The Journal of SAVE International®

VOL. 36 |NO. 2 |FALL 2013

© 2013 SAVE International®

IN THIS ISSUE:
1 Editor’s Message: Achieving Value for Money in Project/
Product Development and Service Delivery
Mohammed A. Berawi, Ph.D.

3 VM—The Right Methodology for Innovation

Anita Lukose, CVS

13 Value Practices Completion Certificate: A Proposal to

Confirm the Successful Completion of Value Practices
Studies
Muhammad A. Al-Ghamdi, Ph.D.

21 Delivering Value on the Port of Miami Tunnel Project

Louis Brais, PE & J. Jeffrey Plant, MBA. P.Eng., PMP, CVS®

30 Function Inspired Organizational Change at Two National

Research Labs
Stephen J. Kirk, Ph.D., FAIA, FSAVE, CVS®-Life, LEED AP &
Kurt Gernerd

37 Appraisal of Value Engineering in Construction Industry in

Oman
Ibrahim Ali Albalushi, MSc., AVS; Fathoni Usman, Ph.D. & Ali S.
Alnuaimi, Ph.D.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Achieving Value for Money in Project/
Product Development and Service Delivery
M. A. Berawi, Ph.D.
Many public agencies or private companies
expend a great amount of effort to produce prod-
ucts, projects, and services that optimize the value
for money of an investment. Value for money can be
defined as the optimal use of resources to achieve the
intended outcomes; in this sense it means that wheth-
er or not organizations/stakeholders have obtained
the maximum benefit from the goods produced and
services provided. In other words, it measures proj-
ect or product effectiveness by adopting innovative
approaches and techniques, financial efficiency by
optimizing the capital resources, high quality and
innovative outcomes by providing additional func-
tions or alternative processes. These all are conducted
to maximize the product/project worth or benefits for
the stakeholders.
Creating Value for Money for
Product/Project Development
Value for money is designed to apply and utilize
the existing knowledge and expertise to improve
our ability to create more value added in projects/
products or services. Thus, a diagnosis on potential
added-value areas in product/project development
or service delivery within limited resources can be
employed as a key success on defining the value for
money. On top of that, improving the linkage be-
tween costs and project/products/services offered,
innovative business processes and organizational
performances, and a thorough understanding the
needs of client/customer can also be used as a means
to identify various areas where value for money can
be aimed.
Responding to this issue, this edition of Value
World presents five selected papers from the journal
submissions and 2013 SAVE Value Summit to stimu-
late debate and to explore the application of value
engineering in order to create value for money in
project/product development. These selected papers
1
discuss from the current progress of value engineer-
ing (VE) application to the way of VE method has
been used to achieve value for money in terms of
efficiency and innovation.
The first paper, wrifen by Anita Lukose, dis-
cusses on how value management can be used as the
methodology for stimulating innovation. She argues
that VM helps to reap tangible and intangible ben-
efits in organizations and suggests some improve-
ments in the critical areas of concern in the innova-
tion scenario, particularly in creating new ideas and
managing knowledge. By an in-depth understanding
of a product or a process through functional ap-
proach, an optimized business process and value for
money enhancement can be achieved. Furthermore,
three different techniques as tools to generate ideas
are also discussed in this paper.
The second paper, wrifen by Muhammad A.
Al-Ghamdi, highlights the use of a value practices
completion certificate (VPCC) to confirm the success-
ful implementation of value engineering proposal
(VEP) in Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia. Diagnosis of
potential added-value areas in the VE study are em-
ployed to define the best strategy on achieving value
for money for the organization business process.
To verify the implementation of VEP, feedback was
solicited from Saudi Aramco’s Estimating Services
Division (ESD) and the Engineering Knowledge and
Resources Division (EK&RD) and the establishment
of VPCC mechanism and procedure were conducted
to ensure the implementation status of the VE pro-
posals.
The third paper, wrifen by Louis Brais and J.
Jeffrey Plant, outlines the process of a VE study on
delivering value-for-money for the Port of Miami
Tunnel Project (POMT). Fihy-six (56) of almost two
hundred (200) ideas were developed into VE recom-
mendations in which a number of VE ideas led to fur-
ther innovations in design or methods. Furthermore,
the authors argue that the VE process has delivered
substantial benefits to the project, including meeting
the project’s schedule and cost commitments.

2 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
The fourth paper, wrifen by Stephen J. Kirk and
Kurt A. Gernerd, outlines the use of function analysis
to discover opportunities for changes in the organi-
zation at two national research laboratories under
a federal government agency. This paper presents
the results of analysis of organizational governance,
work distribution, and business processes. As a result
of many implemented recommendations of the VE
study, the authors argue that significant organization-
al improvements are achieved including consolidated
administrative functions, optimization of business
process and life cycle cost savings as well as strong
partnerships with stakeholders.
The last paper, wrifen by I. Albalushi, F. Usman
and A. Alnuaimi, outlines the findings of a recent
study on implementation of value engineering in
construction projects in Oman. The result shows that
most of the respondents agree that implementation
of VE in construction projects will bring benefits to
the construction industry, particularly in minimizing
time and cost overruns, improving values and meet-
ing project requirements. On the other hand, there
are also factors that retard the application of VE in
Oman, including lack of knowledge, guidelines and
unavailability of a dedicated VE team. Responding to
this situation, the authors propose a procedure and
plan for improvement of VE study in the construc-
tion industry in Oman.
I hope this edition of Value World conveys some
new insights in the way we conduct our Value Meth-
odology studies. I can be contacted at maberawi@eng.
ui.ac.id and would be pleased to accept and respond
to any comment and enquiry you may have on the
direction and content of Value World.
With warmest regards from editorial desk,
Dr. M.A. Berawi
Faculty of Engineering
University of Indonesia
16424 Jakarta
Indonesia
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
Call for Papers
& Workshop
Proposals
Due November 30, 2013
The application process for the 2014 S A V E
Value S u m m it follows the protocols estab-
lished for the society’s 2013 annual confer-
ence. The S u m m it will be held J u n e 23-25,
2014, at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort in
Oak Brook, Illinois, U S A .
Call forPapers
All authors are required to submit a for-
mal, written paper following the guidelines
published on the S A V E website (http://www.
value-eng.org/cfp_main.php). Conference
organizers reserve the right to edit for gram-
matical style, length, and clarity. In submit-
ting a paper, authors give their agreement to
such editing. Papers and presentations must
be in English using U.S. spelling.
Submit papers to directly VP-
Conferences Richard L. J o h n son at
rjohnson@pmaconsultants.com.
Call forWorkshops
Training sessions will be held immediately
prior to the 2014 S A V E Value S u m m it and
geared to the needs of S A V E members and
other attendees interested in value-engineer-
ing related education. Workshop criteria are
judged objectively on marketability, enhance-
ment to the Value Methodology, presentation
skills of the instructor, prior experience in
delivering the specific workshop, and course
content/quality.
Pre-conference workshop proposals will
only be accepted via the online application
form accessible here: http://www.value-eng.
org/cfp_pre_conference.php.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
VM—The Right Methodology for Innovation
Anita Lukose, CVS
Abstract
Creating innovation is imperative for any orga-
nization as it brings excitement to the stakeholders.
Choosing the right process is very critical for any
organization, since there will be an extensive use of
different types of resources for generating and imple-
menting the ideas and thus reaping good results out
of it. The effectiveness of the innovation process in
understanding the problem and creating profitable
ideas is a deciding factor for the selection of the right
methodology.
Proposing the idea generated through the meth-
odology to the decision makers and gefing them to
buy it ensures its implementation which is critical for
the success of the idea. The ideas must be nurtured to
reap the benefit of it. To sell the idea, it is imperative
to have self belief in the idea. The belief will be the
outcome of an idea that excites. Aspects to be consid-
ered while selling the ideas are also presented. Only
an orbit shihing idea can bring the confidence in the
creator which will afract the afention of the hierar-
chy. Three different tools that can be used for creating
ideas are also discussed in the paper.
Tapping the implicit knowledge of the employ-
ees is a challenge to many organizations. Functional
analysis in VM promotes effective knowledge shar-
ing in the organization. FAST helps the team to
understand many areas with a functional perspective
exposing many information and details which the
team members were otherwise unaware of. During
function analysis sessions the team is able to make
explicit, the implicit knowledge of the members.
Knowledge coupled with an explorative mindset
makes us special by giving us a cufing edge over
others.
Thus VM helps to have the right conception of
the customer requirements and a clear knowledge of
optimal areas of business enhancement. This knowl-
edge generates ideas which can be effectively pushed
for implementation because of befer communication
and understanding of the stakeholders. The clarity
of information achieved during the study excites the
3
decision makers prompting them to ensure imple-
mentation. These ideas when executed systematically
and launched strategically will help the organization
to reap tangible and intangible benefits.
The paper recommends that VM as the right
methodology for innovation. It also suggests some
improvements in the critical areas of concern in the
innovation scenario namely selling the idea, creating
new ideas and knowledge management during the
process.
Introduction
Innovations benefit the organization with im-
proved profitability as they eliminate some prob-
lem areas or address some customer requirements.
Equally important benefits of innovations are making
explicit the implicit knowledge, addition to informa-
tion repository, brand enhancement, strengthening
the organizational ecosystem and improving employ-
ee satisfaction through involvement.
Innovations are expected to create a “wow” factor
for the customer. So, understanding the customer
requirements is a crucial aspect in customer satis-
faction. Ohen customers are not clear about what
they really want. Customer requirement according
to Henry Ford is, “If I had asked people what they
wanted, they would have said faster horses.” To
manufacture a car when he asks for faster horse, it
requires a thorough understanding of the function
behind this desire. In one instance, a customer asks
a technician for a solar lighting system with three
lights and finds that he cannot afford it. The techni-
cian visits the place and understands that the cus-
tomer requirement is to light three rooms rather than
a three lighting system. He provides a single light
option from the ceiling which lights the three rooms
at one-third the price. This shows that the customer
requirement is a given data which has to be analyzed
to understand the actual desire meant by him.
Innovation helps organizations to have a cufing
edge over competitors as the process of generating
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
4 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

innovations help them to constantly analyze and
keep watch on its different activities.
Choosing a Right Methodology for
Innovation
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is prob-
ably the reason so few engage in it.”
~ Henry Ford
Choosing the right process is very critical for any
organization since there will be an extensive use of
different types of resources for reaping good result
out of it. The process should be able to create a prof-
ited management, satisfied customer and a motivated
employee.
A good innovation process should help the team
to think analytically, creatively and constructively
helping them to evaluate effectively and prompting
them to take actions for implementation and analyz-
ing the result. VM helps the team to functionally
analyze the area understudy, generate creative solu-
tions and evaluate the ideas according to the design
requirements. The identified solution from the evalu-
ation can be implemented as the team will be confi-
dent and motivated because of the new knowledge
acquired and the great outcome of the study.
Figure 1 (below) shows the FAST diagram which
describes the logic of an efficient process to create
innovation. A close examination shows that VE has
all the expected functions according to this logic. As a
methodology it encourages the use of different tools
during different phases of the study helping the team
to take the advantages of those tools also.
An analysis of the FAST diagram calls for an at-
tention to the basic and the other important function
in the critical path. The functions sell idea, create idea
and develop thinking are explained in detail.
Sell New Ideas
Aher discovering and identifying a great idea
which will delight the customers and the hierarchy,
the project needs afention and action. The idea,
however valuable, will not be able to demand imple-
mentation by itself. This leads to a need for it to be
transformed to fit the business context and presented.
Valuable innovative ideas are lost every day because
their significance is missed and they are not devel-
oped to their full potential. FAST is a good tool which
can be used for communicating the great ideas with
clarity. A few key understanding which will help
right afention for your proposal are listed below:

Conform
How Basic Why
Motivate
Requirement
Employee

Conform Enhance Be
Quality Thinking Positive
Create
New Ideas Develop Share Make
Generate Sell Evaluate Analyze
Innovation Idea Idea Thinking Information Knowledge Team
Create
Alternatives
Ensure Set Provoke Understand Collect
Implem Criteria Thinking Requirements Info
entation Enthuse
When Customers
Expose Communicate
Ensure
Implicit Requirements
Value
knowledge
Addition
Scope of the project

Figure 1. FAST diagram for efficient innovation process.

VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
• Innovation is executing the idea; not only cre-
ating it. Creators take their time and effort to gen-
erate an exciting idea by collecting information
from various sources, analyzing and internalizing
the facts and pufing their best creative thinking.
Finally when they hit the idea, they feel that the
target is achieved. They do not feel that convinc-
ing others of the idea’s value is imperative. They
believe that their idea will “sell itself” and selling
is not their activity. Change agents act as a link
between creators of new techniques and the us-
ers.
• Innovation is execution—making great ideas
happen. It is about implementation along with
planning and design. This cannot be consummat-
ed only with managers or with technical experts.
• Ideas call for selling. The idea should be recog-
nized by a decision maker. Those who have the
power to evaluate and adopt it should appreciate
the idea. Those who understanding user must
welcome the proposal. There should be people
who are convinced that the idea has enough merit
to demand adoption. Selling is what people use
for convincing.
• Selling warrants effort. Selling innovations
requires preparation, initiative, patience, and
resourcefulness. The proposal to be worked out
factually overruling the excitement about the
idea. It may take more effort than originating the
idea. Packaging the idea to stand out in an age of
technical progress and information density, new
ideas rarely stand out.
The above facts points to the need of people to act
as link with the creators and users.
How toSell
Innovation and change ohen depend upon
convincing potential users and decision makers of
the benefits of an innovation. To sell the idea to the
peer or to the hierarchy and get it implemented, VE
team should understand and develop the capabili-
ties of an “intrapreneur”. Intraprenuring is a term
coined by Grifford Pinchot for entrepreneurs within
the organization who creates and markets their own
idea for the mutual benefit of them and the company.
The corporate success was always defined as moving
up the hierarchy. With the conception of technical
breakthroughs, another stream of successful people
emerged without becoming managers creating a
5
second career path. The gap between the two was
very vivid since they talked two different aspects of
business. This led to the third career path, the intra-
preneurs to bridge the gap between the first two. He
defines intrapreneur as “any of the dreamer who
does - those who take hands on responsibility for
creating innovations of any kind within the organiza-
tion. Intrapreneur may be the creator or inventor but
always a dreamer who figures out how to turn an
idea into a profitability.” Great idea combined with
large resources of an organization leads to exciting
products or services.
Attributes of anIntrapreneur:
• Ability to take risk
• Persistence to get the idea implemented
• Willingness to take up task beyond the job re-
sponsibility
• Identifying the right people for the multi-disci-
plinary team, for implementing the idea and for
gefing the approvals.
• Willingness to work underground; popularity
brings competition which may be capable to kill
the idea.
• Recognise the people who helped.
The VE manager should act similar to an intra-
preneur to implement the ideas developed by dif-
ferent teams. He should be aware of the following
points while communicating the idea and presenting
the implementation plan.
1. Believe in the proposal: Self belief is the most
convincing characteristic required for any kind
of selling. If the proposer himself does not have
faith in his proposal, he will not be able to con-
vince his customers. Before an idea is sold, you
must be sold to the idea.
2. Create a support group: To implement the pro-
posal all by your lonesome is an extremely chal-
lenging task. Proposal supported by a concerned
team increases the credibility to a project, as it
demonstrates a team effort considering different
angles. Munshi, Porus (2009) suggest that meet-
ing the people concerned about the proposal
separately before the formal presentation and ex-
plaining the project will create an individual buy
in. For example, if you are presenting a proposal
in the execution of electrical service of a construc-
tion project, discuss your idea generated by your

