© OCT 2019 | IRE Journals | Volume 3 Issue 4 | ISSN: 2456-8880

The Application of Value Engineering on Construction

Projects in Abia State, Nigeria
NNOLUM NKECHINYERE PERPETUA
Department of quantity surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Abstract- Value engineering is a management alternatives, and to improved functionality of the

technique used in many industries, focusing at projects, and recommended that there is the need
enhancing functions, and reliability at the lowest for the construction industry to adopt the proposed
cost. The focus of value engineering is removing value engineering framework to assist the VE team
unnecessary cost and improving functionality, The in decision making.
construction industry is faced with myriad of
challenges ranging from poor value analysis, cost I. INTRODUCTION
deviation, time overrun and design ambiguities
which has hindered its ability to satisfy the client’s 1.1 Background to the Study
needs. Therefore this study assesses the application Construction industries plays an important role in the
of value engineering in construction projects in development of a country, the success of any project
Abia State. Its benefits and factors hindering its depends on how that project can achieve its
application in construction projects with the view to objectives in terms of cost, quality, functionality and
developing a framework for effective application of durability. Construction industry globally has been
value engineering through the integration of under tremendous measures to improve its
building information modelling in the value performance.
engineering process. This thesis present an
integrated framework for building construction In Nigeria many construction project developments
professionals, owners and the VE team with has failed and are left abandoned at various levels of
automation capabilities to evaluate and compare completion, this is as a result of various technical and
different design alternatives of project components. financial pressures of cost limits, quality and value
A structured questionnaire was purposively optimization (Anyanwu, 2013), (Kolo and Ibrahim,
distributed to four (4) groups of respondents, were 2010).
completed and returned. Relative Importance Index
was used to rank the agreement of the respondents. Barango, 2013, stated that the reasons for housing
Spearman`s Rank Order Correlation coefficient was projects abandonment in Nigeria is predominantly the
used to measure the strength and direction of unforeseen factors resulting from initial estimating of
association between the responses of the four the developers on the project cost during the planning
groups of respondents. The results show the level of stage.
awareness and application of the concept within the
construction industry, according to the rank There has been an increasing demand for value
agreement between the respondents, six (6) factors engineering in construction projects all over the
were ranked as most severe hindering factors to the world (Philip, Stephen Mansfield, Udo-Inyang,
application of value engineering in construction 2006)) and Nigeria is not left out, stakeholders in the
projects. The study concluded that value Nigerian construction industry and researchers have
engineering is not commonly applied in the continued to suggest ways of improving service
construction industry, there are potential benefits of delivery in the industry. One of such ways is the
integrating BIM into value engineering process in campaign for the industry to adopt concept of value
construction projects using the proposed framework engineering. (V.E) to improve the situation in terms
which enables a 4D presentation to automate data of achieving value for money for the client (Oke and
extraction for project cost estimating, evaluation of Ogunsemi, 2013).

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To achieve this aim, the following objectives are to

