences in compaction and incineration for DAW. Two commonly achieved densities for compaction are presented, while a third case approaching the theoretical density of the cloth and paper materials shows the interesting possibilities of improved compaction. Incineration at two benchmarks for the chlorinated plastic component of typical DAW illustrates the impact waste stream make-up has on economics. Evaporator concentrates are considered as a liquid at four concentrations (6%, 12%, 25% and 50%) and after all water has been removed for the cement and polymer cases. Five separate processing schemes are presented for bead resins. These range from dewatering and packaging in high integrity containers to incineration with solidification

Is FDG PET/CT cost-effective for pre-operation staging of potentially operative non-small cell lung cancer? - From Chinese healthcare system perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu-ting; Huang, Gang

2012-08-01

The remarkable morbidity and mortality of lung cancer in the large population address major economic challenges to Chinese healthcare system. This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET)/CT for staging patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China. Management of potentially operative NSCLC was modeled on decision analysis employing data in China. The strategies compared were conventional CT staging (strategy A), additional PET/CT in all patients (strategy B) or only in patients with normal-sized lymph nodes on CT (strategy C). Published medical data for Chinese patients was extracted. The costs corresponded to reimbursement by Chinese public health provider in 2010. Uncertainly of employed parameters was calculated in sensitivity analysis. Taking strategy A as baseline, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of strategy B was 23,800RMB ($3500) per life year saved, which was acceptable in views of a developing country as China; while strategy C exhibited some loss of life years. Sensitivity analysis suggested the ICER (B-A) was raised more remarkably by a deterioration of PET specificity than by that of its sensitivity. The ICER was turned negative by PET specificity lower than 0.79. Economically, PET cost was proportional to the ICER (B-A), and decrease of palliative therapy cost could reduce both the ICER and overall cost. The PET/CT strategy is potentially cost-effective for management of NSCLC in China. Patients with nodal-positive CT results are not suggested to be excluded from further PET/CT. Furthermore, maintaining high specificity of PET in clinical scenarios is crucial. Prospective trials are warranted to transfer these results into policy making. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring and evaluation of Blyth Offshore Wind Farm. Projected operation and maintenance costs of UK offshore wind farms based on the experience at Blyth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greig, E.

2004-07-01

This is the fifth of seven reports in this series on specific aspects of the monitoring and evaluation of the Blyth offshore wind farm project. The report assesses the operation and maintenance (O and M) costs for the wind farm in its first full year of operation, and extrapolates these costs to give indicative costs for larger projects. It identifies both planned regular costs and unplanned site maintenance costs; some costs can be attributed to 'troubleshooting' during installation and would not be expected in future years. The Blyth wind farm, the first in the UK, consists of two 2 MW wind turbines installed approximately 1 km from the coast in water about 6 m deep at low tide. The site is exposed to the full impact of the North Sea weather, breaking waves and a significant tidal range (about 5 m). Location, boat availability, weather and insurance are identified as the key factors affecting O and M costs for future offshore wind farms in the UK.

Robotic mitral valve operations by experienced surgeons are cost-neutral and durable at 1 year.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyan, Garrett; Wei, Lawrence M; Althouse, Andrew; Roberts, Harold G; Schauble, Drew; Murashita, Takashi; Cook, Chris C; Rankin, J Scott; Badhwar, Vinay

2018-04-12

Robotic mitral valve surgery has potential advantages in patient satisfaction and 30-day outcome. Cost concerns and repair durability limit wider adoption of robotic technology. This study examined detailed cost differences between robotic and sternotomy techniques in relation to outcomes and durability following robotic mitral program initiation. Between April 2013 and October 2015, 30-day and 1-year outcomes of 328 consecutive patients undergoing robotic or sternotomy mitral valve repair or replacement by experienced surgeons were examined. Multivariable logistic regression informed propensity matching to derive a cohort of 182 patients. Echocardiographic follow-up was completed at 1 year in all robotic patients. Detailed activity-based cost accounting was applied to include direct, semidirect, and indirect costs with special respect to robotic depreciation, maintenance, and supplies. A quantitative analysis of all hospital costs was applied directly to each patient encounter for comparative financial analyses. Mean predicted risk of mortality was similar in both the robotic (n = 91) and sternotomy (n = 91) groups (0.9% vs 0.8%; P > .431). The total costs of robotic mitral operations were similar to those of sternotomy ($27,662 vs $28,241; P = .273). Early direct costs were higher in the robotic group. There was a marked increase in late indirect cost with the sternotomy cohort related to increased length of stay, transfusion requirements, and readmission rates. Robotic repair technique was associated with no echocardiographic recurrence greater than trace to only mild regurgitation at 1 year. Experienced mitral surgeons can initiate a robotic program in a cost-neutral manner that maintains clinical outcome integrity as well as repair durability. Copyright © 2018 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 1562.27 - Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Costs. 1562.27 Section 1562.27 Transportation... Costs. (a) Each aircraft operator must pay a threat assessment fee of $15 for each passenger and... part. (b) Each aircraft operator must pay to TSA the costs associated with carrying out this subpart...

42 CFR 412.84 - Payment for extraordinarily high-cost cases (cost outliers).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... obtains accurate data with which to calculate either an operating or capital cost-to-charge ratio (or both... outlier payments will be based on operating and capital cost-to-charge ratios calculated based on a ratio... outliers). 412.84 Section 412.84 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF...

The thermodynamic cost of quantum operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedingham, D J; Maroney, O J E

2016-01-01

The amount of heat generated by computers is rapidly becoming one of the main problems for developing new generations of information technology. The thermodynamics of computation sets the ultimate physical bounds on heat generation. A lower bound is set by the Landauer limit, at which computation becomes thermodynamically reversible. For classical computation there is no physical principle which prevents this limit being reached, and approaches to it are already being experimentally tested. In this paper we show that for quantum computation with a set of signal states satisfying given conditions, there is an unavoidable excess heat generation that renders it inherently thermodynamically irreversible. The Landauer limit cannot, in general, be reached by quantum computers. We show the existence of a lower bound to the heat generated by quantum computing that exceeds that given by the Landauer limit, give the special conditions where this excess cost may be avoided, and provide a protocol for achieving the limiting heat cost when these conditions are met. We also show how classical computing falls within the special conditions. (paper)

Is FDG PET/CT cost-effective for pre-operation staging of potentially operative non-small cell lung cancer? – From Chinese healthcare system perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yu-ting; Huang, Gang

2012-01-01

Objectives: The remarkable morbidity and mortality of lung cancer in the large population address major economic challenges to Chinese healthcare system. This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET)/CT for staging patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in China. Methods: Management of potentially operative NSCLC was modeled on decision analysis employing data in China. The strategies compared were conventional CT staging (strategy A), additional PET/CT in all patients (strategy B) or only in patients with normal-sized lymph nodes on CT (strategy C). Published medical data for Chinese patients was extracted. The costs corresponded to reimbursement by Chinese public health provider in 2010. Uncertainly of employed parameters was calculated in sensitivity analysis. Results: Taking strategy A as baseline, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of strategy B was 23,800 RMB ($3500) per life year saved, which was acceptable in views of a developing country as China; while strategy C exhibited some loss of life years. Sensitivity analysis suggested the ICER (B–A) was raised more remarkably by a deterioration of PET specificity than by that of its sensitivity. The ICER was turned negative by PET specificity lower than 0.79. Economically, PET cost was proportional to the ICER (B–A), and decrease of palliative therapy cost could reduce both the ICER and overall cost. Conclusions: The PET/CT strategy is potentially cost-effective for management of NSCLC in China. Patients with nodal-positive CT results are not suggested to be excluded from further PET/CT. Furthermore, maintaining high specificity of PET in clinical scenarios is crucial. Prospective trials are warranted to transfer these results into policy making.

Evaluation of a New Strategy for Attending Takeoffs and Landings to Reduce Aircraft Operating Costs and Passenger Delays at the Mexico City International Airport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herrera-García Alfonso

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research was to evaluate a strategy for attending the takeoffs and landings at a congested airport, in order to reduce aircraft operating costs and passenger delay times. The continuous growth of air transport activity has created congestion at major airports worldwide, this situation produces increases in the aircraft operating costs and passenger discomfort. In the strategy evaluated the traditional rule for attending to aircraft, on a first-come-first-served basis, was substituted with a sequence that reduces operating costs and passenger delays. In order to perform this evaluation a discrete-event simulation model was developed for the Mexico City International Airport. Results showed that it is possible to obtain significant benefits if the proposed strategy is applied, an annual benefit of around 28.6 million pesos could be achieved.

