Value Engineering Approach Research Articles

Integrating theory and practice in value engineering within Egypt’s construction industry

Egypt’s economy is unstable, marked by high unemployment, low incomes, and safety concerns, which impede its rapid development. One crucial sector that faces difficulties is construction, dealing with issues like funding shortages, payment disputes, and ineffective project management. Conventional project success criteria strongly emphasize efficient resource use and waste minimization. These criteria are symbolized by the iron triangle of cost, time, and quality. A key instrument for obtaining value for money in building projects is value engineering (VE). Even though VE is acknowledged in theory, its application is still limited in most developing countries, including the Egyptian construction industry. Therefore, to bridge the gap between theory and practice, this paper attempts to investigate the current state and application of VE in Egypt. The study further outlines strategies for integrating VE into construction practices and identifies obstacles to their implementation. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to attain the research aim, beginning with a thorough literature review to assess the application of value engineering (VE) in both local and international construction industries. Then, a web-based survey was conducted to gather diverse perspectives on VE’s role and its current practice in Egyptian construction projects. The gathered data were analyzed mainly using descriptive and thematic analysis approaches. The paper’s findings revealed that there is a large gap between VE in theory and practice in Egypt. Reasons include lack of awareness and understanding, time and financial constraints, and resistance to change. Bridging the gap to enhance VE in Egypt includes a focus on the role of educational institutions and training, public awareness and recognition, and early project lifecycle integration. This research has gained insights about VE environment, process, duration, types of projects applied, and effectiveness, aiming to get a comprehensive overview of VE in Egypt. Furthermore, this research has identified a significant gap between VE theory and practice in Egypt. To bridge this gap and enhance the implementation of VE in Egypt, strategies such as focusing on the role of educational institutions, increasing public awareness and recognition, and integrating VE approach early in the project lifecycle are suggested. These findings will guide construction industry practitioners to deeply understand the current state of VE in Egypt and practically integrate VE in the construction industry to minimize unnecessary costs, enhance functionality requirements, and achieve value for client’s money.

Integration of Value Engineering for Design for Assembly in Product Design: A Comprehensive of Literature Review

This study explains the benefits obtained from the integration of Design for Assembly (DFA) and Value Engineering (VE) methods in the product design process. DFA is proven to provide benefits such as product simplification, reduced assembly costs, and improved quality by creating product structures that are simpler and easier to install. While VE adds value by taking into account the replacement of expensive or difficult-to-assemble components, speeding up overall assembly time. Although specific research on the integration of these two methods may be limited, studies show that the combination of DFA and VE produces design alternatives that consider various aspects of the product life cycle. The result is reduced costs, faster development times, and a reduced need for rework. The concepts and benefits of integrative DFA and VE approach can be an effective strategy for enhancing assembly efficiency and reducing production costs in product design.

Value Engineering Adoption’s Barriers and Solutions: The Case of Saudi Arabia’s Construction Industry

Several developing countries around the globe have launched their future visions, which include concrete strategic plans that involve many kinds of mega-construction projects. One common goal across these visions is to increase the efficiency of construction projects’ huge expenditures using recent sustainable, practical engineering tools, such as the value engineering (VE) approach. Although the VE approach has been around for a few years now, some barriers prevent the popularity of its application in different construction projects. This research investigates the barriers to adopting VE through a systematic literature review. This study has categorized the application barriers using thematic analysis under three main categories: barriers related to practitioners’ knowledge and background, barriers associated with the behavior of practitioners towards VE, and barriers related to the implementation of VE. Moreover, this research has investigated solutions to overcome these barriers and improve the application of VE in construction projects. Saudi Arabia’s construction industry is used as a case study. A survey was distributed to Saudi construction industry practitioners using the snowballing technique to evaluate the criticality of the found barriers to adopting VE and the best strategic solutions to overcome these barriers using the importance–performance analysis (IPA) approach. Based on the results of this study we have specifically recommended including a VE course in college engineering programs and an incentive clause in construction contracts to encourage VE application on construction projects at the top of the list of proposed solutions. Finally, defining the criticality of barriers and the effectiveness of solutions will help enhance the application of VE and sustainability practices in the Saudi Arabian construction industry and around the globe.

