By: Donald Jackson
For state highway agencies, the use of value engineering
(VE) methods and techniques added up to more than $1 billion in savings last
year.
A 1995 congressional regulation mandates the use of VE on
all federal-aid highway projects of $25 million or more. A growing number of
states also have established their own VE programs, and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) has increased the amount of VE training and technical
assistance it provides to states.
To move the VE program to the next level of success,
consideration should be given to reducing the mandated project level of $25
million to between $10 million and $15 million. Several state highway
departments do not have large programs and have few or no projects totaling $25
million; therefore, they do not currently conduct any VE studies. Lowering the
mandated project level would increase cost savings and add value to a greater
number of projects.
To perform a VE evaluation, a highway agency usually forms a
multidisciplinary team to study a project for four to five days. The team might
consist of planners, right-of-way staff, environmentalists and private citizens
during the concept phase of the project, while construction, design, traffic
and maintenance staff might be involved during the design phase. The team
reviews all aspects of a project, looking for ways to lower life-cycle costs,
improve quality and apply innovative engineering and construction techniques. A
typical VE plan has several different phases, including:
* Selecting the
project for study;
* Investigating
a project to find the problems;
* Brainstorming
and developing alternatives to the existing design plan;
* Presenting
recommendations to management;
* Approving and
implementing the recommendations; and
* Auditing the
results.
The Florida Department of Transportation performs between 50
and 55 VE studies a year, looking at all projects with a total cost of more
than $20 million. Over the last eight fiscal years, these studies have saved
the state more than $1.8 billion.
One study conducted in 2002 was of the third segment of the
widening of Rte. 7 in Broward County. This project is converting an existing
five-lane undivided highway to a six-lane divided urban highway with three
through lanes, a bike lane, curb and gutter, sidewalks and a median curb in
each direction. The cost for the third segment was estimated at $156.7 million.
Recommendations made by the VE study team will reduce those costs by $31.1
million.
In New Jersey, the DOT performs about 15 VE studies
annually, with cost savings averaging more than $60 million a year. In
selecting projects for the VE study, the DOT looks for those that are complex,
as well as ones costing more than $5 million. As part of its VE studies, New
Jersey now evaluates not only construction costs but road-user costs as well.
Its goal is to better quantify the road-user costs and reduce user delays.
VE had a national spotlight this month at the 2003 American
Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Value
Engineering Conference, July 15-18, in Tampa, Fla. The conference featured
three tracks: Case Studies, Starting and Maintaining a VE Program and Advanced
Tools and Techniques.
States can learn more about VE through FHWA's four- to
five-day training course. The course provides an overview of the VE process and
hands-on opportunities for participants to split into teams and analyze actual
highway projects in their state using the VE concepts they have learned. So far
in 2003 the course has been held in New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Puerto
Rico. Upcoming courses will be held in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
For participants who want to become certified professional value engineers, the
course counts as Certified Module I under the Society of American Value
Engineers' certification program. A Module II course must be taken and other
requirements fulfilled to obtain certification.
To learn more about VE or the VE training course, visit the
FHWA VE website (www.fhwa.dot.gov/ve/index.htm).
About The Author: Jackson is FHWA's VE coordinator. He can be reached at 202/366-4630; fax: 202/366-3988; e-mail: donald. [email protected].