COSTS CALCULATION OF TARGET COSTING METHOD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian UNGUREANU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Cost information system plays an important role in every organization in the decision making process. An important task of management is ensuring control of the operations, processes, sectors, and not ultimately on costs. Although in achieving the objectives of an organization compete more control systems (production control, quality control, etc., the cost information system is important because monitors results of the other. Detailed analysis of costs, production cost calculation, quantification of losses, estimate the work efficiency provides a solid basis for financial control. Knowledge of the costs is a decisive factor in taking decisions and planning future activities. Managers are concerned about the costs that will appear in the future, their level underpinning the supply and production decisions as well as price policy. An important factor is the efficiency of cost information system in such a way that the information provided by it may be useful for decisions and planning of the work.

Laser cost experience and estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shofner, F.M.; Hoglund, R.L.

1977-01-01

This report addresses the question of estimating the capital and operating costs for LIS (Laser Isotope Separation) lasers, which have performance requirements well beyond the state of mature art. This question is seen with different perspectives by political leaders, ERDA administrators, scientists, and engineers concerned with reducing LIS to economically successful commercial practice, on a timely basis. Accordingly, this report attempts to provide ''ballpark'' estimators for capital and operating costs and useful design and operating information for lasers based on mature technology, and their LIS analogs. It is written very basically and is intended to respond about equally to the perspectives of administrators, scientists, and engineers. Its major contributions are establishing the current, mature, industrialized laser track record (including capital and operating cost estimators, reliability, types of application, etc.) and, especially, evolution of generalized estimating procedures for capital and operating cost estimators for new laser design

Time-driven activity-based costing to identify opportunities for cost reduction in pediatric appendectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yangyang R; Abbas, Paulette I; Smith, Carolyn M; Carberry, Kathleen E; Ren, Hui; Patel, Binita; Nuchtern, Jed G; Lopez, Monica E

2016-12-01

As reimbursement programs shift to value-based payment models emphasizing quality and efficient healthcare delivery, there exists a need to better understand process management to unearth true costs of patient care. We sought to identify cost-reduction opportunities in simple appendicitis management by applying a time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) methodology to this high-volume surgical condition. Process maps were created using medical record time stamps. Labor capacity cost rates were calculated using national median physician salaries, weighted nurse-patient ratios, and hospital cost data. Consumable costs for supplies, pharmacy, laboratory, and food were derived from the hospital general ledger. Time-driven activity-based costing resulted in precise per-minute calculation of personnel costs. Highest costs were in the operating room ($747.07), hospital floor ($388.20), and emergency department ($296.21). Major contributors to length of stay were emergency department evaluation (270min), operating room availability (395min), and post-operative monitoring (1128min). The TDABC model led to $1712.16 in personnel costs and $1041.23 in consumable costs for a total appendicitis cost of $2753.39. Inefficiencies in healthcare delivery can be identified through TDABC. Triage-based standing delegation orders, advanced practice providers, and same day discharge protocols are proposed cost-reducing interventions to optimize value-based care for simple appendicitis. II. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reactivity costs in MARIA reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcinkowska, Zuzanna E.; Pytel, Krzysztof M.; Frydrysiak, Andrzej

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The methodology for calculating consumed fuel cost of excess reactivity is proposed. • Correlation between time integral of the core excess reactivity and released energy. • Reactivity price gives number of fuel elements required for given excess reactivity. - Abstract: For the reactor operation at high power level and carrying out experiments and irradiations the major cost of reactor operation is the expense of nuclear fuel. In this paper the methodology for calculating consumed fuel cost-relatedness of excess reactivity is proposed. Reactivity costs have been determined on the basis of operating data. A number of examples of calculating the reactivity costs for processes such as: strong absorbing material irradiation, molybdenium-99 production, beryllium matrix poisoning and increased moderator temperature illustrates proposed method.

EVALUATION OF COST CENTER OPERATIONS USING ABC METHOD

OpenAIRE

Madalina Aurelia GRIGORE; Elena Daniela NICOLAE; George Ciprian GIJU; Daniela MITRAN

2010-01-01

The continuous changes appearing in the industrial and economic environment, upgrading of manufacturing technologies, the need to obtain relevant information to facilitate management decision making, have made absolutely necessary the rethinking of the cost calculation system. Both traditional and modern methods used in management accounting for costing is based on cropping the enterprise into responsibility centers. But within the organization is being felt the interdependence that is imposs...

Implementation of activity-based costing (ABC) to drive cost reduction efforts in a semiconductor manufacturing operation

Science.gov (United States)

Naguib, Hussein; Bol, Igor I.; Lora, J.; Chowdhry, R.

1994-09-01

This paper presents a case study on the implementation of ABC to calculate the cost per wafer and to drive cost reduction efforts for a new IC product line. The cost reduction activities were conducted through the efforts of 11 cross-functional teams which included members of the finance, purchasing, technology development, process engineering, equipment engineering, production control, and facility groups. The activities of these cross functional teams were coordinated by a cost council. It will be shown that these activities have resulted in a 57% reduction in the wafer manufacturing cost of the new product line. Factors contributed to successful implementation of an ABC management system are discussed.

Validation of the OpCost logging cost model using contractor surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Conor K. Bell; Robert F. Keefe; Jeremy S. Fried

2017-01-01

OpCost is a harvest and fuel treatment operations cost model developed to function as both a standalone tool and an integrated component of the Bioregional Inventory Originated Simulation Under Management (BioSum) analytical framework for landscape-level analysis of forest management alternatives. OpCost is an updated implementation of the Fuel Reduction Cost Simulator...

French Reed Bed as a Solution to Minimize the Operational and Maintenance Costs of Wastewater Treatment from a Small Settlement: An Italian Example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anacleto Rizzo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available French Reed Bed (FRB is a particular constructed wetland (CW solution which receives raw wastewater. Data from the full-scale FRB wastewater treatment plant of Castelluccio di Norcia (center of Italy were collected to show the FRB capability to minimize the operational and management (O&M costs. The system was designed to treat wastewater variable from 200 person equivalent (PE in off-season up to 1000 PE. Data from 2014 up to 2016 showed high removal efficiency in line with French experiences with FRBs. An interview was conducted with the Water Utility to estimate the operational and maintenance (O&M costs faced by the WWTP, which allowed us to detail the O&M costs for energy consumption, water quality samples, and personnel for inspection. Other O&M expenditure items were estimated on the basis of parametric costs from the executive design. The FRB O&M costs in euro for 500–1000 PE (6–11 € PE−1 year−1 resulted from 5 to 13 lower in comparison to those reported for classical activated sludge systems in an Italian context (45–90 € year−1. The low O&M costs are mainly due to the limited energy consumed and to the minimized costs of sludge management.

Optimal Design and Operation of In-Situ Chemical Oxidation Using Stochastic Cost Optimization Toolkit

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, U.; Parker, J.; Borden, R. C.

2014-12-01

In-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) has been applied at many dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) contaminated sites. A stirred reactor-type model was developed that considers DNAPL dissolution using a field-scale mass transfer function, instantaneous reaction of oxidant with aqueous and adsorbed contaminant and with readily oxidizable natural oxygen demand ("fast NOD"), and second-order kinetic reactions with "slow NOD." DNAPL dissolution enhancement as a function of oxidant concentration and inhibition due to manganese dioxide precipitation during permanganate injection are included in the model. The DNAPL source area is divided into multiple treatment zones with different areas, depths, and contaminant masses based on site characterization data. The performance model is coupled with a cost module that involves a set of unit costs representing specific fixed and operating costs. Monitoring of groundwater and/or soil concentrations in each treatment zone is employed to assess ISCO performance and make real-time decisions on oxidant reinjection or ISCO termination. Key ISCO design variables include the oxidant concentration to be injected, time to begin performance monitoring, groundwater and/or soil contaminant concentrations to trigger reinjection or terminate ISCO, number of monitoring wells or geoprobe locations per treatment zone, number of samples per sampling event and location, and monitoring frequency. Design variables for each treatment zone may be optimized to minimize expected cost over a set of Monte Carlo simulations that consider uncertainty in site parameters. The model is incorporated in the Stochastic Cost Optimization Toolkit (SCOToolkit) program, which couples the ISCO model with a dissolved plume transport model and with modules for other remediation strategies. An example problem is presented that illustrates design tradeoffs required to deal with characterization and monitoring uncertainty. Monitoring soil concentration changes during ISCO

Fusion reactor design studies: standard unit costs and cost scaling rules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulte, S.C.; Bickford, W.E.; Willingham, C.E.; Ghose, S.K.; Walker, M.G.

