Question: Oil spill cleanup costs for a nation

> In capital budgeting, when the present worth over the respective life of each project is used to select independent projects, all positive net cash flows are assumed to be: (a) Reinvested at the MARR through the end of the shortest-lived project (b) Rein

> Determine the first cost of a machine that is used for making spill-containment pallets if its book value in year 3 is $25,000. The machine has a 5-year life and the double declining balance method is applied.

> What is meant by an asset’s unadjusted basis? Adjusted basis?

> Software and hardware for optimizing cell design of robotic picking lines have an installed cost of $78,000 with no residual value after 5 years. For years 2 and 4, use DDB book depreciation to determine (a) the depreciation charge, and (b) the book valu

> A special-purpose digitizing system just acquired by Bzybee Consultants has B = $50,000 and a 4-year recovery period. (a) What is the accumulated depreciation after year 3 if the salvage value of the system is $5000? (b) What is the total amount of depre

> An asset owned by Photon Environmental was book-depreciated by the straight line method over a 5-year period with book values of $296,000 and $224,000 in years 2 and 3, respectively. Determine (a) the salvage value S used in the calculation, and (b) the

> Kobi Technologies book-depreciated an asset at $27,500 per year for 4 years using the straight line method. If the book value at the end of year 2 was $65,000, determine the asset’s (a) salvage value, and (b) first cost.

> A company that manufactures pulse doppler insertion flow meters uses the straight line method for book depreciation purposes. Newly-acquired equipment has a first cost of $170,000 with a 3-year life and $20,000 salvage value. Determine the depreciation c

> Goodson Healthcare purchased a new sonogram imaging unit for $300,000 and a truck body and chassis for an additional $100,000 to make the unit mobile. The unit-truck system will be depreciated as one asset. The functional life is 8 years, and the salvage

> What is the depreciation rate dt each year t for an asset that has a 5-year recovery period and is straight line depreciated?

> How does tax depreciation affect income taxes?

> A dependent project is one whose acceptance or rejection is based on: (a) Its rate of return with respect to the MARR (b) The amount of capital available for investment (c) A decision about another project (d) The amount receivable in salvage value of th

> The preliminary cost for a 50,000 ft2 aircraft hangar must be estimated. (a) The first unit estimate was $98.23 per square foot. Estimate the cost of the hangar. (b) The budget limit came in at $4 million. Perform two analyses: determine the maximum allo

> In the early and conceptual design stages of a project, what are the cost estimates called? Approximately how close should they be to the actual cost?

> Classify the following costs as typically direct (D) or indirect (I): Project staff……………………………….Audit and legal Utilities……………………………………..Rent Raw materials…………………………….Training on equipment Project supplies…………………………..Labor Administrative staff……………………..M

> Jet Green Airways historically distributes the indirect costs of lost and damaged baggage to its three major hubs using a basis of annual number of flights in and out of each hub. Last year, $667,500 was distributed as follows: The airlineâ€&#

> Jet Green Airways historically distributes the indirect costs of lost and damaged baggage to its three major hubs using a basis of annual number of flights in and out of each hub. Last year, $667,500 was distributed as follows: The airlineâ€&#

> Jet Green Airways historically distributes the indirect costs of lost and damaged baggage to its three major hubs using a basis of annual number of flights in and out of each hub. Last year, $667,500 was distributed as follows: The airlineâ€&#

> Identify the output and input variables in both the bottom-up and top-down strategies to cost estimation.