A Value Engineering Approach for Structural System Selection of Prefabricated Buildings

The development and implementation of prefabricated buildings has been accelerating rapidly in recent years due to the ongoing revolution in the construction industry. Among different stages and aspects in completing a prefabricated building project, the selection of the prefabricated structural system is a crucial step because it has direct influence on both the cost and usage of the building. This paper proposed a structural system selection model for five commonly used prefabricated buildings structures based on value engineering’s value coefficient analysis ranking which took both life cycle cost coefficient and functional coefficient into consideration. The proposed model aims at providing an innovative approach assisting early decision making on the selection of structural systems for project stakeholders. The case study provided in this paper demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed model. With proper implementation, the proposed approach can also promote the development of prefabricated buildings due to their cost and value advantages.

Determining the Factors Influencing Construction Project Management Performance Improvement through Earned Value-Based Value Engineering Strategy: A Delphi-Based Survey

Proper planning and management of construction projects have long been regarded as a necessity. The ability to make sound decisions and solve problems using appropriate performance reports related to the project implementation process are the two most key factors in controlling the performance of construction project management. Even though these factors considerably contribute to controlling precise project performance, previous research has failed to investigate them to their fullest potential. Therefore, this research seeks to fill the existing gap by determining the influential factors on construction project management performance through earned value-based value engineering strategy. In this line, a comprehensive literature analysis was undertaken to extract the influential factors on construction project management performance. Then, three rounds of a Delphi survey were conducted to consolidate the influential factors. There were a total of 39 factors that were grouped into four categories. The identified influential factors were then evaluated through the analysis of quantitative data. The findings showed that the dimension of “Engineering economics” was ranked first in terms of importance, followed by “Project management performance”, “Value engineering approach”, and “Earned value management” at the second to fourth ranks, respectively. The overall ranking of the factors placed “Project Stakeholder Management” in the first position and “Project Management Software” in the bottom place. It is anticipated that the key findings and effective recommendations of this study will considerably contribute to the improvement of decisions on project planning and improve the performance of construction project management while enhancing different stakeholders’ understanding of the most influential factors on the performance of construction project management.

Feasibility Analysis of Sumedang Tofu MSMEs Business with Its Development Strategy

This research concerns the development strategy and business feasibility analysis using a value engineering approach. MSMEs Sumedang Tofu is a small industry that processes and markets Sumedang Tofu to the public. The problem that occurs in the sumedang tofu production is environmental conditions that are poorly maintained, and the results of tofu sales fluctuate. Therefore, it is necessary to do a business feasibility analysis to find out whether the Crispy Sumedang Tofu UKM is feasible or not to operate. After identifying the business feasibility analysis aspects, the next step is to determine the right development strategy using a value engineering approach. Value engineering aims to achieve the best value by defining the functions needed to complete the target value and to innovate, improve, and minimize production costs while maintaining the quality and usability of the products produced by considering consumer needs. The development that will be carried out is sumedang crispy tofu packaging. Value engineering has several stages, including information, functional analysis, creative, analysis and evaluation, and recommendations. The Net Present Value (NPV) shows cash flow for three years with a bank interest of 10%, and the resulting NPV is positive. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) shows that the total value of IRR is 46%, and UKM Sumedang Crispy Tahu is said to be feasible. This is because the IRR value exceeds the loan interest (10%), 46%. and the Payback Period (PP). This MSMEs is feasible to continue because the business capital invested is IDR 143,202,000 and will be fully recoverable within one year and 11 months.

THE DOUGHNUT AS A SUPPORT OF THE “SUSTAINABLE VALUE ENGINEERING”

AbstractSocieties are faced to ecological crises and widening disparities. This has to be integrated in the management of complex projects as they are increasingly complex and impactful. Value Analysis can serve assessing the value of a project i.e. knowing how the project will be perceived by the Stakeholders. It is a collaborative approach that helps make decisions in the early stages of a complex project.This paper aims at demonstrating that a new “Sustainable Value Analysis” (SVA) provides a decision-making support toward sustainability. SVA uses a new definition of Value and a set of indicators based on the Doughnut.Methods for the introduction of sustainability in the upstream design phases have limitations, which are highlighted in the literature review. Yet, the potentials of value approaches can be shown. Based on this analysis, an illustrative case is proposed to demonstrate how to integrate the ecological and social dimensions in a classical Value Engineering approach to determine SVA. The article concludes that the SVA allows identifying and characterizing the sustainable dimensions of Value, through a collective approach based on Stakeholders.

