American J.

of Engineering and Applied Sciences 3 (4): 699-703, 2010

ISSN 1941-7020
© 2010 Science Publications

Value Engineering Application in Highway Projects

Amiruddin Ismail, Rahim Aminzadeh, Ali Aram and Ishak Arshad

Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Abstract: Problem statement: Each year, a major part of revenues spent on Investing in sector
development plans and State infrastructures filled with clear reduce costs and done on time Projects
leading to high savings budget plans executive and will be return on Investment. Approach: On
transportation projects, Value Engineering (VE) teamwork by involving construction, design and
maintenance staff review the construction project features and look for ways to improve quality,
control costs and time. Also this study briefly described VE and quality, cost schedule planning,
application of VE, cost parameters, relationship of value, function, cost and worth. Results: VE,
highway construction was survived and opportunities for better, less expensive means of completing
the construction projects were analyzed. The intention is to progress project quality and productivity,
foster innovation, optimize design elements, also ensure overall economical costs. Conclusion: This
study achieved to the model Value Engineering in Highway Construction (VEHC) which cause
decrease time, decrease cost and increase quality in highway it has been.

Key words: Value engineering, improve construction, highway construction

INTRODUCTION coalesce to the benefit of the commissioning

organization, regardless of whether the VM service is
Value engineering (VE) is a management tool to offered internally within an organization or is
achieve essential functions of a product, service or commissioned externally. VM also can be defined as a
project with the lowest cost. VE has become a standard structured and analytical process, the purpose of which
practice for many government agencies and private is to seek to achieve value for money by providing all
engineering firms and contractors since its first adoption of the necessary functions at the lowest cost consistent
in the 1950s. It has been widely practiced in the with required levels of quality and performance.
construction industry and become an integral part in the VE may be performed in two ways; proactively or
development of many civil infrastructure projects.VE has reactively. A proactive approach uses VE to collect
been practiced for half a century in the construction ideas starting at the beginning of design. Thus, multiple
industry with an aim to produce innovative ideas and design alternative are considered and the most cost
solutions for enhanced project value(Zhang et al., 2009). effective selected on a continual basis throughout .the
Value Engineering (VE) or Value Management (VM) is design phase a reactive approach gathers cost effective
one of the important project management tool, it can be alternatives through design reviews by other project
defined as the systematic effort directed at analyzing personnel such as constructors and other designer
the functional requirements of systems, equipment, engineers. This is performed after the entire design or
facilities, procedures and supplies for the purpose of specific component of design is complete. One of the
achieving the essential function at the lowest total cost, best filed to apply VE concepts is the productivity. In
consistent with meeting needed performance, construction projects; the productivity is the most
reliability, quality, maintainability, aesthetics, safety critical factor to determine the project cost, duration
and fire resistance. VM as a management style focuses and as a result; the benefit for all parties (Abd et al.,
on value system evolution and resolution within 2008).
projects, or organizational systems for that matter, by The goal of the study is to verify the effect of VE
bringing the right team of stakeholders together at the as a valid approach for highway improvement
right time. Through a structured, challenging, analytical construction and to develop the VE technique in this
and mediated process it permits value systems to procedure.
Corresponding Author: Amiruddin Ismail, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,
University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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Improving the value engineering process: VE is a The scheme with the highest value or value index
structured problem solving process based on function should be selected as the optimal scheme. The general
analysis to improve the value of a system. Value is programs applying value engineering to evaluate the
defined by a ratio of function to cost and consequently schemes include identifying research object, object
