posted on 2010-11-17, 12:06authored byAngela C. Palmer
The aim of this thesis is to make an investigative study of value engineering
(VE) in the United States. The purpose is to establish if current United
Kingdom cost control procedures could benefit from value engineering.
The study examined the system of value engineering that exists in the US,
along with the design procedures within which it prevails. The examination
was based on a survey, analysis of fifty-five completed VE studies and
attendance at four VE workshops. A comparison of VE practice in the US
was made with UK procedures to establish whether VE is supplementary to
UK cost control. Any supplementary components were analysed for effective
integration into UK systems. This analysis was based on examination of
existing UK cost control, coupled with the opinions, obtained by interview, of
twenty British professionals with VE experience either in the UK or USA.
The study produced the following conclusions,
1) Value engineering originally developed in manufacturing as a broad
philosophy based on the technique of function analysis. Adapting
value engineering for the construction industry in the USA distorted
the technique of function analysis from its original principles.
2) Despite this, value engineering in the United States is effective in
reducing construction cost by approximately 10%. However, this
saving cannot be attributed to function analysis and is the result of
other, broader, factors.
3) The practice of value engineering in the US offers only two
components which do not exist in the UK cost planning system. First,
VE is an autonomous approach and second it is carried out by an
external team. 4) This autonomous approach by an external team is fraught with
difficulties in the US. It is likely that these difficulties would also occur
in the UK. In addition, British design procedures are not conducive to
the application of US value engineering practice. Possibly as a result
of this the majority of UK companies involved in VE have developed
alternative systems. These systems appear to be based on an
adaptation of American practice.
5) Function analysis could possibly be of benefit in the UK. The
technique of function analysis however is largely a design orientated
process that has no direct relationship to cost. The technique is not
independent and it's successful implementation is influenced by other
factors.