Abstract
A construction company without a similar information technology (IT) system in the past has insufficient historical data to use for investment decision-making of IT system. An estimation of maintenance costs is especially more uncertain than the initial investment costs, and the uncertainty is greater when the IT system is used over a long period, such as an enterprise system (ES). This study proposes estimation criteria for the maintenance costs of an ES for an accurate investment decision. First, the causes of maintenance are determined, and the level of maintenance analyzed. Then, the result is compared with a general trend of maintenance incidence (bathtub curve) that is widely used as reference criteria to estimate maintenance cost. The level of maintenance was high during the early stage but steadily decreased in the middle and end stage because high-cost maintenance activities were postponed with the approach of the time in which the ES was being restructured. This trend is different from the bathtub curve that increases again during the end stage. Thus, when a maintenance contract is negotiated, the maintenance level that affects maintenance cost should be considered as well as the incidence of maintenance.
Highlights
A company that has not implemented a similar information technology (IT) system has insufficient reference data about required costs for making investment decisions
To provide reference criteria for the estimation of maintenance costs, this study identified the causes of maintenance based on the following: (a) service level agreement (SLA); (b) previous studies (April 2010; IEEE 1219-1998; ISO/IEC 14764 2006); and (c) an interview of an IT consult with 15-years’ experience with construction and enterprise system (ES) operation
Maintenance cost of enterprise system (ES) is large because it operates for a long time (Nguyen et al 2011)
Summary
A company that has not implemented a similar information technology (IT) system has insufficient reference data about required costs for making investment decisions. This study proposes estimation criteria of maintenance costs during the ES lifecycle for improving investment feasibility accuracy. To provide reference criteria for the estimation of maintenance costs, this study identified the causes of maintenance based on the following: (a) service level agreement (SLA); (b) previous studies (April 2010; IEEE 1219-1998; ISO/IEC 14764 2006); and (c) an interview of an IT consult with 15-years’ experience with construction and ES operation. The lifecycle of the ES was divided into early, middle and end stages (Unger et al 2009), this study surveyed 30 IT consultants who worked on ES operation to identify factors that affect maintenance cost. The results of this study are applicable as reference data for cost estimation when feasibility analysis is conducted to determine whether to implement an ES. The results are useful for both construction and IT companies during negotiation of a fair maintenance contract
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
