Application of value management in construction industry during early stages / Wan Assad Qutubuldin Wan Abdul Aziz

Value Management is relatively new to our construction industry and is still in its infancy in the Malaysian construction industry. It was originated from the United States with Lawrence Miles as the founder of Value Engineering, as it was popularly known at that time. It has undergone various changes and adjustment from the early days it was developed until today. The purpose of Value Management study is to optimize the requirements of those with an interest in the project. It involves a multidisciplinary team who works together in a structured and systematic workshop reviewing the existing designs and proposals through the functional analysis. It concerns in the elimination or modification to the items that have unnecessary costs but improving or maintaining the quality and functions. This research is limited to the application of Value Management during preliminary stages which end during design stages. Interviews were held with various parties involved in the construction industry within the area of Klang Valley and Johor Bahru only. From the interviews, the writer found that Value Management has started to be accepted as a chosen method for reducing cost whilst maintaining the functionality but still, it has a long road to travel to achieve its goal of an accepted and recognized technique in the industry. Today, the road is there but it is being paved from time to time by the outstanding achievements of those value managers/practitioners who foresee the potential rewards to be gained by the implementation of Value Management in the future.