Industrial equipment cost estimation system and method
OwnerJoseph C. Razum, Sanjay Kumar Sharma +2inventors
InventorsJoseph C. Razum, Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Mark D. McElhinny, Ronald Lee Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A total cost of ownership model is input by a series of graphical user interface pages. The model may include identification of specific tasks, including sub-activities and activities. Data sets are generated by progressively inputting costs, time, labor rates, and other key information for the various activities and sub-activities. Total cost of ownership calculations are made and the data may be rapidly and interactively displayed in graphical formats, tabulated formats, flow charts, and so forth. The tool permits the evaluation of both existing and alternative or solution scenarios for equipment ownership and servicing.
Claims30
A method for analyzing costs associated with an industrial control and monitoring system, the method comprising:
- defining tasks performed in servicing the system;
- computing costs of servicing the system based upon the tasks, the costs including costs in a driver category;
- analyzing the computed costs;
- and
- automatically generating a graphical display of total costs of operations based upon the defined tasks and computed costs.
A method for analyzing total costs of ownership of industrial equipment, the system comprising:
- prompting user input of system descriptive data;
- prompting user input of tasks performed ownership and servicing of industrial equipment;
- prompting user input of a cost data set for the tasks;
- computing total costs of ownership data based upon the tasks and the cost data set;
- and
- generating and displaying a graphical representation of computed total costs of ownership.
A method for analyzing total costs of a user system, the method comprising:
- defining activities and subactivities encountered during at least a portion of a useful life of the system;
- identifying cost parameters for each of the activities and subactivities;
- determining at least two different cost models based upon the activities and subactivities and upon the cost parameters;
- and
- generating a user viewable page summarizing the cost models.
A system for analyzing costs, the system comprising:
- a plurality of user interface pages adapted to prompt input of task data and cost data based upon the tasks;
- an analysis module configured to receive the task data and the cost data and to compute costs of performing the tasks in accordance with at least two different cost models;
- and
- an output module configured to generate a graphical representation of the tasks and costs computed by the analysis module.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.