Van Walt Ltd Logger for Life Data Collection

The TOTAL cost of ownership of equipment Capital: (the purchase price of the equipment) If it’s cheap always buy? It depends on the length of the project Maintenance What is it? (a water level logger requires much less maintenance than a multiparameter system) (Shelf) life of components (for example a pH sensor, a PID lamp) The more it is used the less (unexpected) maintenance you will need Cost of Storage (when not in use) Administration Stock Control Allocation of capex to a project Verification/Calibration Updates (think of a laptop that has not been used for 6 months) Depreciation

Some advice The more you use the equipment, the cheaper the cost of ownership It costs more to store than to deploy If you do not have dedicated store room and maintenance staff don’t own equipment

To buy or not to buy It depends…. What is the length of the project? Can the equipment be re-used on another project? What is the purchase price? How big is it? How much maintenance does it require? Allocation to the next project: a caution How many projects start on time and finish on time? How often does the next project start immediately at the end of the previous project? Does each project require the same config? Sometimes, often, rarely

Do I buy this equipment to deliver results, information, data? Why own equipment? Ask yourself: Do I buy this equipment to own? Or Do I buy equipment because I need it? Do I buy this equipment to deliver results, information, data?

The “Logger for Life” concept A maintained long term rental Minimum term is 6 months Charges are invoiced monthly in advance Advantages Easy to budget Easy for you to quote Cost-effective solution No repair costs (if it breaks/malfunctions just have it replaced) Can include regular exchanges (calibration/verification) on a like for like basis If the project over-runs then continue with monthly payments If the project finishes early send the equipment back and the monthly charges stop Monthly charge includes everything except: Site visits Loss or vandalism

The “Logger for Life” concept Disadvantages You never own the equipment The equipment is likely to have been used before (not necessarily new) For longer term projects likely to be more expensive than owning Cut off +/- 3 years? Not really suitable for low cost items (<£ 500) Not available for every product

The “Logger for Life” concept An Example: 24 month project Measurement of Level, pH, ORP, Temperature, EC, DO Telemetered hourly to desktop The equipment vanwaltDataHub Telemetry system with solar array AquaTroll 500 with all required parameters Web interface Purchase price: £ 7120, add 15% for repairs during the period £ 1070, Total £8190 Logger for Life: £ 285 per month, for the project duration 24 month Total £6840 When does warranty expire? A month before a malfunction

The “Logger for Life” concept An Example: 9 month project Measurement of Level, pH, ORP, Temperature, EC, DO Telemetered hourly to desktop The equipment vanwaltDataHub Telemetry system with solar array AquaTroll 500 with all required parameters Web interface Purchase price: £ 6900, add 15% for repairs during the period £ 0, Total £6900 Logger for Life: £ 285 per month, for the project duration 9 months Total £2565

And to finish…. Van Walt’s new movie 

Questions?