it can be increased by either improving the function or functions analysis, object cost analysis, scheme
reducing the cost. The VE study is normally conducted evaluation and analysis (Jiayou and Yanxin, 2009).
by team of members of multi-disciplinary experience
and expertise. First, the VE team establishes the Relating quality and value: Relating qualities to value
functional relationships in a system through a “how- judgments the industry needs clear definitions of
why” questioning technique. Then, the VE team qualities, quality, value and values. It has been
develops a matrix of the various functions of the system suggested here that values should follow Kohler’s
against their associated costs. The value of the system is definition, i.e., they are the beliefs of the project team,
maximized by an optimal tradeoff between the whilst qualities should represent physical or functional
functions and their associated costs. In the context of product attributes.
construction, the objective of the VE study is to achieve Quality should be treated as an objective
the necessary functions with the lowest project life assessment of the qualities in relation to the project’s
cycle cost. This may be done through the use of new values. Value, if treated subjectively, is a judgment by
material, creative design, simplified construction an individual about a product or a service, framed by
process, innovative construction method, reduced their values. An objective assessment requires the
construction cost and time, improved construction evaluation and comparison of benefits and sacrifices,
quality and safety, and minimal environmental impacts. with appropriate units of measurement. The specific
A VE study includes three sessions, pre-workshop, content of the assessment expression depends in the
workshop and Post-workshop. Each session in turn has circumstances of the value assessment.
some phases. For example, the workshop session
includes three phases: information and function analysis Defining value: Four fields were reviewed to develop
phase, creativity phase and evaluation phase. It is an understanding of value that would be useful in
generally recognized that the creative phase of the construction:
workshop is the most critical phase that determines the
success or failure of a VE study because it is in this • Theory and philosophy of value
phase that creativity techniques are applied to generate • Manufacturing and product design practices such
innovative ideas for enhanced project functions and as value analysis, value engineering and lean
reduced project costs (Zhang et al., 2009). manufacturing
Not all studies required a quantification of • The recently emerged field of customer value
construction highway. The authors of some studies did management
not intend to establish the relationship between the • Construction management theory
explanatory variables and the dependent variable (cost,
time and quality) (Yung and Yip, 2010). The manufacturing sector has adopted an objective
view of value for many years. Value analysis, for
Principle of value engineering: Value engineering example, involves the testing of functions required by
focuses on function analysis of research objects and customers as design objectives. This approach
strives to achieve the required function reliably at the substitutes for the direct engagement of customers (to
lowest life cycle cost to gain the best integrated identify their values to which the design must respond)
benefits. The basic formula for it is: recognizing that its success in doing so will be judged
subjectively by these customers (Thomson et al., 2003).
Vi=Fi/Ci (1)
Where: MATERIALS AND METHODS
V i = Value or value index of the i scheme
F i = The function or function coefficient of the i Multiple Regression model (MR): Regression
scheme estimation models are well established and widely
C i = Cost or cost coefficient of the i scheme used in cost estimation. They are effective due to a
well-defined mathematical, as well as being able to
A higher value or value coefficient illuminates the explain the significance of each variable and
required function is achieved at a lower life cycle cost. relationship between independent variables.
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Table 1: Use of value engineering techniques with method brain storming in construct highways
Year Total offers Total admission Acceptance (%) Saving ($) Offer quality (savings unit−1)
1997 - 333 - 31,069,777 93,303
1998 376 329 87.50 38,400,000 116,717
1999 335 286 85.37 35,020,000 122,448
2000 354 269 75.99 40,655,000 151,134
2001 359 299 83.29 66,305,000 221,756
2002 416 347 83.41 61,101,000 176,084
2003 330 288 87.27 54,140,000 187,986
2004 310 255 82.26 40,129,000 157,369
Sum 2408 2406 - 366,819,777 -
Average 354 296 83.59 45,852,472 153,349
Source: FHWA, 2002