Save (2015), defined Value Engineering is a be considered.
systematic application of recognized techniques 1. To identify the benefits of value engineering
which identify the functions of the product or service, application in construction projects in Abia State.
establish the worth of those functions, and provide 2. To identify and rank the factors hindering the
the necessary functions to meet the required application of value engineering in construction
performance at the lowest overall cost. projects in Abia State and apply it to the
development of the proposed framework.
The context of value engineering in the Nigerian
construction industry is not fully embraced, despite II. LITERATURE REVIEW
its advocacy and practice in other developed
countries of the world (Umar, 2015), as only few 2.1 Value Engineering
organizations adopt value engineering methodology Amruta, (2014), defined Value Engineering as it is a
in project execution. It’s imperative that researches creative and disciplined process which seeks to offer
must begin to be conducted on responsiveness of the the client a reliable opportunity for cost savings
Nigerian construction industry towards value without detriment to main functions or performance.
engineering. According to Kelly, Male and Graham (2004) Value
engineering is a process of identifying and
1.2 Statement of problem. eliminating unnecessary cost during design and
The issue of project failure and abandonment have construction. They also stated that Value Engineering
been left unresolved for a very long time and this has is the process of making explicit the functional
created obvious room for multiplier effect on the benefits a client requires from the whole or part of a
construction industry and the entire economy as a project at an appropriate cost during design and
whole (Ewa, 2013 Many projects fails and are left construction.
abandoned due to myriads of problems, ranging from
scope creep, cost overrun, time overrun, poor According to Department of Civil Defense, (2006)
stakeholder management and ambiguous designs, Value Engineering can be defined as an organized,
(Amade, Amaeshi, Ubani and Okorocha, 2015) stated systematic, interdisciplinary problem solving
that the entire cronies of Nigeria is washed with approach basically based on analyzing the function of
evidence of failed and abandoned construction systems, equipment, facilities, services, and supplies
projects both in the private and public sector, which for the drive of accomplishing their crucial functions
stems from cost related issues viz poorly articulated at the lowest life-cycle cost reduction with required
cost estimating principles and has resulted to both performance, reliability, quality, and safety.
environmental and security issues in host
communities. Galipogullari, (2013) further stated that the adoption
of the VE process on a problem typically increases
There is a need for a better way/methodology for some combination of performance, reliability,
controlling the total cost of construction projects with quality, durability, effectiveness, or other desirable
the view to balance cost, schedule and scope through characteristics. (Alyousefi, 2011). Opined that there
the generalization of alternative innovative. must be a recognized need for change and a distinct
opportunity for financial benefit to deserve the added
1.3 Aim and Objectives cost of a value engineering effort.
The aim of this research is to evaluate the level of
application of value engineering in construction The approach is not without its critics, there is a
projects in Abia State, with a view of proposing a potential for misunderstanding here, “eliminating
framework for use in the Nigerian construction unnecessary costs” can be misinterpreted as “cost
industry through the integration Building Information cutting” as opined by Dallas (2006) “The associated
Modelling in the value engineering process. functions to which a component contributes are

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ignored, resulting in cost cutting in which The value engineering process has also led to better
functionality is lost”. decision making, communication, trust and finally
greater levels of satisfaction from the stakeholders
The objective of the Value Engineering is in fact involved in the construction industry process. Finally
“cost effectiveness” (Farahmandazad, 2015). It is value engineering creates or increases the awareness
quite feasible that Value Engineering may result in a and adoption of a value culture in organizations
recommendation to increase the initial project involved in the construction industry. This value
construction cost, if it provides an overall cost benefit culture will be valuable in ensuring that practices of
to the project, e.g. by energy efficiency and / or the construction industry are carried with the view of
maintenance over the lifetime of the project. satisfying the needs and expectations of the clients
Therefore, it looks at life cycle costing. Therefore, and other stakeholders involved in the process. This
Value Engineering is clearly not a cost cutting shall go a long way in increasing the efficiency and
exercise; rather it is a process of identifying and effectiveness of the construction industry in general.
eliminating unnecessary cost during the design and
construction stage. This indicates that a holistic SenayAtabay and NiyaziGalipogullari (2013), also
approach is required so that overall project objectives noted the following as benefits of value engineering
are not compromised. It is eminently possible that the when applied on a construction projects
cost of one component element can increase. 1. Reducing Construction Production Costs
2. Finishing the Job before Time Schedule
2.2 Benefits/Importance of Value Engineering 3. Quality Improvement and Correction
The utilization of value engineering brings 4. Reducing Mistakes and Deficiencies in Project
substantial benefits for promoting sustainable Drawings to Minimum
construction principles. The principles and
techniques of value engineering can provide the The above benefits when achieved will improve the
required quality to realize an optimal whole life cost project worth and client satisfaction among the
and life-cycle assessment during the process of investors in the construction industry.
developing a project. Al-Yami and Price
(2006)Mansour (2013) study on value engineering According to Oke and Ogunsemi (2011), the
application on bridge construction in Egypt. The following are the perceived benefits of value
result vindicated the importance of value engineering engineering if fully incorporated into construction
and recommended the use of the methodology on projects in Nigeria: Encourage use of local materials
bridges and other civil engineering construction. in construction, Adoption of new construction
techniques/innovation, Cost effectiveness ,Effective
Khaled and Pandey,(2016) suggest that a lack of delivery system/meeting completion period ,Aids
management support is not a primary cause for the conflict management, Improves quality of work ,It
lack of use of value engineering(VE) as a promotes adaptability and flexibility , It gives the true
construction management tool, senior management worth or value of money to client , It enhances
needs to appreciate the benefits of using value competitive edge for the contractor, It enhances
engineering as a construction management tool quality performance of construction projects,
before its implementation can be increased. Eliminates unnecessary design, Improves functional
Professionals involved in managing the design need space quality of projects, Enhance economic
to understand the conflicting agenda that exist investment, Reduces cost and improves value
between design and management and understand the
tools which can aid the management of the 2.3 Factors hindering the application of Value
construction process. The decisions made in the early Engineering in Nigeria.
stages of a project affect all its aspects, yet the Odeyinka (2006) defined value engineering as “a
industry spends the least on this stage, in contrast service, which maximizes the functional value of a
with other industries. project by managing its development from concept to
completion and commissioning through the audit

