Open AccessPotentiality for the Application of Value Engineering in the Construction Industry at the Design Stage
Author(s) -
Abdallah M.Awadalla
Publication year - 2009
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1858-7313
DOI - 10.52981/fjes.v4i1.50
Subject(s) - reliability (semiconductor) , quality (philosophy) , value engineering , engineering design process , process (computing) , function (biology) , set (abstract data type) , product (mathematics) , stage (stratigraphy) , computer science , test (biology) , operations management , engineering , reliability engineering , operations research , mathematics , mechanical engineering , power (physics) , physics , philosophy , geometry , epistemology , quantum mechanics , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language , operating system , paleontology
Value Engineering (VE) is defined as a systematic application of a recognized approach by a multidisciplined team to identify the functions of a product or a system and to establish a worth for that function. Alternatives are generated through the creative thinking. The needed functions are provided to accomplish purpose of the project, reliability and at the lowest life cycle cost without sacrificing safety, necessary quality and environmental attributes. This paper aims at investigating the effectiveness of VE as an approach that could improve the design process which is considered as an important stage in the project life cycle. Current research has shown that the impact of design on the total cost of the project is estimated as 50%. Hence, this study is concentrated at the design stage.To assess the actual practice during the design process, a questionnaire was designed and sent to 15 respondents. This comprised design firms, engineers as well as clients. The questionnaire main objective was to find out how VE studies are conducted and to gauge the impact on the design of the studied projects. The questions were set to investigate to what extent VE components (function, quality and cost) were applied on those projects under study and their impact on design. The Statistical analysis was conduced using SPSS 10. Descriptive statistics methods were used for organizing and analyzing data. Chi-square tests were used to test the research hypotheses and to make comparisons between observed and expected frequencies. The results obtained from the analysis of the collected data showed that the poor performance in the design process which leads to cost and time overrun and low quality is due to the inefficient methods of conducting the brief with the clients. The tendency of designers to produce expensive designs to show their capabilities without achieving the required functions of the project is also found to be one of the defects in the design process. The Sudanese government and the private sector are recommended to adopt VE. Architects, engineers, and other professionals are recommended to play part in the spread of this technique among their firms. The research recommended further studies to develop and improve VE techniques and tools.