Activity‐based life‐cycle costing

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present a new method for life‐cycle costing (LCC) called activity‐based LCC by employing the comprehensive activity‐based life‐cycle assessment method. A real‐life case study of a platform supply vessel operating in the North Sea is utilized to present the method, illustrate an implementation, including results, and discuss the benefits. Furthermore, due to the inherent uncertainty in LCC, handling of uncertainty is emphasized. A crucial side‐effect of handling uncertainty by employing Monte Carlo simulations – as activity‐based LCA prescribes – is the greatly enhanced tracing of critical success factors. Such tracing enables the shipowners to increase long‐term profitability by focusing on what is critical to their success. Also, a design option of using heavy fuel oil versus marine gas oil is investigated.