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(examination) of all decisions against a value system (2004) showed that in Sri Lanka the application of
determined by the client”. , value management can value engineering in construction organizations is
therefore be seen as “a systematic and multi- relatively new and very little evidence on its
disciplinary process directed towards analyzing the application in the construction industry. Some
functions of projects from its inception to completion reasons for the absence of value engineering
and commissioning (through auditing or application could be lack of standard procedure for
examination) for the purpose of achieving best value value engineering process, lack of encouragement,
and return on investment at lowest possible overall advice or guidance on projects for practicing value
life cycle cost. engineering from the construction industry regulatory
body, and no guidance or knowledge about the
Investigation of application of value engineering in benefits.
the construction industry has attracted the interest of
many researchers and practitioners. Shen (1997) Lately, Aduze (2014) has undertaken a study of the
conducted a survey to investigate value engineering prospects and challenges of value engineering in the
awareness and applications in Hong Kong’s Nigerian construction projects. The study concluded
construction industry and highlighted three most that lack of policy as government legislation, client’s
important reasons for not using value engineering at negative reception, and lack of knowledge about
work, including lack of knowledge to implement value engineering are some factors impeding the
value engineering, no confidence to introduce value value engineering application. As a result discovered,
engineering to clients, and lack of time to implement lack of awareness about value engineering in Saudi,
value engineering. He found out that the low level of Iran, and Nigeria could be noticed that it is not the
applications is probably associated with the low level most obstructing factor as found in Hong Kong,
of awareness of value engineering among senior Malaysia, and China.
management in clients’ organizations. Lack of time
to implement value engineering and lack of Malla (2013) made recommendations to promote the
knowledge about VM are also two key causes in value engineering application in the Nepalese
hindering value engineering application to Southeast construction industry which include incentive clause
Asia (Cheah& Ting, 2005). Lai (2006) identified ten for value engineering re-proposal in contract
factors hindering the application of value engineering document, commitment from top management,
in the Malaysian construction industry. The main forming a value engineering team with experienced
factors are lack of knowledge about value members, and sufficient time to apply value
engineering, lack of support from parties with engineering. Another study was also conducted in
authority such as government and owners, and lack of infrastructure projects by Whyte and Cammarano
local value engineering implementation guideline. (2012). They used the semi-structured interview
Not surprisingly, the lack of knowledge about value method to investigate into the extent of the value
engineering continues to be a key problem, whereas engineering implementation in the Western
lack of time to implement value engineering is not a Australian engineering industry. The study indicated
factor causing significant obstacles in Malaysia. A that time limitations, a lack of understanding, and
research conducted by Li and Ma (2012) in China participation of individuals in the team will influence
also arrived at a similar conclusion that lack of time negatively the level of success of the value
to implement value engineering is not a severe engineering workshop.
problem and main hindrance factors come from lack Oke and Ogunsemi ( 2011) in their study of value
of expertise knowledge about value engineering, lack engineering in construction projects in Nigeria
of technical norms and standards, and lack of VM suggested the following as the major impediments to
experts. the application of value management to construction
projects in Nigeria: ambiguous design; time of
The issues related to value engineering have received completion/delay; conflict management; finance;
much attention in other countries as well, especially construction methodology; inadequate knowledge of
in developing countries. Perera and Karunasena benefits of value management; lack of involvement