6 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
VE team to the heads of electrical design and ex-
ecution before the proposal to the management.
During formal presentation, they already know
the proposal in detail which otherwise may not
be communicated with clarity using an abridged
version in the presentation. On the day of the
formal presentation you will also be prepared to
address the concerns that they raised during the
meeting earlier. This also will help your higher
authorities for faster decision-making and to ap-
preciate your proactive nature.
3. Take advantage of the resistance: Addressing the
concerns, challenges, or issues that are raised by
those who are skeptical of your plan will give the
perspective that you are knowledgeable and have
thought about your proposal in totality. It show-
cases your meticulousness and will give you the
feel of reality that may be overshadowed by your
passion about your idea.
4. Achieve the critical mass: A new idea has to be
suggested many times to afract afention. Initial
failures at promoting a new idea are to be ex-
pected, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get
the results you want the first time. Some ideas
take years to catch on. However, first exposures
are crucial to future prospects. Do it right the first
time and keep doing it till it achieves the momen-
tum.
5. Communicate according to the listeners: It is im-
portant to put the project in the way the listener is
relating to the area of reference and not in terms
of how you see it. Innovation and change ohen
depends upon persuading potential users of the
benefits of an innovation.
While presenting to top management, the impact
on the brand reputation, awareness, lead gen-
eration need to be highlighted. If it is a process
improvisation, the areas of improvement along
with the benefits and the ability to address the
problem area of the business will afract afention.
If the selling is to the peer, help them understand
how it will change their priorities, roles, and how
the proposal equips them to do it.
To increase the credibility of the proposal, it is
necessary to know and understand their interests
and opinions. It is imperative to collect the infor-
mation such as the past experience of the decision
maker in the area of proposal, his style of think-
ing and decision making, any new developments
happening in the area and how the proposal will
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
benefit the decision maker. Know more about
him from the networks or groups in which he is a
part of.
6. Present your understanding: Presenting the facts
and assumptions behind the proposal is ohen
neglected as it is seems to be obvious. As the
person responsible to study the problem, you are
more knowledgeable about the various details of
it analyzing from different angle. These facts help
the decision maker to evaluate your proposal. It is
imperative to explain the facts related to the prob-
lem to be solved, the technical aspects of your
assumption with a well thought implementation
plan mentioning both the potential advantages
and disadvantages, and some conclusions drawn
about possible results based on other people’s ex-
periences, your research, assumptions, and data.
The more clearly you state your proposal, the
more likely you are to get and keep the decision
maker’s afention.
If used effectively, the FAST diagram can be used
to enhance the understanding. You are equipped
with almost all information and criteria related
to the proposal since you have completed the VE
project. Present this knowledge according to the
target audience.
7. The presentation: An introduction-body-content
structure will make the presentation effective.
The introduction should explain the background
of the problem with your objectives. The body
should be organized with distinguishable ideas of
the report using effective transition from different
points. Avoid extraneous material while present-
ing the support data. In the conclusion, the rec-
ommendation should be clearly stated with the
value addition to the organization.
8. Negotiation: Be humble enough to accept that
your proposal is not perfect and that there is
scope for improvement. Be prepared to negotiate.
But this should not be for diluting your idea. Do
not accept compromises, but understand con-
straints and rework. Some progress is befer than
bringing it to a halt.
9. Share success: Sharing the success helps to win
the trust of your colleagues for the present and
future projects. While owning your part in the
project, share the credit for successes by giving
credit for how others have helped you. Analyz-
ing the failures rationally rather than emotionally,
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
the problems faced and its cause can be identified
without accusing personally. Also share the les-
sons from the project positive and negative to the
boss and the team and document them. Commu-
nicate ohen and openly and the peers will come
to know that you are interested in the results.
VM helps the team to prepare the presentation in
detail explaining critical information, analysis, func-
tions and their relationship, criteria and their relative
importance along with an implementation plan. This
systematic approach expedites the selling of the idea
and its implementation.
Create Ideas
To sell your idea, it is imperative to have self
belief in the idea. The belief will be the outcome of an
idea that excites you. Your past experience with the
organization tells you if it will excite all the stake-
holders of it. Only an orbit shihing idea can bring the
confidence in the creator which will afract the afen-
tion of the hierarchy.
An understanding on the different styles of
innovative thinking and knowing the individual
innovation style and communication style will help
the team to be cohesive and mutually supporting
during discussions. This behavioural understanding
will help the leader to lead the team to address pos-
sible conflicts and to take the maximum output of the
team.
Even though brainstorming is a much sought
to method for generating ideas, alternate methods
sometimes enthuse the team to be creative. VM has
the advantage that it can encompass many different
tools to enhance the output in various stages of study.
There are many proven techniques that can be adopt-
ed to generate valuable creative idea. Three of them
are mentioned below:
1. The Lotus BlossomTechnique
To solve the problem of evolution, Charles Dar-
win initially organized his thinking around sig-
nificant themes, principally eight of the problem.
This approach gave his thinking some order for the
themes connected loosely so that he could easily alter
them singly or in groups. The point is that by orga-
nizing his thinking around loosely-connected themes,
Darwin expanded his thinking by inventing alterna-
tive possibilities and explanations that, otherwise,
may have been ignored. This kind of creative think-
7
ing is encouraged in Lotus Blossom Technique, which
was originally developed by Yasuo Matsumura of
Clover Management Research in Chiba City, Japan.
This thinking strategy tool helps to organize
thinking around specific themes by providing an
in-depth view of various solutions. It begins with a
central core idea surrounded by eight empty boxes or
circles. Using brainstorming, eight additional ideas
are wrifen in these boxes. Each of these eight ideas
becomes the core of another set of eight surrounding
empty boxes, which are filled in by new ideas using
brainstorming. (See Figure 2, previous page.) The
process continues until a satisfactory solution or a
sufficient number of ideas have emerged. This ap-
proach is pursued in ever-widening circles until the
subject or opportunity is comprehensively explored.
The cluster of themes and surrounding ideas and
applications, provide several different alternative
possibilities.
The guidelines for Lotus Blossom are as follows:
1. Write the central problem in the center. In Figure
2 it is wrifen in the center cell which is named as
Core Idea.
2. Write the significant themes, components or
dimensions of your subject in the surround-
ing boxes labeled A to H around the box of the
central theme. Ask questions like: What are my
specific objectives? What are the constants in my
problem? What are the dimensions of my prob-
lem?
3. Use the ideas wrifen in the circles as the central
themes for the surrounding lotus blossom petals
or boxes.
4. Generate eight ideas for these second level central
themes and write it in the cell around.
5. Continue the process until the lotus blossom dia-
gram is completed.
An important aspect of this technique is that it
encourages examining the important themes of the
problem and the relationships and connections be-
tween them. This helps you to identify a property or
criteria ignored before.
This also encourages connecting functions of
different things to make a whole new product.
Generally, higher level properties are regarded as
emergent—a machine is an emergent property of the
interconnected parts. If it is disassembled and all the
parts kept separate, the property of the machine and
its function disappears. When the parts put together
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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1: Change 2: Change 3: change 1 2 3 1 2 3

shape Design color
4:improved A: Attract 5: Change 4 B: Product 5 4 C: 5
Advertisement user packing Quality Enhance
Feature
6: Alternate 7: Target 8: Adopt 6 7 8 6 7 8
material unaddressed Contemporary
customer theme
1 2 3 A: Attract B: Product C: 1 2 3
user Quality Enhance
Feature
4 D: increase 5 D: Core Idea: E: 4 E: 5
outlets increase Increase Customer Customer
outlets sales lifestyle lifestyle

6 7 8 F: Reduce G: sales H: 6 7 8
Cost strategy Improve
service
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

4 F: Reduce 5 4 G: sales 5 4 H: 5
Cost strategy Improve
service
6 7 8 6 7 8 6 7 8

Figure 2. Lotus Blossom Technique.

according to function, a pafern becomes visible and
this inspires you to make a machine out of it. It is like
the reverse process of building of a FAST diagram.
Similarly, a lotus blossom helps you to see paferns
and make connections. The connections you make
between the themes and ideas and applications may
become breakthrough proposals.
2. Method of AbsurdCombinations
This is mainly used for original products or prod-
uct improvisations by considering the absurd way
of working for a product. Trevor Bayliss, the Eng-
lish inventor, applied it to radio and conceived the
clockwork radio. Instead of using electricity the radio
started working by winding it like a clock.
The same process can be applied to combinations
of diverse individuals or organizations combining
different skills could create an original approach
to the market. When creativity and computer skills
combined together, computer graphics becomes a
possibility. When a trolley and suitcase was com-
bined, wheeled suitcases was created. Phone and
copier together made fax machine. Likewise force the
creativity within to create extreme possibilities to cre-
ate new customer experiences.
3. The Excursion Technique
The Excursion Technique is used for forcing a
group to discard the traditional parameters to formu-
late new strategies. The team is directed to take an
imaginary excursion to a physical location (a muse-
um, a jungle, a city, another planet, etc.), totally irrel-
evant with respect to the real problem. Then the team
members write down 8-10 images, in the first column
of a table of tree columns. In the second column the
analogies or express relationships between what they
saw on the excursion and the problem as defined.
The solutions to their problems are wrifen in column
3 beside the items and analogies identified in the
other columns. The next step is to share their experi-
ences from the excursion stating what they saw, their
analogies and their solutions. Finally, the team dis-
cusses each other’s ideas. Eventually the leader helps
the group come to a common solution or a set of
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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solutions to the problem. The excursion technique is
based on many years of observations of what people
do naturally, though not necessarily consciously, to
generate new ideas. This helps the team to temporar-
ily put the problem aside and think.
Develop Thinking & Knowledge
Management
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor
planet of a very average star. But we can understand the
universe. That makes us something very special.”
~ Stephen Hawkins
VM promotes effective knowledge sharing in the
organization. Functional analysis, especially FAST,
helps the team to understand concerned areas with
a functional perspective exposing many information
and details which the team members were otherwise
unaware of. Kaufman & Woodhead (2006) point out
that analysis of FAST models, if done effectively,
helps to generate ideas and thus enables innovations.
During function analysis session the team is able to
make explicit, the implicit knowledge of the mem-
bers. Tapping the implicit knowledge of the employ-
ees is a challenge for many organizations since that is
the individual knowledge the employee is possessing
and when this employee leaves the organization that
knowledge is lost. There may be employees who do
things very creatively without using a specific pro-
cess. This is ohen because of the implicit knowledge
that they possess. Implicit knowledge is that skill or
awareness which is not directly expressed; that is, the
meaning is inferred from the context and, therefore,
relies on existing knowledge. Two different ap-
proaches suggested for knowledge management are
tacit knowledge management and explicit knowledge
management. The salient characteristic of the tacit
knowledge approach is the basic belief that knowl-
edge is essentially personal in nature and is therefore
difficult to extract from the heads of individuals.
The dissemination of knowledge in an organization
can best be accomplished by the transfer of people
as “knowledge carriers” from one part of an orga-
nization to another. Working from the premise that
important forms of knowledge can be made explicit,
the explicit knowledge approach also believes that
formal organizational processes can be used to help
individuals articulate the knowledge they have to
create knowledge assets.
9
Knowledge coupled with subversive mindset
makes us special by giving us the cufing edge over
others. Intellectual capital is becoming the fundamen-
tal measure of future corporate performance. Orga-
nizations possess large amounts of useful data and
the amount of accessible data increases steadily on a
daily basis. Static knowledge management is neither
efficient nor scalable for ever increasing knowledge
base. It is vital for organization to have proper meth-
ods and processes for knowledge sharing and man-
aging.
Learning in an organization occurs when in-
dividuals come together under circumstances that
encourage them to share their ideas and to develop
new insights together that will lead to the creation
of new knowledge. Many companies try and tap
implicit or tacit knowledge by transferring and
mixing of different teams. To make wider use of the
tacit knowledge of individuals, managers are urged
to identify the knowledge possessed by various
individuals in an organization and then to arrange
interactions between knowledgeable individuals that
will help the organization perform its current tasks,
transfer knowledge from one part of the organiza-
tion to another, and/or create new knowledge that
may be useful to the organization. Aher initial train-
ing, a team of new employees are put together with
highly experienced team for execution to acquire tacit
knowledge possessed by the experts. VM promotes
such learning within the organisation to create new
ideas. Well defined and documented process descrip-
tions of routine and repetitive task are possible aher a
VE study which is an asset for a successful knowl-
edge management.
To get the understanding of who knows about
what in an organization will help in the formation of
effective VE teams. An example of such an effort is
the creation an online listing of experts with different
kinds of knowledge within many business units of an
organization. In the intranet one can type in the key
words for a specific knowledge domain and it will
retrieve a listing of the people within the organiza-
tion, possibly worldwide, who have such knowledge.
Contact information can also provided for each per-
son listed, so that anyone who wants to know more
about that kind of knowledge can get in touch with
listed individuals.
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
10 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

Conclusion Analysis and Mapping , Hoboken, New Jersey,

By an in-depth understanding of a product or a
process though the functional approach, VM helps
to have the right conception of the customer require-
ments and a clear knowledge of optimal areas of
business enhancement. This knowledge generates
ideas which can be effectively pushed for imple-
mentation because of the befer communication and
understanding of the stakeholders. The teamwork
enhances the clarity of the processes and procedures
followed. It also helps to tap the implicit knowledge
within the team members. This sharing ensures a
befer individual involvement and generates creative
solutions. Thus, VM is proved to be the right meth-
odology for innovation.
Care should be taken to make the presentation of
the ideas so as to communicate to the decision mak-
ers by orienting towards their areas of concern. The
ideas when executed systematically and launched
strategically will bring profitability along with em-
ployee satisfaction—the ideal situation for a success-
ful organization.
References
Kaufman, Jerry & Roy Woodhead (2006); Stimulating
Innovation in Products and Services: With Function
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Munshi, Porus (2009); Making Breakthrough Innovation
Happen, Noida, UP, HarperCollins Publishers.
Pinchot, Grifford; Intrapreneuring: Why You Don’t
Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepre-
neur, New York, Harper & Row Publishers Inc.,
1985.
About the Author
Anita Lukkose, CVS, is currently the head of the
department of value engineering at M/s Sobha Developers
Ltd., a premier real estate company based in Bangalore, In-
dia. She also holds the additional responsibility of heading
the innovation commiflee that spearheads the Innovation
activities in the company. A civil engineer by profession,
Lukose is also certified as a Certified Value Specialist, the
first woman so designated in India. She has presented sev-
eral papers in value engineering and innovation in differ-
ent national and international level conferences. She is the
secretary of INVEST South Zone Council and a member
of INVEST (Indian Value Engineering Society) National
Council.

