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This thesis analyses how and why the recurrent costs of water services are shared between different actors in the rural local government areas in Mali which are supported by the international NGO WaterAid. This analysis of the financing arrangements for rural water services is used to critically assess theory, policy and practice in three areas: the community-based management approach to service delivery, the role of decentralised local governments in supporting community management, and the ability of external organisations to influence institutional change. Empirical evidence is presented for the period 2008-2011, drawing on research fieldwork undertaken in collaboration with WaterAid and its partners in 2010 and 2011, as the organisation introduced its own Sustainability Framework to help understand and address the challenges to delivering sustainable rural water services. The thesis argues that approaches to understanding local institutions for natural resource management based on ‘critical institutionalism' (Cleaver 2012), which emphasises the importance of improvisation and adaptation across different scales, should be placed within broader political economy analysis frameworks for assessing challenges in public services delivery from national to local levels. The use of such a framework shows how WaterAid and its partners adopt a ‘critical institutionalist' perspective at community levels to support users in developing ways of raising funds for water services which draw on both traditional practices and NGO influences. However at local government and national levels their approach is based on ideas of ‘best practice' rather than ‘best fit' (Booth 2012): although the costs of local government support to communities under the model promoted by WaterAid lie within international benchmarks, it is unclear over what timescale this approach could be scaled up in Mali without donor support. This demonstrates the limited ability of local governments to ensure the delivery of decentralised public services without additional external resources and support themselves.

The study was conducted to establish what effect life cycle cost forecasting accuracy has on project valuations with special reference to a global mining organisation’s coal business unit in South Africa. The research stemmed from the fact that the organisation identified through its own research in 2009 that its capital projects rarely met the originally budgeted life cycle cost forecasts estimated during the project development stages. These forecasts were generally found to be underestimated. Overrunning of cost budgets in project management terms results in project failure. The study employed two main empirical research sections. The first section took a case study approach where past implemented project results were collated and analysed. The main aim was to determine how close to reality the original life cycle cost estimates were, and secondly how any variances to the originally budgeted costs impacted on the anticipated project value post implementation. Secondly, the study employed in-depth interviews with seven project specialists within the organisation that were also involved in the development stages of the investigated projects. The study concluded that life cycle cost forecasts are very important project business case inputs and that the necessary time and effort should go into developing them so as to ensure that they are as comprehensive and accurate as possible. The sensitivity analysis that was conducted revealed that a coal mining project business case is the second most sensitive to variations in life cycle costs after variations in commodity price. The results indicated that a 20% increase in life cycle costs can destroy an equivalent project value of up to 100%. Accurate life cycle cost forecasting is therefore essential in order to estimate to a certain degree of accuracy the value of a project which in turn will be used to inform capital investment decision making. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The study was conducted to establish what effect life cycle cost forecasting accuracy has on project valuations with special reference to a global mining organisation’s coal business unit in South Africa. The research stemmed from the fact that the organisation identified through its own research in 2009 that its capital projects rarely met the originally budgeted life cycle cost forecasts estimated during the project development stages. These forecasts were generally found to be underestimated. Overrunning of cost budgets in project management terms results in project failure. The study employed two main empirical research sections. The first section took a case study approach where past implemented project results were collated and analysed. The main aim was to determine how close to reality the original life cycle cost estimates were, and secondly how any variances to the originally budgeted costs impacted on the anticipated project value post implementation. Secondly, the study employed in-depth interviews with seven project specialists within the organisation that were also involved in the development stages of the investigated projects. The study concluded that life cycle cost forecasts are very important project business case inputs and that the necessary time and effort should go into developing them so as to ensure that they are as comprehensive and accurate as possible. The sensitivity analysis that was conducted revealed that a coal mining project business case is the second most sensitive to variations in life cycle costs after variations in commodity price. The results indicated that a 20% increase in life cycle costs can destroy an equivalent project value of up to 100%. Accurate life cycle cost forecasting is therefore essential in order to estimate to a certain degree of accuracy the value of a project which in turn will be used to inform capital investment decision making. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study examines the relationship between environmental sustainability and green schools, seeking to highlight the benefits and determine the Net Present Value (NPV) installing vegetative roofs on all schools in the Atlanta Public Schools District. This study quantifies the costs and benefits of thin-layer, or extensive, green roof systems as they compare to typical flat roofs on Atlanta Public Schools. Quantifiable benefits are detailed and suggestions are made to create the means by which other social benefits may be quantified. The purpose of this thesis is to establish proof to the Atlanta Public Schools District that over a 40 year period there are more benefits associated with installing vegetative roofs on all of their flat roofs than there are costs. While some may argue that greens roof are more costly than traditional roof systems, this study provides evidence that the cumulative benefits over a 40 year life cycle associated with large scale green roof installations, such as on all Atlanta Public Schools, are greater than the initial costs incurred. Factors included in the analysis of benefits were reductions to energy/utility costs, reduced emissions, and avoided best management practices (BMPs). Other considerations include social benefits resulting from the mitigation of storm water runoff, reductions to the urban heat island, productivity level increases (students and teachers), and avoided regulatory fees.

