GREATER USE OF VALUE ENGINEERING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SAVE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION MILLIONS IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS
This is a report of a review by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to determine (1) the Department of Transportation's (DOT) policy on using value engineering (VE) during the design phase of construction projects, (2) the impact of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) policy of encouraging states to use value engineering, (3) the success of the Coast-Guard's (CG) value engineeirng program, and (4) the feasibility of using value engineering on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Railroad Administration projects. The report asserts that (1) value engineering has the potential to save millions of dollars in project costs if it were required for DOT construction programs, and (2) the cost of establishing, implementing, and maintaining a value engineering program would be more than offset by the savings achieved. It is recommended that the Secretary of DOT establish and implement a policy to require DOT administrations to supplement their normal cost reduction procedures for construction programs with a value engineering program. This publication discusses the characteristics of a successful VE program, the costs, savings, and time needed to perform VE, and the various private and federal agencies and groups using VE. FHWA and CG experience is described. Comments are made on overcoming DOT's concerns regarding the implementing of VE. FAA and FHWA news are also discussed. Recommendations and comments made by the GAO are also presented. Appendices present information on the scope and methodology of this review, previous reports on VE, DOT construction programs and 1983 fiscal year allocations, state DOT cost reduction efforts and a VE study on a passenger terminal?
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
U.S. General Accounting Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20548 - Publication Date: 1984-11
Media Info
- Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
- Pagination: 59 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Construction; Costs; Design; Impact studies; Policy; Recommendations; Savings; Transportation departments; Value engineering
- Identifier Terms: U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Federal Aviation Administration; U.S. Federal Highway Administration; U.S. Federal Railroad Administration; United States Coast Guard
- Uncontrolled Terms: Construction costs
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Design; Finance; Highways; Policy; Research; I10: Economics and Administration;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00391343
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: GAO/RCED-85-14
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Jan 30 1985 12:00AM