Bills required for the Cost Report

[anachronys]

We are a first year team from India. While working on the cost report, we found it a little out of place to put in bills of every single thing we have purchased (from materials to outsourced manufacturing processes). This is what we have inferred from the rules.

What is the actual requirement? Do we submit bills of whatever is marked "purchased" in the Bill of Materials, or of anything and everything that we have actually purchased?

Cheers,
Tarun.

[anachronys]

We are a first year team from India. While working on the cost report, we found it a little out of place to put in bills of every single thing we have purchased (from materials to outsourced manufacturing processes). This is what we have inferred from the rules.

What is the actual requirement? Do we submit bills of whatever is marked "purchased" in the Bill of Materials, or of anything and everything that we have actually purchased?

Cheers,
Tarun.

[kuck]

You only need to put in receipts for things that are listed as purchased in your BOM or in your manufacturing processes.

You do not need to put in receipts for raw materials (steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, etc) as there are guidelines placed for the cost of these items. Yes, the prices they tell you to cost them at are really low and you can't buy material at that cost, but just do as they say.

[Roger]

In general, this is what you should do:

In the bill of meterial, you need to identify if a part is purchased or manufactured.

For purchased parts, you must show a receipt or proof of the retail price in the cost report.

For manufactured parts, you must list the cost of raw materials and a process sheet for each item. You can use the raw material costs found in the rule book, but for items such as engineered materials (structural tubing) you must list the actual retail price.

I am unsure how the Detroit competition scores that part of the cost, but in the FSAE West compeition, for the cost they will be looking for real material cost related to structural material, like frame tubing.

[Tech Guy]

Roger,
It appears that this question about how to cost the tubing on frames was sent to the Rules Committee. An FAQ has just been posted on the official FSAE web site on the subject.

This suggests that FSAE West will follow the prescribed procedure this year.

[Roger]

To me, that's just odd to price tubing at something like $0.35/lb. Guess whatever the powers at be at SAE decide are fine, but are we teaching the students the right things when the frame material only costs $35?

[Biggy72]

So which way should it be for west? We got in trouble last year for going by lb with chassis material, so now the cost report is done with tubing being by any price we can find online, and then material that has to be machined or composites per lb.

[Roger]

By the rules, use tubing by weight, but you must use the tubing length before you cut, including scraps. You end up with a low cost, but SAE wants it that way, for some reason. End up better for a low cost, but I guess as long as it levels the playing field for everyone.

[Brian Perry]

This was covered in a recent FAQ on the official forum FAQ - 4.3. 6.1 Cost of Steel tubing (http://www.formulasae.org/forums/formula/dispatch.cgi/rules/docProfile/100197/d20080309152824/No/4.3.6.1%20Cost%20of%20Steel%20Tubing.doc)

[Biggy72]

Brian,

I know that, and I think anyone else that was at West last year knows that. But... it was not done like that last year at West. All teams that did the cost report how it was outlined in the faq were docked points. Some how we were supposed to magically know that they wanted actual costing of the tubing per length...

I don't really care one way or the other as long as it's consistent.

[Roger]

That was unclear in the rules as well last year, hence the way the West competition interpreted the rules since no one from SAE was there to make the call. In the rules it states to use the values as a minimum. Never mentioned anything about tubing and such.

I was a cost judge at West both years so far. This year it will be judge based on SAE's clarification that wasn't made last year.

I am sure some teams will still use the actual tubing cost and come out much higher than a lot of others. But overall, the actual cost is only 30 points of the whole event anyways.

[Biggy72]

So how are everyone's cost reports going? Hopefully everyone already has them done. I just need to finish up the page numbering and it's ready to head out.

[moose]

ours went in the mail about 10 AM on monday. should be arriving by thursday.

[Nishant Jain]

Hey. To add to the original question, is it necessary to include the original receipt ITSELF in the cost report and will a photocopy suffice in some situations?

I'm saying this because we might need our originals to show at college and a few places.

[moose]

photocopy is ok

[ShdMerc]

So after all do I need a bill frm torsen as one of the teams says that only torsen diff requires bill.

[Francis Gagné]

This thread is in regard to the rules as they were in 2008, please read the current rule.

In fact, READ THE CURRENT RULES before asking any questions, anyway you had already been answered 2 times as such on this forum. Plus, rhe rules are pretty clear on this matter anyway. Stop wasting other people valuable time or they will stop answering any of your questions.

Thank you,