Value Engineering Applications In Transportation

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 352: Value Engineering Applications in Transportation examines the current value engineering (VE) practices of highway transportation agencies in the United States and Canada. Value engineering (VE) is the systematic review of a project, product, or process to improve performance, quality, and/or life-cycle cost by an independent multidisciplinary team of specialists. The report identifies the reported best practices, key strengths, and challenges of current VE study processes and agency programs, and offers guidance on applying and improving the effectiveness of VE in projects and programs.

Value engineering (VE) is widely used in the transportation industry today. The VE process outlined in this book was developed by Muthiah Kasi and his colleagues at Alfred Benesch & Company over the past 30 years. The techniques are based on work that was created by Larry Miles, Thomas J. Snodgrass, Ted Fowler, Thomas Cook and other eminent value engineers. This book, focusing on one transportation case study, illustrates the method to create an appropriate way to address transportation needs. It is a guide on how to perform a VE. It includes: Identification of users, owners and stakeholders and their needs, desires and constraints Development of project functions based on the constraints, needs and desires Analysis of the functions and consideration of function cost Identification of value and mismatches Development of creative ideas Creation of alternatives Measurement of alternatives against performance, acceptance and cost Development of leading alternatives Recommendation and presentation of a performed alternative with support documentation

This book presents emerging technology management approaches and applied cases from leading infrastructure sectors such as energy, healthcare, transportation and education. Featuring timely topics such as fracking technology, electric cars, Google’s eco-friendly mobile technology and Amazon Prime Air, the volume’s contributions explore the current management challenges that have resulted from the development of new technologies, and present tools, applications and frameworks that can be utilized to overcome these challenges. Emerging technologies make us rethink how our infrastructure will look in the future. Solar and wind generation, for example, have already changed the dynamics of the power sector. While they have helped to reduce the use of fossil fuels, they have created management complications due to their intermittent natures. Meanwhile, information technologies have changed how we manage healthcare, making it safer and more accessible, but not without implications for cost and administration. Autonomous cars are around the corner. On-line education is no longer a myth but still a largely unfulfilled opportunity. Digitization of car ownership is achievable thanks to emerging business models leveraging new communication technologies. The major challenge is how to evaluate the relative costs and benefits of these technologies. This book offers insights from both researchers and industry practitioners to address this challenge and anticipate the impact of new technologies on infrastructure now and in the future.