VALUE ENGINEERING DURING DESIGN: NEW DIRECTIONS IN RESEARCH

S.D. GREEN

Department of Construction Management & Engineering, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading, RG6 6AW, UK

Abstract

It is argued that the current practice of value engineering lacks a rigorous theoretical base. The essential characteristics of value engineering are identified and found to be in common with those which distinguish decision conferences. The connection between value engineering and design optimisation is also established. Decision theory is drawn upon in order to classify design optimisation models as either normative or prescriptive. Furthermore, it is suggested that the value engineering approach uses a decision model which is requisite in nature. Requisite models are distinguished from other forms of decision model in that they are produced by a process of group consensus in order to establish a common perception of the nature of the decision and the likely consequences of alternative courses of action. The complexity of the model is dependent upon the requirements of the situation. The model would be continually revised until the point when no further insights are generated. Attempts to identify optimal design solutions are seen to be invalid, the purpose of requisite decision models is to establish a 'shared social reality'.

Existing approaches to value engineering are deemed to be successful in that they are requisite for the purposes of the study, i.e. they ensure that the decision-making process is explicit and, to some extent, rational. However, the increasingly sophisticated requirements of construction clients mean that more rigorous methods are urgently required. Several suggestions are made regarding possible topics for future research.

Keywords: Value Engineering, Building Economics, Design Optimisation, Decision Making.