D G JONES & PARTNERS

INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANTS

VALUE ENGINEERING

THE PRACTICE
D.G. Jones & Partners International, is one of the worlds leading cost consultants to the
construction industry with an established track record in the management of cost, time
and quality through Quantity Surveying, Project Management, Cost Control, and General
Contract Administration.

VALUE ENGINEERING
Value Engineering is a specialised design review undertaken to optimise/rationalise
project costs whilst maintaining the original design brief. The functional analysis of a
design identifies non-essential characteristics and functions for the purpose of their
elimination or modification thus enabling the cost of satisfying the design brief to be
reduced. Value Engineering aims at providing the best balance between cost, performance
and reliability.
Value Engineering operates on an organised schedule of procedures. This enables the
functional requirements and alternative solutions, with their associated costs, to be
identified and developed to a strict timetable. Value Engineering is generally undertaken
as an intensive workshop by an independent team of experienced design professionals
acting in a consultative capacity to the client. Upon conclusion they produce a thorough
report with recommendations, for review and assessment by the client and his project
design team. The project design teams responsibilities to the client are not affected. The
Value Engineering team, operating in a complementary role, acts as a positive catalyst for
savings.
Value Engineering can be undertaken at any stage of the design process. However, as a
general rule the earlier a study is undertaken the more effective it will be through the
opportunity to rationalise design before it is so firmly established that any change would
significantly increase design planning costs.

ADVANTAGES OF VALUE ENGINEERING

Value Engineering provides a proven means to:

Reduce project costs.

Improve design efficiency.
Optimise value for money.
Concentrate design effort.
Advance design decisions.
Highlight design options for selection.
Improve ways to comply with the brief.
Afford an independent functional review.

PARTICIPANTS
Value Engineering is undertaken by a team of Specialists who conduct one or mre
workshops during the design development stages. Membership of the team could be 3 or
more people from various disciplines. The Consultants role will be to make available for
reference only representatives from the design team in the architectural, structural,
mechanical, electrical and Quantity Surveying.

THE PROCESS
The process involves the following stages:
-

Establishing the overall objectives for the project in terms of purpose, scope, time,
cost, quality and quantity.

Breaking down the project to its essential elements and their functions.

Estimating the worth of each elemental function to the project and its actual cost.

Generating alternative ideas for performing the function.

Generate a firm list of savings proposal.

Present report to the Owner.

THE CONTRACTORS ROLE

Value Engineering is normally carried out during the design development stages.
Nevertheless it is considered worthwhile to encourage input from contractors by
introducing Value Engineering incentive clauses. In order to be successful such clauses
should set forth sharing arrangements by which contractors, after the award of contracts,
can share in cost reductions they can introduce.

OFFICES OF
THE D.G. JONES & PARTNERS
GROUP OF COMPANIES

MIDDLE EAST

EUROPE

Beirut, Lebanon
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Dubai, UAE
Doha, Qatar
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Cairo, Egypt
London, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Paris, France
Nicosia, Cyprus
Moscow, Russia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Bucharest, Romania
Kiev, Ukraine

USA

Cambridge, Mass.
Washington D.C.

SOUTH EAST ASIA

Hong Kong
Tokyo, Japan
Fiji
Indonesia
Manila, Philippines
Bangkok, Thailand

AUSTRALIA

AFRICA

Melbourne
Sydney
Gold Coast
Nairobi
Kampala