International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Technology (IJAERT) Volume 5 Issue 7, July 2017, ISSN No.: 2348 – 8190 592 www.ijaert.org DETERMINATION OF DEPRECIATION OF CONSTRUCTION PLANT USING THE STRAIGHT LINE METHOD (A case study of using the straight line method to determine the depreciation of D10 Bulldozer) David Amedegbe-Doe 1 , Boris K. Sasraku-Neequaye 2 , Anthony K. Deku 3 1, 2 Department of Building Technology, Accra Technical University, Ghana 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Accra Technical University, Ghana ABSTRACT This research aims at deterring the depreciation of a construction plant (D10Bulldozer). The objectives were as follows: to determine the total depreciation, to determine the annual depreciation, to determine the hourly depreciation, to determine the daily and weekly depreciation of Construction plant. The findings were as follows: the total depreciation was $520,000; the annual depreciation was $104,000 per year the hourly depreciation was $104.00 per hour, the daily depreciation was $832.00per day and the weekly depreciation is $4,160.00 per week. Keywords: Depreciation, Plant, straight line method. INTRODUCTION Plant is any machinery for doing work. Plant and equipment used in construction works are known as builder ’s plant or construction plant. According to Chudley (1993), items of builders plant ranges from small hand held power tools to larger pieces of plant such mechanical excavators and tower cranes. Chudley (1993) attributed the following reasons for the plant. (i) Increased production (ii) Reduction in overall construction costs (iii) Carry out activities which cannot be carried out by the traditional manual methods in the context of economics (iv) Eliminate heavy manual work thus reducing fatigue and as a consequence increasing productivity. (v) Replacing labour where there is a shortage of personnel with the necessary skills. (vi) Maintain the high standards required particularly in the context of structured engineering works. Chudley (2001) and Harris & McCaffer (2006) listed economic considerations and maintenance considerations as factors to be considered before acquiring a plant. Harris & McCaffer (2001) Harris et al (2006), listed the methods of plant acquisition asoutright purchase or cash,leasing, hiring and hire purchase. Harris & McCaffer (2001) and Harris et al (2006) agreed that the decision to purchase an item of plant should be based on economic considerations because, unless it can be demonstrated that the investment will yield a satisfactory rate of return, there should be no purchase at all. Harris et al (2006), further agreed that, in practice several more factors needed to be considered before a decision is possible. They further argued that many makes of machine are available, structures the broad technical details of the products can be closely compared between different manufacturers, but often this is not possible. Intangible areas exist, such as after sales service, maintenance, delivery and payment arrangement.