Article Citation: Prashant Sharma,
and Dr. Ramesh Srikonda. (2021). APPLICATION OF VALUE
ENGINEERING IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN INDIA. International Journal of
Engineering Technologies and Management Research, 8(2), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.29121/ijetmr.v8.i2.2021.865 Published Date: 17 February 2021
Keywords: Value Engineering Value Management Value Analysis Affordable
Housing Construction
Management A major challenge for the Indian government is the rapid growth of the urban population, leading to housing shortages and poor urban living conditions. The current need-based housing shortage in the country is about 19 million units as per the 2011 census. The government has introduced many affordable housing schemes that focus on meeting the shortage of housing needs. Excess cost management needs to be planned from the initial stages of design during the building's project life. Value engineering is an effective problem-solving approach that minimizes prices while preserving and improving performance and quality requirements. Ve process's success lies in its ability to find ways to reduce redundant expenses while maintaining efficiency, reliability, performance, and other critical elements that reach or surpass the standards of the client. This study aims at understanding the application of value engineering in affordable housing to optimize cost, time and quality thus increasing overall value of the project. Two case studies of different scale of housing projects are considered, it has been found out that on replacing a material with similar functions, helps reduce the cost of the project and add to the value of the project. This research will provide an overview of benefits of strong value engineering and use of alternative materials to enhance the efficiency of a project.
1. INTRODUCTIONThe measure of a nation's development is the construction industry. With
the liberalization of the economy, there is a significance growth of real
estate in India. Today, after agriculture, the employer of skilled and
semi-skilled labor construction industry is the
second largest and plays a significant part in the economy of the country. The
demand for housing space has also increased due to an increase in employment
opportunities and labor migration. A major challenge
for the Indian government is the rapid growth of the urban population, leading
to housing shortages and poor urban living conditions. The current need-based
housing shortage in the country is about 19 million units as per 2011 census,
according to the twelfth five-year plan. Government has introduced many affordable
housing schemes that focuses on meeting the shortage of housing needs. In general, affordable housing is defined to be housing that satisfy the
needs of households whose earnings are inadequate to give those access to
affordable housing market. Decent housing is generally recognized as one of the
essential needs of people, families, and the environment. A widely recognized
criterion for affordable housing in the America and Canada is that housing
costs should not exceed 30 percentage of the gross-income of a family. Housing
expenses include owners' taxes, insurance, service expenses (cited in vibrant
Gujarat, 2017). Housing affordability, which is taken as a measure of housing
expenses on household returns, is considered one of the recognized concepts of
affordability. This is also recognized by the Indian government, which
specifies that' affordable housing applicable to any housing that satisfies any
form of affordability requirement, which may be the amount of household income,
the number of housing units or affordability in terms of EMI size or house
price to annual income ratio. Current economic circumstances have included the practice of coherent
methods and techniques, the analysis and implementation of new techniques
through the use of technical innovations in the manufacturing industry as well
as in other fields. Excess cost management needs to be planned from the
initial stages of design during the building's project life. To achieve optimal
costs, it is necessary to scrutinize the project well and consider all feasible
alternatives. Value engineering is a managing strategy which finds the finest
practical combination among cost, quality and performance for a product,
operation, process or service. VE is an effective problem-solving approach which
minimises prices while preserving and improving performance and quality
requirements. VE will enhance decision making, resulting in optimum owner fund
investment while meeting the necessary level of function and quality. The ve process's success lies in its ability to find ways to
reduce redundant expenses while maintaining efficiency, reliability,
performance and other critical elements that reach or surpass standards of the
client. 1.1. OBJECTIVES·
To understand the implementation of value engineering
in affordable housing in India. ·
To