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of professionals i.e. Specialists right from the onset; Insufficient time, poor documentation, and
greediness of the contractors and consultants; lack of communication breakdowns between the value
total quality management principles in construction engineering team is one of the main reasons for poor
firm; professional incompetence; technology level; estimates. Integration of an automatic quantity
finance/fund; procurement style; government factor; takeoff system with value engineering to generate
human factor; communication gap; government a cost estimating report is a method to address
policy; unstable economy; poor management the difficulties of the cost estimate during value
especially on the part of the client; lack of engineering exercise. With BIM the estimates will be
professional competence; use of wrong/quack visual and very comprehensive and ensure that any of
professionals for construction works; lack of the project scope is not missed. With BIM, it is visual
understanding of the concept; and lack of and very comprehensive, it allows the generation of
information. takeoffs, counts and measurements directly from a
model (Darshan and Jitendra, 2017).). Improving the
Each of the above-mentioned studies had different overall accuracy of evaluation of alternatives and
conclusions about hindrance factors. However, most cost estimating is the key motivator for
of the studies revealed that the lack of knowledge and integrating BIM into value engineering exercise.
awareness about value engineering is one of the
biggest obstacles for its limited application in the The Revit Architecture provided by Autodesk Inc.
construction industry. amongst other BIM tools has more advantages with
built-in sequencing options to build a 3D model and
2.4 Integrating BIM into Value Engineering its integration into the proposed framework will
process enable effective evaluation of alternatives and its
BIM application to value engineering brings many related cost due to the following reasons: High
benefits to the value engineering team, such as performance of 3D BIM Modeling, the ability to add
improving communication between the values 4D and 5D to the same model, quick changes to
engineering team and facilitates faster decision design, no repetitive tasks, accurate estimation of
making in choosing alternative design and evaluation. quantities and cost.
The ability of BIM to foster collaboration between
construction key players facilitates the design process III. METHODOLOGY
decision (Azhar, Behringer, sattineni and Maqsood,
2012). The study is exploratory research, comprising of 300
registered construction specialists in Abia State,
The accuracy of a cost estimating during value ranging from architects, structural engineers, quantity
engineering relies on a number of factors such surveyors and builders, these set of population was
as market condition which is changing over time, chosen due to their vast knowledge in the
the time slack between estimation and execution, construction sector and as such are in position to give
design changes and quality issue (Aya Hasan, accurate information on the topic under study.
2017).). The accurate and computable inherent of
building information models enables a more Data triangulation method was adopted for data
reliable source for owners and stakeholders to collection, comprising of structured questionnaire
perform quantity takeoff and estimating during and case study of some selected projects within Abia
value engineering process. This results in faster cost State. Using Taro Yamani (1967) theoretical formula,
feedback on design changes. During the early a total number of 171 structured questionnaire where
stages of the construction project process, purposively distributed, completed and returned, the
particularly in the conceptual and feasibility data were analyzed using relative importance index to
phases, the ability to affect cost is stronger rank the responses of the respondents and the
(Eastman, Teichol, and Sacks, 2011). strength of association of the ranked variables was
analyzed using spearman`s rank correlation
coefficient.

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IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF engineering application on building projects in Abia

FINDINGS. State, this is to show if the objectives of value
engineering is being achieved when applied on
Q- 1. What are the benefits of value engineering construction projects.
application on building projects in Abia, State?
Table 1. Benefits of value engineering application on
The researcher sought information from the building projects.
respondents on the perceived benefits of value

Source: field Data, 2018  Project description

1) Contract sum = N350, 000,000.
Table 1. Represent the relative importance index for 2) Ground floor
the four groups of correspondents on the benefits of 3) 3 upper floors
value engineering application on building projects in 4) 62 rooms, all en-suit
Abia State. The Table shows the benefit of value 5) Restaurant, Bar, Kitchen
engineering is to achieve cost effectiveness with a 6) Parking lot.
mean of 3.91, this is followed by to remove
unnecessary cost with a mean of 3.79, improve The value management team were faced with the
functionality with a mean of 3.75, improved life challenge of upgrading the aesthetics of the hotel in
cycle cost maintenance with a mean of 3.72, to the face of stiff competition from other similar
achieve innovative design with a mean of 3.62 and developments within the area. Consequently a
lastly design improvement with a mean 3.43. This building information modelling was created using
shows that is a strong backing that the core benefit of Revit provided by Authodesk, comprising of the
value engineering is to achieve cost effectiveness architectural, structural and MEP of the proposed
within a construction project. hotel development, the model was developed during
the design stage based on the professional guidance
V. CASE STUDY from both the architect, structural engineer and the
quantity surveyor, using this model the project team
 Project details was able to optimize the functionality the project life
Project: hotel development through the review the following building elements:
Client: Jacony properties
Location: Potharcourt road Aba, Abia state. 1 Roof
2 Internal walls
3 External walls

