Journal Design Engineering Masthead
African Civil Engineering Journal | 07 October 2020

Methodological Evaluation and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Process-Control Systems in South Africa

A Quasi-Experimental Design
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18964662
Process-Control SystemsCost-Effectiveness AnalysisQuasi-Experimental DesignEngineering Management
Quasi-experimental design provides a rigorous framework for evaluating technological interventions in engineering.
Implementation showed a statistically significant 18.7% reduction in average unit production costs.
The calculated benefit-cost ratio of 3.4 indicates high economic returns on investment.
The methodology addresses a critical gap in evidence-based capital investment decisions for the region.

Abstract

The adoption of automated process-control systems in industrial and civil engineering projects is increasing, yet robust methodological frameworks for evaluating their cost-effectiveness in specific regional contexts are lacking. This creates uncertainty for engineers and project managers making capital investment decisions. This study aimed to develop and apply a novel quasi-experimental methodology to empirically evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implementing advanced process-control systems within the South African engineering sector. A quasi-experimental design with matched control groups was employed across multiple construction and manufacturing sites. Cost and performance data were collected pre- and post-implementation. Cost-effectiveness was analysed using a generalised linear model: $\text{CE}i = \beta0 + \beta1 \text{Treatment}i + \beta2 \text{Scale}i + \epsiloni$, where $\epsiloni$ represents robust standard errors clustered by site to account for heteroskedasticity. The intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in average unit production costs of 18.7% (95% CI: 15.2% to 22.1%) compared to the control group, after controlling for project scale. The benefit-cost ratio for implemented systems was 3.4, indicating high economic returns. The applied quasi-experimental design provides a rigorous methodological framework for evaluating technological interventions in engineering. Results confirm that advanced process-control systems can be highly cost-effective in the local context. Engineering firms should consider the structured methodology presented for future technology assessments. Policymakers and industry bodies are encouraged to promote standardised cost-tracking to facilitate similar evaluations. process control, cost-benefit analysis, quasi-experiment, engineering management, industrial automation This paper provides a novel methodological framework for the empirical evaluation of engineering technologies, filling a critical gap in evidence-based investment decision-making for the region.