Checking cost estimates

Safety Systems. Major expenditures here include the flare system (the flare structures and large lines extending throughout the plant) and the iirevvater system (high-capacity pumps and extensive piping). Safety systems, fortunately, are usually given particular attention. At this study phase, the main thrust should be to check the completeness of licensor equipment lists for cost estimation purposes. 

Early in the life of a project, information has not been developed to allow definitive cost estimates based on material takeoff and vendor quotes for equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the cost of a facility using shortcut methods. The first step is to develop or check flow-sheets, major equipment sizes, and specification sheets as described in earlier chapters. From the equipment specification sheets, the cost of each piece of equipment is estimated, using techniques discussed later. Once the major equipment cost has been estimated, the total battery limit plant cost can he quickly estimated using factors developed on a similar project. 

Cost estimation and screening external MSAs To determine which external MSA should be used to remove this load, it is necessary to determine the supply and target compositions as well as unit cost data for each MSA. Towards this end, one ought to consider the various processes undergone by each MSA. For instance, activated carbon, S3, has an equilibrium relation (adsorption isotherm) for adsorbing phenol that is linear up to a lean-phase mass fraction of 0.11, after which activated carbon is quickly saturated and the adsorption isotherm levels off. Hence, JC3 is taken as 0.11. It is also necessary to check the thermodynamic feasibility of this composition. Equation (3.5a) can be used to calculate the corresponding... 

Whatever package is used, it is recommended that computergenerated costs be spot-checked for reasonable results using a hand-Held calculator since errors do occur. Some commercial software companies will develop cost estimation databases in cooperation with a company for site-specific costs. 

These pieces of equipment are not installed. Preliminaiy estimates have indicated that all of these pieces of equipment have adequate capacity for the present design. They are valued at a total of 300,000. For the purpose of your cost estimates, you may assume that 300,000 will cover the cost of the listed equipment. However, your design should include complete specifications for all fee equipment necessary for toe new plant In this wry, we will be able to have a final check to show us if the present equipment on hand is satisfactory. 

Resolution Allow ance Escalation Contingency Checking Criteria and Guidelines Offshore Cost Estimates... 

Finally, the Project Manager should make, as a check, rough estimates of the equipment-related accounts (instrumentation, electrical, and engineering) using the costs data and guidelines included in Section 19.11. 

Take an active role in checking schedules and cost estimates. 

As mentioned in section 19.11 the total field cost factor (TFCF) can be modified and adapted to facilities that differ from those in the original study. The modified factor is developed by adjusting each of its cost components (see Table 19.36) to meet the requirements of specific cases. This approach can be very useful for conceptual estimating as well as for the quick checking of estimates prepared by others. 

The cost of utilities will show considerable variation so that a check in established rates at the plant location site will be necessary for accurate 30st accounting. FtV preconstruction cost estimating, the rates shown in Tables 6-11 and 6-13 will suffice. A brief discussion of the most important utilities follows with a more adequate coverage included in Chap. 7. 

Cost estimates are sometimes used to check vendor bid quotations on outsourced work. This estimate can be used to not only verify appropriate costs for outsourced work but also as a part of the total product cost estimate. 

Several sources (References 19. 20, 21, and 22) are available for estimating pumps and drivers to check in-house coiTelations or to fill in w here data is not available. Care must be exercised in using construction cost indexes to update the literature data. It would be w ise to calibrate the indexes and literature data by getting vendor prices on a few of the larger, more expensive pumps, and 5% or 10% of the common types of pumps in the project being estimated. 

Ashby has taken his approach a stage further with the introduction of physically based estimates of material properties where these have not been measured (Ashby 1998. Bassett et al. 1998), where an independent check on values is thought desirable or where property ranges of categories of materials would be useful. Figure 5.5(c) is one example of the kind of estimates which his approach makes possible. A still more recent development of Ashby s approach to materials selection is an analysis in depth of the total financial cost of using alternative materials (for different number of identical items manufactured). Thus, an expanded metallic foam beam offers the... 

The result of a quantitative chemical measurement is not an end in itself. It has a cost and therefore it always has a purpose. It may be used, for example, in checking products against specifications or legal limits, to determine the yield of a reaction, or to estimate monetary value. 

Downey et al., of Parsons Engineering Science, Inc., reported costs for bioventing at a diesel-fuel-contaminated site in Nebraska as 112,000, or less than 10/m of soil treated. This cost included pilot testing, full-scale installation, and 2 years of operation and maintenance but did not include the cost of electricity (estimated at 280 per month) or labor costs for system checks. It is noted that bioventing provides significant economy of scale and that costs for sites smaller than 11,000 m are typically in the range of 10 to 30/m (D151508, p. 124). 

Satisfactory estimation of the direct operating costs for a computer installation is usually not difficult. It is naturally one of the first thoughts when selection of a computer is considered. There are many factors to be taken into account, since the total cost is meaningful only when related to the computer s capabilities. Wainwright (Wl) gives an extensive check list of features to be considered in any comparative evaluation of digital computers. 

Since in a normal vulcanization system at least part of the sulphur combines with the rubber during vulcanization, an obvious way of following vulcanization is to measure the decrease in free sulphur. This method is not used extensively since it is well known that the combination of free sulphur does not correlate well with the development of cross links or other physical properties. In addition to this the analytical procedure is lengthy and costly. However free sulphur determinations are often made on finished products as a means of checking for uniformity of the product and to estimate the degree of cure. Figure 8.6 below shows the rate of sulphur combination at different vulcanization temperatures for a typical... 

Of the many factors which contribute to poor estimates of capital investments, the most significant one is usually traceable to sizable omissions of equipment, services, or auxiliary facilities rather than to gross errors in costing. A check list of items covering a new facility is an invaluable aid in making a complete estimation of the fixed-capital investment. Table 1 gives a typical list of these items. 

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