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4 External works. instead of original design of cement and sand

plastering and two coats of emulsion paints.
 Summary of Review by the VE Team
1) Roof 3) External Walls Finishing
At the height of over 13metres, the value The finishing to the external walls was cement and
management team considered the use of slate roof sand plastering and two coats emulsion paint. This
tiles uneconomic, since the original design provided was changed to Aluco board sidings.
for roof parapet with concrete gutters, the team
substituted slate tiles with long span aluminum 4) External works.
roofing sheet of 0.45m gauge stucco mill finish. The parking lot was originally tarmacadam finish,
this was substituted with interlocking concrete paving
2) Internal Walls Finishing slabs.
The team recommended the use of POP screeding
finish with one coat of deluxe vinyl paint finishes  Cost Variations of Recommendations.
Table 2 Analysis of cost Variation in case study

Table 2 shows, that there was 4.02% increase in the  Summary of Findings from Case Study
contract sum, unlike the conventional cost cutting The objective of the Value Engineering is in fact
that is believed to be associated with value “cost effectiveness”. It is quite feasible that Value
engineering, this is because the value engineering Engineering may result in a recommendation to
team was concerned with the clients need to optimize decrease or increase the initial project construction
the project to meet with the stiff competition within cost and performance, if it provides an overall cost
the projects location, and as such so many elements benefit to the project, e.g. aesthetics purposes,
in the projects where optimized to meet the required functionality or maintenance over the lifetime of the
functionality, while looking at the life cycle cost project as seen in case study, it looks at life cycle
maintenance of each element of the building, this costing and project optimization. Therefore, Value
conforms with the researchers ideology that value Engineering is clearly not a cost cutting exercise,
engineering is “cost effective” which can result in a rather it is a process of identifying and eliminating
recommendation to increase the initial project unnecessary cost during the design and construction
construction cost, if it provides an overall cost benefit stage. This indicates that a holistic approach is
to the project. required so that overall project objectives are not
compromised, as it is eminently possible that the cost

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of one component element can increase due to the The study identified 16 hindering factors to the
building requirement. application of value engineering on building projects
which will enable us achieve objective two of the
Q-2. What are the hindering factors to value study. Factors were extracted from the literature
engineering application in commercial building review and the respondents are required to rate their
project in Abia State? responses using 5 likert scale.

Table 2.1 Ranking for Quantity Surveyors on the Factors that Hinder Value Engineering Application in Construction
Projects in Abia State

difficulty in conducting analysis and evaluation of

Source: field Data, 2018 alternatives, Lack of support and active participation
from owners and stakeholders, lack of value
Table 2.1 presented the relative importance index by engineering guidelines as well as technical norms and
Quantity Surveyors on the factors that hinder value standards, defensive attitude of the original design
engineer application in construction projects in Abia team, Lack of legislation providing for application of
State. From the table it can be observed that the five VM in the construction industry.
top most factors that hinder value engineering
application in construction projects in Abia State. are

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Table 2.2 Ranking for Architects on the Factors that Hinder Value Engineering Application in Construction Projects

analysis and evaluation of alternatives Lack of

Source: field Data, 2018. support and active participation from owners and
stakeholders, Lack of legislation providing for
Table 2.2 presented the relative importance index by application of VM in the construction industry, Lack
Architects on the factors that hinder value engineer of investment and support policy and human
application in construction projects in Abia State. resources to conduct VE construction companies.
The five top most factors are difficulty in conducting

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Table 2.3 Ranking for Civil Engineers on the Factors that Hinder Value Engineering Application in Construction
Projects