identify certain parameters by using this methodology how time, cost, and
quality can be optimized. 1.2. AIMThis study aims to understand the application of value engineering in
affordable housing to optimise cost, time and quality. 1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS·
How cost, time and quality of a project can be
optimised using value engineering? ·
What is the role of value engineering in different
phases of construction? 1.4. SCOPEThe study focuses on the applicability of value engineering
methodologies in the construction of affordable housing. 2. LITERATURE STUDY2.1. VALUE ENGINEERINGValue engineering is an organized, creative, cost
search technique for analyzing the function of a product with the purpose of
value enhancement without compromising with its quality, performance and
efficiency. It is a systematic process that seeks to achieve value for money at
the lowest cost possible, consistent with required level of quality and
performance. The main focus of Value Engineering is on improving the function,
reducing the cost of the product, or both by the way of product evaluation and
analysis. Value = Function
(desired performance) Cost Value
engineering not only involves lowering the cost of processes and methods but
also analysis of the function of a product. VE is a systematic approach
directed towards purpose of analyzing system, equipment, facilities, staff and
services for the purpose of achieving their desired functions low cost with
required quality. Implementation of VE on any project leads to increased
performance, quality and efficiency. The success of existing value engineering
programs indicates that the same application to interior projects can be an
opportunity for saving costs and better performance.in today’s time of reduced
budgets, cost cuts and staffing problems we can no longer afford untimely
delays in projects and increased costs. When a project costs more than what was
initially planned decision makers are forced to take tough decision with
regards to the projects. 2.2. VALUE ENGINEERING HISTORYThe practice of VE has flourished for almost an era [1], with its roots in general
electric during World War 2, when invention was needed due to resource
scarcity. It was hard to procure some essential materials and several
substitutions had to be made. The vice president, Harry Erlicker,
noted that these improvements have resulted in lower prices and better goods
several times. This inspired him to look for an approach to deliberately
maximize the value of a commodity. He assigned the job of discovering a more
proficient way to improve value of product to Lawrence d. Miles, an engineer [2]. In 1947, a method called value analysis (va)
was developed by miles and his team to measure the cost of the product and work
to minimize unnecessary expense. The new methodology was enhanced, analysed,
and confirmed to be highly successful as a consequence of considerable
investment. In 1952, va started its industry-wide
production. 2.3. VE DEFINITIONS AND FEATURESThe
numerous specialists and practitioners of this method have a multitude of
interpretations, and few are mentioned below: ·
[3]“a discipline action system, attuned to one specific
need: accomplishing the functions that the customer needs and wants at the
lowest cost”. ·
[4]). “a validated management strategy using a structured approach to find
the best practical balance between the expense, efficiency and quality of
the project,”. ·
Connaught.on.and.green (1996) “a systematic approach to
delivering the required functions at lowest cost without detriment to quality,
performance and reliability”. ·
Hayles.and.simister (2000) “proactive, creative, team
approach to problem-solving in construction projects to provide the best value
for money”. ·
[5] VE can be characterized as a coordinated,
systemic, comprehensive approach to problem-solving basically focused on
evaluating role of processes, machinery, amenities, resources, and materials
for the need to perform their vital roles with the necessary efficiency, durability,
quality, and safety at the lowest life-cycle capital expenditure. ·
[6], described VE as it is an innovative and
well-organized mechanism that aims at providing the user with consistent chance
to save costs without damaging key functions or results. 2.4. INTRODUCTION OF VALUE ENGINEERING IN INDIASource - [7] 2.5. VALUE ENGINEERING JOB PLANValue
engineering is a systematic, disciplined mechanism focused at value
development. The analysis of value engineering uses a formal approach called
the job plan. The job plan highlights particular strategies to evaluate a
product or service successfully in order to establish the greatest number of
solutions to perform the tasks needed by goods or services. Compliance to the
job plan would help secure optimum advantages by ensuring more versatility. There are numerous jobs plans available that
are chosen according to the suitability of the project and specifications
entitled as: ·
Five
Phase Job Plan (Standard) ·
Six
Phase Job Plan (us/epa) ·