Syftet med offentlig upphandling är att konkurrensutsätta marknader och skapa bästa möjligaaffär för de offentliga medel som den upphandlande myndigheten har till sitt förfogande.Offentlig upphandling ska ske med långsiktigt perspektiv och det finns verktyg för att tillse attett långsiktigt synsätt erhålls. Ett av dessa verktyg är livscykelkostnader (LCC) som beaktaren produkts anskaffning, ägande och avveckling. En produkt som har ett högtanskaffningsvärde men låga framtida kostnader, kan bli det mest kostnadseffektiva inköpet.LCC används för att göra en ekonomisk värdering av olika investeringsalternativ,diskonterade över produktens livslängd. Livscykelkostnader är ett synsätt som utforskar deolika investeringsalternativen och används aktivt för att föra en dialog mellan aktörerna iupphandlingsprocessen. Användningen av livscykelkostnader, kan antas vara till god hjälp för beslutsfattarna i vattenoch avloppsbranschen (VA) om de vill ta långsiktigt korrekta beslut. Problematiken är attingen har kartlagt hur ett livscykelkostnadsverktyg påverkar beslutsprocessen i offentligaupphandlingar inom VA-branschen och om det ger beställaren ett tydligt beslutsstöd. Dennastudie syftade därför att ta reda på hur livscykelkostnader används i praktiken och hur enanalys av livscykelkostnader bättre kan stödja beslutsprocessen för offentliga upphandlingarinom VA. Studien syftade även till att ta reda på hur ett livscykelkostnadsverktyg bör varautformat, genom att ge förslag på förutsättningar som måste tas hänsyn till. Detta examensarbete har utförts på uppdrag av Vattenreningsindustrins mötesplats (VARIM).En kvalitativ intervjustudie genomfördes, uppdelad i två faser, med 27 stycken intervjuer somgav upphov till ett rikt material. Intervjupersonerna hade fem olika aktörsroller: beställare,upphandlare, brukare, konsult och anbudsgivare. Studien avgränsades till att endast undersökafyra kommuntyper: storstäder, större städer, varuproducerande kommuner ochglesbygdskommuner. Resultatet från datainsamlingen analyserades med utgångspunkt i teorinfrån litteraturstudien. Resultaten visar att det finns ett stort behov av att använda livscykelkostnader iVA-upphandlingar. Det finns även stor potential för LCC-användande då majoriteten avintervjupersonerna ställde sig positiva till användandet av LCC, primärt vid upphandling avenergiförbrukande produkter eller processer. En stor resursskillnad identifierades mellanmindre beställare och större beställare, vilket resulterar i att de mindre beställarna inteanvänder livscykelkostnader som ett tilldelningskriterium. Resultaten pekar på attanvändningen av livscykelkostnader bidrar till ökad transparens i upphandlingsprocessen ochleder därför till en mindre risk för överprövning. Uppföljning av livscykelkostnader i kontraktär ett av de svåraste problemen visar studien. / The purpose of public procurement is to create competitive markets and generate the bestpossible deal for the contracting authority. Public procurement should aim for long-termperspective, and there are tools to ensure that a long-term view is obtained. One tool is lifecycle costs (LCC), where product acquisition, ownership and settlement are considered. Aproduct that has a high investment cost but low operating costs, may be the most costeffectivepurchase. LCC is used to achieve an economic evaluation of different investmentoptions, discounted over the lifetime of the product. Life-cycle costing is an approach thatexplores the various investment options and is used to as a basis of discussion by theparticipants in the procurement process. The use of life-cycle costs, are expected to be useful for decision makers in the water andwastewater industry if they want to take long-term correct decisions. The problem is that noone has studied how a life cycle cost tool affects the decision-making process in publicprocurement within the water and wastewater industry and if it gives the client a gooddecision making basis. This study therefore aimed to find out how life cycle costs are used inpractice and how these can be used in practice, as an aid in the decision making process forwater and wastewater procurements. The study also aimed to find out how a life cycle costtool should be designed, by giving suggestions on conditions that must be taken into account. This thesis has been carried out on behalf of The meeting place for the industry in watertreatment (VARIM), with the aim to investigate the procurement process within the water andwastewater trade. It also studies how life cycle costs are used in the process. The study wascarried out in two steps, consisting of qualitative interviews, 27 individual interviews gaverise to a rich material, which was subject to further analysis. The interviewees had fivedifferent roles in the procurement process: client, purchaser, user, consultant and bidder. Thestudy was limited to investigating four types of municipalities: large cities, major cities,manufacturing municipalities and rural municipalities. The results from the interviews wereanalyzed based on theory from the literature study, the results from the data collection wereanalyzed. The results show that life-cycle costs in water and wastewater procurement are needed. Thereis also great potential for LCC as the majority of respondents were in favor of the use of LCC,primarily in the procurement of energy-using products or processes. A great difference inaccess to resources was identified between smaller clients and major clients, resulting in thesmaller clients not using life-cycle costs as a criterion. Also the results indicate that the use oflife cycle costs contributes to greater transparency in the procurement process and thereforedecreases risk of appeals. The study shows that follow up of life cycle cost in a contract is oneof the most difficult problems in procurement.

