The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is an accepted approach to gather all the costs associated with ownership of a facility over its life. The inputs to TCO are drawn from several sources and require transparency and collaboration. However, as several of these inputs are forecasts, the resultant TCO is affected by the accuracy of the input data as well as changes to the input data over time. TCO is not static, it requires periodic recalculation and review to ensure accuracy. Like Earned Value Analysis, updated information results in changes to the TCO projections. When TCO is first calculated, assumptions are made about annual expenditures for operations and utilities as well as the life cycle and renewal costs for the many components and systems. Deviations in annual expenditures can be magnified over time resulting in significant under or over valuation of TCO. Likewise, assumed life cycles may be inaccurate and affect TCO. Examples of TCO sensitivity to annual expenditures and other assumptions will be presented as well as opportunities for research into TCO variability. Attendees will learn about TCO, the sensitivity TCO to variations of the inputs, and where to pay attention to inputs and measurements.

Learning objectives

Attendees will be able to:

1. Describe the five elements of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
2. Calculate the values that comprise TCO
3. Identify factors that affect annual cost inputs to TCO
4. Demonstrate how annual cost inputs change over time