Seven
Phase Job Plan ·
Eight
Phase Job Plan (GSA-general service administration) VE is carried out every so often by consistently executing a multi-stage
work schedule. The initial ve method was a six-step
methodology known as "value analysis job plan" which was further
developed and moulded with the framework of the projects that used the job plan
in their execution. The six
stages job plan (information phase, function analysis phase, creative phase, evaluation
phase, development phase, and presentation phase) is considered and explained briefly. Job Plan
Layout [8]
2.5.1. WORKSHOP STAGE Information
Phase The purpose of the information phase is to evaluate the project's
prime client preferences; identify and rate the value of project features and
characteristics; and equate the project to competition or direct analogy with
related projects [2]. Information for
project is collected through either primary sources or secondary sources. The
scope of the study is defined and further the team for value analysis study is
finalised. The purpose of the information phase is to conclude the information
bundle of the value analysis begun in the pre-study work. The ve implementor instruct the value analysis team if not
completed during the pre-study events, providing the team with an ability to
raise queries based on the data studied by them. Information
phase involves review of project; gathering background information; updating
customer needs and requirements; establishing objectives and goals; defining
scope; understanding current costs which include cost model and cost
visibility. Function Analysis Phase Function analysis methods are used to describe, evaluate and understand
a project's functions, how the functions contribute to each other, and what
functions need attention if a project's value is to be enhanced [9]. The function can be categorised into two
types which are – primary and secondary functions which help in study of
function analysis. Primary function describes the main/important work of
the project, process or a product that needs to be accomplished. The other
tasks that the system executes and are subordinate to the basic role are secondary
functions. They encourage the primary purpose and help run and market the
product, service or method. Secondary functions, aesthetic or unwanted, may be
required. In order to allow the primary function to occur or to occur better,
certain secondary functions are important. Creative
Phase The aim of the creative process is to produce a large number of
thoughts. There is an opportunity to choose the idea(s) that best fulfills the goals of ve study by
generating several ideas. There is a possibility that the proposal could
not be regarded originally as a "solution" to the issue does not
inhibit its placement on your list. The aim is to build a long list, not
responses, of thoughts. Either of two aims fits each idea: a possible solution
or a catalyst for other ideas. Very frequently, individuals only present
proposals that they view as potential alternatives. In general, these
"ideas" are not anything more than the conventional solutions to the
dilemma. Evaluation
Phase The intention of the evaluation process is to efficiently reduce the
wide range of ideas produced during the creative phase to few proposals that
seem to be convincing in achieving the goals of the project. The obvious
nonsense ideas generated during creative sessions will be excluded during the
assessment process, the ideas will be grouped into logical groupings, then
evaluated in compliance with project requirements, and the best mix of ideas
will be found. Development
Phase The aim of the production stage is to pick and plan the
"right" alternative(s) for value enhancement. In order for the
designer and owner to make an initial evaluation of their viability for
execution, the information bundle prepared by the team for each of the
alternatives should have as much technological, expense, and schedule data as
possible. Presentation
Phase The aim of the presentation stage is to achieve competitiveness and a
dedication from the planner, project sponsor, and other management to continue
to incorporate the recommendations. The ve research
group provides its proposals to the decision-making body as the last task
within a merit study. The team obtains either permission to continue with
implementation or recommendations for additional details needed through the
presentation and its engaging discussions. 2.6. VALUE ENGINEERING APPLICABILITYReferring to [2], Wherever cost and/or efficiency enhancement
is expected, the ve approach may be extended. In
terms of monetary aspects and/or other essential considerations, such as
efficiency, consistency, time, resources, environmental effect and longevity,
this enhancement can be evaluated. VE is conducted on a project-to-project basis for structural
engineering work, such as houses, bridges, industrial construction, and
water/sewage treatment plants, which appear to be one-time installations.
