Welcome to the New Value World

Welcome to our new version of Value World. It is only fitting that a society which has innovation as its core theme should itself move forward in the electronic age. Please feel free to forward copies of this e-journal to anyone you think would enjoy reading it.

This edition focuses on the construction industry and ways to leverage greater value. Construction projects tend to be delivered through the efforts of many professionals, companies and stakeholders and so is inherently a complex human management problem and opportunity. It is not limited to just a human resource perspective as it also consumes more natural resources than any other industry and plays a vital role in the economic development of nations. Without it our quality of life would deteriorate and so “value” is a key deliverable from this industry. The question then becomes, “How can we maximise that value?” For us the answer is easy. Use value management principles and techniques. Such is what we report in this edition of Value World.

The first paper looks at value as described in the schematic stages of a major project. It reports on ways value engineering analysis was used to evaluate design options for Beijing’s second Capital Airport. What’s more, it also shows how other methods were combined with a more traditional view of value engineering to ensure “best value” was achieved.

The second paper looks at a comparable situation. What is the trade-off between “value” achieved today at the expense of “value” lost in the longer term; the opportunity cost of resource usage so to speak. This paper examines a method that seeks to manage complexity under the banner of sustainable development. This is a subject the construction industry must grapple with on a continual basis as we customers want luxurious environments and in ways that don’t degrade the long term resource base for future generations.

The third paper brings the consideration of time and production to the project level. It presents a “cost-time profiling” lens with which to view what we might mean by the word “value’. In Europe, “earned value management” is a popular concept amongst the project management community and this paper is a move in that direction.

The fourth paper in this edition of Value World turns the focus on to the way value management and value engineering studies are increasingly placed in a paradoxical situation. Clients expect them to find more and more long-term value, but adopt a short-term view in terms of the time and invest in undertaking value-adding VM and VE studies. This paper examines some of the key issues.

I hope this edition of Value World brings new insights for the way you view your own practice. We are also looking for case studies and theoretical papers and would-be authors are encouraged to visit our website (http://www.value-eng.org/catalog_valueworld.php) to find how to bring their ideas to the centre stage of our Value Community.

Best wishes

Roy Woodhead, Ph.D., CVS, TVM, PVM
Vice President – Education
SAVE International®