Building Design and Construction Handbook - Merritt - Ventech!

1.22 SECTION ONE
vators may be programmed for efficient handling of variations in traffic patterns
and may be equipped with voice synthesizers to announce floor stops and give
advice in emergencies. In addition, intelligent buildings are designed for ease and
flexibility in providing for changes in space use, piping, electrical conductors, and
installed equipment. See also Arts. 3.5.12 and 3.7.2.
(F. S. Merritt and J. Ambrose, ‘‘Building Engineering and Systems Design,’’ 2nd
Ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.)
1.8 VALUE ENGINEERING
As indicated in Art. 1.3, the client in the initial design phase develops a program,
or list of requirements. The goal of the designers is to select a system that meets
these requirements. Before the designers do this, however, it is advisable for them
to question whether the requirements represent the client’s actual needs. Can the
criteria and standards affecting the design be made less stringent? After the program
has been revised to answer these questions, the designers select a system. Next, it
is advisable for the designers to question whether the system provides the best
value at the lowest cost. Value engineering is a useful procedure for answering this
question and selecting a better alternative if the answer indicates this is desirable.
Value engineering is the application of the scientific method to the study of
values of systems. The major objective of value engineering in building design and
construction is reduction of initial and life-cycle costs (Art. 1.6). Thus, value engineering
has one of the objectives of systems design, in which the overall goal is
production of an optimum building, and should be incorporated in the systemsdesign
procedure.
The scientific method, which is incorporated in the definitions of value engineering
and systems design, consists of the following steps:
1. Collection of data and observations of natural phenomena
2. Formulation of a hypothesis capable of predicting future observations
3. Testing of the hypothesis to verify the accuracy of its predictions and abandonment
or improvement of the hypothesis if it is inaccurate
Those who conduct or administer value studies are often called value engineers,
or value analysts. They generally are organized into an interdisciplinary team for
value studies for a specific project. Sometimes, however, an individual, such as an
experienced contractor, performs value engineering services for the client for a fee
or a percentage of savings achieved by the services.
Value Analysis. Value is a measure of benefits anticipated from a system or from
the contribution of a component to system performance. This measure must be
capable of serving as a guide in a choice between alternatives in evaluations of
system performance. Because generally in comparisons of systems only relative
values need be considered, value takes into account both advantages and disadvantages,
the former being considered positive and the latter negative. It is therefore
possible in comparisons of systems that the value of a component of a system may
be negative and subtracts of systems from the overall performance of the system.
System evaluations would be relatively easy if a monetary value could always
be placed on performance. Then, benefits and costs could be compared directly.