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APT-PROJECT

Cost/Risk Evaluation of projects, modifications and change proposals

Do you have a number of different projects COMPARING DIFFERENT


and change proposals, all competing for
limited budget and resources? PROJECTS OR INVESTMENTS
APT-PROJECT provides a ranked listing of competing
APT-PROJECT will: options, each evaluated for costs, risk and payback.

◆ Evaluate and demonstrate why Efficiency improvement ideas can


some proposals are not be compared with technology
worthwhile. upgrades, new operating
procedures ranked alongside plant
◆ Compare and prioritise modifications, acquisition of safety
dissimilar projects or equipment against environmental
modifications. treatment facilities. In all cases, the
common cost/risk basis allows
◆ Use range estimates and
direct comparison; a priority list is
engineering knowledge
generated and maintained for all
to the full.
investment opportunities - ranked
◆ Discover what data is worth by ‘value-for-money.’
collecting ands for what reason.

◆ Calculate the premium paid for safety, CHANGE CONTROL


legal compliance, public image and
APT-PROJECT is a valuable part of the Change
other intangibles.
Control process. As an initial filter, it can identify and
◆ Record the assumptions about anticipated prioritise worthwhile changes, showing where and
benefits at the time of justification. what costs and benefits might be encountered
(including the worst-case and best-case scenarios).

This forms a natural audit trail, underpinning the


SOFT DATA systematic Change Control procedure. Associated
The procedure helps engineers to think in business well-proven consultancy can help to merge APT-
terms. It does this by prompting considerations PROJECT into your specific process requirements.
of costs and benefits in the form of range
estimates, supported by in-house and cross industry
reference data. PROVEN IMPACT
Worst and best case interpretations are then used Developed over eight years of practical usage in
to evaluate the worth of the project against available several industries, APT-PROJECT has ensured that
resources and external constraints (such as legal consistent assumptions, safe use of range estimates
requirements or environmental obligations). and a sound business basis are used for justifying
expenditures.
The results are presented 'in value for money' terms,
either as simple payback or the more comprehensive In one case alone, some 1000 projects and change
Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return and other proposals were evaluated over a six month period
cost/benefit criteria. (average 1 hour per evaluation); 40% were clearly
shown to be uneconomic.

The rejected projects would otherwise have received


THE VALUE OF INTANGIBLES at least a preliminary engineering study, so a saving
Indirect benefits from a project (such as improved of £500,000 resulted. The ranking of approved
safety, employee morale, public opinion etc.) are projects was agreed by all and rejected proposals
evaluated also, by showing the 'premium paid' understood and accepted.
over and above the quantified benefits. This provides
a visible and consistent method for prioritising In an environment of ever increasing change, just
safety impact, the urgency of legal compliance and keeping track is hard enough. APT-PROJECT ensures
welfare objectives. that the right projects go ahead and the time
wasters do not.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS The analyses are held on a central database, allowing
sorting, ranking and prioritising by payback rates,
APT-PROJECT performs: NPV and other criteria. The database is structured
along Asset Management lines, allowing easy
➟ Discounted payback analysis,
navigation and exploration of associated projects,
➟ Net Present Value equipment or analyses.

➟ Internal Rate of Return


SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
➟ Profitability Index
APT-PROJECT is a PC or Network-based software tool. It
assessments, each with ‘worst case and ‘best case’ is a free-standing calculator utility, with a MS ACCESS™
testing for sensitivity. The software calculates the database to hold all studies and assumptions.
"premium paid for safety/intangibles" whenever
hard performance or risk benefits are insufficient to While the software itself is very easy to understand
justify the capital investments. This allows prioritising and operate, a one day training course in the
of legal compliance projects, or safety/intangible principles of cost/risk evaluation, the safe use of
objectives among the business-oriented alternatives. weak or ‘soft data and in change control processes is
available and recommended.

ASSET PERFORMANCE
TOOLKIT
APT-PROJECT is just one of a unique range
of cost/risk evaluation and optimisation tools,
developed as part of the DTI/European MACRO
project (a $2Million R&D programme involving the
leading companies in many industries). Other
methods and tools in this range include:

APT-MAINTENANCE: cost/risk evaluation of


planned maintenance, optimal intervals, preventive,
predictive or reactive strategies.
APT-INSPECTION: optimum inspection, condition
monitoring and testing strategies, optimal condition
CUSTOMISED ASSISTANCE reaction points, alternative monitoring methods.
The incorporated financial procedures are carefully
APT-SCHEDULE: shutdown strategies, optimum
designed for non-financial personnel (engineers,
task grouping and timing, opportunity evaluations
technicians and operators) and include customisable and work planning constraints.
look-up facilities for reference data. Such ‘assist’
functions include APT-LIFESPAN: asset replacement decisions, repair-
versus-replace options, life extension work,
◆ risk data (failure rates, incident frequencies alternative designs.
and probability information)
APT-SPARES: strategic and slow-moving spares
◆ cost data (standard rates for labour, strategies, optimum stock levels, ‘pooling’ options,
contractors, equipment hire, facilities etc.) alternative suppliers.
APT-STOCK: consumables and materials purchasing
◆ unavailability consequences (downtime costs, strategies, min/max stock, reorder quantities, supply
lost opportunity costs, penalties, intangibles). options, storage requirements.
Many of the software functions are selectable-
As part of a continuing improvement programme, Asset Performance Tools
allowing restricted access to sophisticated capability, or Ltd reserves the right to change the above specifications without notice.
safer and easy-to-understand functions for normal
daily usage. Such features include the finite/infinite
project lifespan, staged expenditures, deferred benefits
and several of the financial calculation features.

Asset Performance Tools Ltd.


Headley Common Road, Nr. Newbury, Berkshire RG19 8LT
Tel. +44 (0)118 979 6505 Fax. +44 (0)1635 268812
© Asset Performance Tools Ltd. 1999

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