If you’ve been reading any of the APS articles, then you know that we feel strongly about the merits of making your design decisions in collaboration with your builder, as early in your commercial construction process as possible (and if not, we’ve included some nifty links below so you can get caught up). We recommend that you engage a Design-Build General Contractor (DBGC) before you start locking in your design plans, even before you select your property if possible.
We like to see our clients and friends take this approach because having the existing conditions on your property known upfront is so advantageous for your pre-construction planning. An experienced general contractor will know all about the infrastructure that’s already in place on your site, and that which will be needed to fulfill your vision. They’ll be able to see and translate the big picture when it comes to regulatory compliance requirements and permits. They will be ready to unearth the hidden costs of your concept superimposed onto your (prospective) commercial property. And that gives you a head start on value-engineering your project.
What do we mean, value engineering?
Value engineering (VE) is an assessment method of products and services utilized globally and across industries, and it’s been practiced since its inception at General Electric during WWII. It’s praised as a cost-cutting tool for all kinds of products and services development. Who doesn’t like to save money? At its essence, though, it’s much more than that. Cost-cutting can’t overturn quality and function in value engineering, by definition. Rather, the goal is to “create added value by maximizing the function with minimal cost,” (Barone).
VE entails a detailed analysis of the product or service (in this case, a commercial build) and its requirements and how to achieve those requirements for the lowest total cost. “It is a creative, organized effort… Using experienced, multi-disciplinary teams, value and economy are improved through the study of alternate design concepts, materials, and methods without compromising the functional and value objectives of the client,” says Scott Cullen, MRICS, in his description of VE for the Whole Building Design Guide.
Anybody involved in the planning, financing, design, or construction of your project can be on your VE team, as long as they can contribute to the synergy of value and functionality of your whole project. The utilization of value engineering for your retail, restaurant, or other commercial build means that your team works together to help you to assess all the possibilities for construction locations, feature placement, procedures, materials, capital, staffing, utilities and energy, systems, and maintenance over the lifetime of the product– and how they’ll all work together- in an effort to select the best combination of function and cost for you. That’s real value. In the earliest Planning Stage of development, the most benefit can be derived from Value Engineering. Here’s where a qualified, experienced design-build contractor willing to evaluate your site and project with you, become familiar with your definition of value, and define the key criteria and objectives for your build, will really come in handy. The project will be developed with fewer changes, redesigns, and schedule delays, and a greater understanding by all parties of what the final function and space allocations will be. Most VE participants are accustomed to becoming involved at the next phase, the Design Stage, when the design has at least made it to schematics. This is the time when the proposed program and its alternatives and the associated cost estimate and implementation schedule and approach can most effortlessly be aligned with the best value for your money. Did you know that most government agencies require at least one certified VE session at the design stage on construction projects over a certain dollar amount? SAVE International was created to offer verified VE certification services for this purpose. In fact, they’ve prescribed this 5-step VE Job Plan: We’ve said it before: the earlier you can integrate your VE team, the better. But you don’t have to take our word for it. “VE can be applied at any point in a project, even in construction. However, typically the earlier it is applied, the higher the return on the time and effort invested,” (Cullen). The best time to implement value engineering is immediately following project inception. In the Final Analysis Stage, applying Value Engineering is propitious for fine-tuning the functionality of the project and life-cycle cost savings. It provides assurance that all reasonable alternatives, and their associated cost estimates and scope statements, have been explored, for both the owner and other constituents of the VE Team. You may assume that a general contractor profits the most from projects in which clients select the most expensive materials and processes available. And you’d be mostly right. As a design-build general contractor, APS loves participating in spare-no-expense projects for their inherent creativity and flexibility. But most clients have a budget to adhere to, and finding the most worthwhile coalescence of layout, design, and materials is just as worthy a creative endeavor for us as the big-ticket ventures are. Not to mention that margins aren’t the only way to measure profit: we count client relationships in a big way, not to mention the positive impact of value engineering on building green. “Contractors have an opportunity to serve as champions for their clients. They can seek out efficiencies between building systems rather than squeeze each system to the detriment of the whole,” (Heider and Stewart). We consider it our honorable mission to value engineer every one of our client’s projects, large and small- we just can’t help it. But we can help you. Contact us for Site Evaluation, Pre-Construction Consultation, Value Engineering, and all-inclusive Design-Build Services today. The earlier, the better! by Lindsey Andress Additional Resources:
The ideal value-engineering process
Why we want to value engineer your commercial build
Engaging a General Contractor During Due Diligence (And the First 5 Things to Assess)
Evaluating Hidden Costs on Your Commercial Property
Who’s on Your Pre-Construction Team?
The TI Permit Process: Avoiding Scope Creep
20-Point Commercial Property Checklist
Putting the Value in Evaluation
APSGC: Commercial Site Evaluation Services
APSGC: Green Building Services
Article: Investopedia, Value Engineering reviewed by ADAM BARONE
Article: WBDG, Value Engineering by Scott W. Cullen, MRICS
Article: Why Construction ‘Value Engineering’ is About to Become True to its Name by Elizabeth Heider and Emma Stewart