1979-09-01

This report establishes standard unit costs and scaling rules for estimating costs of material, equipment, land, and labor components used in magnetic confinement fusion reactor plant construction and operation. Use of the standard unit costs and scaling rules will add uniformity to cost estimates, and thus allow valid comparison of the economic characteristics of various reactor concepts

Cost effective solutions for field development. System supplier approach to projects and operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moe, P.O.

1994-01-01

The conference paper outlines the most important elements for a new approach to project realisation that enable a cost reduction of 30-50% compared to conventional methods. The achievements are based on studies and evaluations to the Norwegian Vigdis development project. The system elements covered are the electrical and automation systems including safety and process control and all traditional phases of a project from concept design to the operational phase. The concept involves new principles for project execution where traditional borderlines and interfaces between the various participants have been redefined. Management attention has been verified as an important prerequisite for a successful implementation of this strategy. 2 figs

Fundamentals for cost calculations of X-ray equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bossard, F.

1985-01-01

Economic implications of running an X-ray departement in Switzerland will be illustrated by comparing operating costs of private radiological institutes with and without CT to the operating costs of large radiological departments in hospitals with and without CT and to the operating costs of simple X-ray equipment in general practicioners' offices. - These costs calculations form the basis for cost-benefit analyses. (orig.) [de

(Reportıng of Operation Results In Basis Of Actual Variable Cost)

OpenAIRE

Çıkrıkçı, Mustafa; Dabbağoğlu, Kadir

2007-01-01

Calculation of production cost is primarily, essential to calculate cost of sales. Production cost is in the field of cost accounting and there are different approaches on calculation of production cost in cost accounting theory. These approaches designate the cost system. A cost system is a combination of cost principle, cost method and cost procedure. Principals consist of full cost and partial cost. Methods consist of actual cost and estimated cost. Procedures consist of order cost and sta...

Drilling cost analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anand, A.B.

1992-01-01

Drilling assumes greater importance in present day uranium exploration which emphasizes to explore more areas on the basis of conceptual model than merely on surface anomalies. But drilling is as costly as it is important and consumes a major share (50% to 60%) of the exploration budget. As such the cost of drilling has great bearing on the exploration strategy as well as on the overall cost of the project. Therefore, understanding the cost analysis is very much important when planning or intensifying an exploration programme. This not only helps in controlling the current operations but also in planning the budgetary provisions for future operations. Also, if the work is entrusted to a private party, knowledge of in-house cost analysis helps in fixing the rates of drilling in different formations and areas to be drilled. Under this topic, various factors that contribute to the cost of drilling per meter as well as ways to minimize the drilling cost for better economic evaluation of mineral deposits are discussed. (author)

42 CFR 412.75 - Determination of the hospital-specific rate for inpatient operating costs based on a Federal...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEMS FOR INPATIENT HOSPITAL SERVICES Determination of Transition Period Payment Rates for the Prospective Payment System for Inpatient Operating Costs § 412.75 Determination of the... methodology set forth in §§ 412.73(c)(15) and 412.73(c)(16). (e) DRG adjustment. The applicable hospital...

Robotic and endoscopic transaxillary thyroidectomies may be cost prohibitive when compared to standard cervical thyroidectomy: a cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cabot, Jennifer C; Lee, Cho Rok; Brunaud, Laurent; Kleiman, David A; Chung, Woong Youn; Fahey, Thomas J; Zarnegar, Rasa

2012-12-01

This study presents a cost analysis of the standard cervical, gasless transaxillary endoscopic, and gasless transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy approaches based on medical costs in the United States. A retrospective review of 140 patients who underwent standard cervical, transaxillary endoscopic, or transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy at 2 tertiary centers was conducted. The cost model included operating room charges, anesthesia fee, consumables cost, equipment depreciation, and maintenance cost. Sensitivity analyses assessed individual cost variables. The mean operative times for the standard cervical, transaxillary endoscopic, and transaxillary robotic approaches were 121 ± 18.9, 185 ± 26.0, and 166 ± 29.4 minutes, respectively. The total cost for the standard cervical, transaxillary endoscopic, and transaxillary robotic approaches were $9,028 ± $891, $12,505 ± $1,222, and $13,670 ± $1,384, respectively. Transaxillary approaches were significantly more expensive than the standard cervical technique (standard cervical/transaxillary endoscopic, P cost when transaxillary endoscopic operative time decreased to 111 minutes and transaxillary robotic operative time decreased to 68 minutes. Increasing the case load did not resolve the cost difference. Transaxillary endoscopic and transaxillary robotic thyroidectomies are significantly more expensive than the standard cervical approach. Decreasing operative times reduces this cost difference. The greater expense may be prohibitive in countries with a flat reimbursement schedule. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cost of Sawing Timber (COST) Module (Version 1.0) for Windows®

Science.gov (United States)

A. Jefferson, Jr. Palmer; Janice K. Wiedenbeck; Robert W. Mayer; Robert W. Mayer

2005-01-01

The Cost of Sawing Timber (COST) Module calculates the cost of operations per minute and per thousand board feet for a hardwood sawmill. It may be used independently or as a source of cost information for use in sawmill efficiency software such as the SOLVE program. Cost figures are calculated on the basis of information entered by the user. Sawmill managers use these...

The marginal cost of operation: a parameter for evaluating and regulating of the generation work program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, W.M.; Mendes, L.N.F.; Almeida Gattass, E. de

1989-01-01

The Brazilian Generator System is predominantly hydroelectric, with some reservoirs having a pluri annual regularization, providing a large storage capacity of potential power for the system. This water storage allows the reduction of the alertly effect from the natural flow over the hydraulic resources for electric power production. Due to this structural characteristic, the main operation problem of the system refers to a strategical determination of storage energy utilization and, consequently, the thermal generation level. This paper examines the theoretical concepts referring to the survey of this operation strategies and analyses the factors for improving. These concepts are also extended for the interconnected electric subsystems case, mainly the interchange effect over the operation strategies of each subsystem. Finally, the natural flow sample influence over the marginal cost is analysed, comparing the obtained values with the historical sample and synthetical series of affluence. (C.G.C.). 7 refs, 2 figs, 5 tabs

AEMS implementation cost study for Boeing 727

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, R. L.

1977-01-01

Costs for airline operational implementation of a NASA-developed approach energy management system (AEMS) concept, as applied to the 727 airplane, were determined. Estimated costs are provided for airplane retrofit and for installation of the required DME ground stations. Operational costs and fuel cost savings are presented in a cost-of-ownership study. The potential return on the equipment investment is evaluated using a net present value method. Scheduled 727 traffic and existing VASI, ILS, and collocated DME ground station facilities are summarized for domestic airports used by 727 operators.

Target costing as an element of the hard coal extraction cost planning process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Segeth-Boniecka

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Target costing as an element of the hard coal extraction cost planning process Striving for the efficiency of activities is of great significance in the management of hard coal extractive enterprises, which are constantly subjected to the process of restructuring. Effective cost management is an important condition of the increase in the efficiency of the researched business entities’ activity. One of the tools whose basic objective is conscious influencing cost levels is target costing. The aim of this article is to analyse the conditions of implementing target costing in the planning of hard coal extraction costs in hard coal mines in Poland. The subject area raises a topical and important problem of the scope of solutions concerning cost analysis in hard coal mines in Poland, which has not been thoroughly researched yet. To achieve the abovementioned aim, the theoretical works of the subject area have been referenced. The mine management process is difficult and requires the application of best suited and most modern tools, including those used in the planning process of hard coal extraction costs in order to support the economic efficiency of mining operations. The use of the target costing concept in the planning of hard coal mine operations aims to support the decision-making process, so as to achieve a specified level of economic efficiency of the operations carried out in a territorially designated site of hard coal extraction.

Preliminary design and estimate of capital and operating costs for a production scale application of laser decontamination technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Ho-ming; Edelson, M.C.

