Application of value management at design stage - a case study (identifying the awareness level)

Abstract

The paper investigates the VM awareness in the context of its being a project management tool. It is hypothesized that the VM can contribute to improvement of the construction process. VM has been proven to provide a structured framework, together with other supporting tools and techniques that facilitate effective decision making in achieving ‘best value’ for clients. One of the major success factors of VM in achieving better project objectives for clients is through the provision of beneficial input by multi-disciplinary team members being involved in critical decision-making discussions during the early stage of construction projects. Findings reveal that early initial stage are vitally important to; the design process; contract strategy; performance of time; cost and quality; and contractor health and safety performance. The aims is to study the effects of VM awareness in particularly how well the methodology addresses issues related resulting from poor coordination and overlooking of critical constructability issues amongst team members in construction projects. It is proposed that through team members’ early involvement during design stage, combined with the use of the VM methodology, particularly as a decisionmaking tool, better optimization of construction cost can be achieved, thus promoting more efficient and effective constructability. The expectation values of VM in this thesis of case study are to reconcile all stakeholders’ views and to achieve the best balance between satisfied needs and resources. Integration of these management tools in the process will provide a more practical and holistic solution to construction problems, particularly, in term of inadequate financial, technical resources and managerial expertise, and specifically for developing countries.