To perform economic analysis of selected pieces of equipment.
	To evaluate the cost of the equipment downtime.
	To define and analyze the existing alternatives for selected equipment that needs replacement or modification.
	Prepare materials that will be included in CPP packages and create a MS Word document that includes all the information from the Excel workbooks.

The result of KBSI's focus on these goals was the Equipment Ranking Tool (ERT+), a decision support tool. ERT+ is composed of three basic modules that support the three phases of the CPP lifecycle: the project definition and data resolution phase; the economic analysis development, verification, and validation phase; and the equipment prioritization and down select phase, respectively. The ERT+ is now being used as a backbone for depot equipment utilization calculations.

Pathfinder Benefits

In addition to the transition of actual research technology into production application, a major focus of Pathfinder was to discover ways to make this transition efficient, rapid, and affordable. In this respect, the Pathfinder project acheived innovative methods and technology for making the US's vast asset base of research results more productive.

In addition, Pathfinder's rapid implementation cycle enabled simultaneous creation of commercializable products. The KBSI SMARTCOST® product that existed before the start of the effort was extended significantly. A new product, SMARTSTAT®, evolved from the need to apply robust Monte Carlo simulation techniques to the implementation of cost and benefits estimation models. Recognizing the value of the rapid simulation of process execution costs, we also developed a built in simulator for the KBSI PROSIM® tools.