A parametric cost model for estimating operating and support costs of US Navy (Non-Nuclear) surface ships
By: by James M. Brandt
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 173
Description: With few effective decision-making tools to assess the affordability of major weapon systems, management of total ownership costs is continually misunderstood. Cost analysis provides a quick and reliable assessment of affordability. Because there is no standardized method for calculating reliable estimates of operating and support (O&S) costs (the principal component of total ownership cost), this thesis formulates a parametric cost model which can be used to determine the annual O&S costs of U.S. Navy (non-nuclear) surface ships based on known (or assumed) physical characteristics and manpower expectations. Source data for the cost model is obtained from the Navy Visibility and Management of O&S Costs (VAMOSC) database, a historical cost database maintained by the Naval Center for Cost Analysis (NCCA). Through standard regression and data analysis techniques, cost estimating relationships are developed for three major cost drivers: ship light displacement, ship overall length, and ship manpower. The formulated parametric cost model is a top-level and fairly reliable representation of average annual O&S cost, and it can be used by the DOD cost community to perform component cost analyses or independent cost estimates.
Notes: "June 1999".

Thesis advisor(s): Timothy P. Anderson, Samuel E. Buttrey

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research) Naval Postgraduate School, June 1999.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 171).

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Also avaliable online.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Abode Acrobat reader.

US Navy (USN) author.

dk/dk cc:9116 08/02/99