> A company has a processing department with 10 stations. Because of the nature and use of three of these stations, each is considered a separate cost center for IDC allocation. The remaining seven are grouped as one cost center, CC190. Operating hours are

> The company you work for currently allocates insurance costs on the basis of cost per direct labor hour. This indirect cost component for the year is budgeted at $36,000. If the annual direct labor hours for departments A, B, and C are expected to be 200

> During a major expansion in 2004, Douwalla’s Import Company developed a new processing line for which the delivered equipment cost was $1.75 million. This year, the board of directors decided to expand into new markets and expects to build the current ve

> The six independent projects shown below are presented to you as an engineer with Peyton Packing. There are capital budget constraints because the company always has more projects to engage in than it has capital to fund them. Therefore, Peyton uses a re

> The delivered equipment cost for a fully equipped CNC machining system is $1.6 million. The direct cost factor is 1.52 and the indirect cost factor is 0.31. Estimate the total plant cost if the indirect cost factor applies to (a) the delivered equipment

> A chemical engineer at Western Refining estimated the total cost for a diesel fuel desulfurization system at $2.3 million. If the direct cost factor is 1.55 and the indirect cost factor is 0.43, what is the total equipment cost? Both factors apply to del

> The total cost for a production plant that supplies hydrogen to the refining industry is estimated at $55.4 million. The equipment is expected to cost $17.8 million. (a) What is the overall cost factor for this type of plant? (b) What is included in the

> The cost of equipment for manufacturing mineral products in a harsh environment is $2.3 million. If the overall cost factor for this type of facility is 2.25, what is the estimated total plant cost?

> State whether actual (A) or estimated (E) costs are more likely to be used to carry out the following activities: calculate taxes, make bids, pay bonuses, determine profit or loss, predict sales, set prices, evaluate proposals, distribute resources, plan

> A mini-wind tunnel for calibrating vane or hotwire anemometers costs $3750 in 2011 when the Marshall and Swift (M&S) equipment cost index value was 1490.2. If True-Tech Instruments estimated the cost of a wind tunnel twice as large to be $10,200 in 2016,

> Estimate the cost in 2018 of a 1000-horsepower steam turbine air compressor if a 200-horsepower unit costs $160,000 in 1999. The exponent in the cost capacity equation is 0.35 and the equipment cost index increased by 35% over that time period.

> The cost for construction of a desulfurization system for flue gas from boilers at a 600 MW power plant was estimated to be $250 million. If a similar system for a smaller plant had a cost of $55 million and the exponent in the cost-capacity equation is

> The estimated cost for a multi tube cyclone system with a capacity of 60,000 cubic feet per minute is $450,000. (a) If the $200,000 actual cost for a 35,000 cubic feet per minute system was used in the cost-capacity equation, what was the value of the ex

> The cost for implementing a manufacturing process that has a capacity of 6000 units per day was $550,000. If the cost for a plant with a capacity of 100,000 units per day was $3 million, what is the value of the exponent in the cost-capacity equation?

> If the capital budget limit is $120,000, the MARR is 10% per year, and all projects have a 10-year life, rank and select from the independent projects using the (a) PI measure, (b) IROR measure, and (c) PW at the MARR. (d) Are different projects selected

> What is the value of the exponent in the cost capacity equation if a pump half the size of a similar, but larger one, costs exactly half as much as the larger one?

> Estimate the cost of a 0.75 million gallon per day (MGD) induced-draft packed tower for air-stripping trihalomethanes from drinking water if the cost for a 2-MGD tower is $153,200. The exponent in the cost capacity equation is 0.58.

> When competition is the dominant factor in pricing a product or service, what is the best cost estimation strategy to adopt?

> What is the fundamental difference between estimating costs using a CER and a cost index?

> A quadrupole mass spectrometer can be purchased today for $85,000. The owner of a mineral analysis laboratory expects the cost to increase exactly by the specialty laboratory equipment cost index over the next 10 years. (a) If the specialty equipment inf

> A survey of total project construction costs for a wide range of buildings (hospitals, schools, banks, nursing homes, etc.) in 2006 found that the average cost was $13,136,431. The mechanical and electrical portions of that cost were $2,511,893 and $1,58

> An engineer who owns a construction company that specializes in large commercial projects noticed that material costs increased at a rate of 2% per quarter over the past 2 years. If a material cost index were created for that 2-year period with the value

> The Marshall and Swift (M&S) equipment cost index started with a base value of 100 in 1926. Determine the average (compound) percentage increase per year between 1926 and 2011 when the index value was 1490.2.

