Publications

Author : Bruce Lenzer

Description : Artificial Intelligence has taken the world by storm over the last year. Questions have arisen as to how this will impact Value Engineering. Questions such as will it replace Value Engineering or will it augment parts of the Value Engineering Job Plan? This presentation attempts to framework what the potential advantages AI will bring to the Value Engineering discipline and to facilitating teams for Value Creation and Improvement.

Author : Ginger R. Adams, IAF-CPFTM, CVS®-Life

Description : Facilitation is one of the critical skills necessary to effectively manage the VM process and, especially, a value study team. This Value Voices session will discuss the alignment between the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Core Competencies, and the steps in the VM Job Plan. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of neutrality in one’s role as a Value Study facilitator.

This Value Voice event may be considered acceptable by your accrediting organization counting as 1 (one) Professional Development Unit or 1 (one) Continuing Education credit/hour as part of your self-reporting process. Proof of attendance can be provided upon request to support your submission.

Author : David Wilson, P.Eng, CVS-Life, CPF

Description : This presentation reviews 8 Ways to Enhance Team Efficiency and Productivity to Achieve Better Results The old adage, “This is the way we’ve always done it.”, is a red flag for value professionals…doing something different typically unleashes new opportunities. However, while many value professionals understand this principle, they continue to do the same things they initially learned over and over. Why not consider how they themselves could also evolve to deliver better value studies?

Author : Lucie Parrot, eng. M.eng. CVS-Life

Description : Function Analysis is a powerful tool with many uses. It is the perfect approach to identify needs and expectations and prioritize them. We don’t call it “Needs analysis” for nothing. It allows a team to identify what they want to do so a design team can identify the best solution at the best cost, creating value to stakeholders: client (user and buyer), production or construction or programming, or even sales and marketing.

This presentation demonstrates with examples the use of function analysis in various contexts: technical such as water usage optimization, administrative such as organizational development, software such as simulators, business such as portfolio management and others. In each example a needs analysis using Functional Performance Specification was completed prior to developing a solution. This resulted in each solution achieving good value.

Author : Steve Taylor

Description : Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are key to developing best value solutions for any project, process, service or product. Yet it can be difficult to meaningfully involve a diverse group of stakeholders in an inclusive process where every participant feels part of the solution. A facilitated value study seeks to enable participants to understand project goals and needs through the language of functions. Function Analysis moves the focus away from the expected solution and places the focus on the required needs (values). To achieve an equitable solution that is fit for purpose the needs of all stakeholders must be understood. Value Planning and World Café workshops enables participants from any background to share their perspectives in an inclusive process. Project examples will be given of using Value Planning and World Café workshops to understand the needs of non-technical stakeholders including community groups, the public, indigenous groups, students, and the visually impaired. Workshop techniques adapted for a facility study for the Canadian Armed Forces involving working level through to senior command were highlighted.

Download a PDF copy of the Presentation.

Author : Lucie Parrot, ing. M.ing, CVS-life, FSAVE

Description :

Function Analysis is a powerful tool with many uses. It is the perfect approach to identify needs and expectations and prioritize them. We don’t call it “Needs analysis” for nothing. It allows a team to identify what they want to do so a design team can identify the best solution at the best cost, creating value to stakeholders: client (user and buyer), production or construction or programming, sales and marketing

This presentation (in French) shows different examples of function analysis in various contexts: technical such as water usage optimization, administrative such as organizational development, software such as simulators, business such as portfolio management and others. All those examples have in common that a good needs analysis was done prior to starting to develop a solution and was used to create value.

Author : Narinder Bubbar

Description : Over the past two decades Calgary has experienced strong population growth. Every year the City undertakes numerous types of programs and projects to deliver quality services to the citizens of Calgary. The City of Calgary is a program and project intensive organization. In November 2015, the City published a Value Management (VM) Standard followed by Value Management (VM) Guidance documents. These documents became formally operational on February 01, 2016. It mandates that every capital infrastructure program/ project at or above C$25.0 M shall perform one Value Management study prior to the execution. The City of Calgary is possibly the first municipality in Canada and among a select few municipalities in North America to institutionalize Value Management. Here is the story of how it happened.