Because these are one-time capital investments, it is important to apply as
soon as possible early in the planning cycle to achieve optimum benefits [10]. Cost/ savings vs application of ve at certain
stage of project [8] Conferring to [11] Site, electrical, HVAC, exterior walls and
flooring finishes, each with more than 30 ve items
and together they represent more than 50 percent of the ve
items, are the top five commonly value engineered categories. Elevators, fire
protection, foundations, roof opening and canopy are the five least highly
valued 29 engineered categories; there were only two or three ve elements in each of these categories. 2.7. FACTORS AFFECTING VALUE ENGINEERING APPLICABILITY1)
Absence of rules and data. 2)
Absence of learning and exercises 3)
Interruption to normal work schedule 4)
Change in owners’ requirements 5)
Clash of priorities by multiple stakeholders of the
project 6)
Guidelines and practices that are obsolete 7)
Repeated thought and detrimental actions 8)
Absence of culture for embracing the transition 9)
Over-development and extrapolation 10)
Absence
of interaction and bad relations 2.8. VALUE ENGINEERING APPLICABILITY NEEDS1) The significance in the contract
agreement of incorporating the Value Engineering change Proposals (VECP)
clause. 2) Need for of the participation of
certified workers in the design team for value engineering. 3) The need for experts and students
to have value engineering training opportunities. 4) The need to improve students'
social interaction skills during their studies. 5) The value of establishing a
variety of procurement routes for projects. 6) The need for educating and making
clients more demanding for value engineering. 7) Necessity of upgrading
construction industry standards and specifications in the countries of the
participants. 2.9. VALUE ENGINEERING ADVANTAGES1) Job analysis distinctive way
(function analysis). 2) A significant number of good ideas
that are relevant are nominated. 3) An action plan that consists of
multiple consecutive steps of a logical chain in place. 4) A multi-disciplinary unit working
on common values research. 5) Ensure cooperation with the
respective project authorities. 3. METHODOLOGYTwo case
studies of different scale of housing projects are studied and look upon how
the value engineering has been applied. The process of applying value
engineering to the project is explained with each project. The first
step will focus on collection of data about the project, briefs and other
necessary information required about the project to be reviewed and applying
value engineering on the same. The next step will focus on the assessment of
the various materials available to complete the job in lower cost with same
functional value as conventional materials used for similar job. According
to the usage for various areas a list of best suited materials will be prepared
and the cost review of the project will be done after applying the alternative
materials in the project. Based on
the knowledge gained from the case studies the value engineering process will
be implemented to the project and seen for the review in cost and increase in
the value. 4. CASE STUDIES4.1. CASE STUDY 1The first case study is of a residential tower of focus infrastructure
situated at Ahmedabad. The project mainly consists of 4 towers which are 7 stories
high and are designed as 2BHK and 3BHK type flats. Two of the towers are
completed i.e. A & B towers and C & D are still in progress. Typical layout of site plan [12] The information regarding the project was collected by the researcher
through the technical team of the project which was involved in various
activities of the project. Cost Model To determine the cost of each function, ve
team applied the uniformed cost model. It helps the team to find out the cost
occurred in the overall of the project and which specific activity or
sub-section is more affected and has the highest value related to other
activities or material and components. The cost model is developed for this
project and cost of all components has been described in it. Percentage & cost of the work of block a [12] In.the above table, description of major activities
is listed along with the total cost of them before applying the value
engineering and at the last column percentage of that work in respect to
overall work. Creative
Phase According to the cost distribution model and functional analysis, the
value engineering team has to come up with alternative materials that can
fulfil the requirement of the replaced material. There are so many innovative materials that,
in terms of cost & quality, would be more useful for the project.
Therefore, it is an important task to come up with alternatives that are best
suited and locally available. Judgement Phase As referring to the cost distribution shown in above table, the
super-structure cost is more as compared to others. In this site, roughly
38,250 AAC block numbers are used such that if the blocks are supplemented by
other types of other bricks of the same or better consistency at less expense
than it is possible, the total cost of site building will be reduced. Similarly,
the road that is constructed by RCC costs more. If the RCC road is changed with
paver blocks then certainly there will be a reduction in the cost while serving
the same purpose. Development
Phase After a brief brainstorming session and examining market survey, some
alternative material found depending on cost, quality and availability. The
alternative materials are sand blocks in place of AAC blocks, paver block roads
in place of RCC roads and coupler for overlapping reinforcement in place of overlapping
bars. Recommendation
Phase The results shown in changing the above materials has a relative impact
on the overall cost of the project. So, if value engineering is applied in
projects, it can make more benefits in terms of saving cost, time and increasing
or maintaining the same quality. Total cost reduction in the construction project [12] Conclusion Total percentage of saving cost [12] The above case study shows that the concept of value engineering can be
applied at any stage and it can reduce the cost of the project just by
introducing the advanced alternate materials that are locally available thus
increasing the value of the project. There is a substantial difference of 8% in
the overall cost of the project after the introduction of value engineering. 4.2. CASE STUDY 2The project considered for case study is a large residential project.
