Design Value Engineering
Design VE in Japan is a type of work in cost management and construction management (CM). It is a multifaceted review of design content to improve cost-effectiveness in terms of the functions of the building required by the client, as well as cost and schedule.
In design VE, the design information is used as a basis to answer questions such as “Does the design meet the functions of the building required by the client?” “Is the grade of the finishes more excessive than what the client wants?” “Are there less expensive building materials and equipment that can fulfill the same functions?” At the same time, they look for alternatives to the design that would have a significant impact on the cost and construction period by slightly revising the design, quantify the specific amount of cost reduction and the number of days required to shorten the construction period, and present them as VE proposals.
The VE team is a team of consultants (or contractors) who are independent of the original designer and review the design from multiple perspectives, so the VE team is generally different from the original designer.
The proposals reviewed by the VE team are submitted to the client and the original designer for acceptance or rejection, and the adopted proposals are reflected in the design by the original designer.
This process is carried out at each stage from planning to design, but it is more effective to carry out the process at the basic design stage rather than at the implementation design stage, where the design is almost finalized, and at the basic planning stage rather than at the basic design stage, not only because it is more cost effective and shortens the construction period, but also because it reduces the amount of design rework.
In Japan, the VE method is sometimes adopted as an procurement method for construction projects, where the contractor is asked to submit a
their VE proposal along with the construction cost at the time of competitive bidding or quotation, and the contractor is selected based on a comprehensive evaluation of these proposals along with the price.
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