Cost Benefit Targets

The generation of targets aimed at cost reduction is an economics driven process. The targets will most likely be specific to the company s operation, since no two manufacturing plants are exactly the same, even within the same country and economic constraints. The development work will also be based on a consideration of the company s own internal information. This is because process secrecy and confidentiality means that there will be little, if any information in the external literature about a competitors process, other than the broadest outlines given in a typical process patent. It is unlikely that R D will be able to make a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor s processes in the same way that they can of their products, samples of which are available commercially. 

To show how this complexity arises, let us consider the manufacture of a fictional, fine chemical product used in the pharmaceutical industry, called FCP1, by a multi-stage, batch process at a rate of 100 tonnes per year. 

Using these two sets of figures the materials cost for each intermediate, C, F, G and final product FCP1 can be derived  

Using these numbers it is possible to calculate the effect on the final cost of FCPI by increasing the yields at one or more stages. 

In addition to the savings in the cost of the final product, increasing the yield in a manufacturing process bring savings in the volumes of materials which need to be purchased. 

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To maintain the target level for temperature, a specific amount of insulation may be needed, since too little insulation makes it impossible to keep the temperature levels. For each building it is necessary to make a detailed cost-benefit calculation of insulation and heating/cooling costs. The same discussion is applicable to temperature variation requirements, both for the rate of change and the period lengths (see Chapter 16). 

As a general rule, simulations based on classical or quantal equations of motion may serve a useful purpose as benchmarks for model calculations. The days where such simulations may be used for routine calculations of stopping parameters are likely to lie quite a few years ahead, even with the present pace of hardware development in mind. Stopping data are potentially needed for 92X92 elemental ion-target combinations over almost ten decades of beam energy and for a considerable number of charge states, and to this adds an unlimited number of compounds and alloys. It seems wise to keep this in mind in a cost-benefit analysis of one s effort. 

Legislation which prescribes the use of one technology is unlikely to offer an optimum integrated approach in all cases and inevitably, by limiting the operator s flexibility, it increases costs. The most cost effective legislation sets end targets based on cost-benefit analysis, but it does not prescribe the mechanism for industry to use to achieve the target. 

The Clapham Inquiry Report is especially relevant for BR as the company was the main subject of this report. The recommendations emphasized the importance of not just setting targets but achieving them and auditing them (Hidden 1989, paras. 13.2,13.16,13.53) and the sheer volume of recommendations in the report led to the development of a methodology to prioritize using cost-benefit and risk assessment schemes ... 

ACIK), but the extra administrative costs of targeting (CDEF) are small in relation to the savings in benefits paid to the nonpoor children (HGJK). This simple illustration probably underestimates the value that extra administrative costs can have on targeting outcomes. First, it does not capture the value that... 

Many types of program evaluation exist. For example, Rossi, Freeman, and Lipsey (1999) distinguish between the following types of program evaluations needs assessment, process evaluation, impact evaluation, cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis, and targeting accuracy evaluation. We focus on the three most common types of evaluations of safety net programs process (or implementation) evaluation, assessment of targeting accuracy, and impact evaluation. Evaluations of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness are also helpful, but are rare so not treated in depth here (see box 6.4). 

A targeted, direct cash transfer worth the same as the net benefit of the price reduction (US 8.5 million to US 8.8 million) could avoid the weltare losses for net producers while providing the same benefits to net consumers. The administrative costs of targeting and distribution, as well as the likelihood of leakages to the nonpoor, would, however, raise the costs of such a program beyond the US 8.5 million to US 8.8 million in benefits or reduce the value of the transfer. 

Integral type PWRs targeted at near term deployment. All reactors in this group provide design solutions to exclude the possibility of certain accidents, e g. large-break LOCA or control rod ejection. They also incorporate cost-benefit design optimization to beat the economy of scale ... 

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