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27
CASE STUDY 6: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT process by which the federal, state, and local highway
OF TRANSPORTATION agencies work to get the best overall project value for the
taxpayer. Project management has determined that through
Contact:
the use of visualization technologies within the value engi-
District Value Engineering Coordinator
neering process, several key goals can be achieved, includ-
FDOT District 6
ing better project understanding, the selection of more
Environmental Management Office
effective alternatives, and cost savings. Simply stated,
1000 NW 111 Avenue
value engineering is an organized application of common
Miami, FL 33172
sense and technical knowledge directed at finding and
eliminating unnecessary costs or adding functions or fea-
Organization tures to a project (14).
Visualization technologies are frequently used in FDOT The FDOT value engineering department started using
projects. Their use is determined on a case-by-case basis by value engineering in the design and construction phases of
the project managers for each project. The type and amount projects in the 1970s. A few years ago, the department's dis-
of visualization technology use is based on the project trict value engineering coordinators discussed adding another
manager's experience with the technology and discussion feature to the program, "value added." This concept caused
with various in-house staff, vendors, and consultants. There some initial confusion as to whether to report the additions
is no regional visualization division. The FDOT Central as negative savings. The issue was resolved by developing a
Office allows each district to determine how to develop and separate tracking function as value added. The consensus was
use visualization. FDOT does not have a centralized strate- that value engineering was a cost-reduction program, and that
gic plan to develop visualization technologies in-house. program was what was originally tracked.
FDOT District 6 has an on-staff visualization technician, The addition of the new feature helped change the image
but not a formal district visualization section or directive. of value engineering and opened the institutional mindset to
CADD applications are being used in-house to create photo- accept concepts such as "value in advance," which is the
simulation, renderings, and animation. To augment the potential to move value engineering into the planning phase
capabilities of the visualization technician, higher-capacity where hard cost estimates are not as readily available. The
hardware components have been provided. Typically, these potential for improving the value of a project in the early
hardware configurations are CADD-based systems with stages has always been recognized, and the department's
larger hard drives and memory components and include management believed that this potential improvement could
advanced graphic cards. The technician is usually dedicated now be made on corridor projects. Thus, a planning-level
to a specific project and works with the project manager to project was selected to explore this new approach.
determine the type of visual tool used and the production
schedule to complete it.
Value Engineering and Visualization
Why the Need for Visualization? A value engineering study using visualization technologies
was implemented and reviewed for Okeechobee Road (U.S.
District 6 typically has several high-profile projects being Highway 27), a six-lane, controlled-access highway. For this
conducted simultaneously. Because of the volume of these project, managers wanted to avoid a common problem asso-
projects, the district must also rely on consultants and vendors ciated with many value engineering studies; the problem of
to create the visuals required. These projects usually involve not having enough information early enough to make a rea-
a significant amount of public involvement. Visualization sonable decision based on facts. To help fill in the missing
technologies are frequently used for public involvement at information, the value engineering team used GIS databases
District 6 and at most other districts within FDOT. District 6 and visualization techniques. In addition, the project man-
has used a wide variety of visualization applications for agers initiated a process to improve regulatory agency input
public involvement, ranging from computer rendering and early in the project. This new process, called "Efficient
animation to multimedia development and virtual reality Transportation Decision Making," was developed by both
simulations. the department and its normal review agencies (e.g., the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Implementation Plan Service) (15). Providing interactive visual simulations
helped bring timely and pertinent comments for the for Okee-
The District 6 value engineering department has recog- chobee Road project (see Figure 31). As a result, the project
nized the importance of using visualization earlier in the managers did not miss any time-critical opportunities, and
project development process. "Value engineering" is the fatal flaws were eliminated.