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VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Idea (Or is there?)
By Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public
Relations
NewYork, N Y (Sept. 2013) —
“There’s no such thing as a bad idea!”
Whether you’re in advertising, sales,
HR, or just slaving away in the back
cubicle, at some point you’ve probably
been involved in a brainstorming ses-
sion where someone has uttered those
brave words. In fact, the mantra is
often upheld as the number-one “rule”
of brainstorming, long embraced and
championed by experts.
But is it really true? After all, when
you think about it, you usually hear
The Thinker is a bronze sculp-
those words when they’re being used
to justify a less-than-stellar suggestion ture by AugusteRodin.
that’s just been made by a colleague. In
reality, aren’t there at least a few bad ideas lurking in
the shadows?
In their SmartStormin g corporate training ses-
sions, Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer—coauthors
of SmartStorming:The Game-Changing Process for
Generating Bigger, Better Ideas—always introduce
the “n o bad idea” notion. More often than not, a
heated debate ensues.
“Most of u s have at least a vague understand-
ing of the expression’s meaning—but man y of u s
just don’t buy it,” say s Harmeyer. “Wh en the debate
comes up, there’s always one participant, and of-
ten man y more, wh o challenge this notion that bad
ideas don’t exist. We typically hear comments like,
Of course there are bad ideas! If we all decided to
jump out of the window right n o w and defy gravity,
wouldn’t that be a bad idea?”
“ S o m e people really get passionate about it, like
they find it personally offensive,” say s Rigie. “Th en
again, we often find that other people are equally
passionate about the opposite point of view.”
A window on the “ S t o r m ” of controversy
According to Rigie and Harmeyer, the “n o bad
idea” mantra is not a new one. Alex Osborn, consid-
ered by many to be the father of brainstorming, be-
lieved that in order to be successful, participants must
“suspend judgment.” Like most savvy brainstorm
leaders, he understood the perils of allowing people
to start criticizing ideas in the midst of a session. And
today almost every well-regarded group idea genera-
tion methodology maintains the tradition.
S o wh y do so man y people feel strongly that
there are bad ideas—ideas so bad they should be
stopped dead in their tracks so as not to waste the
11
time and energy of the group?
“We were really fascinated, and a
little puzzled, by people’s reactions,”
sa y s Rigie. “ S o we decided to post
this question on LinkedIn: ‘We’ve all
heard the expression There are no
bad ideas. Do you agree? If not, why?
If so, what does the expression mean
to you?’ We wanted to see just h ow
varied the responses would be.”
Here is a small samplin g of the
responses the SmartStormin g part-
ners received:
“Of course there are bad ideas.
When your product does not meet
customer [expectations], it’s a bad
idea.”
“In the army they used to say the
only stupid question is the one not
asked. There are plenty of stupid ideas but everyone
should have the opportunity to express [them].”
“We are taught to encourage everyone to sa y
only positive things to others’ suggestions and
keep everything nice and rosy. Unless you want to
sit around a campfire, sin g ‘Kumbaya,’ and make
s’mores, this is ludicrous!”
“There are man y bad ideas out there, like harm-
ing oneself or others, taking advantage of others,
and making foolish financial and business decisions.”
“ J u m p i n g out of an airplane without a parachute:
a B A D i d e a … B u y i n g MySp ace for billions: a B A D
idea.”
“I’ve sat in brainstorming sessions where ‘there
are no bad ideas.’ Um, there are. Okay, some trigger
innovative thinking. But most just waste time. Unfor-
tunately, ma n y people just like to hear themselves
talk.”
The debate, as you can see, is fairly one-sided.
Generally, there is widespread contempt for the “n o
bad ideas” notion. Yet Rigie and Harmeyer have a
different take on it.
Surprise! A lot of good can come from bad ideas.
S o … a r e there bad ideas, or not?
“It all depends on h ow you look at it,” Harmeyer
explains. “There are obviously ideas that appear
unfeasible, impractical, irrational, harmful, and po-
tentially devastating. N o one of sound mind would
propose implementing such an idea, assu min g they
truly believed it to be bad.The real question isn’t
whether such ideas are bad, but instead, should
those ideas be cast aside as soon as they’re voiced?”
“Most brainstorming gurus agree that when
Ideas continued on page 12

12
Ideas continued from page 11
searching for new, innovative solutions, it’s impor-
tant to give even ideas that resonate as undeni-
ably ‘bad’ a chance to be considered, debated, and
developed,” says Rigie. “As Osborn put it, we should
suspend judgment. He didn’t sa y to eliminate judg-
ment, only to suspend it. This would imply that we
will eventually evaluate and judge whether some
ideas are unacceptable, impractical, or simply off
target. But we must suspend that judgment until an
idea has had a chance to percolate.”
Read on for a few tips on wh y you should let bad
ideas fly and h ow to man age them:
Criticism kills innovation. According to Rigie and
Harmeyer, first, and perhaps most obvious, is the
fact that rampant criticism in a brainstorm is offen-
sive to many. When people’s ideas are quickly and
consistently shot down, they become intimidated
and are reluctant to share—not an ideal situation in a
group idea generation session.
“It takes courage to put forth an idea that is
imaginative or radical sounding,” say s Harmeyer.
“Negativity and judgment create an unsafe atmo-
sphere for sharing such ideas.”
In the beginning, you want quantity, not quality.
A s a rule of thumb, the idea generation phase of a
brainstorm should be spontaneous and free flowing,
where ideas are plentiful, offered spontaneously and
without hesitation.
“Th e moment an idea is shot down, the free-
wheeling momentu m will grind to a halt,” explains
Rigie. “It can take a group significant time to get back
into flow, if they are able to at all. S o even if an idea
has no value, the ‘cost’ of killing it is too great, when
considering the negative impact on the session’s
productivity.”
Often, bad ideas lead to BIG ideas. You never
know when a so-called “b ad idea” will contain the
seeds of greatness within it.
“We’ve seen it countless times in our work,” says
Harmeyer. “A ‘bad,’ even absurd, idea is offered up,
and within minutes it has transformed into a brilliant
example of innovative thinking. In fact, like man y
brainstorming experts, we make use of some very
effective idea generation techniques that actually
invite participants to come up with the worst, most
ridiculous, even distasteful ideas imaginable—and
then to turn around or transform those ideas into
great ones.”
Consider the somewhat extreme “what if we all
jumped out of the win d ow” example, suggest the
authors. Anyone would agree this is a bad idea in
and of itself. But Rigie and Harmeyer point out that
from such an idea, one might develop an innovative
emergency personal parachute product for individu-
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
als working in tall city buildings. Or conceive an
improved process for evacuation from high floors
during a fire. A new “team h an g gliding” extreme
sports event. A breakthrough advertising concept
where a group of people are able to fly after consum-
ing a new beverage.You name it! Any of these, and
an infinite number of other possibilities, could be
born from the “b ad idea” that everyone in the room
should jump out of a window.
“That is, unless the idea is shot down prema-
turely before the potentially great idea within it has
a chance to blossom,” says Rigie. “And that is the
point: to suspend judgment until an idea has had a
fair chance to sh ow all it’s got.”
When the time is right, you can kill it with con-
sideration. When is it appropriate and even produc-
tive to reject an idea? “One of the most important
concepts to understand about successful group idea
generation is that there is a time to generate ideas
and a time to judge and select ideas,” says Rigie.
“Th ese are two very different and distinct processes
that require different thinking skills. During idea
generation, thinking must remain spontaneous and
free of any negativity or judgment.This is the optimal
condition for generating the greatest breadth and
depth of fresh ideas possible.”
Rigie go es on to explain that later, once the
idea generation process has been completed, it is
then time to switch to the process of evaluating and
selecting ideas, and subject the best ones to critique.
It is during this phase in the session (or in a subse-
quent session) that ideas should be judged worthy
or unworthy, practical or implausible, etc. B y keeping
these two processes separate, you optimize your ef-
fectiveness at both.
“Most of u s enter a brainstorm with the goal of
generating fresh, innovative, game-changing ideas,”
says Harmeyer. “However, if judgment and criticism
are part of the ideation process, it is highly unlikely
that the goal will be achievable.”
“ S u s p e n d judgment,” adds Rigie. “E ven if you
know, without a doubt, that an idea is bad—really
bad, even horrible—let it live, just for a while.You
just might find a game-changing g e m hidden inside!
N o w doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”
About the Book
SmartStorming:The Game-Changing Process for
Generating Bigger, Better Ideas (Dog Ear Publish-
ing, 2013, ISBN : 978-1-4575166-3-4, $29.95, www.
smartstorming.com) will be available from all major
online booksellers and at http://www.SmartStorming.
com/book.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Value Practices Completion Certificate:
A Proposal to Confirm the Successful
Completion of Value Practices Studies
Muhammad A. Al-Ghamdi, Ph.D.
Abstract
The need to confirm the implementation of value
practices proposals was highlighted by Saudi Aram-
co management. Current procedures contain para-
graphs that mandate the implementation and report-
ing of Value Practices proposals; however, the review
of some project documents did not show strong
adherence to these procedures. The purpose of this
paper is to introduce the Value Practices Completion
Certificate that is proposed to confirm the successful
implementation of Value Practices proposals.
Key Words
Saudi Aramco, Value Practices, Completion Cer-
tificate, Implementation, Studies.
Introduction
Saudi Aramco executive management high-
lighted the need to confirm the realization of value
improvements resulting from value engineering (VE)
studies. This raised the need to answer the following
important question: Are accepted value engineering
proposals being implemented?
To verify the implementation of value engi-
neering proposals, feedback was solicited from the
Estimating Services Division and the Engineering
Knowledge and Resources Division. There was no
information available that could clearly reflect the
implementation status of the proposals of VE or other
value practices. This document proposes the estab-
lishment of the value practices completion certificate
to address management’s concern. The value practic-
es completion certificate will be managed and issued
using the value practices management system .
13
The Completion Status of Value
Practices Studies
The successful completion of value practices
studies is important to project management. Saudi
Aramco’s engineering procedures mandate the
implementation of value practices proposals and the
reporting of value practices documents. Subsequent-
ly, the Project Execution Optimization Division is not
gefing frequent feedback from the users of value
practices. Therefore, there is a need to establish value
practices completion certificate to bridge this gap.
Value Practices
Value practices implemented in Saudi Aramco
consists of some of the best practices recommended
by the Construction Industry Institute (CII), which
are:
• Constructability
• Lessons learned implementation
• Lessons learned collection
• Project definition rating index
• Planning for start-up
• Project planning and team alignment
• Scope control and change management
• Schedule optimization
In addition, Saudi Aramco’s value practices port-
folio includes the SAVE International’s formal meth-
odology that is the Value Methodology.
The Importance of Successful Completion of
Value Practices Studies
The successful completion of value practices stud-
ies can be measured by the implementation of value
practices proposals. (The outcome of value practices

14
studies can be in the form of proposals, recommenda-
tions or actions). In addition, it can be indicated by
the reporting of all value practices. The data collected
aher the successful completion of value practices
studies are needed to:
• Ensure the realization of the value added by the
implemented value practices.
• Calculate project management key performance
indices.
• Enhance the moral and motivates value practices
teams.
• Encourage the introduction of new value prac-
tices.
• Benchmark Saudi Aramco projects with best in
class companies.
• Highlight areas for further improvement in value
practices processes.
• Facilitate the accumulation of knowledge gained
during value practices studies.
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures
Addressing the Completion of Value Practices
Studies
There are several Saudi Aramco’s engineer-
ing procedures mandating the implementation of
value practices proposals and the reporting of value
practices documents. Some examples of these Saudi
Aramco’s engineering procedures are as follows.
• Saudi Aramco’s engineering procedures-14(Sec-
tion 4.1.3):
● “The status and resolution of all accepted and
pending value engineering proposalss shall
be documented in the Value Engineering Sec-
tion of the Project Proposal.”
● “A copy of the final VE report shall be distrib-
uted to the project management no later than
four weeks from the completion of the VE
session.”
• Saudi Aramco’s engineering procedures-25(Sec-
tion 3.3.1.3):
● “A scope change is defined as any cost or
scheduled deviation from the approved
design basis scoping paper. An example of
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
typical scope changes are the savings realized
from VE and other value practices.”
● “All scope changes shall be recorded in a spe-
cial section in the ER estimate package. This
section shall contain a list of all scope changes
with justification, cost impact, schedule
impact, initiator organization, date initiated/
approved and any supported cost estimate
documents.”
When the implementation status of value prac-
tices proposals was inquired, not all project proposals
of previous projects were available with the Engi-
neering Knowledge and Resources Division. In addi-
tion, the available ones did not provide details on the
implementation status of the value practices propos-
als. Likewise; the Estimating Services Division did
not have information on the savings realized from VE
and other value practices.
The Implementation of Value Practices
Proposals andRecommendations
Based on Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures,
there is no concrete evidence of the implementation
status of value practices proposals. Although some
sections in related Saudi Aramco’s engineering pro-
cedures, such as Saudi Aramco’s engineering proce-
dures-14, 25 and 367, mandate the reporting of value
practices proposals implementation status, Project
Execution Optimization Division receives no detailed
and frequent feedback from customers on the imple-
mentation of value practices proposals.
The Reporting of Value Practices Documents
Project Execution Optimization Division does not
have all documents of previous value practices stud-
ies. It has only the documents of the value practices
studies facilitated by its value practices specialists, in
addition to some other value practices studies facili-
tated by out of company value practices consultants.
Project Execution Optimization Division solicita-
tion for documents from value practices users is not
always answered.
The Need for Value Practices Completion
Certificate
There are several symptoms highlighting the
need for a more effective solution to confirm the
implementation of value practices proposals and
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
15

the reporting of value practices documents. Some of
these symptoms are:
• The lack of adherence to sections in Saudi Aram-
co’s engineering procedures that address value
practices requirements.
• The lack of mechanisms in Saudi Aramco’s engi-
neering procedures to ensure the implementation
of value practices proposals and the reporting
value practices documents.
DD/P/C
DBSP*
• The lack of detailed and frequent feedback from
value practices users on the implementation sta-
tus of value practices proposals and the reporting
of value practices documents.
• The limited utilization of value practices propos-
als in addressing other value practices activities.
To overcome the above mentioned issues, this
document proposes the establishment of a value
practices completion certificate.

