ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: It is widely accepted that life cycle cost optimization (LCCO) based on the sound principles of decision analysis yields civil engineering designs that are optimal from the point of view of safety and economy. LCCO allows us to design infrastructure providing a balanced solution between what we can afford to pay for structural safety, and what we should afford to pay for acceptable safety. But in finding an optimal compromise between the two conflicting objectives of safety and economy, a decision analytical framework such as LCCO requires stakeholders to agree on a wide range of consequences or "costs" that are, generally speaking, not easy to quantify. We are referring mainly to indirect economic losses such as consequences related to death, maiming, injury, loss oflongterm income, emotional distress, loss of valuables and social disruptions.
