UdZ 3-2012

40 Unternehmen der Zukunft 3/2012 UdZ Dienstleistungsmanagement 60 % hardware costs and 40 % labour costs. A detailed analysis of operations and mainte- nance costs reveals that operations costs have a share of approx. 55 % and maintenance costs of approx. 45 %. In a next step, a deeper look into the system implementation, operations and maintenance phase was undertaken to identify cost drivers of an interlocking system. Within this analysis averages of each product component were identified. Success Factors For Lcc Measurement Six major steps have been identified that are necessarily needed to identify Life Cycle Costs within a complex industry. First of all, a plan for Life Cycle Cost measurement needs to be developed. It should include a definition and targeting of the requested goals and results. Furthermore, a definition of the extent of analysis and an identification of underlying conditions, assumptions, restrictions etc. is required. Second, LCC models which fit to the actual plan have to be selected or developed. The third step deals with the actual appliance of the selected LCC model and identification of Life Cycle Costs. After the actual LCC model is applied, the actual data collection and analysis starts in step 4. During the collection a sophisticated documen- tation is mandatory to guarantee a successful LCC measurement. After the description of the process is done, in step five a detailed discus- sion and interpretation of the results including all related uncertainties and a conclusion and recommendation of all objectives, results, recommendations related to future decisions should be the last part of the documentation. In order to assure a sufficient extent of accuracy, all results of the LCC analysis have to be reviewed and audited in a sixth step. If possible this review should be conducted by an external assessor and a special focus should be set on the review of goals and of the analysis extent. Furthermore, aspects such as the review of the LCC model itself and the application have to be regarded carefully. Finally, the focus should be set on the review of all basic assumptions in order to guarantee that they are reasonable and sufficiently documented. Conclusion Life Cycle Costing is one beneficial option for a more sustainable way within the investment decision process. By considering the complete product life cycle one can better understand the total costs of ownership of an investment, which leads to cost economies and thus to superior investment decisions. The appliance of the LCC concept within the European research project INESS leads to the conclusion that DIN EN 60300- 3-3 delivers a suitable methodology to develop a life cycle model for complex industries, since it delivers a generic approach but still incorporates rigorous scientific techniques. It was possible to confidently apply the basic model to the railway industry specifications and to conduct a tho- rough data analysis. It became obvious that the involvement of experts and a clearly structured appliance of the LCC approach are mandatory for a successful LCC measurement. Also, it has to be assured that all required data is available in detail. The more detailed the data is, the more detailed and informative the results of the analysis will be. Time and effort for the development of the overall approach as well as the data evaluation should not be underestima- ted; especially in case of an application of the methodology in a complex and large company. Often the right allocation of data sets takes much more time than the data sourcing itself. Ultimately, the whole process of LCC measure- ment is a continuous process and all data has to be updated continuously. As soon as new data is available the basic assumptions have to be updated with actual data to make the model as accurate as possible. Figure 2: Steps for succesfull LCC measurement Dipl.-Kfm. Christian Hoffart FIR, Stellvertretender Bereichsleiter Bereich Dienstleistungsmanagement Tel.: +49 241 47705-227 E-Mail: Christian.Hoffart@fir.rwth-aachen.de