ECONOMICS OF ENGINEERING DECISIONS Non-Linear Time-Cost Break Even Research in Product Lifecycle

This article describes the life cycle concept that can be used to evaluate the true cost of the product. It can help managers to understand acquisition costs versus operating and support costs. Life Cycle Costing (LCC) method can be used to evaluate alternatives being con-sidered for either to buy a new product or repair the old product. The first step in determining the life cycle cost is to quantify the costs associated with all the alternatives. These costs should be identified as installed cost (mate-rial and labor), energy cost per year, maintenance cost per year. The second step is to forecast operating and maintenance expenses over time. The third step is to de-termine the present value of future operating and main-taining costs. To take into account the cost of capital