Value Engineering

Abstract

Value engineering is an approach which looks at the process in entirety and evaluates the performance of each and every component in the process for which alternatives can be developed and more cost efficient processes can be used in order to reduce the cost and maintain the quality. The value engineering involves multidisciplinary committees, which carry out a six step procedure to perform value engineering. The objective is to maintain the quality by lowering the costs. This can only be achieved through creative thinking for the alternative processes.

Value Engineering

Introduction

Value Engineering is an approach widely used in industrial sector. This method is renowned for its ability to improve the processes through increasing the value and quality. The Value engineering process identifies and eliminates those costs, which are unnecessary while increasing the benefits, quality and reliability of the product. The other critical factors include the processes reliability and performance in order to meet and exceed the customer's expectations (Garatt, 1967).

The improvements in the value engineering process are made through the recommendations by the cross functional teams directly or indirectly related to the process or service being engineered in order to improve the performance. The core objectives if value analysis is to improve the performance, reliability along with quality and efficiency. Value engineering also improves the creativity of the human behaviors and attitudes, which include the creative thinking, and creativity. Value engineering is developed from the necessity, in order to provide the same performance functions and reduced costs. The traces can be found in the era of WWII when the companies are short of material and have to maintain the quality while providing the same quality standards as promised (Green, 1991).

Discussion

Value Engineering: A Holistic Approach

The education process teaches vertical thinking. With the interference of technology, the human mind has been induced towards lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is also known as creative thinking which is most required by the value engineering. Value engineering aims at reducing unnecessary costs while providing the product with same or improved quality. This objective can only be achieved if the engineers or planners have the ability to think laterally and creatively rather than vertical thinking. The attempts for increasing the creative behavior in the human being depend on the ability of an individual brain's and the processing system. Creative thinking can only be induced in the individual with the help of manipulating the environment in which an individual is working. Creative thinking is not sequential and does follow any sequence. The engineers and managers can provide the ideas for improving the processes and reducing the cost but they may develop the road map later in achieving the cost reduction. This creative thinking helps in generating new ideas rather than complete pictures and then those puzzles can be joined together in order to provide a complete path (Fang & Rogerson, 1999).

Value engineering is applied with a holistic approach. The process is reviewed and then the alternatives are identified which means that what are the other through ...