> A consulting engineering firm is preparing a preliminary cost estimate for a 40-MW advanced combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant. The firm, which completed a similar project in 2012 with a total cost (construction and equipment) of $809.2 million

> The cost of a piece of equipment was $67,900 when the relevant cost index was 1457.4. Determine the index value when the same equipment was estimated to cost $83,400?

> An estimated 6 billion gallons of clean drinking water disappear each day across the United States due to aging, leaky pipes, and water mains before it gets to the consumer or industrial user. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has teamed wit

> Identify the following cost elements as first-cost (FC) components or annual operating cost (AOC) components for a piece of equipment in a chemical processing plant: rent, direct labor, equipment overhaul, overhead, supplies, insurance, equipment cost, u

> AB Jackson Industries installed a compressor and pump system in 2010 at a cost of $87,200. If the FRED equipment cost index applies, what will be the estimated cost now for a similar system when the index value is 273?

> The FRED CPI Index (Table 15–3) can be used to predict the price of household items over the years. In 2011, Sandy and Malcolm purchased a combo clothes washing machine and dryer for $800. Assume it is now 2018 and the combo system has

> Equipment necessary to manufacture adjustable ball-lock pins for pulling two components together had a cost of $185,000 when the FRED Equipment Cost Index was 210.0. What was the estimated cost of a similar system in 2015 when the index value was 245.9?

> The Department of Defense uses area cost factors (ACFs) to compensate for differences in construction costs in different parts of the country (and world). The area cost factor for Waianae, Hawaii is 2.19 and for Moody, Alabama is 0.83. If a cold-storage

> A labor crew for placing concrete consists of one labor foreman at $26.70 per hour, one cement finisher at $29.30 per hour, five laborers at $24.45 per hour each, and one equipment operator at $33.95 per hour. Such a crew, called a C20 crew, can place 16

> Estimate the total cost of a house (from purchasing a lot to furnishing it) using the following estimates: Cost Data House Data Purchasing a lot = $2.50/ft2………… Lot size = 100 × 150 ft Construction =

> Low, medium, and high cost estimates for a 30,000 ft2 apartment building in zip code 79912 are $3,111,750, $3,457,500, and 4,321,875, respectively. (a) What is the cost per square foot for the medium cost estimate, and (b) what is the percent increase be

> The cost for 4′′ diameter auger holes in earth is $18.85 per linear foot, but if they are cased, the cost is $69.18 per linear foot. What is the estimated cost for a 570-foot cased 4′′ boring?

> Selex Aerospace is considering five independent projects to improve net revenue as estimated below. (All estimates have been divided by $1000.) The company’s MARR is 15% per year. Use a handbased solution and a spreadsheet-based analysi

> Rank the following estimate types in terms of accuracy of the estimate from least accurate (1) to most accurate (5): partially designed, design 60% to 100% complete, order of magnitude, scoping/ feasibility, detailed estimate.

> The federal-level Pell Grant program provides financial aid to needy college students. The grant increases annually to account for inflation. The maximum total Pell Grant award increased from $5550 to $5,730 from 2013 to 2015. (a) What was the average in

> For many years, college cost (including tuition, fees, room, and board) increases have been higher than the inflation rate, averaging 5% to 8% per year. According to the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing, the average total costs in 2015 dollars w

> The lease cost for a specialized highway design software package is estimated to be $13,000 for each of years 1, 2, and 3 (future dollars). (a) Calculate the CV amount today (year 0) of each future cost estimate at the inflation rate of 6% per year. (b)

> In an effort to reduce pipe breakage, water hammer, and product agitation, a French chemical company plans to install several chemically resistant pulsation dampeners. The cost of the dampeners today is €106,000, but the chemical company has to wait unti

> Determine today’s purchasing power of $1,000,000 thirty years in the future, if if = 15% per year and f = 5% per year.

