Accounting question - Altman PHX

[NeroCaesar]

Hello Folks,

Our Business dept is talking on a more structured approach to our tech budget. We are no longer allowed to use unspent money to replace lights or increase inventory.
The new name of the game is create a spread sheet with estimated times of death for each unit so we can build an account to replace them at the estimated time.
This doesnt exactly fit our existing model but I want to try to play ball. I abhor the idea that this will likely mean greater unnecessary spending and want to be efficient.

I am looking for advice, what have you done if you are in a similar situation and what kind of a life span do you attach to equipment?

I have Altman PHX LEDs, SL 155 Pars, 6' Altman Strip lights, single Altman Cyc lights, Icue Units, ETC Ion XE, Midas 32x sound Board, passive JBL speakers, Crown Amps.

Thanks,
-Greg

 

[TimMc]

For conventional tungsten lamp fixtures the life is indefinite. 30, 40 years is reasonable for the FIXTURE. What is increasingly unknown is how long quality lamps will be available. This applies from PAR 64 cans to Source 4 to strip lights to, well, everything made more than about 10 years ago. You can search Control Booth and find several threads about the changing nature of lamp manufacturing, quality control, and shipping.

My observations at our local PAC is that name brand LED fixtures have a life between 5-10 years. Repairing them depends on what parts have failed; PSU stuff and DMX chips are pretty easy but replacing LED emitters is iffy because parts may not be available or cannot be color-matched to old inventory.

What "works" to the accounting and admin departments is very different to LX designers or master electricians will say "works."

 

[almorton]

For conventional tungsten lamp fixtures the life is indefinite. 30, 40 years is reasonable for the FIXTURE.

Very true. We still have working Pattern 23 fixtures in our theatre, designs which date from 1958/68. Getting lamps for them is, of course, becoming the problem. The original, large envelope prefocus lamps are long gone, but even the 500W P28 base T27/T17 are becoming prohibitively expensive and more scarce. Lamps for things like Sils are also on the endangered list, and PARs are vanishing. D0m3st1c "conventional" lamps are all but impossible to obtain, except through "special" channels.

 

[RickR]

Such replacement spreadsheets are common as the costs change rapidly. You must maintain the spreadsheet as carefully as the equipment.

Not mentioned yet is repair costs and repair effects on functional life. Or for that matter 'functional life', the idea that equipment can be technically operational yet not worth using. PAR cans are reaching that point.

Traditionally in these calculations, repairs are expressed as extending life. A new PS might add 50-75% to an LED life as that's the most common failure. Whereas a cord replacement would do very little. You can also figure life extension in terms of remaining life. If the repair cost is more than the extended life value then replace it! A $500 unit (replacement cost, don't care about purchase price) with 1/2 of 20yr life gone, a 50% remaining repair gives 5yrs. So should not exceed $125. In theory!

 

[NeroCaesar]

Thanks folks, it was only a few years ago that we got rid of our last 6x9 units for S4 and only a few years later we got a grant to go 90% LED

Its nice to have an existing history to figure conventional lights, but since LEDs are newer its hard to pin point an average life, 5-10 years is so depressing for the cost.
And as mentioned it will likely need to be repaired first before it is laid to rest for good.
Thanks for bringing up the notion of having the repair cost in the chart, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[MNicolai]

To be clear, it's not 5-10 years for total replacement. It's more like 5-10 years for "it's time to retire a few of these, repair some others, and purchase a new package of 30 fixtures for nice bright front light while recycling the former FOH fixtures to dance booms or pipe ends, or reuse them to finally upgrade the lighting in our black box space."

Tungsten fixtures were more "buy once, cry once", and got replaced en masse when the building was being renovated. LED fixtures are more like wireless mic's. Pay the piper initially and then cycle some new ones in every few years and the bad ones out.

 

[Crisp image]

Budgeting is hard and as mentioned before it is hard to estimate the life of a fixture. One that is used every now and then will last longer that one used everyday.
Ask the accounting department what is the depreciation schedule for the fixtures. This will tell you how long they hold value in the eyes of the tax department and when written off their theoretical worth is $0. So that is when you should replace them. Even if they still work they owe you nothing on paper. As fixtures change and get better replace the old ones with newer better fixtures so you don't get to a point of all fixtures need replacing. A yearly cycle of a few a year is easier for the accountant to deal with. And if there is some $$ left in the budget near the end of the year use it to fill the stable with new toys or do some extra repairs. Budgets usually go spend it or lose it. I have been told on more than one occasion "you didn't spend it last year so we redirected it to other places. "
Regards
Geoff