<p>U okviru predmetne disertacije izvršena je detaljna analiza razvijenih<br />modela za procenu i upravljanje troškovima životnog ciklusa proizvoda<br />i istaknut značaj upravljanja ovim troškovima u fazi razvoja proizvoda.<br />Životni ciklus proizvoda definisan je fazama razvoja, proizvodnje,<br />upotrebe i reciklaže, sa odgovarajućim aktivnostima, kao uzročnicima<br />troškova. Za ovako definisani životni ciklus razvijen je hibridni<br />model upravljanja troškovima životnog ciklusa u fazi razvoja<br />proizvoda. Procena troškova životnog ciklusa novog proizvoda u ovom<br />modelu vrši se primenom fazi neuronskih mreža, dok se upravljanje<br />troškovima vrši razvojem konstrukcije u fazi konceptualnog i<br />preliminarnog razvoja dizajna novog proizvoda i usvajanjem procesa<br />proizvodnje koja obezbeđuje ciljne troškove i konkurentnost proizvoda na<br />tržištu u pogledu troškova upotrebe i pogodnosti za reciklažu.</p> / <p>In the context of this thesis, a detailed analysis of the developed models for<br />assessing and managing the life cycle costs of products and highlighted the<br />importance of managing these costs in the product development phase.<br />The life cycle of a product is defined stages of development, production, use<br />and recycling, with appropriate activities as cost drivers. For such a defined<br />life cycle model developed hybrid life cycle cost management in the product<br />development phase. Assessment of life cycle costs of a new product in this<br />model is made with fuzzy neural network, while managing costs is performed<br />at the stage of construction, development of conceptual and preliminary<br />design development of new products and the adoption of production<br />processes that ensures the target costs and the competitiveness of products<br />in the market in terms of cost and use facilities for recycling.</p>

A prototype cost estimating tool was built using an iterative design approach to help training managers assess the impact of changes in the training environment on course life cycle costs. In the first of two evaluations, training managers evaluated the prototype tools during a demonstration for both functionality and face validity in their environment. They also evaluated the usefulness of different levels of graphics and detail in a guide designed to assist the user with the tool. Feedback from the first evaluation was used to revise the prototype tool, and the guide usefulness ratings were used to select the guide for use in the second evaluation. The impact of the guide on performance with the tool was analyzed in a second evaluation. The second evaluation analyzed the difference in performance of two groups. The first group only had the users manual to help them solve the problems. The second group had the users manual and a performance aid to help them. Subjects' performance was compared on the number of spreadsheets used, number of errors made, and the amount of time they took to complete the tasks. The two groups did not significantly differ on these measures. / Ph. D.

Increasing demands, shrinking financial and human resources, and increased infrastructure deterioration have made the task of maintaining the infrastructure systems more challenging than ever before. Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is an important tool for transportation infrastructure management, which is used extensively to support project level decisions, and is increasingly being applied to enhance network level analysis. However, traditional LCCA tools cannot practically and effectively utilize expert knowledge and handle ambiguous uncertainties. The main objective of this dissertation was to develop enhanced LCCA models using soft computing (mainly fuzzy logic) techniques. The proposed models use available "real-world" information to forecast life-cycle costs of competing maintenance and rehabilitation strategies and support infrastructure management decisions. A critical review of available soft computing techniques and their applications in infrastructure management suggested that these techniques provide appealing alternatives for supporting many of the infrastructure management functions. In particular, LCCA often utilizes information that is uncertain, ambiguous and incomplete, which is obtained from both existing databases and expert opinion. Consequently, fuzzy logic techniques were selected to enhance life-cycle cost analysis of transportation infrastructure investments because they provide a formal approach for the effective treatment of these types of information. The dissertation first proposes a fuzzy-logic-based decision-support model, whose inference rules can be customized according to agency's management policies and expert opinion. The feasibility and practicality of the proposed model is illustrated by its implementation in a life-cycle cost analysis algorithm for comparing and selecting pavement maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction (MR&R) policies. To enhance the traditional probabilistic LCCA model, the fuzzy-logic-based model is then incorporated into the risk analysis process. A fuzzy logic approach for determining the timing of pavement MR&R treatments in a probabilistic LCCA model for selecting pavement MR&R strategies is proposed. The proposed approach uses performance curves and fuzzy-logic triggering models to determine the most effective timing of pavement MR&R activities. The application of the approach in a case study demonstrates that the fuzzy-logic-based risk analysis model for LCCA can effectively produce results that are at least comparable to those of the benchmark methods while effectively considering some of the ambiguous uncertainty inherent to the process. Finally, the research establishes a systematic method to calibrate the fuzzy-logic based rehabilitation decision model using real cases extracted from the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database. By reinterpreting the model in the form of a neuro-fuzzy system, the calibration algorithm takes advantage of the learning capabilities of artificial neural networks for tuning the fuzzy membership functions and rules. The practicality of the method is demonstrated by successfully tuning the treatment selection model to distinguish between rehabilitation (light overlay) and do-nothing cases. / Ph. D.