Value Practices Completion Activities

PP*

■ □ □ Constructability
□ Implementation Status of Constructability Action Items

□ Constructability Recommendations Implementation Plan

■ □ □ Lesson s Learned Collection

□ TBD
■ □ □ Lessons Learned Implementation
□ Implementation Status of Identified Lesson s Learned
■ □ ■ Project Definition Rating Index
□ Confirmations of Definition Improvement to L o w Defined Elements (PDRI Score > 250)
■ □ □ Planning for Start-Up
□ Confirmations on Addressin g All P F S U Commen ts

□ Final Draft of Start-Up Execution Plan

■ □ □ Project Planning andTeam Alignment

□ Confirmations on Addressin g all PPTA Commen ts
□ □ □ Risk Management
□ Implementation of Risk Response Actions

□ Risk Management Report

■ □ □ Scop e Control and Ch an ge Management

□ Implementation of Scop e Control and Ch an ge Management Internal

□ Procedure Sign ed Scop e Freeze Letter

■ □ ■ Schedule Optimization
□ TBD
□ □ ■ Value Engineering
□ Finalization of Accepted for Further Stu d y Value Engineering Proposals

□ Implementation Status of Acceptes Value Engineering Proposals

□ Final Value Engineering Report

*Design Basis S c oping Paper (DBSP), Project Proposal (PP), Detailed Design/Procurement/Construction (DD/P/C)
Figure 1. Value Practices Completion Checklist

16
Framework for the Establishment
of a Value Practices Completion
Certificate
The key elements of the proposed value practices
completion certificate process are the value practices
completion checklist, the value practices comple-
tion certificate, the required changes to related Saudi
Aramco’s engineering procedures and the automa-
tion of the value practices management system.
Value PracticesCompletion Checklist
By the end of any value practices studies there
are certain actions, implementation status, and docu-
ments that have to be reported to the Value Practices
Unit (VPU) and Project Research and Knowledge
Management Unit (PR&KMU). The value practices
completion checklist summarizes the key items for
all value practices. The Value Practices Completion
Checklist is illustrated in Figure 1 (see page 15).
Value PracticesCompletion Certificate
The value practices completion certificate will be
issued by Project Execution Optimization Division
when all items in the value practices Completion
Checklist are met. The value practices completion
certificate is illustrated in Figure 2 (next page).
Milestones of Value Practices Completion
Certificate
As illustrated in Figure 3 (next page), the value
practices completion certificate shall be issued as
applicable, at the end of the key project stages. The
value practices completion certificate issued by the
end of a stage should confirm the implementation of
all value practices planned for that particular stage.
Required Changes to Related Saudi Aramco
Engineering Procedure
To ensure the effective implementation of value
practices completion certificate, there are several
recommended changes that need to be considered
for related Saudi Aramco’s engineering procedures.
Below is a preliminary list of these recommended
changes:
• Saudi Aramco’s Engineering Procedures-14
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
● 4.1.3 VE Proposal Implementation & Report-
ing Requirements
Add:
A value practices completion certificate will be is-
sued when the value engineering proposals imple-
mentation and reporting requirements are met.
● EXHIBIT II – ER ESTIMATE PACKAGE
CHECKLIST
Add:
Value Practices Completion Certificate
• Saudi Aramco’s Engineering Procedures-25
● EXHIBIT II – BUDGET ESTIMATE PACKAGE
CHECKLIST
Add:
Value Practices Completion Certificate
● EXHIBIT III – ER ESTIMATE PACKAGE
CHECKLIST
Add:
Value Practices Completion Certificate
• Saudi Aramco’s engineering procedures-329
●
1.3 Final Reports
Add:
Value Practices Completion Certificate
● 7. Close-Out Appraisal Meeting
Replace:
Use of value improving practices
With:
Use and completion of value practices
• Saudi Aramco’s engineering procedures-367
● 7.2 Implementation of PMOD is responsible
to:
Add:
Issue Value Practices Completion Certificate
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
17

Project Management Office Department

Project Execution Optimization Division
Value Practices Completion Certificate

Project Details
BI #
BITitle
Detailed Design/
Project Stage(s) DBSP Project Proposal Procurement/Construction
□ □ □
Value Practices
Const. LL PDRI PFSU PPTA RM SCCM SO VE
Planned □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Executed □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Implemented □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Reported □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Waived □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Notes

VPCCApproval

Concurred By:
V P U Supervisor* Date
Signature

Concurred By: Date

P R & K M U Supervisor
Signature
Date
Approved By:
*VPU and P R & K M U supervisors report to P E D O General Supervisor.
P E O D General Supervisor
Figure 2. Value Practices Completion Certificate Signature

Funding

Design MC OS
Basis Preliminary Design Detail Design/Procurement

Start
Construction Up
VPCC VPCC

VPCC
Figure 3. Milestones of Value Practices Completion Certificate.
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
18 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

VPs Stages VPMS Activities Non-VPMS Activities

Schedule of
Applicable Value
Pre−VPs Session
Planning Practices
Activities

VPs Session
Execution Activities

VPs
Implementation Implementation
Status

Post−VPs
Session
Activities
VPsFinal
Reports
Reporting

Key Project
Completion Management
VPCC
Documents

Figure 4. Value Practices Completion Certificate Flowchart - I

Automation of value practices completion
certificate
Currently, the value project management system
is utilized for the planning and scheduling of value
practices studies. This proposal suggests the use of
the Value project management system for the imple-
mentation, reporting and completion of the value
practices studies. Figure 4 (above) shows the intro-
duction of the value practices Completion Checklist
and Certificate in the five stages of the value practices
process. It also shows the relationship between Value
project management system and non-Value project
management system activities. The figure indicates
that the Value Practices Completion Checklist will be
utilized to monitor the implementation and reporting
of value practices. Once completed, the value prac-
tices completion certificate will be issued to fulfill
the requirements of other key project management
documents.
Figure 5 (next page) provides more details on the
proposed automation of the value practices comple-
tion certificate. It shows that the feedback on the
implementation and reporting of value practices
has to be satisfactory to the Value project manage-
ment system coordinator (and value practices subject
mafer experts). When all items in the value prac-
tices Completion Checklist are met, then the value
practices completion certificate will be ready for the
concurrence of VPU and PR&KMU supervisors and
the approval of the Project Execution Optimization
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
19

VPs
Implementation
Status
Update VPs Completion Yes Feedback Post−VPs Session
Checklist Satisfactory Activities

VPs Final
Reports

No

VPs Completion Notify Customer of

Checklist Non−Confirmations

No Budget Estimate
Completion
Package Checklist
Confirmed
(DBSP Stage)

Yes

Concur on VPs ER Estimate

Approve VPCC VPCC
Completion Checklist Package Checklist
(PEOD)
(VPU&PRKMU) (PP Stage)

Project Close−Out
Report
(DD/P/C Stages)

Figure 5. Value Practices Completion Certificate Flowchart - II.

Division General Supervisor. The certificate will be
required for the completion of:
• Budget Estimates during the design basis scoping
paper stage.
• Expenditure Review Estimates during the PP
stage.
• Project Close-Out Report during the DD/P/C
stages.
Summary
Saudi Aramco is investing a lot of time and
money to improve the value of its capital program.
However, the return on this investment may not be
leveraged without confirming the implementation of
value practices proposals. The Saudi Aramco’sen-
gineering procedures already have paragraphs that
mandate full implementation of these proposals, but
there are symptoms indicating the need for further
measures. This paper recommends the utilization of
value practices completion certificate to confirm the
implementation of the value practices proposalss.
The application of this proposal will require some
changes in the Saudi Aramco EngineeringProcedures
and will be executed via the value practices manage-
ment system.
References
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure 14, Project Pro-
posal

20
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure 25, Estimation
Preparation Guidelines
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure 329, Project Close-
Out Report
Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedure 367, Value Im-
provement Practices Requirements
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank Saudi Aramco
value practices professionals who critiqued the first
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
drah of this article. Their time and thoughts are
greatly appreciated.
About the Author
Dr. Muhammad A. Al-Ghamdi holds a Ph.D. in
construction management and engineering from the
University of Reading. He joined Saudi Aramco’s
value engineering program in 2000. Dr. Al-Ghamdi
facilitated numerous VE studies and instructed sev-
eral VE courses, in addition to conducting research
to maximize the benefits of Saudi Aramco’s value
practices portfolio.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Delivering Value on the Port of Miami
Tunnel Project
Louis Brais, PE & J. Jeffrey Plant, MBA, P.Eng., PMP, CVS
This paper was originally presented at the 2013 SAVE
Value Summit in Arlington, Virginia.
Abstract
The Port of Miami Tunnel (POMT) Project is an
excellent example of the value-for-money that can be
achieved through public-private-partnerships. Esti-
mated to cost over $1.2 Billion to construct prior to
the solicitation of bids in 2008, the successful conces-
sionaire awarded a $652 million design-buildcontract
to Bouygues Civil Works Florida, Inc. (BOUYGUES)
in October of 2009. The project is proceeding on
schedule and on-budget for a May 2014 opening.
Design-build bids are typically based upon an
incomplete preliminary design and a contractor’s
assessment of risk based upon years of experience.
While many successful design-build contractors
perform value engineering during the bid stage to
find innovative ways of satisfying the performance
specifications at a lower cost and with a shorter con-
struction duration, the real challenge occurs during
the detailed design stage when the construction team
must find ways to deliver the project on schedule and
on budget.
BOUYGUES undertook a formal value engineer-
ing (VE) study shortly aher receiving authorization
to proceed. Facilitated by Jacobs Engineering, the
lead design consultant, the workshop brought twen-
ty-nine (29) members of the construction and design
teams together in a problem-solving atmosphere to
share creative ideas and kick-start the project. Fihy-
six (56) of almost two hundred (200) ideas developed
through brainstorming sessions were developed into
VE recommendations.
BOUYGUES is implementing a significant per-
centage of the VE recommendations. In addition,
a number of VE ideas led to further innovations in
design or methods following the initial workshop.
Most VE ideas were consistent with the performance
specifications and were implemented during the
21
course of design development. Although there is no
value engineering change proposal (VECP) clause in
the design-build agreement, BOUYGUES did agree
to share savings with their client and the owner on
one significant change.
The following paper outlines the VE process that
was followed on the POMT project and highlights
some of the significant VE recommendations that are
being implemented.
Introduction
Bouygues Civil Works Florida, Inc. (BOUYGUES)
was awarded a $652 million design-build contract for
the Port of Miami Tunnel (POMT) project by MAT
Concessionaire, LLC (MAT) in October of 2009. MAT
is a special purpose company controlled by Meridi-
am Infrastructure. Originally estimated at over $1.2
Billion to construct prior to the solicitation of bids
in 2008, the POMT project represents an excellent
example of the value for money that can be achieved
through public-private-partnerships.
The owner of the project is the Florida Depart-
ment of Transportation (FDOT). In addition to FDOT
and the State of Florida, Miami-Dade County, the
City of Miami and the Federal HighwaysAdministra-
tion (FHWA) through the TIFIA program are sharing
in the funding of the project. Over $300 million in
private funding is also being provided by a consor-
tium of ten (10) banks including BBVA, BNP Paribas,
Calyon, Dexia, ING, RBS, Santander, Societe General,
Uni-Credit and WestLB. The Miami-Dade Seaport
Department is the primary beneficiary of the project
and is actively involved.
The POMT project will connect SR A1A/MacAr-
thur Causeway to Dodge Island, providing direct
access between the seaport and Highways I-395 and
I-95. The POMT will create an alternative entry to
the Port of Miami and keep the Port of Miami, the
community’s second largest economic generator,
competitive with other ports on the eastern seaboard

22
Figure 1. POMT Location.
anticipating an increase in freight traffic following
the doubling of the Panama Canal capacity in 2014.
In addition, the POMT will improve traffic flow in
downtown Miami by reducing the number of cargo
trucks and cruise ship related vehicles on congested
downtown streets. (See Figure 1, above.) It will also
support ongoing and future development in and
around downtown Miami.
The Value Engineering Challenge
BOUYGUES commifed to deliver a fixed-price,
date-certain tunnel project at the height of the finan-
cial uncertainties that gripped the U.S. market, in
some of the most technically challenging geotechni-
cal conditions that have ever faced tunnelling con-
tractors, and at half the cost of what the experienced
owner’s engineers estimated the work should cost.
The tunnel project involves the construction of
two 42-feet diameter, 4,400-feet long tunnels from the
I-395 extension on Watson Island to the Port of Miami
on Dodge Island. When completed, the tunnels will
service the cruise ship terminals and the cargo op-
erations of the Port of Miami. The Port is the largest
cruise ship home port in the world and is among the
top 11 container ports in the United States. For fiscal
year 2011, the Port handled approximately 4.1 million
passengers. During this same period, approximately
7.4 million tons of cargo and close to 0.9 million
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) were processed
through the Seaport. The Port ranked first in the state
in TEU volume for Fiscal Year 2011 (Miami-Dade
Seaport Department, 2011).
To add to the construction challenge, SR AIA/
MacArthur Causeway is the main connection be-
tween the cities of Miami and Miami Beach carrying
over 120,000 vehicles per day through the heart of the
work site. Over one million eyes are on the project
every day from high-rise office buildings and condo-
miniums in downtown Miami and vicinity.
BOUYGUES was able to win the project through
aggressive bidding based upon its extensive tunnel-
ling experience from around the world. Its tunnelling
accomplishments include the English Channel Tun-
nel, the Caluire Tunnel (France), the Sydney under-
ground urban railway, the Cairo underground urban
railway, the Rostock Tunnel (Germany), the Groene
Hart tunnel (Netherlands) and the Tyne Tunnel
(Newcastle, England).
A number of modifications to the FDOT con-
ceptual design were proposed by Bouygues and
accepted by FDOT during the bid process. The most
significant change proposed was the combining of
tunnel portals on Watson Island into a single portal.
This change significantly improved traffic flow by
eliminating a dangerous weave condition between
I-95 and the MacArthur Causeway, simplified con-
struction and was expected to improve safety during
construction. Other changes involved extending the
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Figure 2. Bid Stage Value Enhancements.
bored tunnel sections to reduce traffic disruptions on
Dodge Island related to cut & cover work and simpli-
fication of final traffic movements on Dodge Island.
(See Figure 2, above.)
Despite its extensive experience, the POMT proj-
ect presented special challenges to the BOUYGUES
team. Innovative methods and technologies would
still need to be found during the design stage to de-
liver on its firm commitments.
The VE Workshop
Recognizing the potential for value engineering
to kick-start the project and stimulate innovation,
BOUYGUES included the following requirement
in the contract with its primary design consultant,
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. [Jacobs]:
Facilitation of a 5-day value-engineering workshop
within the first month following Date of Com-
mencement. The Value Engineering Facilitator is
to be a Certified Value Specialist (CVS), a member
in good standing of SAVE International (www.
value-eng.org) and experienced in the facilitation
of value engineering studies for complex trans-
portation projects. The valueengineering study is
to be completed in accordance with the job plan as
set out in the SAVE International Value Standard
and Body of Knowledge (June 2007). The Designer
is to provide technical subject mafler experts in
23
the fields of geotechnical engineering (support of
excavation, tunneling, deep foundations, retaining
walls, earthworks and pavement design), high-
way design, bridge design, hydrology (drainage,
storm surges) and the permifling process. The
Design-Builder will provide subject mafler experts
in estimating, constructability, scheduling and
methods engineering. The technical subject mafler
experts should be independent of the preliminary
design team.
A five (5) day workshop was conducted from
November 2 to 6, 2009 in Miami. Twelve (12) tech-
nical specialists and a facilitator were provided by
Jacobs and sixteen (16) construction specialists were
provided by BOUYGUES. Jacobs hosted a welcom-
ing reception for the VE Team in a venue overlooking
Biscayne Bay on the evening of the first day of the
workshop following a site tour that completed the in-
formation stage of the workshop. There was consid-
erable excitement in the air, and some trepidation, as
the VE Team digested the full extent of the challenge
that faced them.
A cost model was presented that showed the cost
of the bored tunnels accounted for almost 50% of
the budget. The second highest costs were related to
construction and support of the excavation required
to launch and retrieve the tunnel boring machine.
The bid-stage 55 month schedule was reviewed.
It was concluded that there was zero float in the
schedule. It was noted that the schedule seemed to