Integrated Methods for Selecting Construction Foundation Type Based on Using a Value Engineering Principle

The cost of constructing foundations, on average, ranges from 10% to 15% of a project’s total cost. Therefore, selecting the appropriate type of foundation may result in a significant reduction in project costs. In this study, a value engineering (VE) approach was applied to select the best foundation type from seven alternatives that covered shallow and deep foundations. Selection was dependent on ten important criteria, which were classified into safety, buildability, flexibility of architectural design, and environmental impact. Foundation construction experts used the stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method to determine the weights of these ten properties for six identified cases based on structure type and soil type. In addition, the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method was used to determine the quality weight for each foundation option. The results show that adaptable architectural design requirements were more critical in selecting the foundation than the safety criteria for a bridge project. Additionally, the criteria for environmental impacts in the case of high-rise buildings have a more significant impact on foundation choice than low-rise buildings. The outcomes of this study may improve the adaptability of architectural design and the environmental impact of future structures and building codes in the construction industry.

Desain of Betel Nut Peeler Machine Based on Quality Function Deployment and Value Engineering

The goal of this study is to desain a betel nut peeler machine based the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Value Engineering methods to optimize the stripping of betel nut process. A case study was carried out in the Keritang District of the Tembilahan Regency of Riau Province, Indonesia. Previously, the Keritang District community used the manual processes stripping technique, thus the final production cannot be in huge amounts. The method was implemented through several steps that began with gathering data and information about the machines desired by the community using QFD and Value Engineering. The machine was designed with the goals of being simple to use, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the community in mind. Each of these characteristics is discussed in the House of Quality. As a result, the Value Engineering approach was developed to uncover effective costs to deliver good quality, appearance, or features, and it may be used to improve product quality, lower costs, boost efficiency, and reduce risk. Finally, an appropriate and optimal design for the betel nut peeler was developed. The benefit of betel nut peeler machine design is supposed to be simple to use and to provide big amounts of stripping results quickly. As a result, the production of betel nut peeling rises.

Value Engineering Approach to Evaluate the Agricultural Drainage Water Management Strategies

Excessive irrigating water that has not been adequately drained may cause more water to enter the crop root zone than is necessary. As a result, issues with increasing water table levels, waterlogging, and salinity get worse and cause crop productivity losses. Agricultural drainage water management strategies (ADWMS) can be used to protect the quality of groundwater, guarantee that crops have better moisture conditions, and provide irrigation water by reusing agricultural water drainage and using sub-irrigation practices. In order to decrease the effects of poor drainage, mitigate climate change, conserve the environment, and achieve food security, this study proposes a framework for choosing the most effective ADWMS in Egypt’s Nile Delta as well as the new lands. The value engineering approach is used to ensure the strategy’s functionality and to present some innovation in the process of developing alternative solutions that are financially evaluated using the life cycle cost technique. According to the study results, the most effective strategy (ADWMS-3) prioritizes improving drainage effectiveness, controlling groundwater table rise, and providing another irrigation water source while maintaining environmental protection. This strategy encompasses the use of a control drainage system, timing of fertilizer application, regulating groundwater table variation, and using sub-irrigation practices. ADWMS-3 achieves the highest values for the technical score of 8.06 and the value index of 18.59. This study advances the understanding of the topic by providing policymakers with a tool to (i) evaluate ADWMS and (ii) incorporate the added value and functionality into their policies regarding agricultural drainage water.

Triple bottom line performance of manufacturing Industry: A value engineering approach

Circular economy is a growing area of research because it replaces the end-of-life concept and works towards cleaner production and sustainable development. Similarly, value engineering is a strategy for exploring non-valued added costs and performance of the entire product development process. In these regards, study proposes a value engineering methodology that integrates circular economy concepts to fulfill sustainable product development objectives. The article aims to implement value engineering and circular economy concepts and develop a cost-effective product with reduced power consumption, CO2 emissions and minimum wastage of raw material. The study reveals that product development costs were reduced by up to 23.91% and productivity of barrels per day increased by around 150%. Also, power consumption is reduced by 100 KVA, CO2 emissions by 1825.91 tons/year, water consumption by 96% and total electricity requirement are reduced to 25%. These results may improve social, economic and environmental performance of the organizations. The proposed methodology is applied in a case study of ABC barrel manufacturing organization with circular economy perspective. More studies may be carried out to generalize the findings of the proposed case study. However, these findings may be useful for researchers and industrialists in implementing value engineering and circular economy effectively.

