Value Engineering (VE) is a methodology that focuses on the function of a product or service to improve value without sacrificing quality or reliability. VE involves assembling a cross section of multi-disciplined professionals and enabling them to work together, each bringing a unique perspective and expertise to the assignment. VE relies heavily on team-building principles, and focuses on effective communicating, careful listening and understanding, the generation of creative solutions, and efficient decision-making.

At Automation Specification, VE involves finding a way to provide alternative solutions at a lower cost while maintaining quality, reliability, and functionality; or determining that higher initial costs will save overall costs when life cycle costs are considered.

Automation Specification’  VE services include:

• Offering our VE facilitators to lead workshops for our clients’ business needs.
• Facilitating VE workshops during the conceptual design phase of projects. In these workshops, the owner and all the construction disciplines are involved to examine the project for issues that provide the greatest potential for cost improvement and to analyze capital costs, life-cycle expenditures, schedule and procedural impacts to the project.
• Assembling a complete in-house VE team to analyze specific project issues, such as late schedule changes or cost overruns.
• Conducting VE studies after a project is completed if there is a very high probability of a similar project being constructed within one year. This ensures all lessons learned from a past project are transferred to the next.