LIFE CYCLE COSTING AND THE DESIGN OF STRUCTURES WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO BRIDGES

This paper discusses the use of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) as part of the general design process for structures. It explains the basic principles of LCC. It considers the incidence of defects in Britain's bridge stock which is considered by the authors of this paper to be significantly higher than many authorities acknowledge. Average repair costs for bridges are suggested and the critical importance of traffic delay costs to the application of LCC to bridge is emphasized. Historical data in relation to the true cost of loan and equity finance are presented, and appropriate discount rates for various types of organization, including the effects of inflation, are discussed. Examples of radical design decisions that could potentially be justified using LCC are presented, as is the view that the widespread application of LCC in the design process is needed if a correct appraisal of future maintenance costs is to be made. It is then suggested that this would result in significant improvements in both design and maintenance practices. (A)

• Corporate Authors:

  Thomas Telford Limited

  London,   United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • RIGDEN, S R
  • BURLEY, E
  • TAJALLI, SMA
• Conference:
  • PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: MUNICIPAL ENGINEER
• Publication Date: 1995-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 284-8
• Serial:
  • Volume: 109
  • Issue Number: 4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Calculation; Costs; Forecasting; Maintenance; Repairing; Structures
• ITRD Terms: 3455: Bridge; 6464: Calculation; 224: Cost; 3355: Engineering structure; 132: Forecast; 3847: Maintenance; 3635: Repair
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Finance; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00723206
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jul 26 1996 12:00AM