1994-01-01

The application of laser ablation technology to the decontamination of radioactive metals, particularly the surfaces of equipment, is discussed. Included is information related to the design, capital and operating costs, and effectiveness of laser ablation technology, based on commercial excimer and Nd:YAG lasers, for the decontamination of production scale equipment

Cost Quality Management Assessment for the Idaho Operations Office. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-06-01

The Office of Engineering and Cost Management (EM-24) conducted a Cost Quality Management Assessment of EM-30 and EM-40 activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory on Feb. 3--19, 1992 (Round I). The CQMA team assessed the cost and cost-related management activities at INEL. The Round II CQMA, conducted at INEL Sept. 19--29, 1994, reviewed EM-30, EM-40, EM-50, and EM-60 cost and cost-related management practices against performance objectives and criteria. Round II did not address indirect cost analysis. INEL has made measurable progress since Round I

Operating costs on Norwegian fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sunnevaag, K.; Nansve, A.H.

1992-09-01

In this report we summarize some of the findings in a project for A/S Norske Shell, where the objective was to find trends in the development of operating expenditures on the Norwegian Continental Shelf if any, and to explain these. We also present a short compilation of articles on the subject. 23 refs., 13 figs

Evaluation of the Influence of the Logistic Operations Reliability on the Total Costs of a Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukinskiy Valery

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays in logistics integral processes between the material and related flows in supply chains are getting developed more and more. However, in spite of increasing volume of statistical data which reflect the integral processes, the influence evaluation issues of the logistic operations reliability indexes on the total logistics costs remain open and require the corresponding researches implementation.

Successful pilot of thermosyphon process heater reduces GHG emissions and operating costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnold, W.A.; Neulander, J.I.

1999-01-01

A joint pilot study was conducted by Hudson Products Corporation and PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. to test the feasibility of using a thermosyphon as a part of a thermal recovery process for cold heavy oil reservoir exploitation in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. A thermosyphon process heater can transfer heat from an external combustion chamber to a liquid inside a tank. This paper described the pilot project in which such a heater was successfully tested in a heavy oil field production tank. The field trial was conducted at the Marwayne Field in northeastern Alberta. The results of the pilot study demonstrated that the thermosyphon not only improved process efficiency, but also reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lowered operating costs and improved safety. 5 refs., 3 tabs., 1 fig., 3 appendices

THE COST OF PRODUCTION UNDER DIRECT COSTING AND ABSORPTION COSTING – A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bunea-Bontaş Cristina Aurora

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Managerial accounting has an important role in strategic management of a company, being designed especially for managers, in order to optimise their decision regarding operating activities. One of the objectives of managerial accounting is the cost calculation, for measuring inventory costs, and the costs and profitability of products and services. Cost calculation systems can vary in terms of which costs are assigned to cost objects, two significant calculation systems being adopted by the costing theory: full cost accounting, which includes all costs of production as product costs, and partial cost accounting, which includes only those costs that vary with output. This article provides a comparative approach regarding the differences between the calculation of the cost of production under direct costing and absorption costing. It also examines the implication of using each of these calculation systems on the financial position and financial performance of the companies reported on the statement of financial position and the income statement. Finally, the advantages of using direct costing for internal reporting are discussed, considering that this method is not acceptable for external reporting to stockholders and other external users.

Operations and Modeling Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ebeling, Charles

2005-01-01

The Reliability and Maintainability Analysis Tool (RMAT) provides NASA the capability to estimate reliability and maintainability (R&M) parameters and operational support requirements for proposed space vehicles based upon relationships established from both aircraft and Shuttle R&M data. RMAT has matured both in its underlying database and in its level of sophistication in extrapolating this historical data to satisfy proposed mission requirements, maintenance concepts and policies, and type of vehicle (i.e. ranging from aircraft like to shuttle like). However, a companion analyses tool, the Logistics Cost Model (LCM) has not reached the same level of maturity as RMAT due, in large part, to nonexistent or outdated cost estimating relationships and underlying cost databases, and it's almost exclusive dependence on Shuttle operations and logistics cost input parameters. As a result, the full capability of the RMAT/LCM suite of analysis tools to take a conceptual vehicle and derive its operations and support requirements along with the resulting operating and support costs has not been realized.

Norwegian electricity market liberalisation: questions of cost calculation and price definition by grid operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wild, J.; Vaterlaus, S.

2002-01-01

This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a study carried out on the Norwegian electricity market 10 years after its liberalisation. The similarity of the Norwegian market to the Swiss electricity market is discussed. Similarly to the proposed situation in Switzerland, the liberalisation in Norway foresaw no privatisation of public utilities and a model for the regulation of grid access was introduced. The report describes and comments on the various phases in which the liberalisation occurred and examines the various instruments used, e.g. to ensure that individual grid operators did not make undue profits from their monopoly. The methods used for the monitoring of grid operators' costs are described and the mechanisms involved in the definition of prices for grid services are examined, including measures taken when profits were too high or too low. The report is concluded with a discussion of the conclusions that can be drawn from the Norwegian model for Swiss market opening efforts

Premium cost optimization of operational and maintenance of green building in Indonesia using life cycle assessment method

Science.gov (United States)

Latief, Yusuf; Berawi, Mohammed Ali; Basten, Van; Budiman, Rachmat; Riswanto

2017-06-01

Building has a big impact on the environmental developments. There are three general motives in building, namely the economy, society, and environment. Total completed building construction in Indonesia increased by 116% during 2009 to 2011. It made the energy consumption increased by 11% within the last three years. In fact, 70% of energy consumption is used for electricity needs on commercial buildings which leads to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. Green Building cycle costs is known as highly building upfront cost in Indonesia. The purpose of optimization in this research improves building performance with some of green concept alternatives. Research methodology is mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches through questionnaire surveys and case study. Assessing the successful of optimization functions in the existing green building is based on the operational and maintenance phase with the Life Cycle Assessment Method. Choosing optimization results were based on the largest efficiency of building life cycle and the most effective cost to refund.

How School Facilities Managers and Business Officials Are Reducing Operating Costs and Saving Money. Energy-Smart Building Choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

This guide addresses contributions that school facility administrators and business officials can make in an effort to reduce operating costs and free up money for capital improvements. The guide explores opportunities available to utilize energy-saving strategies at any stage in a building's life, from its initial design phase through renovation.…

Monthly Program Cost Report (MPCR)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Monthly Program Cost Report (MPCR) replaces the Cost Distribution Report (CDR). The MPCR provides summary information about Veterans Affairs operational costs,...

Estimated Costs of U.S. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and of Other Activities Related to the War on Terrorism

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Orszag, Peter

2007-01-01

.... In addition to totaling the funding provided to date, CBO has projected the total cost over the next 10 years of funding operations in support of the war on terrorism under two scenarios specified by the Chairman...

Cost-effectiveness performance analysis of organic Rankine cycle for low grade heat utilization coupling with operation condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Dongxiang; Ling, Xiang; Peng, Hao

2013-01-01

This paper analyzed the influence of working fluids selection and operation conditions on the cost-effectiveness performance and net power output of an ORC for low grade heat utilization. A net power output model has been proposed theoretically and compared with the theoretical data calculated from thermodynamic analysis, exhibiting excellent agreements with the theoretical data. The proposed net power output model theoretically indicates that Jacob number and the ratio of evaporating temperature and heat rejected temperature play essential roles in discriminating the net power output among various working fluids at the same operation condition. For a given condensing and evaporating temperature, it can be concluded theoretically that fluid with low Jacob number will show attractive performance in an ORC. The maximum net power output is determined by the heat source rather than working fluids with a low inlet temperature of heat source. Cost-effectiveness performance analysis reveals that the maximum net power output and the best CEP cannot be achieved at the same time and compromise must be made when choosing the most suitable organic working fluids in different ORC designs. -- Highlights: • A net power output model is proposed and compared with theoretical data. • For fixed operation condition, low Ja fluid shows attractive performance in ORC. • The heat source rather than working fluid determines ORC performance at low T hs,in • The peak W net and best CEP cannot be achieved at the same time, compromise must be made

Teacher Costs

OpenAIRE

DINIS MOTA DA COSTA PATRICIA; DE SOUSA LOBO BORGES DE ARAUJO LUISA

2015-01-01

The purpose of this technical brief is to assess current methodologies for the collection and calculation of teacher costs in European Union (EU) Member States in view of improving data series and indicators related to teacher salaries and teacher costs. To this end, CRELL compares the Eurydice collection on teacher salaries with the similar Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data collection and calculates teacher costs based on the methodology established by Statis...

Statistical methods of estimating mining costs

Science.gov (United States)

Long, K.R.