Basically, regression models are intended to find the Multiple linear regression method: The results of
linear combination of independent variables which best analysis are obtained as shown in following. Analysis,
correlates with independent variables. The regression the value engineering prediction model for main road
equation is expressed as follows: construction according following equation:
Y = C + b1X1 + b2X3 + …+ bk Xk (2) VEHC = 4.125- 0.231T-3.297e-06C+ 0. 2615 Q (2)
Where:
C = Regression constant Time = T
b1,b2,…,bk = Regression estimates
X1,…,Xk = Independent variables C = Cost
Y = Dependent variable
Q = Quality
The variables descriptions are mentioned in Table 1
for Poland and Thailand. The goal was to estimate The model has an R-square of 0.72, which means
regression coefficients of Eq. 2. Software “R” statistical that 72% of the variation in the number of VE has been
tool was employed to perform regression analysis. The explained the regression line. The T-test also indicates
adjusted R-square value (R2) is equal 0.72. Which for that the model is significant and can be used for the
test significance of model ANOVA (F test) was prediction of the number of VE in main road
performed (Sodikov, 2005). construction. This study developed model value
engineering in highway construction which might bring
Data collection: The data for this research were about a decrease in construction cost and time and an
gathered through highway which constructed in Iran increase in project quality. But the other variable cannot
country to number 40 projects from year 2003 until be included in the model.
2009 and base total project for length Kilometer (KM)
and for time Month (M) optioned. Also the RESULTS
questionnaire includes Value Engineering and quality
that by consultant and employer and contractor to Figure 1 the relationship between value
them answered. All this data will be stored and engineering and cost shows that with reducing costs
analyzed by using software’s”. The main purpose of Value Engineering increased and Considering the linear
using “R” to analyze the data is to create a result for equation Y = -0.000004X+4.892 shown that with
achieve to model VE. After fitting a multiple reducing the costs value construction in projects linear
regression model on data which VE as a dependent form of increased and in Fig. 2 relationship between
(response) variable and the dependent (explanatory) Value Engineering and time shows that with reducing
variables includes time, cost, quality the regression time, Value Engineering increased also in Fig. 3 VE
model is significance at the level of 95% with the P- versus Time equal: Y= -1.2802X+6.8729 Shown that
value = 4.671e-10. The multiple R-square for this with Reducing the time value construction in projects
model is = 0.72which means 72% of variance of value increased. And in Fig. 2 shows that with increase
explained by this variable. The parameters which can quality, Value Engineering increased and this equation
be included in the model with the significance level of Y = 0.4482X+2.1806 Confirming. Meaning in per KM
95 and p-value = 4.671e-10<0.05. Therefore final reduces cost and time in according previously
model achieved in following shown. research (Table 1) more than twenty studies studied.
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influencing factors (cost, time and quality) affecting

usage. The characteristics of the data collected for
effect of VE in construction main road. The results
show that the cost related process is the most important
in the project then quality in finally time.The achieved
high value in construction projects main reason usage
VE is projects also with utilization and with use of this
technique employers can more money save. This
equally applies to reduce time, reduce cost and increase
quality. This aspect of the technique VE is very useful
for perform highways also for financial planning and
performance timely projects.
Fig. 1: The usage linearity between VE and cost CONCLUSION
The model in this study can in the evaluates the
projects performance of VE study: By decrease cost,
decrease time and increase quality which in this model
for per KM using of technique VE that achieved:
VEHC = 4.125-0.231T-3.297e-06C+0.2615Q also
according to Fig. 1. The Usage Linearity between VE
and Cost: Y= -0.000004X+4.892, Fig. 2: The Usage
Linearity between VE and Quality is: Y =
0.4482X+2.1806 in finally Fig. 3: The Usage Linearity
between VE and Time is Y = -1.2802 X+6.8729. So
this model tested for another project and quality as
separately calculated and shown. To assess the effects
of a VE study needs to consider not only the final
Fig. 2: The usage linearity between VE and quality economy but also the reciprocation relationship
between Value Engineering with time, relationship
between VE with quality and then study reciprocation
between the expeditor and the construction participants.
However VE, highway projects are reviewed and
opportunities for better, less expensive means of
completing the projects are analyzed. The intention is to
improve project quality and productivity, foster
innovation, optimize design elements and ensure
overall economical costs. The goal of a VE study is to
achieve implement excellence. Its objectives are to
improve quality, minimize total ownership costs and
Fig. 3: The usage linearity between VE and time decrease time.
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