A framework for cost evaluation in product service system configuration

Configuration systems are increasingly used as a means for efficient design of customised product service systems (PSS) to satisfy diverse customer needs. Cost evaluation is thereby important to assist the configuration engineers in making decisions on feasible configuration solutions. However, little research attention has been received until recently. To fill this gap, this paper contributes in developing a framework for cost evaluation in PSS configuration. A holistic view of PSS configuration, the three-dimensional PSS cost element, and a life cycle-oriented cost evaluation approach are successively proposed. The framework is thereby established with a number of parts, including the preparatory stage, the evaluation stage and the configuration stage. A pump PSS is illustrated to validate the developed framework. Four feasible configuration solutions in one configuration activity are evaluated and compared. The configuration engineers are thus assisted with the decision on selecting the one with the least cost.