Construction World October 2015

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Value engineering: The key to ACHIEVING A TRUE PAYBACK

> Aurecon’s Building Services Professional, Ashley Underwood, explains what value engineering is and why having expertise in it should be a prerequisite when sourcing engineering consultants for projects. “Value engineering looks at the capital cost of a project and deter- mines whether the function and quality of the results are equal to the perceived value. It’s a management approach that focuses on the benefits, payback and overall return on investment that a client will achieve instead of looking at different parts of a project in silos,” says Underwood. While it’s easy to see the benefit of value engineering, problems arise because it is often applied late in a project. When value engi- neering is incorporated during the design and concept phase, consult- ants are able to thoroughly look at the life cycle cost of each decision, and this type of analysis includes financial payback, as well as environ- mental impacts such as carbon emissions and material selections. “The rising cost of energy has essentially aligned the financial and environmental benefits for many energy-saving initiatives. With value engineering of energy-savings, you are now able to create a building that will result in a true payback for the client, but this approach needs to be implemented in the concept and design stages. The number of Green Star rated projects that Aurecon has worked on is a testament to what is achievable when combining the efforts of environmental modelling software programmes, mechanical engineering expertise and buildings sciences consultants early on in a project,” he says. decommissioning, offers an opportunity to demonstrate whole-life benefits for users of the building as well as the building owners. Value engineering is still an underutilised practice in the commercial property industry. Integrating mechanical engineering, Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) concepts and energy efficiency into each major decision from project inception, through the design, construction, operation and

Aurecon is a recognised leader in the use of a range of powerful envi- ronmental modelling software programs to optimise the performance of buildings. The 3D modelling software takes every aspect of a building into consideration. “Engineers and designers can improve the occupants’ comfort using 3D modelling of a building’s orientation and form, external shading and fabric performance. We can make real changes to the energy consumption of the building by looking at the building services as a whole, which includes aspects such as mechanical systems, hot water generation, escalators, lighting systems and any miscellaneous services such as irrigation,” comments Underwood. It is important to get the right mix. Normally, the building shell, including insulation and glazing spec, is optimised to ensure high thermal comfort for the people occupying the perimeter zones of the building, while increasing insulation beyond this has only a small effect on the building’s energy use. “To achieve additional significant energy-savings, we look carefully at the mechanical and electrical systems,” says Underwood. “For the electrical systems, we strive to only use energy-efficient lighting, while for the mechanical systems, we generally recommend a high efficiency plant with a range of energy-saving features such as, economy cycles, CO 2 based demand control of fresh air, CO 2 based demand control of car park ventilation, etc. “Aurecon has developed a number of calculation procedures that helps us to ensure 3D modelling is relevant in a South African context, which is a unique value-adding benefit to our clients.” Real savings rest in the engineering domain Aurecon’s use of 3D modelling software, coupled with the in-house calculation methodologies that the company has developed for local buildings, is only a part of the value engineering services that we offer. The fact that the mechanical engineers and building sciences profes- sionals are able to work together to find sustainable, energy-saving solutions is the thread that ties everything together in order to provide real value for clients. “The digital recreation of a proposed building isn’t merely a place- holder or an estimate of what could potentially be achieved, it’s a very accurate replica of how the building will operate and function once constructed,” asserts Underwood. “We use the energy simu- lation results to guide the implementation of energy sub-metering strategies and then to track and manage energy use within the operational buildings.”

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Value engineering in practice Aurecon achieved a first in Tshwane in 2011 when its Lynnwood Bridge Office Park building, situated alongside the N1 highway, achieved a 4 Star GreenStar SA – (Office Design v1) rating from the Green Building Council of Southern Africa. The company has recently completed another ‘green’ office building in the same precinct achieving a 5-Star rating, which will comprise five base- ment levels, as well as ground plus five floors. The project team took a value engi- neering approach during the design and construction phase of the new building. Unlike the traditional model of three overlapping financial, social and environ- mental circles where the only commonality

Aurecon’s building services professional, Ashley Underwood.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2015