The purpose of this paper is to determine the barriers to the adoption of value management (VM) in the construction industry of developing countries with a view to providing possible measures in avoiding these barriers and increasing the usage of the system within the construction industry.,The level of knowledge and adoption of VM practices, as well as the barriers to its adoption in the construction industry were assessed through a survey design. Construction professionals were sampled from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria through the use of a structured questionnaire. Factor analysis was conducted on data gathered on the barriers of VM.,The study revealed a moderate level of knowledge of VM among construction professionals. This implies that the problem of VM is not that of awareness, but readiness to adopt the system. The study also reveals that the barriers to the adoption of VM can be categorised under the general stakeholder’s barriers, training and education barriers, client barriers and government/top management barriers.,This study was conducted across the six geo-political zones of the country as against common practice of selecting a particular region or states to represent the entire country. The findings therefore show a true reflection of the barriers to VM adoption in the country and its recommendations can to a large extent promote the adoption of VM in the country and also other developing countries where construction projects are executed through similar method, style and approach.,This paper highlights the possible barriers to the adoption of VM in Nigeria construction industry and provides ways to avoiding these barriers in order to achieve better quality construction and value for money.

Barriers to the adoption of value management in developing countries

Barriers of value management implementation for building projects in Egyptian construction industry

Over the past decade, value engineering (VE) has developed to become a recognized methodology with ordinarily comprehended tools and procedures. Its adoption in public projects in developed countries is credited with meeting stakeholders' expectations. Although this may be so for construction industries in developed countries, the situation is bleak for developing countries. This paper considers the challenges facing the successful implementation of VE in public projects among developing countries. Using an empirical questionnaire survey, respondents were invited to rate their perception of 22 challenges identified from literature. This paper is based on a survey of construction and consulting firms based in Ghana. The data set was subjected to factor analysis. Correlations between the 22 variables show that five key components underlie the challenges facing VE in developing countries. Findings and recommendations of this study may be useful to construction professionals who are seeking innovative ways to...

Principal component analysis of challenges facing the implementation of value engineering in public projects in developing countries

This paper aims to present an easy, quick, and accurate way of implementing value engineering (VE) studies by introducing an integrated computerized system for the VE technique and life-cycle cost as a checkout system. The VE computer program was designed using a database computer program, FoxPro Window. The computerized version of the VE study consists of several interactive panels, representing the systematic approach (job plan) of a VE study, through which all the information and data of the VE study will be input. The program will help the user to come up with the best selected idea, based on certain calculations that will be done automatically by the VE program. Moreover, the VE case studies that will be investigated by the program will be stored, and thus the program will also serve as a data bank for these case studies as references for future studies. The objective of this paper is not to create a smart VE system, but it can be considered a major step toward this objective.

Computerized system for application of value engineering methodology

One of the contemporary management techniques aimed at eliminating unnecessary cost and waste while optimizing full benefit of projects, especially in the building and construction sector, is value engineering. This study assesses the implementation of value engineering in the Ghanaian construction sector. The study adopted cross-sectional survey with stakeholders consisting of architects, contractors, project managers, civil and structural engineers, and consultants of construction and consulting firms. Snowball sampling technique was used through its nucleus to reach construction firms and respondents who practice value engineering but are difficult to trace. Questionnaire was used to collect data using a five-point Likert scale. Quality control and renewal of old ideas emerged as the meaning of value engineering regarding construction professionals’ understanding of the concept. The factors that encourage values engineering implementation identified by the respondents include: reduced wastage of resources, quality improvements, reduced conflict and risks, efficient labour, creation of a climate of shared understanding, definition of programme objectives, early improvement, understanding of the needs and function, savings that can be redirected to add value, improved communication between the parties, and local material usage. Five main components identified as responsible for non-adoption of value engineering include: knowledge barrier, demand barrier, awareness barrier, readiness barrier, and human resource barrier. The study therefore concludes that value engineering stands feasible for implementation in the Ghanaian construction sector if the identified factors to the non-adoption are eliminated while adopting appropriate strategies to promote the factors that encourage its implementation.

Assessment of Value Engineering Implementation in the Ghanaian Construction Sector

It was found that value engineering was in limited use since it has been introduced in 1981. The main reason for the lack of adoption being unfamiliarity with the concept among public sector organizations, as well as local architectural/engineering firms in the Kingdom.

M. Al Sughaiyer

Papers

Value engineering in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia