Value Management in Construction Design

Introduction

The greatest opportunity to improve value on a construction project exists early, when design decisions are still flexible. Value management brings clients, designers, cost consultants and contractors together to clarify what the project must achieve and to find better ways of delivering those functions, avoiding both unnecessary cost and the loss of essential quality.

This Value Management in Construction Design training course explains the principles and practice of value management and value engineering. Participants learn how to define value for a project, analyse functions, generate creative alternatives, evaluate options using cost and performance criteria, consider whole-life costs and facilitate value workshops at different design stages.

The course distinguishes genuine value improvement from simple cost cutting and shows how to embed value thinking into project governance.

Course Objectives

By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the principles of value management and value engineering
• Define project value in terms of client needs and priorities
• Apply function analysis to buildings and infrastructure
• Generate creative alternatives using structured techniques
• Evaluate options against cost, performance and risk criteria
• Apply whole-life costing to design decisions
• Plan and facilitate value management workshops
• Implement and track value improvement proposals

Target Audience

This training course is suitable for a wide range of professionals, including:

• Client project managers and development managers
• Architects and design engineers
• Quantity surveyors and cost managers
• Contractors' design and preconstruction managers
• Value management facilitators
• Public sector project sponsors

Training Methodology

The course is workshop-based and uses a case study project at concept and developed design stages. Participants conduct function analysis, generate and evaluate value improvement ideas, prepare whole-life cost comparisons and facilitate segments of a value management workshop.

Target Competencies

• Value definition
• Function analysis
• Creative option generation
• Option evaluation
• Whole-life costing
• Workshop facilitation

Day One: Principles of Value Management

• Definitions of value, value management and value engineering
• Value improvement compared with cost cutting
• When to apply value management in the project life cycle
• Standards and methodologies in overview
• Benefits demonstrated on construction projects
• Roles of the client, design team and facilitator
• Exercise: defining value for a case study project

Day Two: Understanding Needs and Functions

• Clarifying client objectives and stakeholder requirements
• Value trees and weighting of project objectives
• Function analysis using verb and noun descriptions
• Function analysis system technique diagrams
• Linking functions to cost to find poor value
• Identifying unnecessary or overspecified elements
• Workshop: function analysis of a building design

Day Three: Creativity and Option Generation

• Creative thinking techniques for design teams
• Brainstorming and structured idea generation
• Benchmarking and lessons from other projects
• Alternative materials, systems and construction methods
• Considering buildability and programme benefits
• Avoiding premature judgement of ideas
• Workshop: generating value improvement ideas

Day Four: Evaluation and Whole-Life Costing

• Screening ideas for feasibility and risk
• Weighted evaluation and decision matrices
• Whole-life cost principles and discounting
• Operation, maintenance and energy cost considerations
• Sustainability and carbon in value decisions
• Developing value proposals with supporting evidence
• Exercise: whole-life cost comparison of design options

Day Five: Workshops, Implementation and Governance

• Planning a value management workshop
• Facilitation skills for multidisciplinary teams
• Reporting value management outcomes
• Tracking acceptance and implementation of proposals
• Embedding value thinking into project governance
• Facilitated workshop practice with feedback
• Personal action plan for value management