Consultancy costs

Public subsidies of consulting costs substantially reduce the changeover costs for the customer Public organisations promote Chemical Leasing (BMLFUW, UNIDO)... 

Trade unions Technical support Cost-benefit approach through consultation Technical support and policy consultation Cost-benefit approach through consultation... 

Possible external indicators could be the labor cost per hour, the labor cost per repair, the total cost per repair, the cost per bed supported, the number of devices per bed supported, percentage of time devoted to repairs vs. IPMs vs. consultation, cost of support as a percentage of the acquisition value of capital inventory, etc. 

Less outside consultants Similar to the preceding item. The consulting firm may mark up invoices from outside consultants partly to cover the consultants costs of administering the process. The mark up amount is not included in outside consultants because it is income. 

Refer to Table 13.2, which is an accounting of all costs for a hypothetical project. Note that the consulting cost ultimately paid by the owner is a small part (2.5 percent) of the total present worth cost that will be incurred by the owner in obtaining and using the structure, facility, system, product, or process. Full appreciation of Table 13.2 requires understanding present worth and now to estimate it. Perhaps you have already learned that in an engineering economics or decision economics course, or... 

The third consultant cost arises when our portion of the project, be it a study, a plan, a design, construction, manufactured product, a process, or workshop is completed. 

Perhaps you agree with, or are you at least considering the merit of, the preceding three consultant costs of participating in PBS. If so, a logical follow-up question is why do consulting firms do it, that is, why enable ourselves and our firms to incur these eosts ... 

Standardisation of equipment items is an area for potential cost savings, both in terms of capital expenditure (capex) and operating expenditure (opex), and is a decision which should be taken In consultation with the production operations department at the FDP stage. Standardisation can be applied to equipment items ranging from drilling platforms to valves. The benefits of standardisation are ... 

Documentation abstracts, useful as they are, may also prove inadequate for final decisions, which would make it necessary for the searcher to obtain and examine copies of full patent specifications. Although the increasing availabihty of sets of full specifications on CD-ROM at modest cost is making it easier for searchers to have in their collections copies of those specifications they might need to consult, the necessity to go beyond computer output, whether to abstracts or full specifications, is stiU one of the bottlenecks of computer searching, and therefore an area in which significant new developments are hoped for. 

Because of the complexity of designs and performance characteristics, it is difficult to select the optimum atomizer for a given appHcation. The best approach is to consult and work with atomizer manufacturers. Their technical staffs are familiar with diverse appHcations and can provide valuable assistance. However, they will usually require the foUowing information properties of the Hquid to be atomized, eg, density, viscosity, and surface tension operating conditions, such as flow rate, pressure, and temperature range required mean droplet size and size distribution desired spray pattern spray angle requirement ambient environment flow field velocity requirements dimensional restrictions flow rate tolerance material to be used for atomizer constmction cost and safety considerations. 

Once the options have been clearly defined it will be necessary to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of each option. This has two main objectives. First, the overall cost of the project will need to be assessed to determine whether or not it is financially viable and, second, to ensure that those who will be required to incur expenditure are fully aware of the commitment needed. The financial benefits to users of the waters for recreation, fisheries, navigation, etc., are relatively easy to determine, but monetary valuation of the environmental benefits such as conservation and general amenity will be more difficult to define. As yet this aspect of the cost-benefit analysis has not been fully developed in the UK. Having determined a range of options and costs for eutrophication control in a particular catchment, consultation on the details of the Action plan with all those involved is needed before any plan can be implemented. 

Energy needed for pumping can be a significant cost item for the inexpensive basic chemicals therefore, pressure drop must be known more accurately than calculation methods can provide. The needed accuracy can be achieved only by measuring pressure drop versus flow for every new catalyst. This measurement can now be done much better and more easily than before. Even so, for a basic understanding of correlation between pressure drop and flow, some published work must be consulted. (See Figure 1.4.1 on the next page.)... 

When selecting a system to remove particulate from a gas stream, many choices concerning equipment can be made. The selection could be made on the basis of cost, gas pressure drop, efficiency, temperature, resistance, etc. Table 29-3 summarizes these factors for comparative purposes. The tabular values must not be considered absolute because great variations occur between types and manufacturers. No table is a substitute for a qualified consulting engineer or a reputable manufacturer s catalog. 

Cooling Water System. A list of cooling duties will be available at this point so the cost estimate for this system can be factored or estimated based on a similar operating system. For a more definitive estimate based on initial or detailed layout, it is probably best to use a contractor or consultant skilled in these designs. If a cooling tower is involved, the groundwork will already have been set. This basis can be passed along on specification sheets provided in the Appendix to a vendor for quotes. 

When the engineer has decided on the number of operators and estimated their cost, it is wise to consult an old operating hand who has worked shift on a similar plant to review the number of operators and other assumptions. 

A failure modes and effects analysis is a systematic analytical technique for identifying potential failures in a design or a process, assessing the probability of occurrence and likely effect, and determining the measures needed to eliminate, contain, or control the effects. Action taken on the basis of an FMEA will improve safety, performance, reliability, maintainability and reduce costs. The outputs are essential to balanced and effective quality plans for both development and production as it will help focus the controls upon those products, processes, and characteristics that are at risk. It is not the intention here to give a full appreciation of the FMEA technique and readers are advised to consult other texts. 

As discussed in Chapter 2, most of the basic resources you will need are fairiy self-evident time of staff will almost certainly be the latgest single cost. Support expenses and travel also require funding. In addition, in the course of yourwork to date you may have identified specific resource requirements, such as computer software for hazard analysis or project management, or consulting services that fill in specific gaps in the knowledge base. 

Report cost Varies with consulting time required to provide relevant data. 

It is necessary to consult manufacturers for final and specific selecdons. However, the followang guide data is reliable and should serve to check recommendations or to specify a system. It is advisable to try to accomplish the specific operation wth as few ejectors as possible, because this leads to the most economical operation and lowest first cost in the majority of cases. Figures 6-9A, B, and C are a basic comparison guide for vacuum systems. 

An example would be where the consultant had already invited competitive quotations for supplying air-handling units so that he could design a particular make into the system and ensure that his client received the best value for money. The bidder would include in his bid, either separately shown or in the body of his figures, a sum to cover profit and on-cost in handling the equipment. The contractor appointed would be responsible for organizing delivery and would give a warranty on the equipment, in accordance with the contract. This aspect is amplified in Section 8.20. 

The policy cover may be extended to include damage to assets from extra perils if the necessary additional premium is paid. These include storm damage, floodwater, burst water pipes or tanks, aircraft, riot, malicious damage or impact by mechanical vehicles. It is also possible to include an item to cover architects , surveyors and consultants fees and legal fees all incurred in the reinstatement of the property insured, as well as a sum to cover the costs of removing debris from the site before rebuilding can start. 

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