24
incorporate accelerated methods that would require
innovations not identified in the bid submission. Po-
tential penalties and damages for failing to complete
on time were identified in the millions of dollars per
month. It was concluded that failure to deliver on-
time was not an option.
The functions of the overall project were identi-
fied as: Separate Traffic, Remove Downtown-traffic,
Increase Safety, Increase Capacity, Improve Port,
Stimulate Economy, Reduce Delays, Deliver Quality,
Enable Redundant Access, Improve Levels of Ser-
vice, Improve Environment, Reduce Public Invest-
ment, Improve Security, Reduce O & M Costs, Create
Sustainability and Maintain Systems all within the
context of making money and delivering on-time.
The individual components of the project were
disaggregated into the following work packages and
the functions of each work package identified: Ma-
cArthur Causeway Bridge Widening, Watson Island
Surface Works, Dodge Island Surface Works, Tunnel
& Tunnel Boring, Cross Passages, Buildings, Dodge
Island “Y” Bridge, Portal Uwalls and Support of Ex-
cavation [SOE].
The VE team divided into two for brainstorming
purposes. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) ideas
were generated then consolidated into a list of one
hundred and sixty-two (162) for further evaluation.
Of these, fihy-six (56) were developed into VE rec-
ommendations and twenty-six (26) listed as design
suggestions. The VE recommendations and design
suggestions were developed and wrifen-up by seven
(7) sub-teams of specialists in corresponding disci-
plines.
What Was Implemented?
The real test of value engineering lies not in the
number of ideas generated or the number of ideas
developed into recommendations, but in the number
and quality of ideas actually implemented for the
beferment of a project. The project team was well-
acquainted with the challenges of making changes
during the detailed design and construction stages of
a design-build project.
The ideas that were carried forward tended to be
those that could be implemented within the normal
process of design development. They were ideas that
could be presented to the client and owner as being
within the scope of the technical specifications for the
project.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
One idea that the VE team felt would provide
significant scheduling, site access, safety and man-
agement of traffic advantages was to combine the two
separate portals on Dodge Island into a single portal.
This idea required substantial changes to the bid-
stage traffic paferns on Dodge Island. Although the
project team believed that the changes represented
befer functionality by improving traffic flows to both
the cruise ship and cargo areas of the Port, FDOT
indicated that this change would require sharing of
the expected contractor savings.
The POMT design-build and concession agree-
ments do not contain value engineering change
proposal (VECP) clauses. VECP clauses are standard
in conventional design-bid-build contracts issued
in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regula-
tions (FAR). FAR Part 48 defines value engineering
as “the formal technique by which contractors may
(1)voluntarily suggest methods for performing more
economically and share in any resulting savings or
(2)be required to establish a program to identify and
submit to the Government methods for performing
more economically. Value engineering afempts to
eliminate, without impairing essential functions or
characteristics, anything that increases acquisition,
operation, or support costs.”
When VE change proposals are made voluntarily
by a contractor it uses its own resources to develop
and submit them. All development costs and sched-
ule risks are absorbed by the contractor. On a project
with zero float in the schedule and substantial penal-
ties for failure to complete on-time there is no time
available for protracted discussion between the con-
tractor, the client and the owner on the benefits and
cost savings associated with change proposals.
Fortunately MAT and FDOT recognized the
potential benefits to all parties of a single portal on
Dodge Island. Independent estimates of savings
were prepared by BOUYGUES and FDOT. Negotia-
tions on cost savings concluded in a mafer of weeks.
BOUYGUES were given the green light to proceed
with the single portal on Dodge Island. BOUYGUES
was able to implement a number of related improve-
ments to the Dodge Island construction staging, traf-
fic management during construction and in the final
traffic paferns.
The following is a summary of the major VE rec-
ommendations that were implemented:
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Figure 3. Single Portal on Dodge Island.
Single Portal on Dodge Island
The original design was based upon twin portals
on Dodge Island separated by the existing grade
separation between cargo and cruise-bound traffic.
The final design is based upon a single portal and
improved traffic circulation on Dodge Island. (See
Figure 3, above.)
Benefits: Savings in SOE and portal construction,
replacement of “Y” bridge with simpler structure
offset by increased roadway costs. Fewer temporary
traffic stages during construction. Mobilization of
larger work zone. Net savings shared with owner.
SOEConstruction
The original SOE design was based upon the use
of reinforced secant piles around the portal excava-
tions combined with two types of tension piles (2-feet
diameter concrete caissons with embedded steel
H-pile and 7-inch diameter reinforced micropiles)
terminating in one of three excavation “boxes”. In ad-
dition, horizontal pipe struts would span the excava-
tion near the top of the secant pile walls. Excavation
would be performed “in-the-wet” to a depth of ap-
proximately 60 feet and a concrete base poured using
tremie methods to engage the tension piles prior to
dewatering.
The final SOE designs were based upon cufer soil
mixing (CSM) techniques. Pipe struts were eliminat-
ed through the use of inclined soil anchor tie-backs.
The maximum depth of excavation was reduced to
40 feet by extending the bored tunnel length and
providing above-grade surcharge. All rock within the
zone of excavation was pre-drilled and broken-up
to facilitate excavation. Concrete was poured on an
incline using tremie methods.
25
Figure 4. SOE and Excavation on Watson Island.
Benefits: The excavation on Watson Island was
completed on-time and was ready for delivery of the
tunnel boring machine [TBM]. (See Figure 4, above.)
The excavation for the single portal on Dodge Island
was completed ahead of time and off the critical path.
Site Access
Access to the Watson Island site was initially ex-
pected to be from eastbound and westbound MacAr-
thur Causeway. (See Figure 5, top next next page.)
The VE team recommended accessing the work
zone between the eastbound and westbound lanes of
MacArthur Causeway by constructing a ramp from
Parrot Jungle Trail where it passed beneath MacAr-
thur Bridge. In addition, extension of the access road
into the SOE box was recommended.
Benefits: This simple recommendation has re-
moved the need for site access from the MacArthur
Causeway greatly improving safety during construc-
tion. Site logistics have been significantly improved
by enabling vehicular access into the tunnel. Smaller
cranes are needed to lih tunnel liner segments onto
the specialized trucks that feed the TBM. In addition,
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
26 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

the access has allowed the area beneath the MacAr- Tunneling Support
thur Causeway Bridge to be used for the tunnel grout Operations under the
bridge requiring site
access via ramp: Grout
plant and the tunnel wastewater treatment plant. Plant, Water Treatment

Watson Island ControlBuilding

The proposed Watson Island Control Building
was located directly above a portion of the proposed
cut and cover tunnel section. (See Figure 6, middle Access ramp at
right.) Accordingly this building could not be con- Parrot Jungle Trail

structed until aher the cut and cover section of the

tunnel was completed and engineered backfill in-
stalled. Parrot Jungle Trail
The building would be on the critical path and
would force mechanical and electrical installations on
to the critical path.
The building was relocated off the cut and cover Figure 5. Watson Island Site Access.
section of the tunnel. Benefits: Maintenance of Sched-
ule. The Watson Island Control Building is no longer
on the critical path.

U-Turning theTBM
The original plan was to stage TBM operations
from Watson Island, bore the eastbound tunnel,
disassemble and remove the TBM on Dodge Island,
truck it back to Watson Island, reassemble it and
complete the westbound bore. (See Figure 7, bofom
right.)
Once the Owner agreed to a single portal on
Dodge Island, a decision was made to turn the TBM
in the portal and to bore the westbound tunnel from
Dodge Island. This permifed the batch plant, water
treatment plant and mucking operations to be re-
located to Dodge Island so that work could be ad- Figure 6. Watson Island Control Building.
vanced on the Watson U-walls and completion of the
MacArthur Bridge widening.
Benefits: Maintenance of schedule.

Grouting of Layer“7”
The stratigraphy of the soils through which the
tunnels must pass are extremely complex. Eight (8)
principal geological layers were identified. Layer
“7”, identified as loose to medium sand, presented
the greatest challenge. (See Figure 8, top next page.)
Earth Pressure Balance TBMs depend upon the
creation of pressure at the tunnel face to counteract
the pressure exerted by the earth and groundwater
and prevent any loss in stability. Layer 7 proved to
include large fragments of extremely porous coral
which when drilled would appear as lose to medium Figure 7. U-turn the TBM.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
27

Figure 8. Geological Stratigraphy.

Figure 9. TBM Advance Grouting Concept.

sand but in an undisturbed state were actually coral
fragments with large voids.
BOUYGUES in association with the TBM sup-
plier, Herrenknecht had devised a means of grouting
Layer “7” in advance of the TBM should it become
necessary. (See Figure 9 above.) As the amount of
grouting that would be required in advance of tun-
neling became known, it became clear that grouting
from the TBM would substantially slow the rate of
TBM progress. BOUYGUES undertook an extensive
program of grouting Layer 7 using conventional
Figure 10. Grouting Layer “7” in Government Cut.
surface and barge-mounted grouting methods. Ad-
ditional environmental permits and precautions were Optimization of Cross-Passages
required to work in the Government Cut channel. The initial design included four (4) cross passages
Work hours were severely restricted so as not to con- between tunnels and two (2) stairwells for emergency
flict with cruise ship traffic in the busy channel. (See egress. All cross-passages were to be constructed by
Figure 10, right.) soil freezing. The stairwells would require complex
Benefits: Maintenance of schedule. Minimization shoring and de-watering to construct.
of grouting costs. (Additional costs were shared with The two stairwells have been eliminated in favor
owner.) of a fihh (5th) cross passage. Three of the cross pas-
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
28 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

sages will be pre-grouted

from the surface and will
not require soil freezing.
(See Figure 11, right.)
Benefits: Maintenance of
schedule. Simplified con-
struction methods.

MacArthur Causeway
Bridge Widening
The original design for
the MacArthur Causeway
Bridge included widening
both sides of the bridge in
the westbound direction at
the merge of Miami-bound
tunnel and Causeway traf-
fic. (See Figure 12, bofom
right.) Figure 11. Cross Passages.
Geometric adjustments
were made to the design to eliminate the need to
widen the bridge on the north side at the merge.
Benefits: Simplified construction. Simplified traf-
fic staging. Improved safety.

Conclusions
The formal VE process initiated by BOUYGUES
on the POMT project and facilitated by Jacobs deliv-
ered substantial benefits to the project including:
1. The construction and design teams became ac-
quainted right at the start of the project and built
relationships that were essential to implementing
many of the good ideas that came out of the VE
workshop; Figure 12. MacArthur Causeway Bridge Widening.
2. The workshop exposed differences in techni- those that would require a change in the Techni-
cal approaches and risk mitigation between a cal Specifications;
European contractor and an Americandesign 5. Virtually the entire construction team and many
consultant that helped both sides to modify their
on the design team were looking at the project
approaches for the beferment of the project;
with “fresh” eyes. The VE workshop brought the
3. The introduction of function helped the design entire team up to speed very quickly and exposed
and construction teams to remember the client areas of the bid-stage proposal that required ad-
and owner perspectives when waxing enthusias- ditional afention;
tic about certain opportunities;
6. The team approach to the development of VE
4. An understanding of function helped the team
recommendations served to jump-start the de-
to differentiate between value opportunities that
could be considered design development from sign process by fostering interaction between the
designers and the builders;
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
29

7. Specific VE recommendations that were identi-
fied during the workshop were sufficiently un-
derstood and acted upon by the project team; and
8. Taken together the VE recommendations that
were implemented will ensure that BOUYGUES
will meet its schedule and cost commitments.
References
Miami-Dade Seaport Department, A Department of
Miami-Dade County, Florida; Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2011.
About the Authors
Louis Brais is a project executive with Bouygues Civil
Works Florida. He accepted, on behalf of BCWF, the 2013
award Outstanding Value Methodology in Construction
presented by SAVE International at the 2013 Value Sum-
mit in Arlington, Virginia.
J. Jeffrey Plant, MBA, P.Eng, AVS, PMP, is an ac-
complished project manager with over 30 years of trans-
portation, environmental and building project experience
for a variety of clients including government ministries;
departments and agencies; international financial in-
stitutions; design-build contractors; private developers;
consulting engineers; concessionaires; building owners;
facility managers; railways; transit authorities; municipal-
ities; first nations and industries. Mr. Plant has worked on
major projects in over 30 countries. He is a recognized ex-
pert in design-build and public-private partnership models
of project delivery. Mr. Plant is a member of SAVE Inter-
national and has served as its Vice President of Finance &
Administration since 2009.

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directory is searchable by company, contact name, Su b mit your directory order online at http://
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30
Function Inspired Organizational Change at
Two National Research Labs
Stephen J. Kirk, Ph.D., FAIA, FSAVE, CVS®, LEED™ AP
& Kurt A. Gernerd
Abstract
A large federal government agency had two
research centers at different locations and wanted
to explore their operations for value improvement.
Each center had separate directors, staffs, budgets,
publications group, web sites, and program work
load. This case study presentation includes the
results of an analysis of organizational structure,
staffing, work distribution, communication, web sites
(style, templates, management, etc.), project submit-
tal acceptance, overhead structure and costs, busi-
ness processes and overall national governance. The
study also included review of center management,
supervision, direction, location, operational direc-
tives, administrative and publishing integration, and
other related functions. Key to success was the use of
Function Analysis to inspire the team to discover op-
portunities for changes in the organization.
History of the Research Centers
The United States Forest Service operates two
technology and development (T&D) centers aimed
at applying technology and developing equipment
to improve business practices and at keeping em-
ployees safe while working in a forest environment.
The T&D centers are located in Missoula, Montana
and San Dimas, California. Their primary purpose is
support of Forest Service internal activities; therefore,
they provide products and services exclusively to
Forest Service employees and cooperating agencies.
Currently, T&D projects relate to fire and aviation
management, engineering (facilities, transportation,
environmental), information technology (Office of the
Chief Information Officer projects), forest manage-
ment, reforestation, nurseries, recreation, safety and
health, forest health protection, watershed and air
management, explosives, global positioning systems,
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
posters and signs, inventory and monitoring, and
Forest Service uniforms.
Value Analysis Objectives
The value analysis (VA) team, as a minimum,
shall analyze and afempt to answer the following
questions:
1. Should the NT&D program maintain split pro-
grams at both centers for the same sponsor pro-
grams?
2. Should the NT&D program maintain a separate
photography group, editing group, publishing
group and web site for each center?
3. Should the NT&D program have a director at
each center?
4. Should there be two separate centers?
5. Does the current NT&D program serve Forest
Service needs?
a. How does the NT&D Program relate to the
Forest Service Enterprise Team organization
and program?
b. Should the NT&D Program move into an op-
erational role rather than a development role.
c. How does the NT&D Program ensure quality
delivery of its program and responsiveness to
its customers?
6. What are some alternative functional and op-
erational models that would improve the busi-
ness processes of the national T&D program (i.e.
consolidation, streamlining, eliminate repetitive
or redundant staff or programs, etc.)?
7. Estimate cost saving to by each recommendation,
as appropriate.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
31

Value Study Approach presentation to senior management was given on the

A VA team was assembled from senior managers
at several locations. A CVS® was selected to lead the
value study.
The information phase consisted of the team
spending four days at each research lab location to
meet the management, discuss their functions, and
collect information about their operations and costs.
A 5-day VA workshop was then convened which
followed the 6 step job plan. The value analysis team
identified 211 ideas for value enhancement. Of these,
11 ideas were selected for development into recom-
mendations for improving the performance and/or
lowering the initial and life cycle cost of the project. A
Higher Order Functions: Ensure Safety
Manage Natural Resources
Program Function
Verb Noun
final day via a video conference to Washington, DC.
Function Analysis to Inspire Change
Critical to the success of this workshop was the
extensive use of function analysis to inspire change
within the two organizations. Participants determined
the functions being performed at each location. The
following Figure 1 (below) is an example of function
analysis for the “Fire & Aviation” Program. Benefits of
performing the functions are alsorecorded.
The above sample format was used to document
the functions of each Center program as well as the
cost and benefits of each program and function.
Kind Cost Benefits
(B, S) Per Year (Forest Service, Other Organizations)

Enhance Visitor Experience

Improve Health & Welfare

Centralize Tech. & Dev.