Application of Value Engineering to Identify and Solve Irrigation Water Allocation Problems

Periodic assessment and monitoring of the functionality of irrigation scheme components is the popularly known approach for identifying and fixing existing or looming problems. For example the widely used quantitative metrics for irrigation water allocation performance assessment include equity, adequacy, and reliability of water supply. However, a qualitative metric that is seldom applied particularly in Nigeria is the value engineering method. A value engineering method is problem identification and solving approach commonly used to analyze the level of functionality of a given system or its components. The approach comprised the following phases; problem identification, system functionality analysis, creation, evaluation and development of value alternatives. A value engineering approach was applied to identify and solve the water allocation problem at Watari Irrigation Project (WIP), Kano Nigeria. Eleven (11) major problems related to water allocation were identified, and 27 solutions (ideas) were suggested, screened and reduced to 13 by the irrigating management experts. Five (5) value alternatives (VA) from the finally screened ideas were formed by putting 2 or 3 ideas as an integrated solution for a given problem. The 5 value alternatives include repairing water conveyance infrastructures, dredging water conveyance infrastructures, improving on-farm water management, conducting policy dialogue and alteration and creating awareness and sensitization campaigns. After scoring these value alternatives using a scale of 0 to 10 by another set of irrigation experts, dredging water conveyance infrastructures is having the highest score of 8.19 and hence, it requires urgent attention from the relevant authority.

Adapting Irrigation Strategies to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts: A Value Engineering Approach

Water scarcity and climate change are posing new challenges to irrigation management. Climate change increases water demand and decreases crop yields. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework to select the most efficient irrigation strategy to mitigate the impacts of climate change and achieve food security. Value engineering (VE) methodology is utilized to assure the functionality of the strategy and add an element of creativity while creating the value alternatives. The life cycle cost (LCC) technique is utilized to provide the optimum irrigation strategy from an economic perspective. The findings showed three different value alternatives for different crops, soil types, and irrigation systems. This paper contributes to the current state of knowledge by a) utilizing the Value Engineering methodology in irrigation management studies; b) evaluating irrigation strategies to ensure efficient irrigation water management; and c) providing policymakers with a tool to incorporate the added value and functionality into their policies regarding irrigation water.

Towards smart and sustainable urban management: A novel value engineering decision-making model for sewer projects

One of the main components of smart and sustainable urban management is well-performed sewer networks. Therefore, maintaining and enhancing the functionality of sewer projects at an affordable cost are major challenges for decision-makers. However, the embracement of the Value Engineering (VE) concept to assess new sewer designs has not yet been fully embraced especially in developing countries. Thus, this study introduces a systematic VE approach for major sewer projects. A computer model based on six phases of VE methodology was developed, and named “Value Engineering Model” (VEM). To show its efficacy, it was applied to a real-life case study, leading to the following major contributions to the body of relevant knowledge: (1) unraveling the logical relations between the project functions, (2) a detailed life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), (3) a weighted evaluation matrix towards facilitating the decision-making procedure and (4) achieving an approximate 36% reduction in the sewer's project cost as compared to the common VE analysis technique. The developed model serves as a guide for design engineers and decision-makers in sewer projects. It will enable achieving the embracement of smart and sustainable drainage systems within cities at a greater pace. The results of this study will be a guide for decision-makers to reduce costs and improve sustainability by introducing VEs in the Egyptian sewer industry.

Applying Value Engineering Technique to Health Clinics During The Design Stage (Salah Al Din Governorate A Case Study)

Because of rising the need for health clinics in recent years, as well as the current economic climate, the researcher used value engineering to reduce costs while retaining the necessity of these initiatives. The aim of this study is to increase the value of health clinics through applying value engineering approach to the main building (two and a half floors). Collected data, function analysis, brainstorming and alternatives, evaluating and selection, and generating the value report are the steps followed. According to the study, using the value engineering process resulted in a cost savings of 32.15 percent, or (258.305.000) million Iraqi dinars without jeopardizing the desired outcome.

