The Technique of Value Engineering (VE) in Architecture
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The idea was born at General Electric Co in the 1940s by the engineers Lawrence Miles, Jerry Leftow, and Harry Erlicher. The combination of the high demand of products with the shortage of raw materials, created the need for seeking alternative materials which will be in the same cost and function levels with the first ones. This process was named Value Engineering. | The idea was born at General Electric Co in the 1940s by the engineers Lawrence Miles, Jerry Leftow, and Harry Erlicher. The combination of the high demand of products with the shortage of raw materials, created the need for seeking alternative materials which will be in the same cost and function levels with the first ones. This process was named Value Engineering. | ||
| − | Nowadays, Value | + | Nowadays, Value Engineering is consisted by a multi-disciplined team which purpose is to identify and reduce unnecessary costs and poor performance, while maintaining product quality. Functional Analysis System Technique (FAST) diagrams illustrate the phases. The value engineering team has four to six members with complementary expertise in different disciplines.<ref>Sievert, R. W. (1991). A review of value engineering as an effective system for planning building projects. Project Management Journal, 22(1), 31–38.</ref> |
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== Limitations == | == Limitations == | ||
| − | As everywhere, in this technique is easy to detect the limitations, which are man-made. Some of these are the following: | + | As everywhere, in this technique is easy to detect the limitations, which are man-made <ref>https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/value-analysis-meaning-phases-merits-and-limitations/49178</ref>. Some of these are the following: |
*Difficulties in the communication inside the multidisciplinary team | *Difficulties in the communication inside the multidisciplinary team | ||
*Lack of motivation | *Lack of motivation | ||
Revision as of 23:28, 12 February 2022
Value Engineering (VE) is a sequence of procedures aiming to meliorate the value of the final product by having a better management through the overall steps, always considering the cost. Value Engineering is an organizing tool with origins from the science of Project Management which had been used during the World War II by “General Electric Co” and nowadays it is an approach commonly used for planning building projects.
Most of the companies follow this technique in order to minimize the cost but not the basic function of the product. In the architectural field, the engineers are facing plenty of composite projects which have to meet the needs and requirements of their clients and also being in time and in budget. For this reason, the VE technique is preferable from large architectural offices because of the status of their clients. The bigger the project, the greater the need for examining continuously the budget through the design process.
In a nutshell, Value Engineering is an organized creative review of the needs and requirements of the client which are satisfied through the functions of the product, always underlining its quality and its low life cycle cost.
This tool can be applied at any step in a project, from the pre-workshop preparation to the post-workshop implementation.[1]
The Society of American Value Engineers (SAVE) was formed in 1959 as a professional society dedicated to the advancement of VE through a better understanding of the principles, methods, and concepts involved. [2]
According to the Value Methodology Standard from the SAVE, value engineering can be described by the following 8-phases:
- Preparation Phase
- Information Phase
- Function Analysis Phase
- Creative Phase
- Evaluation Phase
- Development Phase
- Presentation Phase
- Implementation Phase
Contents |
Big Idea
The idea was born at General Electric Co in the 1940s by the engineers Lawrence Miles, Jerry Leftow, and Harry Erlicher. The combination of the high demand of products with the shortage of raw materials, created the need for seeking alternative materials which will be in the same cost and function levels with the first ones. This process was named Value Engineering.
Nowadays, Value Engineering is consisted by a multi-disciplined team which purpose is to identify and reduce unnecessary costs and poor performance, while maintaining product quality. Functional Analysis System Technique (FAST) diagrams illustrate the phases. The value engineering team has four to six members with complementary expertise in different disciplines.[3]
Application
The tool is supposed to be used by following the below phases.
- Preparation Phase
- understanding the project, first touch
- Information Phase
- gathering of data
- Function Analysis Phase
- analysis of the project, clarification of the purpose
- Creative Phase
- production of ideas which correspond the needs
- Evaluation Phase
- synthesizing the ideas
- Development Phase
- review and selection of the most suitable ideas
- Presentation Phase
- presentation to the clients
- Implementation Phase
- realization of the selected by the client’s ideas
Limitations
As everywhere, in this technique is easy to detect the limitations, which are man-made [4]. Some of these are the following:
- Difficulties in the communication inside the multidisciplinary team
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of knowledge
- Persistence from stakeholders for even less cost
References
- ↑ SAVE International Value Standard, VALUE METHODOLOGY STANDARD, (SAVE International Value Standard, 2015)
- ↑ https://www.wbdg.org/resources/value-engineering
- ↑ Sievert, R. W. (1991). A review of value engineering as an effective system for planning building projects. Project Management Journal, 22(1), 31–38.
- ↑ https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/value-analysis-meaning-phases-merits-and-limitations/49178