Meet Unique FS Needs

Credibility & Support

Meet Safety Policies

Improve Knowledge

Save FS Resources
Save Environment

Efficiency to Field
Standardization

Gain Feedback
Ensure Quality

Effective Use
Protect Lives

Fire & Aviation Develop Equipment Basic 35% $455,000 + ++ + + + + + + + + +

Develop Training Mat'ls Basic 15% $195,000 + + + + + + + + + + +
Transfer Technology Basic 15% $195,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Support Field Offices Basic 15% $195,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Evaluate Products Basic 10% $130,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Develop Solutions Basic 5% $65,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Give/ Attend Presentations Basic 5% $65,000 + + + + + + + + + + + +
Subtotal $1,300,000
Wildfire Chemicals Evaluate Products Basic 35% $245,000 + + + + + + + + +
Transfer Technology Basic 20% $140,000 + + + + + + + + + +
Develop/ Maintain Specifications Basic 15% $105,000 + + + + + + + + + + +
Develop Test Procedures Basic 10% $70,000 + + + + + + + + + +
Train Field Trainers Basic 10% $70,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Prepare Qualified Products List Basic 5% $35,000 + + + + + + + + + + + +
Give/ Attend Presentations Basic 5% $35,000 + + + + + + + + +
Subtotal $700,000
Engineering Transfer Technology Basic 60% $300,000 + + + + + + + + + +
Develop/ Update Technology Basic 10% $50,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Support Field Offices Basic 10% $50,000 + + + + + + + + + + + +
Develop Solutions (VA's) Basic 10% $50,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Develop Equipment Basic 5% $25,000 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Give/ Attend Presentations Basic 5% $25,000 + + + + + + + +
Subtotal $500,000
Etc.

Figure 1. Fire & Aviation Program

 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
32 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

Program Costs & Research Space FAST Diagram

Program cost components were identified for Combining all of the individual program func-
each Center. The space occupied by both Centers was tions and cost for both Centers produced the follow-
also obtained. ing FAST diagram (Figure 4) and led to the iden-
tification of two major functions that seemed best
candidates for value improvement.
Life Cycle Costs These were the transfer technology and develop
To understand the life cycle costs of each center, a products functions highlighted on the diagram on
life cycle cost model was prepared based on a 25 year the next page.
life span using a 4.9% discount rate (OMB Circular
A-94, 2008): Figure 2 (below) is the model one of the
centers. These models helped the VA team focus on the An Example of One Function
larger cost items for brainstorming ideas for savings.
Selected for Study
Staffing
65% One function management requested the value
study to explore was how to “consolidate resources”
to “transfer technology” and “develop products”
while maintaining effectiveness. This led to the ide-
ation of the following six alternatives:
Alt 1 Two centers under two programs (original
Facilities condition)
20%
Alt 1A Two separate centers under one program
Consultants
Printing 1%
2%
Alt 2 One center, Center 1, is turned over to Cen-
Materials ter 2
1% Travel
Utilities
3% 5% Alt 2A One center, Center 1 property given to
Maintenance
3% Agency “x”
Figure 2. Life Cycle Cost Model, One Center Alt 3 One center, Center 2 is turned over to Cen-
ter 1
An analysis of the funding received by each Alt 4 One center in new location, Centers 1 & 2
center was made—called “Sponsor Support”. This
property transferred to Agency “x”, and
helped the team and management visualize the
sources and amount of funding being provided and Center 2 property transferred to Agency“z”
the cost per employee at each center of operation. See Alt 4A One center in new location, Centers 1 & 2
Figure 3 (bofom). property transferred to Agency “y”, or sold.
Sponsor Support
Current Center 1 Center 2
1 Fire & Aviation Management $3,500,000 $1,750,000 $1,750,000
2 Engineering $2,200,000 $400,000 $1,800,000
3 Recreation $1,000,000 $500,000 $500,000
4 Forest Mgt. & Nurseries $800,000 $0 $800,000
5 Occupational Safety & Health $400,000 $400,000 $0
6 Watershed, Soil & Air $250,000 $65,000 $185,000
7 Chief Information Office $250,000 $250,000 $0
8 Forest Health & Protection $170,000 $170,000 $0
Total $8,570,000 $3,535,000 $5,035,000
Employees 42 44
Cost / Employee $84,167 $114,432

Figure 3. Sponsor Support.

 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
2013
VALUE WORLD | VOL 36 | NO 2 | FALL
How? LEGEND: W h y? W hen?
"Function"
or " P urpos e"
(V erb -N ou n )
Support
Field Offic es
V al ue I mp r o v e me n t O pport uni t y
$544,900

Tr ansfer
T echnology

$2,555,7 00

M IS S IO N : Tr ain
Field Tr ainer s

E nsur e $330,900
S afety
D e ve l o p / E val. Conduct Identi fy Gather S el ect I dentify
EQ/ Products Research C o n c e rn s In fo rm ati on P r oj ects Needs
M anage
N atur al $3,214,0 50 | | | |
Resources - E v al uat e P roduc t s
D e ve l o p - D ev el op Training Mat'ls Conduct Calculate Convene
Solutions - D ev el op T e s t P roc edure s S urv ey Research S t eeri ng
H i gher Order - D evel op Specificati ons C ost vs. Benefit Committee
Func ti ons : $844,900 - Etc. | | |

Optimize Communicate A c c ept / R ej ec t Identif y

Cost Feedback P ropos al Problems
"Project P ropos al "
$2,584,5 50 |

Develop Utilize Leverage Coordinate

Policies Knowledge Lab(s ) NT&D
Resources
$138,000

B as i c Func ti ons :
P r oj ect S c o p e

3
3
Figure 4. FAST Diagram
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
34 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

CBA Importance to Life Cycle Cost Graph

Center Location(s)
400
385

350

290
300

Alt. 1
Alt. 1A
s)
it 250
ef
n 230
e 230
B
(
IMPORTANCE

200

Alt. 2A
Alt. 3
150
Reconsideration
126 126 Alternative

100

Alt. 4A
Alt. 4
Alt. 2

50

0
$100,000,000 $110,000,000 $120,000,000 $130,000,000 $140,000,000 $150,000,000 $160,000,000

LIFE CYCLE COST

Figure 5. Choosing By Advantages.

Choosing by Advantages (CBA) were formally presented to management that pro-
duced 47 performance benefits in 11 proposals:
An intense CBA analysis of the benefits of each al-
ternative versus the life cycle cost of each alternative Performance Benefits Proposals
produced the following graphic displaying the above
Improved field support 6
six alternatives (Figure 5, above).
Operational effectiveness/efficiency 10
Standardization 4
Study Outcome Flexibility 6
Improved synergy 5
Alternate 1A was selected for implementation
Improved image 8
at a reduced life cycle cost of $15 million because
Other 8
it preserved and enhanced all of the advantages of
47
the existing solution which scored 385 points in the
analysis.
The agency now has one center manager, one as- Other benefits included: improved leadership,
sistant manager, one staffing manager at each Center, personnel savings, increased revenue, improved tech-
one web site, one photo group, one budget group, nology transfer, improved morale by being involved
one publications group, one program leader per $1 in nationally significant projects, builds capability to
million workload. One program operating in two meet future staffing needs, improved productivity of
locations is the new theme. technical staff, befer addresses one-time/ short term
The above is just one example from a 120 page specialist needs, stability of the application research
study report for the organization that resulted in 211 program, expands utilization of agreements and au-
ideas for value enhancement. Of these 11 proposals thorities, initial cost savings and life cycle cost savings.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
35

Summary & Conclusion
This value analysis allowed management to
thoroughly explore options and assess the results in
real time decision making workshop sefing. Many of
the recommendations have now been implemented
resulting in significant organizational improvements.
Most of the administrative functions have been con-
solidated and professional staffing has been opti-
mized at each center.
The greatest value added to the FS and partners,
is to optimize the role of center managers. To truly le-
verage work and dollars and add value to the agency,
efforts have been made to focus work more closely
with WO sponsors, outreach to other Federal agen-
cies, develop partnerships, work with professional
WO Organization
Under State & Private
Forestry
(VA-10)
W O T & D Coordinator
Role
(VA-41)
societies for contacts and to locate similar work being
accomplished elsewhere, all for the benefit of the FS.
This is the model other technical support offices have
utilized successfully.
Figure 6 (below) illustrates the NT&D Process
and where these VA proposals are directed for im-
provement.
References
Kirk, Stephen, “Leadership in Design Team In-
novation Using Value-Based Decision-Making Tech-
niques,” Harvard University, Harvard Design School,
Executive Education Seminars, Cambridge, MA,
January 24-25, 2002.
Kirk, Stephen and Alphonse J. Dell’Isola, Life Cycle
Costing for Facilities, R.S. Means Company, Boston,
2003 (Japanese 1st Edition 1985).
Kirk, Stephen and Stephen Garref, “Innovative
Application of the Value Methodology (VM) for
Large, Complex Facilities,” SAVE International
Conference, Houston, May 2007.

Kirk, Stephen and Kent Spreckelmeyer, Enhancing

T&D Center Sponsors Value In Design Decisions, Mereal Publishers, 1994.
Field
Change Manage- Identify (also, Van Nostrand Reinhold Edition 1988 and
U s e Solutions/ Korean Edition 1997).
ment Model (VA-6) A g e n c y Needs
Evaluate
& Sponsors
Restructure for
Feedback for Other Funding Suhr, Jim. Choosing By Advantages Decisionmaking Sys-
“FastTrack”
Refinement Models tem, Westport, CT, Quorum Books, 1999.
(VA-15)
(VA-13) (VA-28)
Retain 2
C a m p u s e s (VA-11)
E xp a n d T & D
About the Authors
Mission (VA-26)
Stephen J. Kirk has over 35 years of experience in
applying value based design decision-making techniques
In-house Staff to government and private sector projects. Dr. Kirk is a
Develop L o n g registered architect, a Fellow of the AIA, a CVS®-Life,
Range Staffing and is a LEED™ Accredited Professional. Kirk is a Senior
Plan (VA-31)
Fulbright Scholar in architecture and received his doctor-
Technical Support ate degree at the University of Michigan. He is the au-
(IT, Webmaster)
(VA-29)
thor/co-author of nine books related to value analysis & life
cycle costing. Kirk received the prestigious Gold Award
from the Engineering Society in 2010 which recognizes the
Out-souce Michigan “Engineer of the Year.” He served as President
Support
of SAVE International from 1998 to 1999, and as the Vice
Flexible Staffing President of Education in 2013. He is currently serving
Model
(VA-34) as Director and Vice President of Education for the Miles
Value Foundation. Dr. Kirk is a Fellow of SAVE Interna-
Figure 6. NT&D Process & VA Proposals tional and is the Dean of the College of Fellows.

36
Kurt A. Gernerd, is the assistant director of engineer-
ing for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C. Mr.
Gernerd’s formal training and education is in Civil and
Environmental Engineering and Project Management. He
is responsible for the Forest Service - Capital Asset Man-
agement and Sustainable design, Operation and Main-
tenance of Facilities, Fleet and Equipment Management,
and Value Engineering. He has a Bachelor’s of Science
Your Customers Are Smarter Than You—and 3 Other Awkward Truths
about New Product Development
Cu yah oga Falls, O H (Sept. 2013)—Picture this:
You’re at your favorite restaurant with three friends.
The server welcomes you with a brief chat but never
takes your orders.Then, about 15 minutes later, he
arrives with an assortment of entrées for each of
you.Yours is okay. It’s not exactly what you wanted,
but since you’re starving it will do.Your vegan friend,
Sally, has a real problem:The steak and cheesy broc-
coli the server brought her mean s she’s goin g to be
pretty hungry for the rest of the night. Carl is on a
low-carb diet, so his pasta dish certainly won’t help
his weight-loss goals. But on the bright side, your
other friend, Steve, is raving about his cheeseburger.
The server, as it turns out,
had a 25 percent success rate
at gu essin g what each of you
would like best for dinner. Good
thing this restaurant is hypo-
thetical—Steve might come back
again but the other three of you
almost certainly won’t.
Yes, it’s a ridiculous way to
do business—yet Dan A d a m s
sa y s this is exactly what it’s like
in new product development.
Companies gu ess what their customers want (based
on very limited information) rather than asking them.
An d that’s why the average company has only—you
guessed it—a 25 percent success rate with new prod-
ucts.
“In business, of course, we think we’re asking
customers what they want,” notes Ad ams, author of
the new, free 32-page e-book Reinventing V O C for
B2B: 12 N e w Rules from N e w Product Blueprinting
(www.newproductblueprinting.com/ebook). “We call
the process ‘Voice of the Customer’—but from m y
experience in working with B2B companies, almost
everyone is doing it wrong.”
He says most B2B companies participate in “me-
too VOC,” using surveys and questionnaires to pick
their customers’ brains because that’s what everyone
else is doing. Don’t get him wrong: E n gagin g cus-
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s of
Science Degree in Engineering from Utah State Univer-
sity, with post graduate study at Massachusefls Institute
of Technology (MIT) in advanced hydrologic conveyance
systems. He has published over 30 technical documents
and developed and produced several training/ instructional
videos and DVD’s. Kurt served on the SAVE Board of
Directors as the Government Representative for 5 years.
tomers is good. But the vast majority of u s need to
change h ow we approach the conversation.
The owner of a proprietary B2B product devel-
opment process called N e w Product Blueprinting,
A d a m s says B2B suppliers have a huge advantage
when it comes to VOC—if they use it correctly. His
new, free e-book shares new VOC rules for B2B so
that your company can ride the innovation wave and
stay ahead of the competition.
“Compared to end-consumers, your B2B cus-
tomers are more knowledgeable, interested, objec-
tive, and fewer in number,” he points out. “Th ey are
perfect to directly engage! But an advantage is an
advantage only if you know how
to take advantage of it. An d to
do that, you first have to face
the facts about h ow you’re cur-
rently doing things.”
Here, A d a m s shares four
awkward truths about h ow your
organization is currently devel-
oping new products:
1. Your customers are
smarter than you. Have you ever
heard anyone say, “Customers
can’t tell you what they want: That’s why Steve J o b s
never asked them”? It sounds good (if a touch arro-
gant), but that saying isn’t universally true. A n iPod
is a consumer—not B2B—product. Apple engineers
designed a product they could easily see themselves
using.You don’t have that luxury.
“Imagine you’re developing a pigment for pa-
per—a B2B product,” A d a m s suggests. “Wh o knows
more about its requirements: you or your customer,
the paper producer? B2B suppliers are smart about
h ow to develop a product, but B2B customers are
usually smarter about what the product should do.
“It’s different in the B2C world,” he adds. “Will
a consumer like the new iPod shape, for instance?
It’s hard to say without a prototype. But for you, the
Voice of the Customer continued on page 47
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
Appraisal of Value Engineering in
Construction Industry in Oman
Ibrahim Ali Albalushi, MSc., AVS; Fathoni Usman, Ph.D.
& Ali S. Alnuaimi, Ph.D.
Abstract
This paper presents results from field survey on
implementation of value engineering in construction
projects in Oman. The main objective was to measure
the level of awareness and application of VE in con-
struction industry in Oman for further expansion and
development. Data obtained from 64 respondents
representing the public and private construction
sectors was analysed. The findings indicated that VE
is recognized in construction industry in Oman and
there is a sign that some organizations are applying
VE in their projects, but there is confusion in under-
standing its process and application with the cost
saving tasks. Forty-two percent (42%) of the respon-
dents rated VE as limited to some special projects
and 40 percent stated that the application of VE is
low. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of the respondents
assumed that implementation of VE in construction
projects will benefit the construction industry and
minimize time and cost overruns, improve values,
and meet requirements. The main factors retard-
ing the application of VE in construction projects
are found to be lack of knowledge, guidelines and
non-availability of dedicated VE team. A procedure is
proposed towards the promotion and appraisal of VE
in the construction industry in Oman.
Keywords
Value Engineering, Construction Management,
Oman, Construction Industry.
Introduction
Value engineering (VE) evolved from the concept
of value analysis in 1940s during the effort to cater
for the material shortage caused by World War II.
37
The VE term was used by United States military since
1954 [Elias 1998]. The success achieved by VE appli-
cation in USA encouraged other countries to adopt it
in their various systems [Amani et al 2012]. The use
of this engineering technique for a variety of projects
has proven its effectiveness in reducing project costs
without reducing the scope of the work. The results
of over 500 studies in USA showed that VE had an
effect of a 5-35 percent reduction in initial costs and
widely differing results for improving project pro-
cess, values and quality. VE can be applied at any
stage and to any part of the project. However, the
earlier it is applied in a project life cycle, the greater
the savings that will be made [Dell’Isola 1997].
The technique has been applied at different sec-
tors of the economy where achieving best value is
desired. The applications of VE have been forced
by laws in some countries [Arazi et al 2010]. Unfor-
tunately, application of value engineering does not
seem to be well embraced in Middle East [Al-Barami
2010]. In Oman, VE program introduced officially in
2004 by the Value Engineering Centre, VEC, which
is a private local consultant working in oil and gas
operation projects through the ministry of oil and
gas. VEC has contributed to the improvement of the
design and construction of different oil and gas proj-
ects. Projects’ time and cost overruns due to change
orders as well as deviations from planned quality are
the most popular problems encountered in construc-
tion projects in Oman [Alnuaimi et al 2010].
Patrick et al (2000) investigated the VE knowl-
edge, perception and application in the construction
industry in Hong Kong for further implementa-
tion and appraisal of VE. As revealed by the survey,
misunderstanding and false perceptions of VE still
persist in the minds of clients and construction pro-
fessionals; many construction professionals have not
even heard the term VE, and the application of VE is
still low in Hong Kong construction industry. It was

