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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
OCTOBER
2015
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MARKETPLACE
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.
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.”
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
Value engineering: The key to
ACHIEVING A
TRUE PAYBACK
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
decommissioning, offers an opportunity to
demonstrate whole-life benefits for users of
the building as well as the building owners.
Aurecon’s building
services professional,
Ashley Underwood.