Integration of life cycle assessment and life cycle costing for the eco-design of rubber products

Rubber hoses are a category of rubber products that are widely and intensively employed in construction sites for concrete conveying. There has been lack of study to investigate the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of the rubber hoses as an industrial product. In this study, we analyze four types of rubber hoses with the inner layer made of different rubber composites to resist abrasion, i.e., Baseline, S-I, S-II and S-III. Tests of the wear resistance are carried out in the laboratory and S-III shows high abrasion resisting performance with the concrete conveying volume up to 20,000 m3 during the service life. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) models are established for evaluating the four types of rubber hoses. A target function is developed to integrate LCA and LCC by converting the LCA results to the environmental costs. It is found that S-III can save 13% total cost comparing to Baseline. The production stage is the largest contributor to the environmental single score, while the use stage is the largest contributor to the life cycle cost. Sensitivity analyses are conducted and the results of this study are validated with the previous studies. The integrated method of LCA and LCC developed in this study paves a way for the eco-design of industrial rubber hoses and is potentially applicable to other rubber products.

The role of the time-based product life cycle cost technique in managing costs in economic units

The purpose of this study is to direct interest in using the sound methodology in cost management and to choose a more effective approach to managing costs from a series of alternatives in order to obtain more accurate data on the cost of the product. Competition in the market, Clarifying the role of the time-based product life cycle costing technique in providing integrated information on resources and their costs and for each stage of the product life cycle, which would contribute to managing costs throughout the product life cycle. To achieve this goal, the time-based product life cycle costing technique was applied on data obtained from the laboratory records, the research sample, as well as the field experience. The research reached several conclusions, the most important of which is that the failure of traditional cost systems to meet the requirements and objectives of management as they are no longer able to provide accurate data that help the administration in making decisions as a result of changes and developments in the business environment, most notably the intense competition, which resulted in the emergence of modern techniques in the field of management Cost that is able to keep pace with these changes and developments. The most important of which is the time-based product life-cycle cost technique.

Value for Money: Guidance Note on Procurement

This guidance note discusses the principle of value for money (VFM) and its relevance and application to the different phases of the ADB procurement cycle. It also introduces “life cycle costing,” which takes into account not only the acquisition cost, but also a combination of paid price plus the cost of operating and maintaining the goods or services procured. The guidance note provides a matrix of the relationship of VFM with other ADB core procurement principles to give a better understanding of how VFM works with the other principles.