What is Value Engineering?
By Harden Custom Homes 29 Jan 2015
Picture
The idea of value engineering itself has been around since World War II, when workers for General Electric Company were faced with shortages in needed materials and had to come up with alternative methods for finishing their products. Value engineering came about as a result of these creative, team-based approaches to manufacturing solutions, and has since expanded to multiple forms of business projects and products, most notably to the industry of building and construction.

In terms of the new construction industry, the value engineering methodology typically means determining the most cost-effective means available when designing and building a home. The value engineering approach entails well thought out and studied plans during the initial design process, with all steps and materials carefully planned out in advance, ensuring that once construction begins it is streamlined in terms of both time spent and costs applied.

Value engineering can be perfectly summed up with the equation value = function/cost. In this sense, the overall goal of any project is to maximize value and quality by either increasing the function or decreasing the cost. This, however, does not mean that value engineering construction is by any means "cheap," or that it compromises in any way the quality of the materials or labor used. Instead, it can be looked at simply as a more economical form of building because of the way that it identifies and removes excess costs by improving the functionality of the overall design. A real-life example of value engineering used in construction is to have a home's kitchen and bathroom sharing a wall so that the home's plumbing efficiency can be maximized.

To put it simply, value engineering works by:

  1. Identifying the main elements needed for construction.
  2. Analyzing each element on an individual basis.
  3. Identifying alternative solutions for each element.
  4. Assessing the functionality of the alternatives.
  5. Allocating costs to the alternatives.
  6. Determining which alternatives can produce the highest value for the lowest costs.


If you already have a design in mind but are unhappy with the high bids you are receiving from builders, then please consider showing your plans to Mark Harden of Harden Custom Homes in Cape Coral. Mark strongly believes in the ideologies of value engineering and can more than likely show you ways to save money on your design without losing the look and feel that you desire. With Harden Custom Homes, saving money on your new construction home never means having to compromise its quality or the aesthetics you are looking for, so please give us a call at (239) 603-6083 today!