Edition 1.0 — 2026-02-28
LCAS™ Standard
Laboratory Cost Assessment Standard 1:2025 — Full Specification
Core Methodology
The LCAS™ Formula
FP = BC × CF
FP
Final Price — the quoted price for a test before VAT
BC
Base Cost = L (Labor) + M (Materials) + E (Equipment) + O (Overhead)
CF
Complexity Factor = D10.3 × D20.3 × D30.2 × D40.1 × D50.1
CF Domains (D1–D5)
D1
Time
(weight 0.3)
Standard, Extended, Special, Extreme
D2
Equipment
(weight 0.3)
Standard, Specialized, Unique, One-of-a-kind
D3
Expertise
(weight 0.2)
Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert
D4
Sample
(weight 0.1)
Easy, Moderate, Difficult, Very difficult
D5
Risk
(weight 0.1)
Low, Medium, High, Very high
Standard Evolution
1.1
January 2025
Current
- Test Programme Pricing (§7.7) — product families with variants
- Application-Based Pricing (§7.8) — mandatory vs. optional characteristics
- Industry Matrices — EN 71 (Toys) and EN 14351 (Windows/Doors)
1.0
November 2024
- Initial release — BC + CF methodology
- 10-stage process model
- 6 pricing annexes
1.2+
Planned 2025
Planned
- Additional industry matrices
- Digital tools integration
- API specification
Try the LCAS™ Calculators
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