Advanced composites manufacturing cost estimation decision support system

The increased use of advanced composites in aerospace manufacturing has led to the development of new production processes and technology. The implementation of advanced composites manufacturing technology has been poorly served by traditional cost accounting methods, which distort costs by misallocations using inappropriate volume-based measures. Activity-based costing has emerged as a methodology which provides for more appropriate allocation of costs to products or activities by their consumption of company resources. Better designs may also be produced if designers could evaluate the cost implications of their choices early in the design process. This paper details ongoing research which seeks to develop a methodology whereby companies can improve product cost estimation at the conceptual design phase, using intelligent searching and arrangement of existing accounting data to enable designers to access the activity cost information more readily. The concept has considerable scope for application in industry because it will allow companies to make better use of information which is already being recorded in their information systems, by providing it in a form which will enable designers to make better decisions during the design process. The decision support framework will be illustrated by applying it to a suitable problem in aerospace composites manufacturing.