ABSTRACT
Each year billions of dollars are spent to produce various types of engineering products. Past experiences indicate that, in many cases, the cost of procuring an engineering product is less than the cost of ownership over its life span. According to Blanchard, Verma, and Peterson [1], the hidden costs related to equipment operation and support can account for as high as 75% of the equipment life cycle cost. Maintenance, maintainability, usability, and warranty costs play an important role in the life cycle cost of an engineering product. Therefore, careful consideration must be given to estimating such costs.
