IIoT, SCADA & Edge Connectivity worked example

Sensor Installation Cost at 98% first-attempt install success rate: a worked example

What does the result look like when first-attempt install success rate reaches 98%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when a reliability or controls engineer is sizing a condition-monitoring sensor rollout and needs an installed-cost-per-asset number for the capital request.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Sensors to install: 180 sensors (unchanged)
  • Installed unit cost per sensor: 450 $ / sensor (unchanged)
  • First-attempt install success rate: 98 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 85)
  • Fixed engineering and commissioning cost: 22,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Variable sensor install cost = sensor count × installed unit cost × first-attempt install rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 101,380 $ for total sensor install cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 563 $ / piece for sensor install cost per sensor.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 79,380 $ for variable sensor install cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 22,000 $ for fixed engineering and commissioning cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where first-attempt install success rate sits at 85% and the headline result is 90,850 $, this scenario comes in 11.59% above the baseline at 101,380 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when first-attempt install success rate is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The first-attempt rate acts as a cost-capture weight, not a rework multiplier — a low success rate reduces the modeled variable cost rather than adding the cost of redo trips, so treat it as the fraction of clean installs captured in unit cost.

Results at a glance

  • Total sensor install cost: 101,380 $ (headline result)
  • Sensor install cost per sensor: 563 $ / piece
  • Variable sensor install cost: 79,380 $
  • Fixed engineering and commissioning cost: 22,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Sensor Installation Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.