38
recommended that the government should lead the
appraisal of VE application.
Robert et al (2004) investigated the level of prac-
tices of value management (VM) within major cost
consultants in UK in order to appraise VM applica-
tion within the cost consultant sectors. The results
indicated that, the focus on VM studies tends to be
at spaces and elements levels rather than the earlier
concept level. Moreover, the VM is used as a cost cut-
ting exercise particularly on projects which are expe-
riencing problems. The study recommended further
development of VM and integration of VM with risk
management to increases the benefits.
Steven and Philip (2006) studied the application
of VE within the Philadelphia regional construction
industry to review and compare the application of
true concept of VE. The findings indicated that the
true concept of VE is not understood by the construc-
tion industry members and they are mixing between
the VE and cost saving tasks.
Arazi et al (2010) studied the practice of VE
among the Malaysian construction consultant for
further enhancement of its application system. The
results indicated that the level of awareness of value
engineering within the Malaysian construction con-
sultant is high. The level of value engineering imple-
mentation was found to be relatively average. The
study recommended that the government should en-
courage and lead the promotion of value engineering
in the Malaysian construction consultants by creating
more seminars and training workshops.
Amani et al (2012) investigated the perception
towards implementation of VE among the private
sector in Malaysia to identify the acceptance level
of VE implementation within the private sector and
define the main obstacles of implementing VE within
Malaysia private sector. The findings concluded that
the perception of private sector’s consultants towards
VE is sceptical and negative during its initial. The
understanding from the private sector’s consultants
towards VE is minimal due to the misconception
towards VE. The study suggested more encourage
towards the application of VE.
Al Barami (2010) stated that the implementation
of VE in construction projects in Oman is still mini-
mal compared to other countries that have standard
of VE. The number of projects that have applied VE
technique is limited and handful. Oman’s construc-
tion industry is expected to hit OMR 1.57 billion
(USD 4 billion) by the end of 2013. Accordingly, the
possible impact of VE implementation in the con-
struction industry could be 10 percent in cost savings
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
and could generate savings up to OMR 157 million
(US $ 400 million) in addition of improving project
values.
The expenditure on construction projects in
Oman is made by both the public and private sectors.
The public sector accounts for the major part of the
total capital expenditure on construction and mostly
goes to infrastructure and development projects,
while the private sector expenditure is largely allo-
cated to residential housing, commercial buildings,
industrial construction, and lately in tourism and
natural gas related projects.
It is clear that the measurement of the current
level of VE application in Oman’s construction indus-
try is very important for the further appraisal of VE.
The involvement of the public and private sectors in
any investigation is critical as they are the key play-
ers in construction industry.
The objective of this paper was to measure the
level of awareness and application of value engi-
neering in construction industry in Oman. This was
required to structure future directions for appraisal
of VE in construction industry. The work was con-
ducted by a field survey on public and private sec-
tors’ projects. Reasons hindering theimplementation
of VE were investigated and studied. A development
plan to expand the implementation of VE in con-
struction industry is proposed.
Data collection and methodology
For collection of data, a field survey was con-
ducted using a questionnaire form, prepared by
the authors, focused on respondents’knowledge,
awareness, experience with VE and the obstructions
to implement VE in public and private construction
projects. Accordingly, the questions were modified
to eliminate wordings with possible confusion, dual
definitions or ambiguities prior to the real study
presented here.
The survey was designed to obtain three sets of
information which contain measuring parameters of
awareness and implementation of VE in construction
projects. The first part was designed to identify the
respondents’ job descriptions within the construction
industry and the sizes and types of projects which
they handled in Oman. This part also investigates
the sectors’ interest in VE through measuring therate
of their responses. The second part was designed to
measure the respondents’ general knowledge and
awareness on VE by asking various questions con-
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
39

cerning their experiences with the VE process and
sizes of the projects in which VE was implemented.
This part intended to reflect the respondents’ un-
derstanding on the formal VE application in the
projects. The third part was designed to investigate
the respondents’ opinions on various obstructions to
implementing VE process and it explores the respon-
dents’ views about the level of VE application in the
construction projects. This part contains suggested
obstructions to implement VE in construction proj-
ects found in previous studies as well it allows the re-
spondents to add their own obstructions as per their
experience. The survey questionnaire was distributed
to one hundred (100) professionals, who are mem-
bers of the projects’ teams, in a distribution database
that was created to provide an equal distribution
among the various members of public and private
sectors. All selected participants were educated with
minimum degree of a Bachleor of Science. To ensure
large spread of distribution, only one member from
each project team was selected to participate. The
participants were chosen from a diverse background
with their industrial experience ranging from one
year to over 20 years. The distribution ensured that
the responses to the questionnaire would consider
the various perspectives of the different project team
members, thus providing general overall results. The
questionnaires were addressed to the directors of the
projects and maintenance directorate in public sec-
tors and to the project departments in private sectors.
The questionnaire was submifed and received from
the respondents by hands through focal points. The
obtained data was analysed using Microsoh Excel
sohware to produce descriptive statistics of the level
of awareness, implementation, and obstacles of value
engineering. The results were used to propose a VE
implementation plan and appraisal method in the
construction industry in Oman.
lack of knowledge about VE. Table 1 (below) shows
the percentage of the respondents as per their job
classification. Project engineers, design profession-
als, construction managers and quantity surveyors
dominated the number of respondents. The owners
and contractors were less involved with 6 and 3 per-
cent respectively. This shows that the owners who are
investing a lot amount of money and contractors who
are taking the responsibility and risks of construction
are having less knowledge about VE than others. It
is important to educate these two groups about VE
implementation in construction projects.
Table 1. Respondent’s Job Classification
Classification Respondent Percentage
Owner 4 6.25%
Design professionals 16 25.00%
Construction managers 7 10.90%
Contractors 2 3.13%
Project Engineers 28 43.75%
Quantity surveyors 7 10.90%
Total 64 100.00%
Respondents’ experiences and types of
projects
Figure 1 (below) shows percentage of the par-
ticipant’s experiences in years. It is clear that the
respondents have good background and experience
in construction industry as 25 percent of the respon-
dents have more than 20 years’ experience and 36
percent of them have experience more than 15 years.
However, this result alone does not show the amount
of knowledge about the VE.

Results and Discussion

Types of Respondents
Out of the 100 professionals who were ap-
proached to answer the questions, 64 respondents
managed to complete the forms, 36 (56.25%) were
from the public sector and 28 (43.75%) were from
private sector. This indicates that the VE gained more
interest among the staff of public sector than of the
private sector. It should be noted that many engi-
neers did not afempt to enter into the survey due to Figure 1. Years of the Participants’ Experiences.
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
40 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

Table 2. Respondents’ awareness of VE

Aware of VE Respondents Percentage

Yes 57 89.06%
No 7 10.94%
Total 64 100.00%

Figure 2. Respondents and Project Types.

The respondents have participated in various
construction projects. Figure 2 (above) shows the per-
centage and type of projects handled by the respon-
dents. It is clear from the results that, the residential
projects have the largest portion of construction
industry which goes in line with data obtained from
the Ministry of Economy which indicated that resi-
dential projects has the largest share of construction
CAPEX in Oman [Ministry of Economy report, 2011].
From the type of projects and respondents as well as
their experiences, it can be stated that, the collected Figure 3. Source of Respondents’ VE Knowledge.
data was suitable for analysis to represent the real
Table 3. Statement on the Respondents’ General
situation of construction industry in Oman.
Knowledge of VE
Respondents’ General Knowledgeabout the

Respondent

Percentage
Concept ofVE Statement on the
Respondents’ General
To draw a befer understanding about the respon- Knowledge of VE
dents’ general knowledge and background on VE ap-
plication, they were asked to comment on how knowl-
Never heard of VE 7 10.94%
edgeable they are about VE. Table 2 (top right) shows
the percentage of the respondents’ general awareness Heard about, but I don’t 11 17.19%
about VE. The results illustrate that, 57 (89.06%) of the really know much about it
respondents showed awareness of value engineering. Understand the basic 31 48.44%
The remainder of seven (10.94%) respondents were concepts of VE
not familiar with VE concept and techniques. Figure 3
Know a great deal about VE 12 18.75%
(middle right) shows that, 15 (26.32%) of the respon-
dents who were aware of VE learned about it from Considered an expert on VE 3 4.69%
their work environments. Fourteen (14) (24.56%) re- Total 64 100.00%
spondents claimed that they learned basic facts about
VE from their colleagues and friends. A further 24.56 The findings give an indication of the presence
percent learned about VE through afending seminars, of VE in construction industry in Oman and the
and 10 (17.54%) respondents learned through afend- awareness of some respondents about the VE gen-
ing specialised short courses. Only four (7.02 %) of eral knowledge. Furthermore, the results indicate
respondents learned about VE through literature. Fur- that some of the construction industry organiza-
thermore, the results in Table 3 (bofom right) show tions apply VE in their projects as 15 (26.32 %) of the
that 31 (48.44%) of the respondents understand the respondents who were aware about VE learned it
basic concept of VE and another 12 (18.75%) respon- through their application in their projects. Generally,
dents know a great deal about the application of VE. the findings were not surprising, as there were some
Moreover, three (4.69%) of the respondents consider institutes in Oman who are giving VE general cours-
themselves experts in VE application. es to their participants where most of them work for
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®
the public sector. Mere reading about VE through
literature or publications or hearing it from friends,
colleagues or in work environment is not sufficient to
claim knowledge in VE techniques. Nevertheless, the
results show that information about VE has reached
the construction industry and it is suggested that the
concepts, rules and methodology of VE should be
explained extensively.
Implementation of formal VE in respondents’
organization
The survey results showed that 42 (65.63%) out
of the 64 respondents who participated in the survey
claimed that they applied VE techniques in their proj-
ects. Table 4 (below) shows the number of the proj-
ects where VE was applied during the last five years
in the participant’s organization. The results showed
that 15 (26.32 %) of the respondents learned about VE
through their organization projects. 25 respondents
out of the 42 declared that their organization applied
VE techniques in a range of one to five projects in
the last five years. Furthermore, eight out of the 42
respondents stated that their organization applied
VE techniques in more than 15 projects in the same
period. Moreover, 7 out of the 42 participants stated
that they applied VE in a range of six to ten projects
in the last five years and two participants claimed
that they applied VE techniques in the same period
for a range of 11 to 15 projects. The results prove that
the knowledge of VE has reached the construction
community and there is a high interest in the orga-
nizations to apply VE in their projects. However, the
results suggested that all those familiar with VE have
learned about it in their projects. Hence, it is possible
that they do not have adequate knowledge or experi-
ence on the techniques, rules or methodology of VE.
Table 4. Number of Projects Where VE Was Applied
in the Last Five Years
Respondents
Quantity of Projects Where VE Was Applied
in the Last Five Years in Respondents’
Organization
1-5
6-10
11-15
Above 15
Total
41
Figure 4. Stages of Project’s Life Cycle Where
Organizations Perform VE.
Accordingly, it cannot be predicted up to this point
that the participants have implemented a proper VE.
Further investigation of the results on VE imple-
mentation in participants’ projects, showed that out
of the 42 respondents who verified that VE was per-
formed in their projects, 11 (26.19%) stated that VE
was performed during the final design stage, while
nine (21.43%) declared that VE was performed dur-
ing the preliminary design stage. Furthermore, nine
(21.43) percent of the participant stated that VE was
performed during the conceptual phase of the proj-
ect and nine (21.43%) showed that they performed
VE in their projects during the construction stage.
Moreover, four (9.52%) showed that they performed
VE in their projects during the bidding phase. Figure
4 (below) shows the stages of the project life cycle
where the participants’ organisations performed VE
in their projects. According to VE standard job plan
and procedure, the results are not consistent with the
formal VE procedure and job plans as 24 (57.14%) of
the respondents claimed that VE was performed in
their projects during the final design, bidding and
construction stages (Figure 4 above). As a general
VE rules, the VE formal study should be started in
the early stages of the project before commitment of
funds and approval of systems, services and design
[Dell’Isola 1997]. The benefits of VE comes down as
the project move further from the concept phase and
becomes very less in the construction stage, where
more focus will be in the cost rather than the func-
tions of the project. Else more, the results show that,
out of the 64 respondents 22 respondents claimed
that they participated in VE study on some projects.
Eighteen (18) of them (81.82 %) claimed that they
25 participated in a formal VE study where a dedicated
7 project study team was formed and four (18.18 %)
2 persons participated in non-formal study without
8
dedicated team. Moreover, the project engineers and
owners led the performed formal VE study team as
42
shown in Table 5 (next page, top). It is worth men-
 VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
42 PUBLISHED BY SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

tioning that, VE study should be guided by expe- Table 5: Who Leads the Formal VE Process in the
rienced VE leader as VE methodology contains a Project Study?
systematic job plan and preparation of project func-
tions [Al-Barami 2010]. The VE methodology requires

Responden
dedicated VE experts for organizing and guiding
Who leads the formal VE

Percent
the study as per the rules and VE job plan where the
process in the project study
preparation of the required project functions, and
function analysis system techniques need to be high-

t
ly considered. It can be learned from the results that, Owner 5 22.73%
the respondents may have participated in reviews Architect 1 4.55%
of the projects’ scopes for cost savings as this task is Construction manager 3 13.64%
very common in Oman during bidding and construc- Project Engineer 9 40.91%
tion stages where it is mostly led by the owner or his
Contractor 2 9.09%
representative. Therefore, it can be stated that there is
General Manager 1 4.55%
a lack of understanding of the general VE application
procedures and rules in construction industry and Course instructor 1 4.55%
the participants might have been confused between Total number of answers 22 100.00%
the cost saving tasks and VE techniques.
Figure 5 (middle right) shows that, the respon-
dents believe that project’s engineers, owners and
construction managers should participate in the VE
dedicated team during the project value study. They
also believe that owners and construction managers
have the most impact in elimination of the project
unnecessary cost as shown in Figure 6 (bofom right).
These findings support the statement that respon-
dents are confusing cost saving with the VE. This
opinion is established because usually the owners
and construction managers are the leaders of the
project team in Oman who decide on the construc-
tion cost and requirement revision tasks, it is not a
designer who is establishing the vision of the project
and evaluating the value of the works. This is again Figure 5. Participants in a Formal VE Analysis.
lined up with the fact that in construction industry,
the owner leads the consultant design team to his
requirements during the early stages of the design,
then the consultant continue the detailing works.

