Value Engineering Skills: Planning for Optimal Performance Excellence

Introduction:

Value is understood as the benefit a project delivers to the customer in the most general sense. Value Engineering (VE) utilizes creativity and rational behavior to minimize wastage of time, money, and efforts throughout the project lifecycle. The VE methodology focuses on return on investment and emphasizes lifecycle costs from the early stages of planning, procurement, and execution. VE helps identify alternative solutions that meet the client's value requirements at any stage of the project, aiming for the best value for money rather than the lowest cost.

This course is designed to help practitioners gain real benefits and cost savings through the application of VE in projects. It emphasizes project scoping, chartering, costing, planning, and budgeting.

The course aims to enhance participants' creative skills, problem-solving abilities, and decision-making capabilities within project management. It follows a systematic approach to integrating VE techniques from inception to application. Key components include:

• Forming and managing multi-disciplinary teams for problem-solving and proposing alternatives.
• Understanding and defining stakeholder expectations.
• Creating rough order of magnitude and budgetary models.
• Performing lifecycle costing analysis.
• Preparing a high-level project plan for structuring and controlling the project.

By the end of the course, participants will know how to apply VE techniques to deliver projects with the best possible value.

Objection:

Participants will be able to:

• Understand Basic Concepts: Grasp the fundamental principles of Value Engineering and Analysis.
• Assist in Project Management: Apply value management to improve project practices, processes, and procedures.
• Identify Project Objectives: Recognize the information needed to outline project objectives.
• Sort Data and Costs: Collect and organize information and costs related to key project aspects.
• Use Stakeholder Opinions: Incorporate stakeholder feedback into the project charter and plan.
• Analyze Cost, Value, and Function: Examine the relationship between cost, value, and function.
• Respond to Superiors: Communicate effectively with senior management and project stakeholders.
• Utilize Life Cycle Costing: Apply life cycle costing principles to project evaluation.
• Argue for Project Solutions: Present and justify project solutions effectively.
• Scrutinize Expenses: Evaluate different cost options to achieve the desired quality economically.
• Control Budgeting: Maintain tight control over the budgeting process.
• Manage Project Phases: Oversee the integration of value-adding phases with management expectations.
• Innovative Methodology: Use value and cost modeling and other strategic methods.
• Promote Cost-Consciousness: Foster cost-awareness among project team members.
• Focus on Function: Enhance creativity to reduce project costs based on function.

Training Methodology

• Case studies
• Group discussions
• Interactive workshops
• Simulation exercises
• Role-playing

Course Outline

Unit 1: Framework for Applying Value Engineering in Projects

• Understanding value engineering: Necessity and principles
• Benefits and drawbacks of value engineering
• Timing and methods for applying value engineering
• Project definition and initiation
• Preparation of project scope statement and charter
• Life cycle costing methods
• Project clientele analysis and management
• Triadic relationship between value, cost, and worth
• Phases and processes in the value engineering process
• Information phase processes

Unit 2: The Function Analysis Phase

• Importance of functional analysis in projects
• Identifying project limitations, interrelationships, and trade-offs
• Methods for estimating project expenses
• Function-cost-worth analysis
• Constructing FAST diagrams
• Technical FAST model for project value appraisal
• Case study
• Cross-functional project team strategy

Unit 3: The Creative Phase

• Impact of creative thinking on project components
• Individual vs. group thinking for better decision-making
• Creativity techniques for improving project value
• Removing barriers to creativity
• Generating alternative solutions
• Team consensus and contribution integration
• Risk perception and definition
• Prioritization using the Delphi technique
• Force-field analysis and problem resolution
• Creative phase output

Unit 4: The Evaluation Phase

• Screening project ideas
• Evaluation methods: Objective and subjective
• Life cycle costing analysis review
• Assessing project economics considering inflation
• Conducting risk assessments and scenario planning
• Risk lifecycle simulation modeling
• Evaluating cost/benefit ratios
• Decision-making within project management
• Conclusion of the evaluation stage

Unit 5: The Planning and Reporting Phases

• Formulating and evaluating VE proposals
• Action planning and assignment
• Reporting findings to management and project partners
• Oral presentations and communication skills
• Project plan performance
• VE incorporation during initial stages
• VE integration with continuous improvement processes