Value Engineering 2003: Conference Features Success Stories, Lessons Learned
Value engineering (VE) success stories and lessons learned from across
the United States and worldwide were in the spotlight at the 2003 American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’/Federal
Highway Administration (AASHTO/FHWA) Value Engineering Conference. Held
in Tampa, Florida, from July 15–18, 2003, the conference drew
145 attendees, including many international participants. The event
featured three tracks: Case Studies, Starting and Maintaining a VE Program,
and Advanced Tools and Techniques.
“The conference was good for the people just getting into value
engineering and also useful for the long-term practitioners,”
noted Jim St. John, Division Administrator in FHWA’s Florida Division
Office. “You could see a lot of mentoring going on during the
sessions. It was really a community of practice.” In addition
to the State highway agencies that participated, engineers came from
Greece, Japan, India, Canada, Korea, and other countries to learn more
about the VE concept and process.
Using the VE process, a highway agency reviews a project’s features
and looks for ways to improve quality, foster innovation, and lower
owner costs. A VE study typically takes 4–5 days to perform and
involves a multidisciplinary team. At the concept stage, this team might
include planning and right-of-way staff, environmentalists, and private
citizens. A study done during the design phase of a project might involve
a team of construction, design, traffic, and maintenance staff.
Conference sessions looked at everything from the basics of VE to
setting up a VE training program to incorporating VE with design-build
contracting. A presentation on the Florida Turnpike’s Orlando
South Interchange looked at how VE analysis was used to improve this
often confusing interchange, which connects two freeways and three surface
streets. Eight of 12 recommended VE alternatives have been accepted
to date, at an estimated cost savings of $48.4 million. In Ottawa, Canada,
meanwhile, VE review of the planned rehabilitation of King Edward Avenue
identified significant potential cost savings. King Edward Avenue is
a main arterial route in Ottawa that also leads across the Ottawa River
to the Province of Quebec, serving as the primary interprovincial link
for car and truck traffic. The VE analysis was performed in the planning
stage of the project. An independent team identified $6 million in potential
savings from the original project budget of $18 million. The
VE recommendations included making modifications to the interchange
design at the North End of the project.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) highlighted
lessons learned from its Caltrans Value Analysis (VA) Program. Over
the last 7 years, Caltrans has completed 175 VA project studies, resulting
in cost savings of $870 million and a return on investment of 92:1.
Other benefits of the Caltrans VA process is that it saves on project
development time, provides a method to quantify the project scope, and
helps in building consensus among project stakeholders. Key project
performance criteria that are analyzed include the highway operations,
system preservation, and environmental impact aspects of a project,
as well as the project schedule. “The VA program assures the project
stakeholders that viable alternatives have been thoroughly considered
and evaluated,” said George Hunter, the VA Program Director for
Caltrans.
Ken Smith of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
reported on the many resources available in AASHTO’s VE Toolbox,
which can be found on the AASHTO VE Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/eesc/design/aashtove.
The toolbox includes VE evaluation and criteria matrixes and a cost
model. Also available are Caltrans’ Value Analysis Report and
Team Guide and the WSDOT’s VE Study Template, information on Value
Engineering for Small Transportation Projects, and a Value Engineering
Workbook Template.
The conference also featured the presentation of the FHWA Value Engineering
Outstanding Achievement Awards, which recognize accomplishments by State
highway VE programs over the past 2 years, and the AASHTO National Value
Engineering Awards, which honor outstanding VE projects. The FHWA awards
were presented to Florida, New Jersey, Tennessee, and West Virginia
(see sidebar).
The AASHTO awards were given for the Most Value Added Project and
the Most Innovative Project in the categories of Design Engineering,
Process Improvement, and Construction (see sidebar).
To learn more about the 2003 VE Conference, visit the AASHTO VE Web
site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/eesc/design/aashtove.
