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· Update VE guidelines at least every 10 years: (1979). In most cases, these early VE programs focused on
Complete update of 2001guidelines by 2011, the improvement of standards and specifications, and staff
Work with the task force on D/B to jointly develop training (1).
best practices for VE for D/B by late 2003, and
Develop guidelines for VE performance measures FHWA monitors the application of VE on federal-aid proj-
by 2005. ects and produces an annual summary report (11). Table 1
· Maintain an active website providing information summarizes the results for the 7-year period from 1997 to
about transportation VE and the upcoming national VE 2003. This corresponds to the time period that the FHWA VE
conference. Regulation has been in force. On average, 382 federal-aid VE
· Provide ongoing assistance to member states to: studies were performed annually. This represents an increase
Comply with the FHWA mandate, of approximately 18% over the annual average number of
Develop VE programs, federal-aid VE studies observed from 1993 to 1997.
Provide VE training, and
Conduct VE studies. For the latest 5-year period, from 1999 to 2003, the 10 most
active STAs (Virginia, Florida, California, Texas, Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Washington
TRANSPORTATION AGENCY INVOLVEMENT State, and Ohio) completed 64% of the total number of VE
studies (1,872) performed on federal-aid projects. This is
The California Department of Transportation (DOT) (Cal- illustrated in Figure 1. The number of VE studies is presented
trans) is acknowledged to have established the first state VE in Figure 2. The average cost per VE study is presented in
program. Caltrans initiated its VA program in 1969. Its ini- Table 2.
tial focus was on standard specifications, standard plans, and
selective elements of highway projects. However, highway The average cost per study, calculated from the FHWA
projects were not extensively studied until 1985. Turner and VE program reports for the 10 most active STAs, ranges
Reark reported in 1981 that VE had not been generally applied from $2,600 to $60,000. This wide variation in study costs
to highway projects "because of tight schedules and the con- likely reflects differences in how costs are attributed to VE
cern about designer's reactions" (1, p. 9). studies, size and composition of the VE team, duration of the
VE studies, and complexity of the project being reviewed. For
The Caltrans VE program served as a beachhead for expan- example, California's relatively higher average cost per study
sion into other STAs. In the 1970s, VE programs were initi- takes into account longer study durations--Caltrans typically
ated in Florida (1970), Idaho and Virginia (1973), Minnesota uses 6-day workshops instead of 5-day workshops--and
(1975), New Mexico (1977), and Oregon and Pennsylvania large study teams assembled for relatively complex projects.
TABLE 1
FEDERAL-AID PROGRAM VALUE ENGINEERING SUMMARY, 19972003
VE Program Metrics FY 1997a FY 1998a FY 1999b FY 2000a FY 2001c FY 2002c FY 2003d Total/Avg.
No. of VE Studies 369 431 385 388 378 377 344 2,672
Cost of VE Studies $5.10 $6.58 $7.47 $7.78 $7.29 $9.02 $8.45 $51.69
Plus Administrative
Costs
Estimated $10,093 $17,227 $18,837 $16,240 $18,882 $20,607 $19,241 $121,127
Construction Cost of
Projects Studied
Total No. of N/A 2,003 2,082 2,017 2,013 2,344 2,144 12,603e
Recommendations
Total Value of N/A $3,084 $3,227 $3,483 $2,375 $3,050 $3,163 $18,382e
Recommendations
No. of Approved N/A 743 848 1,057 1,017 969 914 5,548e
Recommendations
Value of Approved $540 $770 $846 $1,128 $865 $1,043 $1,016 $6,208
Recommendations
Return on Investment 106:1 117:1 113:1 145:1 119:1 116:1 120:1 120:1
Source: Annual Federal-Aid Value Engineering Summary Reports (11).
Notes: Amounts shown in millions of dollars. N/A = not available.
a
52 agencies reported in fiscal year (50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico).
b
53 agencies reported in fiscal year (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands).
c
53 agencies reported in fiscal year (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and FLH).
d
50 agencies reported in fiscal year (47 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and FLH); Kentucky, Louisiana, and New
Hampshire did not report results.
e
Totals do not include results from FY 1997, which were unavailable.
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More than 200 Studies
100 to 200 Studies
Less than 200 Studies
FIGURE 1 Ten most active STAs performing VE studies, 19992003 (11).
Also consider that some STAs might use in-house exper- However, in-house costs are typically more difficult to track
tise for their studies, whereas other agencies might use exter- because many agencies are generally not able to fully con-
nal consultant team leaders and specialists. The total cost of sider the total cost of staff time or to reflect the true value of
a person-hour is generally understood to be the aggregate the expertise to the project.
cost of salary, benefits, and corporate overhead. Additional
project costs, pertaining to other expenses such as printing The FHWA "racing form" (11) is primarily a financial
and travel, should also be considered. For consultants, the reporting tool to satisfy the legislation requirements regard-
costs associated with external VE study participants are usu- ing VE. The tabular format permits easy comparison between
ally readily apparent and traceable because the expertise has two or more STAs in a global sense and likely creates com-
been acquired through some form of contractual agreement. petitive interest between agencies.
300
Federal-Aid VE Studies Completed During 1999-2003
250
200
150
256
245
100
141
50 100 93 89 82
66 65 60
0
VA FL CA TX PA NJ NC TN WA OH
FIGURE 2 Most federal-aid VE studies by state completed during 19992003 (11).
