Amin Terouhid, Ph.D., CVS
Maryam Mirhadi, Ph.D., VMA
Executive takeaway. A productive value engineering (VE) workshop begins well before the team meets. The owner should define the decisions to be addressed, assemble reliable project information, involve team members or specialists who understand the project’s functions and constraints, and establish how recommendations will be reviewed. Effective preparation provides enough information for analysis while preserving enough flexibility to act on the results.
Define the assignment before assembling the team
Value engineering is a structured, multidisciplinary process for improving value by analyzing required functions and developing alternatives. SAVE International describes the Value Methodology as a systematic process that combines function analysis with creative problem-solving to improve value. [1]
A VE study is the complete analysis and reporting effort; the workshop is the facilitated working session in which the team applies the VE Job Plan. Before that session, the owner and facilitator, who serves as the neutral process leader, should prepare a study brief. This short document defines the project need, study objectives, boundaries, known constraints, required performance, and decisions open to change. It should also identify fixed commitments, including permits, funding conditions, stakeholder agreements, and procurement actions. Clear boundaries keep the team focused on feasible opportunities.
Build one reliable information package
The information package should give every participant the same current basis for analysis. At minimum, it should include the owner’s project requirements; design basis, meaning the criteria and assumptions that guide the design; current narratives, drawings, and calculations; applicable codes and approvals; cost estimate and assumptions; milestone schedule; procurement status; major risks; sustainability and resilience objectives; and available operating and maintenance data. Each document should show its date and status so the team can distinguish approved requirements from working assumptions.
Cost information should be organized by major project elements, not supplied only as a total. A cost model, a structured breakdown showing where resources are concentrated, helps identify functions with the greatest potential for improvement. The milestone schedule should show key design, approval, permitting, procurement, and construction dates that may limit implementation. A risk register, which records identified uncertainties and planned responses, helps the team test whether an alternative creates or reduces exposure. Consistent with this approach, FHWA’s VE Job Plan places information gathering before function analysis. [2]
Select participants for knowledge and decisions
The VE team combines the technical and operational knowledge needed to examine a project from several viewpoints. Depending on the scope, participants may include the owner, designer, estimator, scheduler, construction specialist, operator, maintainer, user representative, permitting specialist, and subject-matter experts, people with specialized knowledge relevant to the study. Select participants for their knowledge, not title alone. It sis generally recommended that five to eight participants with backgrounds suited to the project’s scope and complexity work well. [3]
The designer should explain the design basis and constraints, while independent participants test assumptions without treating the workshop as a critique of the design team. The owner should also name an executive sponsor, meaning the senior representative who supports the study and resolves policy issues, and a decision maker authorized to receive and act on the recommendations.
Prepare participants to work, not merely attend
Several days before the workshop, distribute the study brief, information package, agenda, participant roles, and questions requiring attention. Ask participants to review the material and identify missing information or conflicts before the first session. At the kickoff, confirm terminology, assumptions, constraints, and evaluation criteria. Evaluation criteria are the agreed measures used to compare alternatives, such as function, safety, reliability, cost, schedule, maintainability, environmental impact, and stakeholder acceptance.
The owner should also establish who will validate calculations, price alternatives, review code or permit effects, decide on recommendations, and track implementation. A technically sound proposal creates no value until decision makers act on it. The readiness plan should therefore include review dates, accountable parties, and the evidence required for approval.
Before authorizing the workshop, the owners are recommended to ask:
(1) Are the objectives and boundaries clear?
(2) Is the information current and detailed enough for function, cost, schedule, and life-cycle analysis?
(3) Are technical knowledge, operational experience, stakeholder awareness, and decision authority represented?
(4) Are commitments distinguished from open decisions?
(5) Is there a defined process for validating, deciding, and implementing recommendations?
References
[1] SAVE International. About the Value Methodology.
[2] Federal Highway Administration. The Value Engineering Process and Job Plan.
[3] Federal Highway Administration. Value Engineering Frequently Asked Questions.