> Factors that increase costs and prices—especially for materials and manufacturing costs sensitive to market, technology, and labor availability—can be considered separately using the real interest rate, i, the inflation rate, f, and additional increases

> How many future dollars 10 years from now will have the same buying power as $10,000 today? The market interest rate is 12% per year and the inflation rate is 7% per year.

> The cost of constructing a roundabout (R/A) in a low-traffic residential neighborhood 5 years ago was $625,000. A civil engineer designing another R/A that is almost the same design estimates the cost today will be $740,000. If the cost had increased onl

> A salesman from Industrial Water Services (IWS), who is trying to get his foot in the door of Westco Refining, offered electro-dialysis equipment for $2.5 million. This is $800,000 more than the price offered by a competing saleswoman from AG Enterprises

> There are five independent projects that must be evaluated on the basis of the profitability index. (a) Given an investment limit of $35 million and a MARR of 10% per year, select from the projects. (b) Write the spreadsheet function for a project, speci

> A doctor is on contract to a medium-sized oil company to provide medical services at remotely located, widely separated refineries. The doctor is considering the purchase of a private plane to reduce the total travel time between refineries. The doctor c

> A grandfather is planning to leave his only granddaughter well off when she reaches the age of 25. He plans to deposit a lump sum now, which is her second birthday, such that she will have enough money to live comfortably without working. He wants her to

> Compare the alternatives below on the basis of their capitalized costs with adjustments made for inflation. Use i =12% per year and f = 3% per year.

> In an inflationary period, what is the difference between (a) inflated dollars and “then-current” future dollars, and (b) “then-current” future dollars and constant-value future dollars?

> Because retail supermarket corporations operate on a low ROR, it is common to use a market MARR of about 3% per year. What real return rate is implied from a market interest rate of 3% per year when the annual inflation rate is 4% per year? Explain your

> Calculate the inflation-adjusted interest rate when the annualized inflation rate is 7% per year and the real interest rate is 4% per year.

> The new CEO of a high-tech incubator company wants to entice venture capitalists by promising a growth rate of 40% per year for at least 3 years. Therefore, the company’s MARR was set at 40%. If this ROR was actually realized, but the CEO did not account

> Cellgene Biometrics, a small biotech company, uses a MARR of 40% per year when evaluating new investments. If the inflation rate is 9% per year, what will the real rate of return be, provided it realizes its optimistic MARR objective?

> α-β, Inc., a high-tech company in San Diego, whose stock trades on the NYSE exchange, uses a MARR of 25% per year. If the chief financial officer (CFO) said the company expects to make a real rate of return of 20% per year on its investments over the nex

> If a 3D printer increased in cost at exactly the inflation rate, what was the inflation rate if the printer costs exactly twice as much now as it did 10 years ago?

> Claris Water Company makes and sells filters for water drinking fountains for the public. The filter sells for $50. Recently a make/buy analysis was done based on the need for new manufacturing equipment. The equipment first cost of $200,000 and $25,000

> During periods of hyperinflation, prices increase rapidly over short periods of time. One of the worst cases of hyperinflation in history occurred in Zimbabwe in 2008 where prices doubled every day. If that rate continued for just 1 week, how much would

> In 2015, a retired person in the United States who received maximum social security benefits got $2699 per month, which represented a 1.7% cost of living adjustment (COLA) over 2014. (a) Determine the monthly benefit in 2018 if the COLA adjustments are 1

> Emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) reached an all-time high of 36.9 gigatons in 2014, a 2.5% increase over 2013. The International Energy Agency said this further reduces the chance that the world could avoid a dangerous rise in global avera

> The Bank of England has an inflation calculator website that uses the UK price index to show how the cost of goods and services has changed since 1750. The website reveals that something that cost £10,000 in 1920 cost £7984 in 1940. What was the average

