Offshore Communications
AccountGuest Edition My Account My Che.com Log In
  Adv. Search

Archives :: Business & Economics :: Cost Engineering

Displaying 1 - 20 of 26 stories.
May 1, 2013
Compressors: Pursuing Lowest Cost of Ownership
A variety of technologies, methods and best practices are available to obtain the lowest total cost of ownership for compressors used in plants throughout the chemical process industries (CPI). This article discusses several critical areas in which concerted effort can help to reduce the overall cost of ownership.    Specifying compressors The ability to carry out proper shop-based performance...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Compressors-Pursuing-Lowest-Cost-of-Ownership_10473.html
February 1, 2013
Sizing, Specifying and Selecting Centrifugal Pumps
Determining the proper preliminary size for centrifugal pumps during the initial stages of any pump-specification exercise requires numerous calculations and assumptions. This article reviews the steps needed to size centrifugal pumps during the early stages of a project, to support initial cost-estimation efforts. Such early pump-sizing efforts are important steps toward final pump selection and detailed...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Sizing-Specifying-and-Selecting-Centrifugal-Pumps_10179.html
January 1, 2012
Total Cost Analysis Aids Purchasing Negotiations
Maximizing value during the procurement of equipment assets and raw materials is critical to the business functions of companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). Today’s tough economic environment places added pressure on chemical engineers to secure the best value for money spent on design and equipment. Whether the items your company needs are chemicals, pieces of equipment or skid-mounted...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Total-Cost-Analysis-Aids-Purchasing-Negotiations_8838.html
November 1, 2011
Piping: Minimizing the Risk of 'Pre-buys'
To stay on budget, major capital projects often call for aggressive schedules. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors often end up using work processes that are not part of an established or standard work procedure. This is especially true when it comes to acquiring materials to support the schedule, particularly for critical paths related to the piping design, supply, fabricate and...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Piping-Minimizing-the-Risk-of-Pre-buys_8617.html
September 27, 2011
Reducing Your Tax Burden
In today’s economy, businesses have become more cash-conscious. The focus on expenses has become increasingly important to the bottom line. Typically, the top three business expenses are wages, raw material costs and taxes. If jobs are cut, or raw material purchases are reduced, margins may be salvaged in the short term, but over a period of time, lack of inventory and production shutdowns can prove...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Reducing-Your-Tax-Burden_8498.html
August 1, 2011
Evaluating Capital Cost Estimation Programs
Capital cost assessment is an integral part of process design when building or expanding a chemical process plant. It is required to provide project analysis and evaluation, to select among alternative designs, to plan the appropriation of funds and to serve as a basis for project cost control. Capital cost estimation is also important for an engineerng student’s final design project. The accuracy of...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Evaluating-Capital-Cost-Estimation-Programs_8359.html
March 28, 2011
Acquisition Creates a Full Cost Control and Forecasting Package
PCMS and Track, two cost-control software packages used in petroleum refining, chemical and petrochemical industries, have joined forces. Management Controls, Inc., the owner of Track, has acquired PCMS (Project Control Management System). Users will soon...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Acquisition-Creates-a-Full-Cost-Control-and-Forecasting-Package_6601.html
March 28, 2011
This Web-based design tool can reduce project development costs
A newly launched front-end design tool from this company allows for rapid development and evaluation of capital project options in the process industries. The software tool integrates flowsheet development, 3-D layout, factored...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/This-Web-based-design-tool-can-reduce-project-development-costs_7442.html
February 1, 2011
Owners and contractors: Key Metrics Improve Performance
Throughout the chemical process industries (CPI), project owners often track key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that all participants are able to attain or improve important performance objectives associated with their investments. For instance, for complex projects involving various contractors and sub-contractors, the predetermined expectations spelled out in the agreed-upon set of KPIs allow...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Owners-and-contractors-Key-Metrics-Improve-Performance_6376.html
December 1, 2010
Project design decision-making: Option lists
Most of the more than $100 billion in capital spending and $1.2 trillion in prodution costs spent annually by the chemical process industries (CPI) is committed by decisions made in the early phases of process development and plant design. A more disciplined approach to decision-making that fosters early attention to costs and more thorough consideration of available options has the potential to lower...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Project-design-decision-making-Option-lists_6192.html
July 1, 2010
Conservation economics: Carbon pricing impacts
Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continues to be a major issue in national and international public policy, as well as a major focus for companies in the chemical process industries (CPI). Many countries are considering systems that place a price on GHG emissions through a carbon cap-and-trade system, for example. In an environment where GHG emissions have a given price, certain energy...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Conservation-economics-Carbon-pricing-impacts_5799.html
