Udvælgelses- dan og tildelingskriter ske byggesektor ... - RenProces

184 A Diverse Understanding of Value in the Building Industry
1.1 INTRODUCTION
For participants in building projects value is a central component in one
way or another. For the client value is what he receives in terms of design,
usability and quality compared with the amount of money he spends. For
the contractor, the consultant, the architect, etc. value is to contribute to the
fulfillment of the customer’s requirement in such an efficient manner that a
satisfying contribution margin occurs. For all parties value can also be the
joy of working in a dynamic project-orientated industry where unique assets
designed for a specific customer are created in every project.
Value is however not an integrated part of “construction thinking”. A
large diversity in the understanding and use of the term value does exist. In
one case the use of the word “value” in written materials (reports, project
descriptions, etc.) was examined (Wandahl 2004). The result was a list
with over 40 entries with a remarkably large range, e.g. value chain, ethical
value, long-term value, value-based design, etc. Since a common
understanding of value in building is missing, the full potential of the
management concepts based on value will most likely not occur. Hence,
there is a need for a deeper knowledge about the value concept, and also
a need for a deeper knowledge about how different parties in the building
industry perceive and use the value concept.
1.1.1 Research Objectives
In a general term the research objective was to gain more knowledge
about the value concept in building, especially how value is handled in
every day practice. More specific, the research objective was described
thorough a hypothesis:
Practitioners in the building industry have a vague knowledge of
the value concept. Furthermore, the degree of knowledge
differs between the trades.
The hypothesis was developed on a compound of non-documented
observations from building practice, indications from theory and
government reports, and from the fact that value has been an issue in
research and practice in other industries.
1.2 METHODOLOGY
A biased approach was applied. Both quantitative data collection through a
questionnaire addressed to practitioners in the building industry, and
qualitative data collections through observations from a social experiment
were carried out. In a theory of science perspective, this is called
triangulation. The validity of the result should, therefore, increase. The
184