22 Jul Engineering Value
Value Engineering can help ensure essential function and fair value for your next hotel project.
In today’s tight economy, you need to find ways to stretch your design and construction dollars. If you haven’t taken a close look at value engineering, also known as value analysis, you may be leaving money on the table with every project. The goal of value engineering is to improve “value” through an examination of a product’s function. The focus isn’t on just saving money, but looking at both long and short-term value. Low prices aren’t a bargain if you pay for unneeded or unwanted features, or they incur added life cycle costs. After a value engineering analysis, a product, such as a hotel, should provide the necessary functions at the lowest cost, with no reduction in quality.
During the analysis, project team members suggest alternatives to materials, equipment, or even designs that can save the owner money in up-front or long-term costs. When value engineering works best, it is a disciplined approach to finding building alternatives, then studying the alternatives to find the best possible solution for the owner. Most often, these alternatives involve reducing costs, but they also seek to improve performance and quality—seeking to balance a project’s required functions and lifecycle costs. Design-build firms are designed (pardon the pun) to capitalize on the benefits of value engineering. In traditional design and construction, the builder and designer are seperate entities, often protecting their own interests during value analysis. When you use a design-build firm, builders and designers work side-by-side. You receive the benefits of early value analysis, with construction experts lending their expertise every stage of the project.