Value Management, delivering value for money in construction

Value Management, delivering value for money. 

Value Management is a structured approach to defining, maximising and delivering value for money. It shifts the emphasis away from the traditional focus of lowest cost, highest possible benefit by asking the question of "what actually is this components function and how else could that be achieved", this in turn necessitates a move away from concentrating on the inputs of a project in favour of its outcomes.

Value management has its roots in mid 20th-century manufacturing in the US, where it quickly grew to become the dominant approach to cost and contract control. However, its adoption in the UK did not take place until 1983, conveniently coinciding

with a cultural shift towards function and performance in the built environment. Where previously there had been an almost complete focus on cost and materials, occupiers had started to ask "what can this building do for our business, and what is the optimal way in which we can achieve those outputs". 

These new function-driven approach led to the realisation by the building industry that construction projects would have to focus on the long term business needs of the occupier; as well as simply delivering the building itself. To achieve this, project teams needed to develop a firm understanding of their clients needs to enable effective and economic delivery. Value management techniques were seen as an ideal way to ensure that the efforts of project teams were effectively targeted at delivering the right buildings for this new, self aware breed of client

The aim of modern value management in construction is to provide affordable, efficient buildings that are pleasant to work in, compliment their environment, foster communities and effectively deliver their function both at outset and into the future. It achieves this by identifying the definition of what represents value to a client; communicating that definition clearly to the project team then finding ways to best deliver those benefits for the minimum level of resources. The main tool that is used for this is Value Engineering, which will be covered in my next post. 

Designingbuildings.co.uk, (2015). Value management in building design and construction - Designing Buildings Wiki. [online] Available at: http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Value_management_in_building_design_and_construction [Accessed 21 Sep. 2015].

Hackett, M., Robinson, I. and Statham, G. (2007). The Aqua Group guide to procurement, tendering & contract administration. Oxford: Blackwell Pub./Davis Langdon.