2011-01-01

Until it was defunded in 1995, the U.S. Bureau of Mines maintained a Cost Estimating System (CES) for prefeasibility-type economic evaluations of mineral deposits and estimating costs at producing and non-producing mines. This system had a significant role in mineral resource assessments to estimate costs of developing and operating known mineral deposits and predicted undiscovered deposits. For legal reasons, the U.S. Geological Survey cannot update and maintain CES. Instead, statistical tools are under development to estimate mining costs from basic properties of mineral deposits such as tonnage, grade, mineralogy, depth, strip ratio, distance from infrastructure, rock strength, and work index. The first step was to reestimate "Taylor's Rule" which relates operating rate to available ore tonnage. The second step was to estimate statistical models of capital and operating costs for open pit porphyry copper mines with flotation concentrators. For a sample of 27 proposed porphyry copper projects, capital costs can be estimated from three variables: mineral processing rate, strip ratio, and distance from nearest railroad before mine construction began. Of all the variables tested, operating costs were found to be significantly correlated only with strip ratio.

A Study to Compare the Cost of Operation and Maintenance in Green Building Index (GBI and Non-Green Building Index (Non-GBI Rated Building in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Lee Zheng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Urges for sustainable development had pushed the government and professional bodies to respond and react by implementing regulations where possible to direct development in that manner. However, the outcome in most financial conferences and dialogues on sustainable buildings flagged on high construction and maintenance cost. Thus, this study is conducted to collect and analyze actual building operation and maintenance cost between GBI and Non-GBI rated buildings in Malaysia which are more than 2 years fully operated buildings. There are two categories of selected buildings which are residential and non-residential type of building. Each category of the building consists of similar building’s characteristic such as geographic location, mode of operation, building heights, total numbers of floors and units. The scope of building’s maintenance for this study is mainly on wear and tear of the wall painting, electrical light fittings, ceiling panels, roofing system and mechanical services like water pump system are recorded for their replacement frequency of service and the cost involved within a consistent period of 12 months operation at cost percentage saving of 78.9% and 40.4% for residential and non-residential buildings respectively compare against Non-GBI rated buildings. Electricity consumption for GBI rated buildings are lower than Non-GBI rated buildings which recorded at the cost variance of 23.8% and 6.3% and water consumption at 35.9% and 44.0% for the above mentioned two main categories of selected case study buildings. Results from this study conclude major savings on residential buildings category in term of maintenance cost and electricity consumption for GBI rated buildings. Whereby, non-residential category of buildings, GBI rated building had been proven to obtain significant savings in terms of maintenance cost and water consumption.

Geologic and operational summary, COST No. G-2 well, Georges Bank area, North Atlantic OCS

Science.gov (United States)

Amato, Roger V.; Simonis, Edvardas K.

1980-01-01

The Continental Offshore Stratigraphic Test (COST) No. G-2 well is the second deep well to be drilled in the Georges Bank Basin and the third in a series of COST wells on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The G-2 was drilled by Ocean Production Company, acting as the operator for 19 participating companies between January 6 and August 30, 1977. The semisubmersible rig Ocean Victory was used to drill the well to a depth of 21,874 feet at a location 132 statute miles east-southeast of Nantucket Island in 272 feet of water. An earlier deep Stratigraphic test, the COST No. G-l well, was drilled 42 statute miles west of the G-2 well, to a depth of 16,071 feet in 1976 (fig. 1). Geological and engineering data obtained from the well were used by companies and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for evaluating the petroleum potential and possible drilling problems in the U.S. North Atlantic OCS area in preparation for lease sale 42 held on December 18, 1979. The Stratigraphic test was intentionally drilled away from any potential petroleum-bearing feature, but in a block bordering several tracts that were included in the sale area.

Cost analysis of iliac stenting performed in the operating room and the catheterization lab: A case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sooyeon; Kramer, Sage P; Dugan, Adam J; Minion, David J; Gurley, John C; Davenport, Daniel L; Ferraris, Victor A; Saha, Sibu P

2016-12-01

Iliac arterial stenting is performed both in the operating room (OR) and the catheterization lab (CL). To date, no analysis has compared resource utilization between these locations. Consecutive patients (n = 105) treated at a single center were retrospectively analyzed. Patients included adults with chronic, symptomatic iliac artery stenosis with a minimum Rutherford classification (RC) of 3, treated with stents. Exclusion criteria were prior stenting, acute ischemia, or major concomitant procedures. Immediate and two-year outcomes were observed. Patient demographics, perioperative details, physician billings, and hospital costs were recorded. Multivariable regression was used to adjust costs by patient and perioperative cost drivers. Fifty-one procedures (49%) were performed in the OR and 54 (51%) in the CL. Mean age was 57, and 44% were female. Severe cases were more often performed in the OR (RC ≥ 4; 42% vs. 11%, P costs (P costs (P costs but was associated with increased professional fees. Same-stay (5%) and post-discharge reintervention (33%) did not vary by location. The OR was associated with increased length of stay, more ICU admissions, and increased total costs. However, OR patients had more severe disease and therefore often required more aggressive intervention. After controlling for these differences, procedure venue per se was not associated with increased costs, but OR cases incurred increased professional fees due to dual-provider charges. Given the similar clinical results between venues, it seems reasonable to perform most stenting in the CL or utilize conscious sedation in the OR. Copyright © 2016 IJS Publishing Group Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Planning tool for least cost system design based on the operating experience of fifty stand-alone photovoltaic hybrid systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bopp, G.; Neufeld, R.; Preiser, K.; Puls, H.-G.; Sauer, D.U.; Senft, S.; Schulz, M. [Fraunhofer Inst. for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg (Germany)

2001-07-01

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy (ISE) conducted a project involving the design and installation of grid-independent photovoltaic systems with battery storage to 30 remote lodges, mountain huts, farms and private houses. More than half the participating dwellings belonged to the German Alpine Club and are used only for summer months. The photovoltaic systems ranged from lighting for unattended huts and larger systems for lodges with permanent staff and an electricity demand in the order of 0.1 to 40 kWh per day. The objective of the project was to determine the amount of maintenance work that is required to keep the systems working reliably. The Institute prepared inspection manuals and carried out some sample inspections. Other inspections were carried out by the independent operator. With the information entered into the inspection manuals, Fraunhofer ISE analyzed the causes of faults and prepared statistics on interruptions to operations. The average probability of breakdowns could then be determined along with the requirements for optimizing individual components and the entire system. Besides the solar generator, most components of a photovoltaic system with battery storage require repairs, post-installation improvements, regular maintenance or replacement of batteries at intervals of 5 to 10 years. At the end of two years of regular maintenance, the fault rates were reduced from 3 to 1. The Institute also developed the Technical and Least Cost Optimisation (TALCO) tool to calculate the lifetime costs of remote area power supply systems. TALCO describes the electrical characteristics of various components under operating conditions. All economic factors linked to the components are considered. The optimisation algorithm presents the minimum lifetime costs for a given energy demand at specific locations under given boundary conditions. Analytical results showed that PV-hybrid systems are the most cost effective solution for most system applications

Cost analysis of percutaneous fixation of hand fractures in the main operating room versus the ambulatory setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillis, Joshua A; Williams, Jason G

2017-08-01

To date, there have been no studies identifying the cost differential for performing closed reduction internal fixation (CRIF) of hand fractures in the operating room (OR) versus an ambulatory setting. Our goal was to analyse the cost and efficiency of performing CRIF in these two settings and to investigate current practice trends in Canada. A detailed analysis of the costs involved both directly and indirectly in the CRIF of a hand fracture was conducted. Hospital records were used to calculate efficiency. A survey was distributed to practicing plastic surgeons across Canada regarding their current practice of managing hand fractures. In an eight-hour surgical block we are able to perform five CRIF in the OR versus eight in an ambulatory setting. The costs of performing a CRIF in the OR under local anaesthetic, not including surgeon compensation, is $461.27 Canadian (CAD) compared to $115.59 CAD in the ambulatory setting, a 299% increase. The use of a regional block increases the cost to $665.49 CAD, a 476% increase. The main barrier to performing CRIFs in an outpatient setting is the absence of equipment necessary to perform these cases effectively, based on survey results. The use of the OR for CRIF of hand fractures is associated with a significant increase in cost and hospital resources with decreased efficiency. For appropriately selected hand fractures, CRIF in an ambulatory setting is less costly and more efficient compared to the OR and resources should be allocated to facilitate CRIF in this setting. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid and sustained cost management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, D.

