Where to Focus Value Engineering Efforts

Value engineering is always a hot topic in the design and construction of buildings. Who wouldn’t want to minimize costs without sacrificing quality or performance? Many have wondered – where is the best place to look for value engineering ideas?

I recently read a paper, Value Engineering Trends in the Construction Industry, by Jillian K. Seidel that studied past projects to determine areas of a building which had the greatest opportunities for savings.

The research comprised the evaluation of 532 value engineering proposals from 14 different projects. Each proposal was categorized by Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) division, and trends within each division were investigated. The research concluded that focusing value engineering on electrical, HVAC, wall finishes, and plumbing presented a high return. Conversely, categories such as elevators, fire protection, foundations, and roof and stairs construction yielded a low return.

At Faith Technologies, we are seeing an increase of customers utilizing this service and reaping the benefits and savings that value engineering provides. It is also clear that our early involvement in a project can maximize the value obtained in the electrical systems. Our engineers and virtual designers have hands on experience with the materials and installation methods, which provides them with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the installation of systems during construction. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to virtually construct the project also allows us to easily explore options to drive out cost and optimize value.