Presentations and abstracts from the conference have been posted on
the site. For more information on VE, contact Donald Jackson at FHWA,
202-366-4630 (fax: 202-366-3988; email: donald.jackson@fhwa.dot.gov)
or check the FHWA VE Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/ve/index.htm.
| FHWA VE Outstanding Achievement
Awards
FHWA’s 2003 Value Engineering Outstanding Achievement
Awards recognized Florida, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Tennessee
for their overall VE accomplishments. The Florida Department of
Transportation has been a leader nationwide in VE since it started
its program in the mid 1970s. Over the past 8 years, Florida has
conducted more than 450 VE studies and realized nearly $1.3 billion
in implemented cost avoidance recommendations. The average return-on-investment
rate of the VE studies is 110:1. To better share its VE results,
Florida is developing a new informational database that will be
accessible through the Internet.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) created
its VE Unit in 1989. A Department reorganization in 1996 then
led to an expanded VE group. Since 1999, NJDOT has saved more
than $60 million annually from preconstruction VE studies. Starting
in 2000, the VE Unit also began evaluating road user costs to
determine the most cost-effective staging for projects. These
analyses have led to VE recommendations that minimize road user
delays and costs.
The West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH) first offered VE
training to engineers and managers in 1978. Over the years, it
has incorporated VE into its project development and construction
processes, reporting in 2002 that it had saved $70 million as
a result of VE proposals made over the previous 2 years. The DOH
is currently building on its VE success by developing a new VE
Handbook.
While the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has
been conducting VE studies for almost 16 years, the appointment
of a full-time VE coordinator in 1999 helped to revitalize its
program. In 2002, Tennessee conducted 20 VE studies and realized
more than $4 million in savings. TDOT is implementing a database
system this year to track all VE studies and their recommendations
and has also started a VE Web site.
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| AASHTO National VE
Awards
In the construction category, the Ohio Department of Transportation
received the Most Value Added award for its work to completely
remove and rebuild an eight-span continuous steel girder and concrete
deck bridge over the Ashtabula River in Ashtabula, Ohio. The VE
recommendations changed the superstructure from steel girders
to precast concrete beams; added one more beam line; redesigned
the bridge deck; and changed the substructure by adding one pier,
redesigning all piers, and eliminating the drill shafts. Following
these recommendations saved $962,744 off the original contract
price of $10,699,682.
The Florida Department of Transportation was honored with the
Most Innovative Construction award for its project on SR 60A from
Agricola Road to Broadway Avenue in Bartow, Florida. The project
originally called for constructing two bridges with a center island
that separated the West Bartow Front Porch Community from the
rest of the town. The Value Engineering Change Proposal (VECP)
submitted by the contractor proposed a single structure, eliminating
the center island and reconnecting the West Bartow Front Porch
Community with the rest of the town. This VECP reduced the construction
time by 125 days and saved approximately $77,876.
NJDOT received the Most Value Added Engineering Award for its
work on Route 1 & 9T and Route 7. This major artery handles
port traffic and local and commuter traffic within the northern
New Jersey and New York City region. The project will realign
Route 1 & 9T and temporarily reconfigure the connection to
the Route 7 bridge over the Hackensack River. Among other accomplishments,
the VE recommendations have improved the construction staging,
reduced the construction duration, and minimized road user costs.
In all, the VE analysis reduced the $188.3 million project cost
by $13.6 million.
The Most Innovative Engineering award went to the Texas Department
of Transportation for its widening of US 82 from US 259 to IH
30. This 17.7-km (11-mi) section is a two-lane roadway with limited
shoulders. The project will widen the road to four lanes, with
a continuous flush median and 16-km (10-ft) outside shoulders.
VE recommendations saved $1.5 million on the $25 million project.
Caltrans was honored with the Most Value Added During Process
Improvement award for its VA study of the District 11 Right of
Way Decertification Process. Typically, the process for decertifying
State property for sale to the public takes about 20 months. VE
recommendations for reducing this timeline shaved nearly 7 months
off the process.
The award for the Most Innovative Process Improvement proposal
went to WSDOT for its North Spokane Corridor Project. This $1.4
billion, 16.7-km (10.4-mi) initiative will connect I-90 to US
395. The VE study results included improved design schemes, reduced
impacts on city parks, and preservation of existing ramp structures.
The VE study also allowed for public input into the design process,
which increased community acceptance of the project.
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Articles in this issue:
Partnerships, Innovation Build a Bridge in South Carolina
Blue Ribbon Panel Issues Recommendations for Bridge and Tunnel Security
Value Engineering 2003: Conference Features Success Stories, Lessons Learned
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