Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1508761
66 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 In no time at all, Patty was heading out of the door for the 30-minute trip to Ivy U. She was excited to see how Paul LaCroix made out in developing his "profitability potential" anal- ysis. However, she was a bit concerned about Hal Lindsay, the Excel salesperson. As Maggie Benson pulled into the parking lot of the engineering school, she felt a bit sen- timental. Could it already be 10 years ago that she had graduated? She saw a few students and was shocked at how young they looked. Oh well, time marches on. Maggie was excited to see how Paul had done his cost of ownership analysis. Hal was sure persuasive in his pitch that his component placement machines had the lowest cost of ownership. Patty had arranged for a large conference room as there was quite a crowd to review the proposals from Hal and Paul. Maggie, the exec- utive from Benson Electronics (BE), would be there, as would Andy Connors and Sue March. Several students and some BE process techni- cians were also in attendance. Patty asked Mag- gie to kick off the meeting. "I would like to thank everyone for coming, Maggie began. "Now, let's get down to busi- ness. BE needs to install a new assembly line as our business is booming. Obviously, we would like to minimize the cost of the new line, but we want it to have the capacity to meet the grow- ing needs of our customers. I have asked Hal Lindsey to be the first to share with us his per- spective on how Excel component placement machines (CPMs) are the best solution. en, student Paul LaCroix will present his analysis comparing Excel to Pinnacle. Hal, the floor is yours." "ank you, Dr. Benson," Hal said. "I per- formed a cost of ownership analysis between Excel and Pinnacle CPMs as seen in this spreadsheet. e price of the Excel is $599,000 and the Pinnacle is $999,000. I assumed a five- year amortization. I calculated the electrical power consumed at $0.20 per Kwh. In addi- tion to rent, I added in utilities other than electricity. For repairs, I used 6% of the CPM's sale price. Note that the Excel's cost of own- ership is $167,600 per year and the Pinnacle's is $266,000 per year. So, clearly the Excels are the best buy." Upon looking at the spreadsheet, Sue, Andy, and many of the others were surprised by how amateurish it looked (Figure 1). ere was murmuring in the audience, until Patty interjected. "Paul, do you agree with Mr. Lindsay's con- clusions?" "Yes, Professor Patty," Paul said. "Excel, clearly has the lowest cost of ownership." e murmuring increased. At this, Hal was ecstatic. Maybe Professor Patty Coleman wasn't so bad aer all. She was certainly teaching these young kids, like Paul, how to be successful engineers. Hal opened his briefcase, reached in, and felt the purchase order he had filled out for Maggie Figure 1: Hal Lindsay's cost of ownership calculations. Some of the students were surprised at the "bare bones" appearance and typos on the spreadsheet.