Life-Cycle Engineering

Life-cycle focused design is simultaneously responsive to customer needs and to life-cycle outcomes.  It considers operational outcomes expressed as producibility, reliability, maintainability, supportability, and disposability; as well as the traditional requirements of performance, effectiveness, and affordability.

The initial phases of design are where the implementation of the principles of life-cycle engineering are most critical.  Experience has indicated that there is a large commitment in terms of technology applications, the obligation of resources, and potential life-cycle cost at this point in project design and development.  As much as 75% of the project life-cycle cost may be “locked in” at this early stage.  Further, the costs of major changes escalate exponentially during later phases of the project life. 

Whole life design of building projects is an engineering approach just beginning to mature.  An intrinsic part of this process is the  operation/maintenance/repair portion of the cycle.  Often in the past it has been overlooked until long after the design phase of a project is completed. 

A consultant experienced in these life-cycle issues can be an invaluable member of an effective design team focused on minimum whole-life facility cost and maximum system effectiveness.

Market Equity and Purchasing Policy Initiatives

Industry: Complex organizational behavior, compartmentalization, and confusing administrative requirements are common characteristics of government, institutional and large corporate accounts.  Specialized knowledge and experience is necessary for any firm to deal effectively with these types of customers. 

Large corporations usually have specialists working exclusively in this area of marketing and management. 

Smaller firms can benefit significantly from the use of an experienced consultant, since they rarely have permanent staff in this area.  Such a relationship can provide strategic economic advantage to these firms during their growth phase and help develop an equitable “playing field’ for the awarding of contracts from complex accounts.

Customer: In this era of financial belt-tightening, it is strategically important for all government and institutional agencies to build as much equity as possible into every purchase made on behalf of their stakeholders.  Yet often large organizations do not take advantage of opportunities presented by younger, smaller firms until long after the benefits become abundantly clear. 

Complex technology and maintenance services procurement are areas where a relative small initial investment can have a major effect on a building’s life cycle cost.  Expert knowledge is required when considering technical capabilities and purchasing strategy alternatives to maximize customer benefit from the installation of these systems.

Many of these hurdles could be reduced, or eliminated, by an experienced consultant working on behalf of the customers as they seek innovation to make their purchasing policies and technical specifications more effective.