Integrated Framework for Proper Constructability in Bridges Using Value Engineering and Analytical Network Process 'ANP" (Analytical Study)

Due to recent environmental and Political requirements, and regulations of the construction industry, in which bridges is one of its important category, deciding its proper constructability is becoming vital. Therefor the objective of this research is to develop a decision model for selecting proper constructability of green bridges constructions, the model was built based on analytical network process (the ANP) soft were program, integrated with value engineering approach. For this analytical study different parameters are identified and ranked to be implemented for the decision model developed on the biases of four surveying studies conducted in this study the results of these surveying's was be analyzed by using the statically analytical program; "SPSS". Model validation and reliability is carried out using the analytical network process (ANP) for statistically analysis using case study which is a cable bridge project constructed in Egypt. ANP proves to be an effective framework for assessing readiness to adopt and facilitating TQM. The result of the study illustrate that the proper constructability alternative in green bridge concept for this determinate project is the concrete box girder type, upon this there is a cost loss of $3, 500 per square meter, equivalent to 50% losses, respect to the life cycle cost this is due to did not using the best alternate of the estimated project. upon the possibility of applying this decision model to such studies of infrastructure projects, and with respect to the results gained; it is recommend to apply the ANP model with respect to VE procedures to bridges projects of all kinds and their determinants, as well as all other construction projects, especially national ones, in future studies, which allows decision- makers to make decisions that aim at the highest quality without any waste in unnecessary costs.

Value-Engineering Methodology for the Selection of an Optimal Bridge System

Maintaining and enhancing the functionality of the infrastructure at an affordable cost are major challenges for decision makers, particularly given the need to cope with growing societal and transportation demands. This study introduces a systematic multi-criteria value engineering (VE) approach for the selection of a sustainable bridge system. A thorough VE analysis for a proposed long-span bridge in New Jersey, USA was carried out as a pilot study. The function analysis system technique was used to develop logical relationships between the project’s functions. A detailed 100-year life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was conducted. The study developed and evaluated eight alternative designs for deck and superstructure systems against set VE criteria comprising constructability, maintenance strategies, and environmental impact. A relative value index was used as an unbiased measure for the selection of the optimal structural system. With total savings of approximately 21% of the original design ($132.5 million), steel plate girders with a high-performance lightweight steel grid deck system have proven to “outvalue” the other alternatives, including the preferred preliminary alternative (PPA). Design engineers and decision makers can use this methodology as a systematic and convenient guide for the selection of economical and sustainable bridge systems. As such, it is necessary to re-evaluate the current practices and policies used for this purpose.

Design and Cost Multi-Objective Optimization of Small-Scale LNG Carriers using the Value Engineering Approach

Nowadays, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers are the main merchant fleets for the transport of natural gas for energy. The large LNG carrier has a more efficient freight cost (approximately 7.8 USD/MMBTU) than a small-scale LNG carrier (SSLNGC; approx. 12,8 USD/MMBTU). Another method must be introduced to make SSLNGCs more cost-efficient. As such, this work conducted an experiment to improve the design of SSLNGCs via design and cost optimization by combining a value engineering approach and multi-objective optimization to decrease hull resistance and lower construction material costs by adjusting the ship dimension ratio. By improving the conceptual design and using semi-integrated numerical simulations, the final result showed improvements in SSLNGCs by decreasing the hull shell area by 1.57% to reduce the construction material needed and total ship resistance by 8.3%.

DEVELOPING A HYBRID VALUE ENGINEERING AND RISK ASSESSMENT (VENRA) FRAMEWORK FOR SHIPBUILDING AND SHIP REPAIR INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

This paper proposes a novel performance measurement framework to enhance the decision-making process in assessing the ship manufacturing (shipbuilding, ship repair, and ship conversion/modification) industry. Integrated Value Engineering and Risk Assessment (VENRA) approach performance measurement for ship manufacturing is developed to tackle the problem. Thorough literature and critical study of the existing performance measurement for ship manufacturing are reviewed to create novel VENRA performance measurements. The attributes collected from the literature are grouped into four criteria performance, named VENRA attributes, combining the technical, business, external and safety/risk performance groups. The initial model will be assessed through fuzzy DEMATEL TOPSIS to achieve the weighted score of each attribute. The framework will be applied to three shipyard case studies in Indonesia. The quantitative data (from shipyards) and qualitative data (from expert opinion/judgment) will be included to get the results and the framework’s effectiveness.

The role of value engineering in reducing the costs of constructing governmental housing.

The role of value engineering in reducing the costs of constructing governmental housing.