Author : Holly Parkis

Description : Value Analysis exercises are often completed very successfully as standalone one-off workshops with a completely separate team. However, that approach has some downsides which may include disruption to the project schedule, risk of extensive design rework, designer resistance, or inability to implement some suggestions. Integrating value analysis into the design lifecycle with a series of smaller sessions held at key points and involving members of the design team is an alternate method that can help address some of these issues. Additional benefits include integration of Value Methodology principles and function-based thinking throughout the project, better control of implementation, and the ability to quickly target a Value Analysis study for key decision areas.

Author : Dr. Neil Opfer, CCP CEP PSP FAACE

Description : Value engineering (VE) as a technique was first developed in the U.S. during World War II to cope with the problems inherent with wartime shortages of key components. Since these shortages existed, innovative methods were required as a workaround to solve these problems. While the origins of VE were in U.S. manufacturing, the technique has spread to numerous other areas including retail, construction, and services sectors in the U.S. and throughout the world. VE has acquired other names including value analysis, value management, and value improving practices. Whatever the name, VE has been widely successful in improving value in a variety of areas. However there have been many other instances where VE has not been successful, or those invoking the VE name have incorrectly implemented the technique or do not really practice genuine VE. This has resulted in professionals, across a variety of sectors, viewing VE as only a simple cost reduction technique. Correctly applied, it is far more! This topic arose from the presenter’s extensive VE experience on teams related to capital projects and reflects years of discussions with practitioners in the construction industry. The material presented herein is the information thus obtained, which has been distilled into various categories related to capital construction projects.

Author : Scot McClintock, PE, CVS-Life, PVM, FSAVE

Description : As a value practitioner for almost 40 years, I have led VM Studies on hundreds of projects in which the goals and objectives of the client are not met by 30% design and, in some cases, 60% design. How does that happen? Fortunately, a VM Study can often use those goals and objectives to get the project back on the right track. However, that usually involves redesign with potential schedule delays. What happens to such projects with no VM intervention? They will often end with quality issues, delays, required redesign, performance that does not meet client objectives, cost overruns and unhappy clients. An innovative (in North America) approach using VM can avoid these outcomes.

Author : Hussien T. AL-Battaineh, Ph.D., P.Eng., CVS®

Description : Prior to the pandemic, the delivery of Value Engineering studies was steady and predictable, with a strong reliance on face-to-face workshops and travel. Life was good! Then, literally overnight, everything changed. Restrictions and lockdowns forced reimagining of how to connect with and serve clients. At first, it felt as though the Value Engineering world has been challenged with a serious blow. However, it has proven true that creativity can spring from a crisis situation. Working from home, remote communication, and virtual platforms have become indispensable necessities for many industries, and Value Engineering professionals have adapted to this new reality well. This presentation will focus on lessons learned from virtual facilitation and the ways in which EHan Engineering has adapted its methods to not only maintain but improve upon the quality of the Creativity Phase in its Value Engineering workshops.

Author : Anna M. Bremmer, CVS, LEED AP

Description : In construction, the contract structure/project delivery method defines the owner-designer-contractor relationship.  The Value Methodology is a tool to bring all the parties together to develop a common understanding of the project and find ways to optimize design, make the project easier and faster to construct, reduce risk, and avoid cost—all while maintaining needed functionality.  In this context, function analysis can be done by 1) combining construction process functions with project functions or 2) separating these functions to further analyze the construction management process.  Active participants in this webinar will have the opportunity to analyze identified construction management process functions, identify additional functions, and work together build a FAST diagram.

Author : Dr. Paul Scarbrough

Description : This webinar demonstrates that facilitated Value Engineering and the language of functions overcome the increased conflict that can from diverse project teams. The structural process of making decisions has a high probability of conflict and hostility if the process does not work. This leads to the Diversity Paradox: Increased diversity always leads to more ideas that do not survive the process, and thus more potential conflict. Value Management is a reliable, and robust process that channels diverse teams to reach a common understanding of needs without reference to the current solution. Facilitated VM specializes in inclusion of diverse stakeholder ideas to solve big problems. 

Key Moments - 
2:31  Design Process deconstructs ideas
6:15  Diversity increases idea rejection
9:20  Different Cultures, Different Communication Problems
14:00 VE focuses participants on transcendent goal
15:20  Transcendent Goal creation through Function Analysis
17:49 Focus on goals (basic function) improves trust
18:29 VE is goal seeking, not consensus building
20:40 VE benefits from diversity in teams
22:47 Research shows diversity can lead to increased conflict.