Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
(OP)
Hello:
I would like to know how you charge for value engineering work where not only big savings in material but also on labor and ease of construction are done to an original structural design. I.e.18 ga Steel deck with concrete to 22 ga without sacrificing obviously safety. Do you charge straight hourly rate or a percentage on the savings. I am guessing the savings in this particular job to be at least 50k material only after coordinating with steel contractor and shifting and moving extensively the framing plans and details. Your thoughts are welcome.
Regards
RareBug
I would like to know how you charge for value engineering work where not only big savings in material but also on labor and ease of construction are done to an original structural design. I.e.18 ga Steel deck with concrete to 22 ga without sacrificing obviously safety. Do you charge straight hourly rate or a percentage on the savings. I am guessing the savings in this particular job to be at least 50k material only after coordinating with steel contractor and shifting and moving extensively the framing plans and details. Your thoughts are welcome.
Regards
RareBug






RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
It sounds like you are re-engineering, or in the vernacular of my state, modifying the engineering work of another. I'm sure your services provide value to the owner, and I have certainly seen poorly engineered plans in need of such rework.
As I heard said once, "anyone can build a building that stands up, it takes a structural engineer to design one that barely stands up." I am a fan of designing conservatively when appropriate, and always erring on the side of safety. Most owners simply do not understand the performance level they can expect from building to code-minimums.
(I am not a big fan of value engineering, as I have seen how poorly some projects have performed after being reworked. (Often the result of changing configuration to code-minimums without adequately considering long-term performance.) And I have also seen some projects put together badly from what I call a "fear of future VE" - Poor design decisions in order to avoid being second guessed later. In my current role, I encourage engineers to consider constructibility and labor above material minimization. Most contractors with which I discuss this agree that reducing materials by increasing complexity results in increased costs. Simplicity and uniformity are the key to efficient construction.)
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
I don't spend a lot of time worrying about costs, but it seems that when ever I'm challenged on a VE, they find that the replacement has some other issue or actually costs more.
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
There is 'overdesign' that is well thought out and done for good reasons, and then there's overdesign due to lack of engineering resources, knowledge or time. The latter can certainly be helped with a harder look.
There are also cost *and* servicability improvements that can be made after the contractor gets involved. Often designs have to be done before bidding. If you can actually sit down and talk to the contractor about preferred construction styles and details you can often save money or make detailing changes that suit the contractors methods.
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
Are you the engineer of record? If so and you are going from 18 to 22 gauge deck with no structural compromise, begs the question of why it was 18 gauge to begin.
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)
RE: Value Engineering Compensation (Hourly or %)