The project consists of 6 towers with 14 floors in each tower. It is designed
by JW consultancy. Due to vast construction, there is a shortage of material,
time overrun which eventually led to increase in labour cost and daily resource
cost. These issues were faced even with a proper planning and scheduling of
material and labour. The practice of value engineering is applied on this
project. After collecting the information for such large type of project, it
was found that the annual cost consumption for both shuttering and labour work
was very high. Proposed Alternative Function The first alternative that has been introduced is the mivan technology. In mivan
shuttering, the casting of columns, slabs and walls are done by continuous
pouring of concrete. Air curing compounds help in early removal of forms
because they are made strong, sturdy and fabricated with accuracy and easily
handled. These components are very light in weight because of aluminium and
provide no of repetitions with clean and good finish which reduces the cost of
plastering. The second alternative that has been introduced is usage of clc block walls instead of conventional fly ash bricks. The
third alternative that has been introduced is the use of gypsum punning in
place of conventional mortar plastering as it leads to loss of material and
time wastage that eventually increases the cost of construction. Cost and Time Comparison In present case study, the mivan shuttering is
used in place of conventional shuttering and its observed that the project cost
has escalated 2.5 times but the overall time for this activity has reduced by
62%. It is determined that mivan shuttering is more
suitable for large scale projects. The initial cost for this technique is high
but it can be reused for about 200-300 times also it reduces the need of
plastering work because of its clean and smooth surface finish. Result comparison of mivan and conventional
shuttering [13] Result comparison of clc blocks and
conventional fly ash bricks (4”) [13] The result shows that, compared with mivan
shuttering, the use of clc bricks decreases the cost
and time of the project. Brick job time can be shortened by mivan,
but it takes more expenditure than brickwork. Conclusion While mivan technology's initial investment is
strong, it offers cost-effective project for large projects and decreases
project time by 52 percent relative to traditional shuttering, saves daily labor and daily energy that ultimately minimize project
cost. The use of clc blocks decreases building weight
due to lower density and reduces construction time due to greater scale. 5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONThe projects considered for case studies are housing projects of
different scales. It is observed from the above case studies that the study of
value engineering helped in proposing the right alternatives in terms of
materials that can make an overall difference in the cost of the project. The
first case study was introduced with three alternatives such as use of sand
blocks in place of AAC blocks. Sand blocks showed same or better consistency at
less expense plus it was a locally available material according to the location
of the site. The second alternative introduced was the use of paver block road
in place of RCC road. Although RCC roads are extremely stable and more
environment friendly but costed more than paver block road. The third
replacement introduced was the use of couplers in place of overlaps which
provided more power and load route continuity that laps cannot provide. There
was a total of 8% difference in the overall cost of project after introduction
of value engineering. The practice of VE not only reduced the cost but also
increased the value of the project and use of locally available material. The second case study was introduced with two alternative such as use of
Mivan shuttering in place of conventional shuttering.
It was realised that with the help of Mivan
shuttering the overall time project time was reduced to 52% relative to
conventional shuttering. Although its initial investment is high but
considering the scale of the project it was more cost effective to use it. The
second alternative proposed was use of CLC blocks in place of 4 inches bricks
due to its low density and it helped in reducing the overall load of the
building with reducing construction time to a greater scale. 6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKThe
requirement for affordable housing is increasing rapidly due to the growth in
the urban population and the solutions such as housing schemes that are
introduced by the government have a huge amount of money associated with them.
To overcome such shortage and utilization of such huge capital, it becomes
essential to apply construction techniques such as Value Engineering over
conventional practices in these projects where factors such as cost,
performance, quality, and time play a major role. The application of value
engineering can help in identifying and implementing various possible creative
alternatives which will result in the reduction of cost, better performance,
high quality, and less project duration. The case studies mentioned above in
the research shows the application of value engineering in housing projects of
different scale clearly shows the impact in terms of capital saved or improved
functionality or an overall reduction in project duration and therefore it can
be projected how much capital and resources can be saved on such projects which
can be further used in the betterment of the people by the Government. The
findings from this research will be implemented further in an EWS housing
project which is proposed under any government housing scheme. The proposed
methodology in this research will be applied to the project taken for study. SOURCES OF FUNDINGThis research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe author have declared that no competing interests exist. ACKNOWLEDGMENTNone. REFERENCES
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