> The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a website (www.bls.gov) that contains a Consumer Price Index inflation calculator that uses the average CPI to adjust the purchasing power of money over different periods of time. The CPI index value has been calculated

> Jack has tracked the annual inflation rate (shown below) for a top-rated sportsman-level fishing outfit that he has always hoped to own. It cost $1000 ten years ago, but he could not afford it over the intervening years. (a) Estimate the cost now, which

> An engineer who is now 65 years old began planning for retirement 40 years ago. At that time, he thought that if he had $1 million when he retired, he would have more than enough money to live his remaining life in luxury. Assume the inflation rate over

> A multinational security software company is planning an overseas expansion that will cost $50 million of today’s dollars 3 years from now. Due to a robust economy in Europe, the cost is expected to increase by 15% per year in each of the next 3 years. A

> A recently graduated mechanical engineer wants to build a reserve fund as a safety net to pay his expenses in the unlikely event that an unexpected emergency arises. His aim is to have $45,000 developed over the next 3 years, with the proviso that the am

> For a present sum of $750,000, what is the annual worth (in then-current dollars) in years 1 through 5 if the market interest rate is 10% per year and the inflation rate is 5% per year?

> The Ecology Group wishes to purchase a piece of equipment for recycling of various metals. Machine 1 costs $123,000, has a life of 10 years, an annual cost of $5000, and requires one operator at a cost of $24 per hour. It can process 10 tons per hour. Ma

> Verify the 5-year recovery period rates for MACRS given in Table 16–2. Start with the DDB method in year 1, and switch to SL depreciation when it offers a larger recovery rate. Solve by hand and spreadsheet using B = $1 and S = 0.

> In wisely planning for your retirement, you invest $12,000 per year for 20 years into a 401-k investment account. (a) How much can you withdraw each year for 10 years, starting 1 year after your last deposit, if you want a real return of 10% per year whe

> A European-based cattle genetics engineering research lab is planning for a major expenditure on research equipment. The lab needs $5 million of today’s dollars so that it can make the acquisition 4 years from now. The inflation rate is steady at 5% per

> A DSL company has made an equipment investment of $40 million with the expectation that it will be recovered in 10 years. The company has a MARR based on a real rate of return of 12% per year. If inflation is 7% per year, how much must the company make e

> Aquatech Microsystems spent $183,000 for a communications protocol to achieve interoperability among its utility systems. The company uses a real interest rate of 15% per year on such investments and a recovery period of 5 years. (a) What is the annual w

> A UK-based life insurance company will pay a cash-value sum of £500,000 when the insured reaches the age of 65. The insured will be 65 years old 27 years from today. (a) Determine the cash value of the £500,000 in CV purchasing power, assuming inflation

> Mid-Valley Industrial Extension Service, a state-sponsored agency, provides water quality sampling services to all business and industrial firms in a 10-county region. Last month, the service purchased all necessary lab equipment for full in-house testin

> A top-of-the-line 3D printer costs $40,000 today. The manufacturer plans to raise the price so that a real rate of return of 5% per year is realized. In a period of 4% per year inflation, how much will the printer cost 3 years from now in terms of CV dol

> You just made an investment in an insurance policy that is guaranteed to pay you $1.8 million 20 years from now provided you live that long. What will be the purchasing power of that amount with respect to today’s dollars if the market interest rate is 8

> An offshore services company is considering the purchase of equipment that has a cost today of $96,000. Inflation is a concern. The manufacturer plans to raise the price exactly in accordance with the inflation rate that may be somewhere between 1% and 8

> To retire at a decent age and move to Hawaii, an engineer plans to trust her account to an investment firm that promises to make a real rate of return of 10% per year when the inflation rate is 4% per year. If the account currently is valued at $422,000

> Rincon, LLC is considering a project that will require an initial investment of $750,000 with estimated net income of $135,000 per year for 10 years. (a) Determine the IROR, PI, and PW values at MARR = 12% per year. (b) For which of these measures is the