Respondents’ opinions on obstructionsto

implementing VE
Table 6 (next page) shows the factors that hinder
the implementation of value engineering in the con-
struction industry in Oman as per the respondents’
opinions. It is worth mentioning that, 57 (89.1%)
respondents completed this part of the survey while
the other 7 (10.9%) respondents were not having clear
answers for the questions. Accordingly, their answers
were not considered. 226 answers collected in this
part as the respondents can choose more than one Figure 6: Members Who Have Largest Impact on
answer. Elimination of Unnecessary Costs
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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43

Table 6. Obstructions to the VE Process and Aapplication in Construction Projects in Oman

Reasons *Respondent Percent

Owners do not want to invest mon ey in the V E process 19 8.41%
Owners do not want to invest time in the V E process 16 7.08%
Lack of knowledge about V E procedures, applications and techniques. 43 19.03%
Lack of local guidelines about V E 24 10.62%
Engineers/architects do not have a financial incentive to produce the most 15 6.64%
efficient design
Engineers/architects want to complete the design as soon as possible since they 25 11.06%
are paid a lump s u m and do not want to invest time in exploring new ideas.
Non-availability of dedicated V E team with owners 30 13.27%
Non-availability of dedicated V E team in contractor’s or designer’s organization 17 7.52%
Local codes limit the use of creativity in design and the use of new technology 8 3.54%
and products
Construction managers and project engineers are not made part of the project 18 7.96%
team until the designs are completed or near completion
Owner’s engineer or contractor does not have financial incentive to produce the 11 4.87%
most officiate design
Total number of answers 226 100.00%

*The respondents can choose more than one answer for this question.
The results show that 19.03 percent of the ob-
stacles to the VE implementation in the construction
industry are associated to the lack of knowledge
about VE procedures, applications and techniques
while 13.27 percent are related to non-availability
of a dedicated VE team with the owners and 7.52
percent are related to non-availability of a dedicated
VE team with contractors or designers. Furthermore,
10.62 percent of the obstacles are due to lack of local
guideline about VE and 11.06 percent is due to non-
availability of proper time for completing the design
of the project since the design firms are paid a lump
sum and do not desire to invest time in exploring
new ideas. Moreover, the owners inconvenience to
invest money in VE process represents 8.41 percent of
the obstacles.
obstructions and another 40.35 percent agreed that
the application of VE is low. Figure 7 (below) shows
the level of application of VE in the construction
industry. In order to widely extend the application of
VE in the construction industry, most of the respon-
dents stated that the authorised agencies whether
they are from the public or private sector should
be made aware of the importance of VE by special
workshops or seminars, and should be encouraged to
practice in systematic application of VE in their proj-
ects. This will require the high level of project man-
agement to support the systematic application of VE
programmes. The respondents also mentioned that

Respondents Opinion on Future Prospective of

VE inOman
The survey indicated that 89 percent of the re-
spondents who completed the last part of the survey
stated that implementation of value engineering in
construction projects will benefit the construction
industry and minimize the time and cost overruns,
improve values, satisfy the requirements. 42.11 per-
cent of the respondents agreed that the application of Figure 7. Level of Application of VE in Construction
VE is limited to some special projects due to various Industry.

44
government rules and regulations should encourage
the application of VE in the construction industry
specially the implementation of VE in public proj-
ects before tendering. There is an acceptance among
the respondents that VE is a valuable technique that
would aid to elevate the status of the construction
industry. They believe that VE can support in solving
the variations and cost overrun issues occurring in
the construction industry in Oman if the obstacles of
implementing VE are eliminated.
Proposal for Promotion of VE in
Oman
The following recommendations are suggested to
widely extend the application of VE in the construc-
tion projects.
Initiation ofVE
The professional organizations such as Oman
Society of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University,
Muscat Municipality, and Tender Board should take
the initiative to promote the use of VE in construc-
tion industry through organizing more seminars
and training programs for introducing VE concepts,
methodology and effect in construction industry. In
addition, the government should motivate the VE re-
searches in construction field. The works coordinated
to create building the capabilities and resources by
means of long term planning of spreading VE knowl-
edge to a wide figure of construction organizations
across Oman.
Enhance the knowledge of the project team
members inVE
It is fundamental for the concern staff in various
construction organizations particularly in the side of
client, consultant and contractor to be educated and
trained on VE application to improve their knowl-
edge and skills in VE. Table 7 (next page) shows a
proposed five stage plan for improving the different
management levels and technical staff’ awareness
and practice in VE applications. The program is not
limited to a time frame but with results gained, as it
will give more encouragement for the high manage-
ment to accelerate the training for further applica-
tions. Commonly, the project life cycle in Oman con-
stitutes four stages namely: feasibility study stage,
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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concept and design stage, tender and evaluation
stage and construction and maintenance stage [Am-
busaidi 2005]. The plan aims to build integrated and
examined system based on assessments of each phase
and includes all construction members’ levels who
are handling project’s life cycle stages. The following
are the proposed stages:
First Stage: as the client and consultant are lead-
ing the initiations of the project from the concepts
and feasibility phase up to the tendering and evalu-
ation phases, the high management level of client
and consultant should be appointed to be conscious
about VE concepts, strategies, positive incomes
and results in improving the project values, quality,
and satisfying project requirements. Moreover, the
high management level will have an overview on
VE outcomes in enhancing the project life cycle and
encourage them toward the application of VE in their
projects. Workshops and seminars can be executed
through professional and experienced VE instructors.
The participant aher this stage can get the associated
value specialist certificates and will be able in estab-
lishing the basic rules and systems of applying VE
concepts on their projects.
Second Stage: this stage is for the middle man-
agement level, designers, and technical engineers for
both the client and consultant as a continuation of
improving the knowledge about VE techniques. The
workshops and seminars for this stage should con-
centrate on VE applications, rules and job plans by
which the participants can obtain a deep understand-
ing about the technique and differentiate it from
only cost saving tasks. Aher this stage the participant
should be able to practice the initial VE techniques of
sefing the goals, objectives and general performance
criteria’s of the projects in assistance of VE experts.
Third Stage: the function sefings techniques,
idea creations and evaluations are essential tools of
VE. Middle management, design staff and techni- cal
engineers from both the client and consultant are
involved in this stage. The objective of this stage is to
let the participants learn and practice the creation of
function analysis system technique (FAST) models,
idea creation process and procedures, and the evalu-
ation techniques in order to further continues the VE
study job plan. This stage is an important stage as the
function analysis is an essential task in VE job plan.
So, the participant should be educated and trained
in practicing the creation of function analysis system
techniques.
Fourth Stage: For further continuation, this
stage is designed for the team who is involved in the
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45

Table 7. Proposed Plan for Improvement Organization Members VE Knowledge

Stages Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5

Parties Involved Client Client Client Client Client
Consultant Consultant Consultant Consultant Consultant
Middle and Middle
technical management,
Management
management design staffs, Project
High level wh o
level and technical management
management involved in
Key persons engineers team at
and technical bid evaluation
Technical involved in construction
level and value
engineers and concept and stage
measurements
staffs detail design
stages
Introducing Showing Usin g V E
V E concept, function Using V E tools in techniques
Introducing
rules, process, analysis, bid evaluations for revising ,
V E concept,
Objective of the application idea creation and measuring comparing and
strategies, rules,
training and get A V S , improving and comparing improving the
process, and
certificate from values methods values at bidding value during
application
SAVE and to get C V S stages the construction
certificate stage
V E /VM specific Advance V E
workshops Advance V E workshops for
Advance V E
and seminars workshops in construction
workshops in
VE/VM workshop on the rules, F A S T creations stages,
Training method value evaluation
and seminars applications and and Evaluation evaluation of
and value
process ofV E Matrix the values and
improvement
J o b plan and the application performance
expected results criterias
Applying the Applying V E
concept of V E at concept,
Applyin g the
at feasibility, design, detail Application of Application of
concept of V E
Application concept and design, with V E at final detail V E during the
at concept and
Design stage of idea creation design stage construction
Design stage
the projects and evaluation
matrix

bid evaluation aher project tendering. The courses
should include the VE tools used in evaluation of
project tenders. The course should concentrate on
assessing the project values by which the participant
will be able to submit project value analysis to the
stakeholders for choosing the proper contractor for
the construction stage.
Fihh Stage: it is an advanced level stage for client
and consultant where VE created in the construction
stages. The participant from the client and consultant
will share their VE knowledge and experience with
the contractor. In this stage the three parties should
get a high knowledge in revising project objectives,
values and measures performance criteria during the
construction stage.
The result of the five stages should be recorded
for further improvement. The assistance of VE ex-
perts in practicing VE in live projects is very critical
and adds values to the participants.
Guidance of the Application of VE in
Construction Industry
The government authorities should play a lead
role in promoting VE as they are the most powerful
tool in forcing the application of VE in construction
industry. The VE system should be built within the
provisions of government contracts. It is recommend-
ed at this stage that, the Oman Engineering Society
(OES) adopt the leading of the implementation of VE
in construction projects through the creation of VE

46
department within its organization. The department
should work with Tender Board, as it is handling the
project contract, rules and regulations, to review the
construction system and make rules and procedures
of enhancing the project management system with
VE for application of VE in government projects.
However, the application of VE should be initially
restricted to certain important public projects and it
may even be justified to form a VE society to oversee
the VE implementation for various projects and build
up case precedence to facilitate learning and future
improvements. A database for reviewing success and
failure rates of VE applications should made avail-
able. By studying these evidences and precedence,
clients would feel more comfortable in adopting VE
in their projects. Key lessons will be learned from
failures so that practices are improved over time to
suit unique circumstances.
Conclusion
This paper presented a field survey study con-
ducted among the public and private construction
sectors to investigate the level of awareness and ap-
plication of VE in construction industry in Oman for
further improvement and appraisal. Sixty-four (64)
respondents, out of 100 professionals approached,
managed to complete the survey. It was found that
VE is recognized in construction industry as 89 per-
cent of the respondents were aware of the concepts
of VE, but there is confusion in understanding its
rules, methodology and application with cost saving
tasks. The survey proves that some organizations in
construction industry are applying VE in their proj-
ects but they are not following the proper VE rules
and job plans. The findings showed that, the level of
implementing VE in construction projects is low and
limited only to some project as stated by 40 and 42
percent of the respondents respectively. The result
was encouraging toward future of VE application
in construction industry and expected to eliminate
the current concerns. There is a number of obstruc-
tions need to be tackled with more efforts to edu-
cate industrial practitioners and owners on various
aspect of VE. Government has to play a leading role
in promoting such initiatives. A proposed plan was
presented to promote and appraise VE among the
construction industry.
VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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VALUE WORLD |VOL 36 |NO 2 |FALL 2013
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About the Authors
Ibrahim Ali Albalushi, MSc, AVS, took his BSc in
civil engineering in 2001, at Sultan Qaboos University in
Oman. He obtained his Master’s degree in civil engineer-
ing (structural specialist) in same university in 2010.
Currently, he is a Ph.D. researcher in Universiti Tenaga
Nasional in Malaysia. His research topic is “Development
of Value Engineering Advisory System in Public Con-
struction Projects of Oman.” He has worked in public con-
struction sector for 10 years and participated in construc-
tion of an aluminium smelter in Oman (USD3 billion) as
a senior project engineer for two years.
Dr. Fathoni Usman, is the senior lecturer and head
of Unit Academic of the civil engineering department,
College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional. He
Voice of the Customer continued from page 36
B2B company, the question might be, Will the paper
producer want brighter paper or faster mill speed?
This can be discussed and predicted.”
2. Your VOC is boring customers. Be honest: Do
you like to answer surveys at home? H o w about at
work? Lots of free time there? Of course not. An d
your customers are no different. The last thing they
want is to see you comin g with a questionnaire or
interview guide. What they do want is to help you
innovate: They’ll be heroes if your new product or
service lets their companies make or save money.
“Wh en you know h ow to truly engage your
customers as opposed to simply throwing question-
naires in their general direction, exciting things will
happen,” A d a m s assures. “First, your VOC interviews
will last longer. S o m e great B2B interviews have ac-
tually lasted more than a day! A s a result of the time
spent together, your customers will volunteer more
and richer insights, as they settle into their new role
as your teacher.
“E ven better, because of their participation in
the product development process, your customers
will be ‘primed’ to buy your product as soon as you
launch it…because they helped design it,” he adds.
3. You don’t know what you don’t know. A d a m s
recalls a client wh o couldn’t wait to g o through their
list of questions with customers.This client planned
to confirm facts, validate hypotheses, and fill in gaps.
A d a m s recalls, “While the client’s enthusiasm
was laudable, I had to tell them, ‘You know what you
know (facts). You know what you think (hypotheses).
An d you know what you don’t know (gaps). But you
don’t know what you don’t know. Only the customer
knows the issues that truly matter to them—and you
need to engage in a way that allows these important
47
took his Ph.D. and M.Eng. in civil engineering (structure
and materials), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia,
and B.Eng. in civil engineering, Universitas Sriwijaya,
Palembang, Indonesia. His research expertise focuses on
structure and materials; artificial intelligent; construction
information technology system design and development;
industrial building system and sustainable construction.
Ali S. Alnuaimi, Ph.D., is an associate professor in
the civil and architectural engineering department at the
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. Dr. Ali took his Ph.D.
from Glasgow University, UK and he took his M.Sc. and
B.Sc. from University of Southern California, USA. His
research expertise focuses on structural design and analy-
sis, estimating construction cost and administration of
contracts.
issues to surface.’
“ M y point is, in the best B2B interviews and
tours, the customer leads,” he adds. “Th e customer’s
feedback takes the supplier to ‘the good stuff’ and
provides insights that were previously unimagined.
Clever suppliers use advanced methods that con-
tinually put them in a position to be surprised.These
surprises—not fill-in-the-blank interview guides—
provide the spark for true innovation.”
4. Your NPD process is backwards. Your new
product development process probably begins with
“Generate Idea” on the left, perhaps even decorated
by a lightbulb icon. But does it specify whose idea it
is: you rs…or your customers’? Most suppliers start
with their own solutions to assumed customer needs.
An d when do they test real customer needs? At the
e n d … b y seeing if customers buy their new product.
“Here’s a thought: What if we flipped that, start-
ing with customer needs and ending with supplier
solutions?” A d a m s asks. “For starters, your R & D
wouldn’t squander its time developing answers to
questions your customers weren’t asking. Customers
would see you were interested in th em…n ot in ‘vali-
dating’ your preconceived notions. An d you would
uncover and pursue customer needs your competi-
tors had completely missed.”
“Facing up to these awkward realities m a y not be
your idea of fun, but it’s the start of a radical change
in your new product development process,” A d a m s
concludes. “Believe me, it’s worth a bit of embarrass-
ment. When you bring the customer into the conver-
sation from the beginning, you’ll make your o wn job
easier while strengthening customer buy-in. An d no
one will have to look at those boring questionnaires
again!”
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ISSN 1553-8508(print)
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