July 1, 2010
Bio-Based Chemicals Get Real
With bio-based chemical production growing, and several newer companies ready to enter commercial production, indications are that biologically derived chemicals will be an increasing force in the petrochemicals market. But bio-based chemical producers must confront the bottom-line requirements of product performance and cost, rather than riding their products’ environmental benefits. Susan Sun...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Bio-Based-Chemicals-Get-Real_5802.html
February 1, 2010
Variable frequency drives: An Algorithm for Selecting VFDs for Centrifugal Pumps
This article describes an algorithm that end users can use to develop a program on a personal computer to assess the technical and economic feasibility of installing a variable frequency drive (VFD) on centrifugal pumps. This simple algorithm serves a variety of useful functions, helping engineers to carry out the following functions: Check the technical feasibility and evaluate whether or not it is...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Variable-frequency-drives-An-Algorithm-for-Selecting-VFDs-for-Centrifugal-Pumps_5445.html
January 1, 2010
Capital And Production Costs: Improving the Bottom Line
The chemical process industries (CPI) invest large amounts of capital each year and spend even more to produce the goods they sell. In 2007, CPI companies large enough to be in the Fortune 500 list invested more than $100 billion of capital and spent more than $1.2 trillion making their products. Most of this money is committed by decisions made in the early stages of process development and plant design...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Capital-And-Production-Costs-Improving-the-Bottom-Line_5403.html
November 1, 2009
De-emphasize Capital Costs For Pipe Size Selection
Piping represents a major cost for projects in the chemical process industries (CPI). Larger pipe diameters increase upfront capital costs for a project, but the lower pressure drops afforded by large pipes mean less power is required to move the fluid through the pipe. Optimizing pipe diameter becomes an exercise in balancing the capital cost savings realized by using smaller pipes with the power required...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/De-emphasize-Capital-Costs-For-Pipe-Size-Selection_5238.html
May 1, 2009
Postscripts, corrections
April 2009, Capital Costs Quickly Calculated, pp. 46 – 52: In three places in the box at the top of p. 47, the factor 0.8...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Postscripts-corrections_4758.html
April 1, 2009
Capital Costs Quickly Calculated
A chemical executive once noted that his firm derives one-third of its income from products that are less than ten years old. Indeed, existing companies thrive and new ones proliferate through innovation and product improvement. They depend on scientists and engineers working "in the trenches" or "at the bench" to drive development. Yet, most potential innovations never succeed...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Capital-Costs-Quickly-Calculated_4654.html
January 15, 2008
Newsfront: CPI Capital Spending Outlook for 2008 & 2009
  At the beginning of 2008, it’s clear that global economic growth is slowing. The housing downturn has adversely affected the U.S., and the ensuing credit problems (and tightening) have spread to other nations. A key issue is whether or not the weakness has done enough damage to tip the economy toward recession. The general consensus is that it is likely that the U.S. will avoid a downturn but...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Newsfront-CPI-Capital-Spending-Outlook-for-2008-and-2009_3598.html
November 15, 2007
It's a Small World
The globalization of the economy is making the world a smaller place and leading businesses — the chemical process industries (CPI) included — to source, produce and sell material in foreign lands. Politics aside, the trend has the potential to wreak havoc on the supply chain, logistics and transportation operations of chemical corporations unless strategies that increase collaboration and...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Its-a-Small-World_3493.html
April 1, 2007
Target Costing
    Free trade agreements, global manufacturing standards and the Internet have made it possible for companies to do business in countries they would not have considered 20 years ago. Open is a world of opportunity, but for processors of pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other materials that must meet high standards of product purity and performance, the competition is stiffer than ever as...
http://www.che.com/business_and_economics/cost_engineering/Target-Costing_3342.html
Pages:  [1] 2 Next »

Get more from Che.com
Get email updates in your inbox

Join us on...
Twitter LinkedIn

Subscribe to:
Print & Digital Issues
Official Publication of:

LinkedIn Groups

Our LinkedIn group is now 5,000 members strong!

  1. Join other CPI professionals from all over the globe and share best practices, expertise, concerns and more.
  2. Provide feedback to Chemical Engineering Editors


Current members represent Worley Parsons, DuPont, SABIC, Fluor, Air Products, LyondellBasell, Nalco, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning, BASF, Jacobs Engineering, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and more.

Join Now



We also offer the three following subgroups for more targeted discussion:
Tools
Search the Buyers' Guide

Plant Cost Index

Facts at Your Fingertips (archive)

Ask the Experts

Back Issues
X
To access this area, please log in or create an account.
Username:
Password:
Forgot your password?
Request it now.
Processing...