Cost of ownership model for inspection of multiple quality attributes

Procurement decisions for inspection equipment are often made heavily based on the initial purchase price instead of the effects of inspection cost, equipment calibration, and utilization over the lifetime. Cost of ownership (COO) models that take into account all of these cost factors together have been developed focusing on a single quality characteristic. In the modern manufacturing environment, inspection equipment often can deal with more than one quality characteristic simultaneously. The authors propose a revised COO model for the economic evaluation of inspection equipment that can accommodate multiple quality characteristics. They also employ an engineering economy model to compare equipment with different life spans. Software is developed for handy comparison of the COO of alternative equipment along with sensitivity analysis for the optimal procurement decision.