Thesis (Ph.D.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Rohatgi, Ajeet; Committee Co-Chair: Begovic, Miroslav; Committee Member: Gaylord, Thomas; Committee Member: Harley, Ronald; Committee Member: Jarrett, Christopher; Committee Member: Kippelen, Bernard

A Constituição Federal de 1988, a carta magna do Brasil, foi responsável por estabelecer meios para a modernização na condução da administração pública brasileira. O modelo de administração gerencial, proposto na década subsequente, ampliou o entendimento de que o Estado precisa assemelhar-se cada vez mais à iniciativa privada e tratar as necessidades dos contribuintes como uma empresa trata seus clientes. Este trabalho visa avaliar cenários para substituição de frota na Prefeitura Municipal de Caxias do Sul, avaliando os diferentes custos e critérios para tomada de decisões relativas à substituição. Um método formal é aplicado para calcular a vida útil econômica da frota em análise, baseado em princípios de Engenharia Econômica, aproximando as características de tomada de decisão da administração pública às práticas da iniciativa privada. Diferentes cenários foram simulados que otimizaram a aplicação dos recursos públicos, resultando em melhor aplicação dos recursos públicos. Os resultados das simulações e cenários apontam que se possibilite atingir uma economia de recursos financeiros que podem variar desde 12% e chegar até 41,31%. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-08-15T14:30:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Vinicius Troian Mezzari.pdf: 2965752 bytes, checksum: 10d64cc6df554f5e68ae0d41993f7416 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-15T14:30:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Vinicius Troian Mezzari.pdf: 2965752 bytes, checksum: 10d64cc6df554f5e68ae0d41993f7416 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-15 / Brazilian Federal Constitution, created in 1988, was responsible for establishing ways to modernize brazilian public administration practices. The management administration model, proposed in the next decade, expanded the understanding that the State should act even more like private companies and deal with tax payers needs the same way a private company deal with customers. This work aims to analyze different scenarios fleet substitution method applied in Caxias do Sul city hall, evaluating the costs relative to fleet and the actual decision taking criteria, regarding fleet substitution. Subsequently, it applies a formal method to calculate the fleet economic life, based on Economic Engineering principles, turning public administration decision making characteristics closer to the private companies’ administration practices, simulating different scenarios, improving public resources application, resulting in better use of the values taken under taxes. Simulations and scenarios results show that it is possible to achieve costs reductions that start from 12% and goes up to 41.31%.

A Constituição Federal de 1988, a carta magna do Brasil, foi responsável por estabelecer meios para a modernização na condução da administração pública brasileira. O modelo de administração gerencial, proposto na década subsequente, ampliou o entendimento de que o Estado precisa assemelhar-se cada vez mais à iniciativa privada e tratar as necessidades dos contribuintes como uma empresa trata seus clientes. Este trabalho visa avaliar cenários para substituição de frota na Prefeitura Municipal de Caxias do Sul, avaliando os diferentes custos e critérios para tomada de decisões relativas à substituição. Um método formal é aplicado para calcular a vida útil econômica da frota em análise, baseado em princípios de Engenharia Econômica, aproximando as características de tomada de decisão da administração pública às práticas da iniciativa privada. Diferentes cenários foram simulados que otimizaram a aplicação dos recursos públicos, resultando em melhor aplicação dos recursos públicos. Os resultados das simulações e cenários apontam que se possibilite atingir uma economia de recursos financeiros que podem variar desde 12% e chegar até 41,31%. / Brazilian Federal Constitution, created in 1988, was responsible for establishing ways to modernize brazilian public administration practices. The management administration model, proposed in the next decade, expanded the understanding that the State should act even more like private companies and deal with tax payers needs the same way a private company deal with customers. This work aims to analyze different scenarios fleet substitution method applied in Caxias do Sul city hall, evaluating the costs relative to fleet and the actual decision taking criteria, regarding fleet substitution. Subsequently, it applies a formal method to calculate the fleet economic life, based on Economic Engineering principles, turning public administration decision making characteristics closer to the private companies’ administration practices, simulating different scenarios, improving public resources application, resulting in better use of the values taken under taxes. Simulations and scenarios results show that it is possible to achieve costs reductions that start from 12% and goes up to 41.31%.

Submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the Degree of Magister Technologiae: Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Infrastructure project costs are being scrutinised more closely and with greater skill and accuracy as projects have become larger, more complex and more expensive, and clients have become more exacting in their requirements. These and other factors compel engineers to design with greater care and in more detail. However, public planners spend very little time generating alternative project options, often presenting decision-makers with only a few poorly differentiated alternatives borrowed ad hoc from other projects. Even more disturbing is that they often devote the greatest amount of decision making resources to the development of a single decision rather than a variety of options. A systematic and iterative analysis of the cost consequences of different design solutions is commonly suggested for infrastructure projects, but rarely happens. There is a growing need to integrate design and costs. This study concentrates on the issue of cost optimisation of infrastructure projects (particularly at the design stage of the project) and applies construction economics, cost planning, cost optimisation and value engineering techniques to the design of such projects. The methodology proposed in this study for the optimisation of cost and design planning is the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model. This model divides the planning of a project into four stages and utilises twelve Cost Report Forms across these stages. The Cost Report Forms define in a comprehensive, precise and verifiable manner the essential characteristics of a deliverable component. They are used to measure, quantify, verify and audit the different design options. By means of the Cost Report Forms, the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model enables the client to select a combination of alternatives and evaluate a number of possible design options – with their cost implications – at each stage of the design process. This i promotes transparency and accountability, and enables consultants and clients to have greater control over the planning process and overall costs. Two case studies on infrastructure related projects were conducted and confirm that the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model can reduce costs. This study demonstrates that it is possible to overcome the problem of over expenditure by introducing cost effective design decisions prior to the infrastructure design approval process. The Infrastructure Cost Planning Model can improve infrastructure standards and procure design in a cost effective, equitable, competitive and transparent manner. This study contributes to the underdeveloped area of cost planning and forecasting of infrastructure projects. The findings are relevant to the South African government's infrastructure service delivery programme and the general issue of affordable infrastructure services.

This research is concerned with the technoeconomic aspects of modern and next-generation telecommunications including the Internet service. The goal of this study thereof is tailored to address the following: (i) Reviewing the technoeconomic considerations prevailing in telecommunication (telco) systems and their implicating futures; (ii) studying relevant considerations by depicting the modern/next-generation telecommunications as a digital ecosystem viewed in terms of underlying complex system evolution (akin to biological systems); (iii) pursuant to the digital ecosystem concept, co-evolution modeling of competitive business structures in the technoeconomics of telco services using dichotomous (flip-flop) states as seen in prey-predator evolution; (iv) specific to Internet pricing economics, deducing the profile of consumer surplus versus pricing model under DiffServ QoS architecture pertinent to dynamic- , smart- and static-markets; (v) developing and exemplifying decision-making pursuits in telco business under non-competitive and competitive markets (via gametheoretic approach); (vi) and modeling forecasting issues in telco services addressed in terms of a simplified ARIMA-based time-series approach, (which includes seasonal and non-seasonal data plus goodness-fit estimations in time- and frequency-domains). Commensurate with the topics indicated above, necessary analytical derivations/models are proposed and computational exercises are performed (with MatLabTM R2006b and other software as needed). Extensive data gathered from open literature are used thereof and, ad hoc model verifications are performed. Lastly, results are discussed, inferences are made and open-questions for further research are identified. / by Renata Cristina Tourinho Sardenberg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

As the construction sector is becoming more competitive in recent years, it has become more important to estimate the duration and cost of the construction projects and to calculate the risks&rsquo / effects correctly. The aim of this thesis is to estimate the duration and cost of construction projects accurately using an activity based risk assessment method which is based on the integrated duration &ndash / cost influence network diagram model proposed by Tah and Poh (2006). Within the context of this thesis, a web based risk assessment tool using the integrated duration &ndash / cost influence network at an activity level is developed to estimate the possible cost overrun and delay in construction projects. Risk breakdown structure for construction projects is created which enables the evaluation of risk effects at an activity level. The developed tool uses Monte Carlo Simulation Technique and Risk Rating Method. The results of the developed tool are compared with those of traditional methods and the reliability of the developed tool is validated.

Energy is increasingly becoming more important in today&rsquo / s world. Ascending of energy consumption due to development of technology and dense population of earth causes greenhouse effect. One of the most valuable energy sources is hydro energy. Because of limited energy sources and excessive energy usage, cost of energy is rising. There are many ways to generate electricity. Among the electricity generation units, hydroelectric power plants are very important, since they are renewable energy sources and they have no fuel cost. Electricity is one of the most expensive input in production. Every hydro energy potential should be considered when making investment on this hydro energy potential. To decide whether a hydroelectric power plant investment is feasible or not, project cost and amount of electricity generation of the investment should be precisely estimated. This study is about cost estimation of hydroelectric power plant projects. Many design parameters and complexity of construction affect the cost of hydroelectric power plant projects. In this thesis fifty four hydroelectric power plant projects are analyzed. The data set is analyzed by using regression analysis and artificial neural network tools. As a result, two cost estimation models have been developed to determine the hydroelectric power plant project cost in early stage of the project.

Submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the Degree of Magister Technologiae: Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / Infrastructure project costs are being scrutinised more closely and with greater skill and accuracy as projects have become larger, more complex and more expensive, and clients have become more exacting in their requirements. These and other factors compel engineers to design with greater care and in more detail. However, public planners spend very little time generating alternative project options, often presenting decision-makers with only a few poorly differentiated alternatives borrowed ad hoc from other projects. Even more disturbing is that they often devote the greatest amount of decision making resources to the development of a single decision rather than a variety of options. A systematic and iterative analysis of the cost consequences of different design solutions is commonly suggested for infrastructure projects, but rarely happens. There is a growing need to integrate design and costs. This study concentrates on the issue of cost optimisation of infrastructure projects (particularly at the design stage of the project) and applies construction economics, cost planning, cost optimisation and value engineering techniques to the design of such projects. The methodology proposed in this study for the optimisation of cost and design planning is the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model. This model divides the planning of a project into four stages and utilises twelve Cost Report Forms across these stages. The Cost Report Forms define in a comprehensive, precise and verifiable manner the essential characteristics of a deliverable component. They are used to measure, quantify, verify and audit the different design options. By means of the Cost Report Forms, the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model enables the client to select a combination of alternatives and evaluate a number of possible design options – with their cost implications – at each stage of the design process. This i promotes transparency and accountability, and enables consultants and clients to have greater control over the planning process and overall costs. Two case studies on infrastructure related projects were conducted and confirm that the Infrastructure Cost Planning Model can reduce costs. This study demonstrates that it is possible to overcome the problem of over expenditure by introducing cost effective design decisions prior to the infrastructure design approval process. The Infrastructure Cost Planning Model can improve infrastructure standards and procure design in a cost effective, equitable, competitive and transparent manner. This study contributes to the underdeveloped area of cost planning and forecasting of infrastructure projects. The findings are relevant to the South African government's infrastructure service delivery programme and the general issue of affordable infrastructure services.

Electricity generated from photovoltaics (PV) promises to satisfy the world's ever-growing thirst for energy without significant pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. At present, however, PV is several times too expensive to compete economically with conventional sources of electricity delivered via the power grid. To ensure long-term success, must achieve cost parity with electricity generated by conventional sources of electricity. This requires detailed understanding of the relationship between technology and economics as it pertains to PV devices and systems. The research tasks of this thesis focus on developing and using four types of models in concert to develop a complete picture of how solar cell technology and design choices affect the quantity and cost of energy produced by PV systems. It is shown in this thesis that high-efficiency solar cells can leverage balance-of-systems (BOS) costs to gain an economic advantage over solar cells with low efficiencies. This advantage is quantified and dubbed the "efficiency premium." Solar cell device models are linked to models of manufacturing cost and PV system performance to estimate both PV system cost and performance. These, in turn, are linked to a model of levelized electricity cost to estimate the per-kilowatt-hour cost of electricity produced by the PV system. A numerical PV module manufacturing cost model is developed to facilitate this analysis. The models and methods developed in this thesis are used to propose a roadmap to high-efficiency multicrystalline silicon PV modules that achieve cost parity with electricity from the grid. The impact of PV system failures on the cost of electricity is also investigated; from this, a methodology is proposed for improving the reliability of PV inverters.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Construction Management Department of the Built Environment in the Faculty of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / The construction industry contributes significantly to national economic growth and offers substantial opportunities for job creation; however the industry has continually been plagued by workplace accidents. Moreover, employers may not realize the economic magnitude of workplace injury and ill health arising from construction activities. These accidents represent a considerable economic and social burden to employers, employees and to society as a whole. Despite governments and organisations worldwide maintaining an on-going commitment towards establishing a working environment free of injury and disease, a great deal of construction accidents continues to frequent our society. Given the high rate of construction accidents experienced, employers are not entirely mindful of the actual costs of construction accidents, especially when considering the hidden or indirect costs of accidents. Various safety research efforts have attempted to quantify the true costs of worker injuries, however localised systematic information on cost of construction accidents at work is not readily available from administrative statistical data sources, therefore this study was carried out in order to estimate the costs, like lost workdays or lost income, are clearly visible and can readily be expressed in monetary value; for a large part however, economic consequences of accidents are somewhat hidden. Indirect costs following an accident may be disregarded, damage to the company image is difficult to quantify and pricing human suffering and health damage is subject to discussion. Nevertheless, it is possible to get an adequate insight into the costs of accidents and the potential benefits of accident prevention.