Purpose: The spare part cost is one of the most important cost factors with which construct Life Cycle Cost. The LCSP(Life Cycle Sustainment Plan) Guidebook issued by Korea Ministry of Defense, however, suggests a simple equation to estimate the spare part cost using maintenance task frequencies and each part cost. Therefore, following the cost estimation method in the LCSP Guidebook may lead to an improper cost estimation result since both the hierarchical structure of the weapon system and the part discard rate are not considered. The purpose of this study is to develop a new life cycle cost estimation method for spare parts of weapon system during its life cycle.Methods: In this study, the detailed cost structure of spare parts is provided. Also a new spare part cost estimation methods for the each cost element are proposed, considering the hierarchical structure of weapon system and the part discard rate. And the proposed spare cost estimation methods are applied to K system for a case study.Results: Based on the case study of K system, the spare part cost estimation method, proposed by this study, shows that it can complement the estimation method suggested by the LCSP Guidebook. It also shows that it is applicable to the weapon systems for Korea armed forces.Conclusion: The proposed life cycle cost estimation method for spare parts has an advantage of estimating the spare part cost more accurately. It is expected to be useful in analyzing the procurement alternatives objectively and making up the Korea armed forces budget effectively.
Lee et al. (Sun,) studied this question.