2009-01-01

Accenture helps clients develop comprehensive, process-driven strategies for rapid and sustained cost management that leverage deep insights and analytics. This approach enables companies to gain operating cost advantages by rationalizing, simplifying and automating current operating capabilities. It drives structural cost advantages by optimizing business mix, capital structure, organizational structure and geographic presence. This paper discussed how successful companies achieve high performance during times of economic turmoil. It also discussed the value of the winner's strategy in terms of rapid and sustained cost management (RSCM). It discussed how Accenture operates and its leveraged capabilities, improved efficiency, margins and cash flow while maintaining customer service levels. Building structural advantage and the Accenture difference were also discussed. It was concluded that RSCM is one vital way that Accenture can help companies achieve success. 4 figs

Cost Analysis for Large Civil Transport Rotorcraft

Science.gov (United States)

Coy, John J.

2006-01-01

This paper presents cost analysis of purchase price and DOC+I (direct operating cost plus interest) that supports NASA s study of three advanced rotorcraft concepts that could enter commercial transport service within 10 to 15 years. The components of DOC+I are maintenance, flight crew, fuel, depreciation, insurance, and finance. The cost analysis aims at VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and CTOL (conventional takeoff and landing) aircraft suitable for regional transport service. The resulting spreadsheet-implemented cost models are semi-empirical and based on Department of Transportation and Army data from actual operations of such aircraft. This paper describes a rationale for selecting cost tech factors without which VTOL is more costly than CTOL by a factor of 10 for maintenance cost and a factor of two for purchase price. The three VTOL designs selected for cost comparisons meet the mission requirement to fly 1,200 nautical miles at 350 knots and 30,000 ft carrying 120 passengers. The lowest cost VTOL design is a large civil tilt rotor (LCTR) aircraft. With cost tech factors applied, the LCTR is reasonably competitive with the Boeing 737-700 when operated in economy regional service following the business model of the selected baseline operation, that of Southwest Airlines.

Cost analysis guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strait, R.S.

1996-01-01

The first phase of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Management Program (Program)--management strategy selection--consists of several program elements: Technology Assessment, Engineering Analysis, Cost Analysis, and preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Cost Analysis will estimate the life-cycle costs associated with each of the long-term management strategy alternatives for depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The scope of Cost Analysis will include all major expenditures, from the planning and design stages through decontamination and decommissioning. The costs will be estimated at a scoping or preconceptual design level and are intended to assist decision makers in comparing alternatives for further consideration. They will not be absolute costs or bid-document costs. The purpose of the Cost Analysis Guidelines is to establish a consistent approach to analyzing of cost alternatives for managing Department of Energy's (DOE's) stocks of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6). The component modules that make up the DUF6 management program differ substantially in operational maintenance, process-options, requirements for R and D, equipment, facilities, regulatory compliance, (O and M), and operations risk. To facilitate a consistent and equitable comparison of costs, the guidelines offer common definitions, assumptions or basis, and limitations integrated with a standard approach to the analysis. Further, the goal is to evaluate total net life-cycle costs and display them in a way that gives DOE the capability to evaluate a variety of overall DUF6 management strategies, including commercial potential. The cost estimates reflect the preconceptual level of the designs. They will be appropriate for distinguishing among management strategies

Developing a Cost Model and Methodology to Estimate Capital Costs for Thermal Energy Storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glatzmaier, G.

2011-12-01

This report provides an update on the previous cost model for thermal energy storage (TES) systems. The update allows NREL to estimate the costs of such systems that are compatible with the higher operating temperatures associated with advanced power cycles. The goal of the Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Program is to develop solar technologies that can make a significant contribution to the United States domestic energy supply. The recent DOE SunShot Initiative sets a very aggressive cost goal to reach a Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of 6 cents/kWh by 2020 with no incentives or credits for all solar-to-electricity technologies.1 As this goal is reached, the share of utility power generation that is provided by renewable energy sources is expected to increase dramatically. Because Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is currently the only renewable technology that is capable of integrating cost-effective energy storage, it is positioned to play a key role in providing renewable, dispatchable power to utilities as the share of power generation from renewable sources increases. Because of this role, future CSP plants will likely have as much as 15 hours of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) included in their design and operation. As such, the cost and performance of the TES system is critical to meeting the SunShot goal for solar technologies. The cost of electricity from a CSP plant depends strongly on its overall efficiency, which is a product of two components - the collection and conversion efficiencies. The collection efficiency determines the portion of incident solar energy that is captured as high-temperature thermal energy. The conversion efficiency determines the portion of thermal energy that is converted to electricity. The operating temperature at which the overall efficiency reaches its maximum depends on many factors, including material properties of the CSP plant components. Increasing the operating temperature of the power generation

Cost management of golf courses

OpenAIRE

Černický, Marek

2010-01-01

The thesis focuses on costs incurred during the golf course construction and also on operating costs. Types of these costs and options of cost cutting are described. The final part of the thesis analyzes and models usage yield and capacity of golf courses.

HTGR Cost Model Users' Manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gandrik, A.M.

2012-01-01

The High Temperature Gas-Cooler Reactor (HTGR) Cost Model was developed at the Idaho National Laboratory for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project. The HTGR Cost Model calculates an estimate of the capital costs, annual operating and maintenance costs, and decommissioning costs for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The user can generate these costs for multiple reactor outlet temperatures; with and without power cycles, including either a Brayton or Rankine cycle; for the demonstration plant, first of a kind, or nth of a kind project phases; for a single or four-pack configuration; and for a reactor size of 350 or 600 MWt. This users manual contains the mathematical models and operating instructions for the HTGR Cost Model. Instructions, screenshots, and examples are provided to guide the user through the HTGR Cost Model. This model was design for users who are familiar with the HTGR design and Excel. Modification of the HTGR Cost Model should only be performed by users familiar with Excel and Visual Basic.

District heating systems' control for cost effective and environmentally compatible operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balati, J.

1999-01-01

District heating systems are being developed in accordance with the growing of large European cities. These systems are formed by enlarging networks of heat distribution from heat sources to heat consumers and, simultaneously, by gradually connecting newly built heat sources. District heating control consists in optimum control of the output of heat sources and in control of heat distribution and consumption. The aim of the paper is to inform about the works in the field of creating a mathematical-physical model of extensive hot water and steam supply circle network and heat sources for the purpose of creating unconventional control algorithms for the complex control of the technological sequence ''heat production distribution- consumption''. For the optimum control algorithms the artificial intelligence methods are also utilised. The aim of the complex access to the solution of new control algorithms will be to decrease the cost of the consumed heat unit and increase environmental protection. The function of the Extensive Heating System District Heating System (DHS) is to ensure permanently the economically justified requirements of heat supply for all consumers with minimum cost per heat supply unit and with enhanced level of environmental protection. The requirements of heat consumers have to be in harmony with the requirements of the maximum possible economy of the whole DHS when adhering to the required qualitative parameters of supplied energy. Therefore, it offers the application of optimised control methods as artificial intelligence methods for the control of the operational circle of DHS heat networks. It is obvious that a higher level of DHS control is required from the technological, economic and ecological point of view. (author)

Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Arnell, Magnus; Amerlinck, Youri; 2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain))" data-affiliation=" (ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, H2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain))" >Corominas, Lluís; Gernaey, Krist V.; Guo, Lisha; Lindblom, Erik

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The proposed GHG evaluation is based on a set of comprehensive dynamic models that estimate the most significant potential on-site and off-site sources of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O. The study calculates and discusses the changes in EQI, OCI and the emission of GHGs as a consequence of varying the following four process variables: (i) the set point of aeration control in the activated sludge section; (ii) the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) in the primary clarifier; (iii) the temperature in the anaerobic digester; and (iv) the control of the flow of anaerobic digester supernatants coming from sludge treatment. Based upon the assumptions built into the model structures, simulation results highlight the potential undesirable effects of increased GHG production when carrying out local energy optimization of the aeration system in the activated sludge section and energy recovery from the AD. Although off-site CO 2 emissions may decrease, the effect is counterbalanced by increased N 2 O emissions, especially since N 2 O has a 300-fold stronger greenhouse effect than CO 2 . The reported results emphasize the importance and usefulness of using multiple evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. - Graphical abstract: The 3-D representation of effluent quality (EQI), operational cost (OCI) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the evaluation of several (plant-wide) control/operational strategies: (1) modification of the DO set point, (2) modification of the primary clarifier TSS removal efficiency and (3) modification of the anaerobic

Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flores-Alsina, Xavier [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Center for Process Engineering and Technology (PROCESS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Arnell, Magnus [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); CIT Urban Water Management, Gjuterigatan 1D, SE-582 73 Linköping (Sweden); Amerlinck, Youri [BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Corominas, Lluís [ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, H_2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain); Gernaey, Krist V. [Center for Process Engineering and Technology (PROCESS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Guo, Lisha [ModelEAU, Département de génie civil et de génie des eaux, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec G1V 0A6, QC (Canada); Lindblom, Erik [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Sweco Environment, Gjörwellsgatan 22, SE-100 26 Stockholm (Sweden); and others

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The proposed GHG evaluation is based on a set of comprehensive dynamic models that estimate the most significant potential on-site and off-site sources of CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} and N{sub 2}O. The study calculates and discusses the changes in EQI, OCI and the emission of GHGs as a consequence of varying the following four process variables: (i) the set point of aeration control in the activated sludge section; (ii) the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) in the primary clarifier; (iii) the temperature in the anaerobic digester; and (iv) the control of the flow of anaerobic digester supernatants coming from sludge treatment. Based upon the assumptions built into the model structures, simulation results highlight the potential undesirable effects of increased GHG production when carrying out local energy optimization of the aeration system in the activated sludge section and energy recovery from the AD. Although off-site CO{sub 2} emissions may decrease, the effect is counterbalanced by increased N{sub 2}O emissions, especially since N{sub 2}O has a 300-fold stronger greenhouse effect than CO{sub 2}. The reported results emphasize the importance and usefulness of using multiple evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. - Graphical abstract: The 3-D representation of effluent quality (EQI), operational cost (OCI) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the evaluation of several (plant-wide) control/operational strategies: (1) modification of the DO set point, (2) modification of the primary clarifier TSS removal efficiency and (3

Regional Comparative Unit Cost Studies for Maintenance and Operation of Physical Plants in Universities and Colleges in Central States Region and Rocky Mountain Region.

Science.gov (United States)

Association of Physical Plant Administrators, Corvallis, OR.

Presented in this document are data pertaining to maintenance and operations costs at colleges and universities in the central states region and the Rocky Mountain region. The major accounts included in the cost analysis are: (1) physical plant administration, (2) building maintenance, (3) custodial services, (4) utilities, (5) landscape and…

[Relating costs to activities in hospitals. Use of internal cost accounting].

Science.gov (United States)

Stavem, K

1995-01-10

During the last few years hospital cost accounting has become widespread in many countries, in parallel with increasing cost pressure, greater competition and new financing schemes. Cost accounting has been used in the manufacturing industry for many years. Costs can be related to activities and production, e.g. by the costing of procedures, episodes of care and other internally defined cost objectives. Norwegian hospitals have lagged behind in the adoption of cost accounting. They ought to act quickly if they want to be prepared for possible changes in health care financing. The benefits can be considerable to a hospital operating in a rapidly changing health care environment.

Why activity based costing (ABC) is still tagging behind the traditional costing in Malaysia?

OpenAIRE

Rasiah, Devinaga

2011-01-01

This study compares activity-based costing (ABC) model and traditional costing method in Malaysia. Activity based costing (ABC) which was developed into the manufacturing/service sectors in Malaysia. It calculates the cost and performance of activities, resources and cost objects. It can be considered as an alternative model to Traditional Cost-based accounting systems. In this study the results indicated that most operations managers believed that their present cost systems were adequate for...

Managing airlines: the cost of complexity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trapote-Barreira, C.; Deutschmann, A.; Robuste, F.

2016-07-01

This paper is dedicated to the structure of airline networks as a sink of efficient airline operations. Parameters of complexity were derived and mirrored on level of service as well as efficiency parameters. Airlines usually considerers an operational overhead to predict the total flight operation cost. This parameter includes the expected cost for disruptions and delays. When an airline has to mobilize an aircraft in a base for recovering the service or for breaking an emergent dynamic, then it is running extra costs. The cost of managing complexity in the airline industry has a direct impact on profit and loss account. Therefore, this paper presents an integrated approach to evaluate this cost, based on padding and aircrafts dedicated to recover disruptions. Finally, some additional indicators are derived to evaluate reliability improvement as part of complex performance. (Author)

INCOME OVER FEED COST FOR SMALL- TO MEDIUM-SCALE BEEF CATTLE FATTENING OPERATIONS IN EAST JAVA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Priyanti

2014-10-01

Full Text Available An evaluation was conducted of the returns to fattening cattle of small- and medium-scaleenterprises in East Java. The objective was to analyze income over feed costs (IOFC based on locallyavailable feedstuffs to increase liveweight gain. The study was conducted during July-September 2010and January-March 2011, representing relative dry and wet season. The breeds were PO and Limousinand Simmental crossed with PO (LimPO and SimPO. Small-scale farmers owning 1-2 bulls andmedium-scale farmers fattening 10-20 bulls in one period. Fattening period was 58 and 46 days,respectively for dry and wet season. Monthly measurements included liveweight, feed intake, input andoutput prices. Mean values of growth rates and IOFC were compared using t-tests. The results indicatedthat, for small-scale operations, SimPO bulls gave a significantly higher return than either PO or LimPObulls. Likewise, LimPO gave a higher IOFC than SimPO in medium-scale operations. Small-scalefarmers achieved equal or higher IOFC for European-cross than medium-scale farmers in both seasons.This reflects that cash outlays for feed were about two-thirds that of medium-scale operations whiledaily growth rates were similar. Small-scale fattening operations using European-cross can befinancially competitive with medium-scale operations in both wet and dry seasons.

Collaborative Monitoring of Production and Costs of Timber Harvest Operations in the Brazilian Amazon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benno Pokorny

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Timber companies and policy makers in the Brazilian Amazon urgently need financial information on forest management. Results from a few experiments, case studies, and surveys have been groundbreaking, but are insufficient. A strategic partnership between timber companies and research organizations is needed to generate additional information. This paper presents a tool for monitoring production and costs of forest operations to facilitate such collaboration. The tool provides useful information for companies and, at the same time, generates reliable data for research. Selected results are presented on production, capacity, and costs to demonstrate the usefulness of the information that can be generated. These results are based on the first 2 years of implementation by a company in the State of Pará, Brazil. This pilot project confirmed that the tool is simple and relevant. Its successful implementation requires significant investment, and will be applicable only to companies interested in changing from conventional logging to reduced-impact logging, especially those seeking Forest Stewardship Council certification. Successful implementation of the tool will also depend on it generating readily understood and highly relevant results for the companies, and receiving extensive support during the first 2 years.

Global Operations and Innovation in Coloplast

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Irene

2015-01-01

Different deployment initiatives, such as shifting its high-volume manufacturing facilities to low cost countries, have helped Coloplast reduce its operating costs and enhance its bottom-line growth.......Different deployment initiatives, such as shifting its high-volume manufacturing facilities to low cost countries, have helped Coloplast reduce its operating costs and enhance its bottom-line growth....

Nuclear plant life cycle costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durante, R.W.

1994-01-01

Life cycle costs of nuclear power plants in the United States are discussed. The author argues that these costs have been mishandled or neglected. Decommissioning costs have escalated, e.g. from $328 per unit in 1991 to $370 in 1993 for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, though they still only amount to less than 0.1 cent per kWh. Waste management has been complicated in the U.S. by the decision to abandon civilian reprocessing; by the year 2000, roughly 30 U.S. nuclear power units will have filled their storage pools; dry storage has been delayed, and will be an expense not originally envisaged. Some examples of costs of major component replacement are provided. No single component has caused as much operational disruption and financial penalties as the steam generator. Operation and maintenance costs have increased steadily, and now amount to more than 70% of production costs. A strategic plan by the Nuclear Power Oversight Committee (of U.S. utilities) will ensure that the ability to correctly operate and maintain a nuclear power plant is built into the original design. 6 figs

REDUCTION OF THE PRODUCTION COST. EXPERIENCE OF THE COSTS REDUCTION AT RUP “BMZ”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. S. Sereda

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The method of the daily operative monitoring of the costs for reduction of net cost and reinforcement of control on the costs has been applied for the first time in 2003 in RB at RUP “BMZ”, that allowed for the enterprise to control the costs in regime of real time.

Video distribution system cost model

Science.gov (United States)

Gershkoff, I.; Haspert, J. K.; Morgenstern, B.

1980-01-01

A cost model that can be used to systematically identify the costs of procuring and operating satellite linked communications systems is described. The user defines a network configuration by specifying the location of each participating site, the interconnection requirements, and the transmission paths available for the uplink (studio to satellite), downlink (satellite to audience), and voice talkback (between audience and studio) segments of the network. The model uses this information to calculate the least expensive signal distribution path for each participating site. Cost estimates are broken downy by capital, installation, lease, operations and maintenance. The design of the model permits flexibility in specifying network and cost structure.

