How can you develop your value engineering skills?

Developing your value engineering skills requires a blend of knowledge, practice, and the right mindset. Understand the value equation: This equation relates function (what the product or service does) to cost (resources required to produce it). Learn to identify and prioritize functions that matter most to customers and identify unnecessary costs. Learn about techniques like function analysis, value analysis, and creative thinking methods to systematically analyze and improve value. Stay updated on current trends and standards in value engineering within your field.

From my experience developing a value engineering mindset is key to understand customer needs and come up with creative ideas and solutions. It's important to always ask yourself "how can I add value to the existent situation of the customer or the market?" Focus on learning continuously and improving your skills while being able to prioritize what is important for the client and reducing costs in what is not.

To develop value engineering skills, blend the technical understanding of the value equation with a customer-centric approach. Engage directly with customers to deeply understand their needs and preferences. This involves not just assessing the functional aspect of a product or service, but also considering the emotional and experiential values it offers. By integrating customer feedback into the function analysis and value engineering proposals, you can more effectively prioritize and enhance features that truly matter to customers. This approach not only optimizes costs but also ensures the creation of products and services that resonate more with the target audience.

Understanding the value equation is half-solved, which is the ration of function to cost. The Value equation can help prioritize and identify the functions.

A primeira coisa que eu procuro entender é: com as minhas habilidades, quais problemas do meu cliente eu posso resolver? A partir da resposta, eu preciso buscar uma forma criativa para tornar a minha solu??o, a mais atrativa para o cliente. Para que ele deseje a minha solu??o, n?o importa o quanto precise pagar por ela! Hoje em dia - pelo menos aqui na regi?o onde eu moro- eu vejo que existe quase um leil?o de quem faz o menor pre?o na nossa área. Principalmente, quando se trata de projetos. Eu me preocupo com isso, pois a cada dia vejo o trabalho dos engenheiros cada dia mais desvalorizado.

Creative thinking techniques can help us to explore new possibilities and challenging assumptions. By Imagination and innovation, we can use thinking techniques individually or by group.

Creative thinking includes the process of innovative problem-solving — from analyzing the facts to brainstorming to working with others. Examples of these skills include analytical skills, innovation, and collaboration

Developing value engineering skills involves honing your abilities to creatively identify and implement solutions that maximize value while minimizing costs. Application of reverse engineering and help foster creativity in thinking by deconstructing a product to understand its fundamental components. This will help identify alternative methods, designs and materials that could enhance value without compromising functionality.

Strong value engineering skills do not only involve generating creative ideas but also effectively evaluating and selecting the best alternatives. Utilizing quantitative analysis to objectively measure and compare alternatives helps. You ought to perform comprehensive cost benefit analysis for each alternative considering both immediate and long term costs and benefits. Also, evaluate the risk associated with each alternative. Consider the potential challenges, setbacks, uncertainties and external factors that may impact the success of the alternative. When you make a thorough risk assessment, it helps in making detailed and informed decisions.

Decision making is the process of choosing the best alternative for reaching objectives. Decision making can be defined as a process of choosing between alternatives to achieve a goal. It is the process by which an individual chooses one alternative from several to achieve a desired objective.

Enhance your value engineering skills by adopting an agile methodology in the implementation and monitoring phase. Agile focuses on iterative development, allowing for frequent reassessment and adaptation of the solution based on real-time feedback. This approach not only ensures continuous improvement but also aligns the solution more closely with customer expectations. Use tools like scrum or kanban boards for project management, and establish regular review meetings with stakeholders for performance assessment. This dynamic process allows for rapid adjustments, ensuring that the value of the product or service is maximized throughout its lifecycle.”

Define objectives and separate them into measurable targets to monitor the implementation. Define timelines for implementation. Communicate the plan to everyone involved. Develop feedback channels to use during the process.

Continuous learning is a workplace culture that encourages employees to prioritize ongoing learning and improvement. Continuous learning can happen through various formats, including formal courses, informal learning, shadowing teammates, training programs, one-on-one and group coaching, and casual interactions

A value engineer needs to have project management and teamwork skills to be able to plan, execute, monitor, and control a value engineering project. A value engineer should be able to define the scope, objectives, deliverables, and resources of a project, and manage the time, cost, quality, and risk aspects