Source: field Data, 2018

Table 2.3 presented the relative importance index by stakeholders, Lack of investment and support policy
Civil Engineers on the factors that hinder value and human resources to conduct VE construction
engineer application in construction projects in Abia companies, Lack of investment and support policy
State. From the table the five top most ranked factors and human resources to conduct VE construction
that hinder value engineering application in companies, lack of value engineering guidelines as
construction in Abia State are difficulty in conducting well as technical norms and standards
analysis and evaluation of alternatives, Lack of
support and active participation from owners and

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Table 2.4 Ranking for Builders on the Factors that Hinder Value Engineering Application in commercial Projects

Source: field Data, 2018 and evaluation of alternatives, Defensive attitude of

the original design team, lack of value engineering
Table 2.4 presented the relative importance index by guidelines as well as technical norms and standards,
builders on the factors that hinder value engineer Lack of legislation providing for the application of
application in construction projects in Abia State. VE in construction projects, Lack of investment and
From the table the five top most ranked factors that support policy and human resources to conduct VE
hinder value engineering application in construction construction companies.
in Abia State, are are difficulty in conducting analysis

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Table 2.5.Agreement Analysis Between all the four Groups of Respondents (Quantity Surveyors, Architects Civil
Engineers and builders)

Source: field Data, 2018

VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
Table 2.5 shows the agreement of all the four groups RECOMMENDATION
of respondents on the factors hindering the
application of value engineering in commercial This chapter will present the summary of the findings
building projects in Abia state, using spearman`s from the research, conclusion based on the findings
Rank Coefficient, the coefficients are Rs = + 0.929, and make recommendations for the effective
+0.921, +0.947, +0.883,+0.982, +0.868, and the application of value engineering on construction
Statistical significant level p=0.001(which is 99.95 projects.
statistically significant). This shows a positive
correlation between the four groups of respondents. 5.1 Summary of Findings
The research set out to examine the applicability of
Value Engineering in construction projects in Abia

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State, the benefits and hindering factors. It has benefits of Value Engineering application on a
considered existing literature relating to Value construction project, the methodology is not fully
Engineering applicability in construction projects and applicable in the Nigerian construction industry as
integration of BIM tools in value engineering process only few professionals are conversant with its
using case study, It has presented the factors application , even when there is a need to its
hindering its application in the research using application, the resource persons and technicalities
questionnaire analysis. needed to conduct it are scares, making the process
From the analyses of data presented in chapter four, difficult to apply, thereby resulting in reduction of the
the following summary of findings were made. From potential benefit, as a result of deficiencies in the
the analysis of the research questions, it revealed the evaluation of alternatives, management and control of
benefits of integrating BIM into value engineering the Value Engineering process within the context of
application in construction projects, such as cost the overall project.
benefits, optimum functionality of the projects and
other perceived benefits. 5.3 Recommendations
Based on the literature review, questionnaire analysis
The six top most factors that hinder value and findings, the following recommendations were
engineering application in construction projects in made by the researcher:-
Abia State, as ranked by Quantity Surveyors,
Architects, Civil engineers and Builders are, i. Organizing value engineering training workshops
Difficulties of conducting analysis and evaluation of and seminars in order to enlighten the participants
alternatives, Lack of support and active participation of the construction industry on the principles,
from owners and stakeholders, Defensive attitudes of concept and techniques involved in the value
original design team, Lack of local value engineering process.
management guidelines as well as technical norms ii. There is a need for the construction industry in
and standards , Lack of legislation providing for Nigeria to adopt value engineering
application of VM in the construction industry, Lack process/analysis in their construction projects to
of investment and support policy and human achieve value for money.
resources to conduct VE construction companies. iii. The need to adopt the proposed framework for
value engineering exercise, for the ease of
5.2 Conclusion alternative selection and evaluation.
The study concludes that, While the professionals in
the construction industry are aware of the potential

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Figure 5.1: proposed framework. ii. Broadening the use and integration of BIM in the
automatic evaluation of alternatives.
The programs in the proposed framework is not iii. Providing a framework that supports value
binding, as it is designed in such a way that the user, engineering job plan.
is free to use any other program that best suit his
desired outcome in each phase of the job plan. REFERENCES

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