The System Cost Model: A tool for life cycle cost and risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, K.; Lundeen, A.; Shropshire, D.; Sherick, M.

1996-01-01

In May of 1994, Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company (LITCO) in Idaho Falls, Idaho and subcontractors began development of the System Cost Model (SCM) application. The SCM estimates life cycle costs of the entire US Department of Energy (DOE) complex for designing; constructing; operating; and decommissioning treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities for mixed low-level, low-level, and transuranic waste. The SCM uses parametric cost functions to estimate life cycle costs for various treatment, storage, and disposal modules which reflect planned and existing waste management facilities at DOE installations. In addition, SCM can model new TSD facilities based on capacity needs over the program life cycle. The user can provide input data (default data is included in the SCM) including the volume and nature of waste to be managed, the time period over which the waste is to be managed, and the configuration of the waste management complex (i.e., where each installation's generated waste will be treated, stored, and disposed). Then the SCM uses parametric cost equations to estimate the costs of pre-operations (designing), construction, operations and maintenance, and decommissioning these waste management facilities. The SCM also provides transportation costs for DOE wastes. Transportation costs are provided for truck and rail and include transport of contact-handled, remote-handled, and alpha (transuranic) wastes. A complement to the SCM is the System Cost Model-Risk (SCM-R) model, which provides relative Environmental, Safety, and Health (ES and H) risk information. A relative ES and H risk basis has been developed and applied by LITCO at the INEL. The risk basis is now being automated in the SCM-R to facilitate rapid risk analysis of system alternatives. The added risk functionality will allow combined cost and risk evaluation of EM alternatives

Hardwood sawmill downtime costs

Science.gov (United States)

Jan Wiedenbeck; Kyle Blackwell

2003-01-01

How time flies when you don't pay attention to it. With hardwood sawmill operating costs ranging from $4 to $25 per operating minute ($95/MBF to $335/MBF) and gross profit margins ranging from $0.10/BF to $0.35/BF, five extra minutes of downtime per day will cost a sawmill that produces an average of 20,000 BF per day (5 MMBF annually) between $21 and $73 per day...

Planning and Estimation of Operations Support Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, Marilyn E.; Barley, Bryan; Bacskay, Allen; Clardy, Dennon

2010-01-01

Life Cycle Cost (LCC) estimates during the proposal and early design phases, as well as project replans during the development phase, are heavily focused on hardware development schedules and costs. Operations (phase E) costs are typically small compared to the spacecraft development and test costs. This, combined with the long lead time for realizing operations costs, can lead to de-emphasizing estimation of operations support requirements during proposal, early design, and replan cost exercises. The Discovery and New Frontiers (D&NF) programs comprise small, cost-capped missions supporting scientific exploration of the solar system. Any LCC growth can directly impact the programs' ability to fund new missions, and even moderate yearly underestimates of the operations costs can present significant LCC impacts for deep space missions with long operational durations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) D&NF Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) recently studied cost overruns and schedule delays for 5 missions. The goal was to identify the underlying causes for the overruns and delays, and to develop practical mitigations to assist the D&NF projects in identifying potential risks and controlling the associated impacts to proposed mission costs and schedules. The study found that 4 out of the 5 missions studied had significant overruns at or after launch due to underestimation of the complexity and supporting requirements for operations activities; the fifth mission had not launched at the time of the mission. The drivers behind these overruns include overly optimistic assumptions regarding the savings resulting from the use of heritage technology, late development of operations requirements, inadequate planning for sustaining engineering and the special requirements of long duration missions (e.g., knowledge retention and hardware/software refresh), and delayed completion of ground system development work. This paper updates the D

Systematic Approach to Better Understanding Integration Costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stark, Gregory B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-09-01

This research presents a systematic approach to evaluating the costs of integrating new generation and operational procedures into an existing power system, and the methodology is independent of the type of change or nature of the generation. The work was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to investigate three integration cost-related questions: (1) How does the addition of new generation affect a system's operational costs, (2) How do generation mix and operating parameters and procedures affect costs, and (3) How does the amount of variable generation (non-dispatchable wind and solar) impact the accuracy of natural gas orders? A detailed operational analysis was performed for seven sets of experiments: variable generation, large conventional generation, generation mix, gas prices, fast-start generation, self-scheduling, and gas supply constraints. For each experiment, four components of integration costs were examined: cycling costs, non-cycling VO&M costs, fuel costs, and reserves provisioning costs. The investigation was conducted with PLEXOS production cost modeling software utilizing an updated version of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 118-bus test system overlaid with projected operating loads from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Puget Sound Energy, and Public Service Colorado in the year 2020. The test system was selected in consultation with an industry-based technical review committee to be a reasonable approximation of an interconnection yet small enough to allow the research team to investigate a large number of scenarios and sensitivity combinations. The research should prove useful to market designers, regulators, utilities, and others who want to better understand how system changes can affect production costs.

Cost effective shift schedules enhance utility operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coleman, R.M.

1995-01-01

This article describes how new shift scheduling concepts can save utility operations millions of dollars every year and yet maintain safety and improve employee morale. The key to scheduling is to define and match the work load. This includes discretionary as well as daily, weekly, and yearly core work loads. In most power plants the overall work load (including maintenance, operations, materials handling, etc.) on day shift is greater than on other shifts, hence an unbalanced schedule would be appropriate

48 CFR 970.3102-05-30-70 - Patent costs and technology transfer costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... technology transfer costs. 970.3102-05-30-70 Section 970.3102-05-30-70 Federal Acquisition Regulations System... Principles and Procedures 970.3102-05-30-70 Patent costs and technology transfer costs. (a) For management and operating contracts that do not include the clause at 970.5227-3, Technology Transfer Mission, the...

7 CFR 249.12 - SFMNP costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false SFMNP costs. 249.12 Section 249.12 Agriculture....12 SFMNP costs. (a) General. (1) Composition of allowable costs. In general, a cost item will be... administration and operation of the SFMNP. Allowable SFMNP costs may be classified as follows: (i) Food costs and...

Nuclear power costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1963-01-01

A report prepared by the IAEA Secretariat and presented to the seventh session of the Agency's General Conference says that information on nuclear power costs is now rapidly moving from the domain of uncertain estimates to that of tested factual data. As more and more nuclear power stations are being built and put into operation, more information on the actual costs incurred is becoming available. This is the fourth report on nuclear power costs to be submitted to the IAEA General Conference. The report last year gave cost information on 38 nuclear power projects, 17 of which have already gone into operation. Certain significant changes in the data given last year are included-in the present report; besides, information is given on seven new plants. The report is divided into two parts, the first on recent developments and current trends in nuclear power costs and the second on the use of the cost data for economic comparisons. Both stress the fact that the margin of uncertainty in the basic data has lately been drastically reduced. At the same time, it is pointed out, some degree of uncertainty is inherent in the assumptions made in arriving at over-all generating cost figures, especially when - as is usually the case - a nuclear plant is part of an integrated power system

The impact of a postponed operation due to an anesthesia obstacle to the cost in children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamer Sekmenli

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate causesof delay in elective surgical interventions and its additionaleconomic burden.Methods: Cases were chosen among the patients requiredan elective surgery and had no obstacle duringdiagnosis for the anesthesia, in a two-year period in theAtatürk University Faculty of Medicine Pediatric SurgeryClinic. All patients appointed to a date. The study groupconsists of 100 patients whose intervention was delayedbecause of an anesthesia obstacle at the appointmentday. Control group consists of 50 patients whose surgicalintervention was not delayed.Results: In study group 41% of patients were admittedfrom district of Erzurum province, 59% from other provincesor cities. In control group, 80% of appointments onthe day of surgery and district of Erzurum, 20% from otherprovinces. Delay in operations was more common for patientsadmitting from other provinces. The percentage ofdelayed operations were significantly higher within theage range of 2-4 years. 227 TL average cost per patientin our study group and 70 TL in the control group hasbeen recorded.Conclusion: In east Anatolia, upper respiratory tract infectionsare important problems causing delay in operationespecially for patients admitting from other providences.Elective surgical interventions should be performedin patient’s hometown or patients who will be directed toother provinces should have routine examination in theirhometown for a contraindication of general anesthesia.In conclusion, this simple attempt could have a positiveimpact on the family budget and the country’s economy.Key words: Elective surgery, child, anesthesia, cost

Lessons Learned for Planning and Estimating Operations Support Requirements