Value Engineering For Highways

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 a function-oriented technique that has proved to be an effective management tool for achieving improved design, construction, and cost-effectiveness in various transportation program elements. This document provides guidelines for establishing and administering VE programs. The purpose of the guidelines is to promote acceptance and use of VE, and assure compliance with federal VE requirements, and allow maximum flexibility to each state. The document provides information on: background of VE; general elements of state VE programs; design of VE guidelines; construction of VE guidelines; database systems; and lists of resources for publications and organizations.

This report summarizes the results of a cooperative Value Engineering Study of shoulder maintenance undertaken by the State Highway Agencies of Arizona, Idaho, Iowa and West Virginia under sponsorship of the Federal Highway Administration. The study was limited to unpaved shoulders. Implementation of the recommendations in the four study States would result in a total estimated improved service value in excess of $1,000,000 annually. Cost of the study was $100,000. Specific recommendations varied among the States according to local conditions. Among the recommendations are the use of larger trucks for hauling, use of side-discharge shoulder spreaders, modifications to the standard motor grader, and spot paving of shoulders in high maintenance locations. The coordination meetings attended by study participants at intervals during the project yielded significant benefits beyond their immediate function of maintaining unity among the four State investigations. These sessions provided many chances for the team members to observe and discuss equipment and methods being used by others. Useful information was exchanged in several other highway operational areas besides shoulder maintenance.