Waste-to-Energy Equipment worked example

Field Commissioning Cost at 86% onsite productive-time fraction: a worked example in waste-to-energy equipment

Push onsite productive-time fraction up to 86% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Used by project managers to quote the startup and tuning phase of a new combustion or boiler package at the customer's plant.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Total field commissioning labor hours: 640 hr (unchanged)
  • Commissioning crew billing rate: 145 $/hr (unchanged)
  • Onsite productive-time fraction: 86 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 75)
  • Travel, lodging & per diem: 28,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Cost = labor hours x billing rate x productive-time % + travel & per diem) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 107,808 $ for total field commissioning cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 168 $ / piece for field commissioning cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 79,808 $ for variable field commissioning cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 28,000 $ for fixed field commissioning cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where onsite productive-time fraction sits at 75% and the headline result is 97,600 $, this scenario comes in 10.46% above the baseline at 107,808 $.
  • It computes total field commissioning cost as labor hours times crew rate times productive-time fraction, plus fixed travel and per diem, and gives a cost per labor hour. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total field commissioning cost: 107,808 $ (headline result)
  • Field commissioning cost per unit: 168 $ / piece
  • Variable field commissioning cost: 79,808 $
  • Fixed field commissioning cost adder: 28,000 $

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.