Evaluation of VE Proposals- A model

Abstract:

Value Creation has become an important ingredient for promoting as well as existence of any product/process and system. Author has resorted to the doctrine that only the interaction of the senses and sense organs gives rise to pleasure. Based on the above concept, the author developed “Value Creation Model” which can be used during Creative Phase for developing Recommendation.

Introduction

Let me begin this article with an everyday life case from yester-years. During my younger days, when my children were in school, before the start of their new session, a customary ritual was to purchase new textbooks & notebooks. And there was one common thing that was applicable across all the textbooks, notebooks and the official school Diary. And it was the seemingly ubiquitous Label. Those days Labels were available in a sheet of ten labels separated by perforations.

One had to tear each label, apply gum on the reverse side of the labels and paste it on each of the textbooks, notebooks and the Diary. Needless to say, it was a boring job – to keep a gum bottle or gum tube, and to spread the adhesive on the reverse side of the labels. Hands used to always get dirty. And I did not like this job. And to top it off, as a parent I had to teach my children to do it on their own, as any self-respecting parent would want their children to be independent!

But today similar labels are available on a sheet with pre-applied gum on the reverse and a sheet over it which prevents it to stick unless removed. So, one has to just remove this paper from the reverse side of the label and stick it at the desired place. It is the same product but with Enhanced Value.

Incidentally a similar concept was available in the Postage Stamps earlier too, barring the paper on the reverse, but yet Labels did not have this feature of pre-applied adhesive. However, over time, this change came about accompanied with improvements like a paper on the reverse for protection of the adhesive.

The obvious reasons may be thought of as below:

• Somebody thought of the customer need
• The potential of the product was correctly assessed
• The need was aptly co-related with the inconvenience of the previous product and the ease of the modified features to satisfy the sensual organ (here it is “Touch”).

The above aspects are essential ingredients to start a Value Engineering Study. Value Engineering is mainly concerned with Economic Value. The relation between the components of Economic Value and the need are shown in table below.

It is better to elaborate the terms to have better clarity.

A “Need” is something we require for our well-being. I “Need” oxygen. In our daily life we need many things. There are some needs which are obvious, but there are some needs which are not so obvious; it may be prevalent at a sub-conscious level. For Value Creation, one has to dig out those “not-so-obvious” needs of the customers and provide them with it. In several instances, new items are generated through these exercises.

“Want” is something we hope will make us happy – I want a “Candy bar”. For Value Creation, this Want has to be generated among customers.

“Worth” is an inherent property. This has to be incorporated to have greater edge in the competitive situation.

“Cost” is the Life Cycle Cost. It should be optimum and not a cheap one.

Hunt for Guidelines

If Value Creation were to be conceptualized from a philosophical point of view, one has to avoid attachment with any material objects. But in Value Engineering which deals with materialistic aspects, one has to do just the opposite. Thus, we can infer that instead of avoiding the pleasure, one has to inject attributes for pleasure which generate the economic value of the creation.

The senses and sense organs in our body whose interaction gives rise to pleasure are detailed as below:

Relation between Senses and Sense Organs

Value Creation Model

The Value Creation Model that I wish to propose and elaborate on is intended to provide a tool for the Value Engineering Team to assess the aspects of their Change Proposals vis-à-vis the Five Senses or Sense Organs.

The underlying belief is that any function of a Product / Process/ System should be correlated with one or more of the Five Senses or Sense Organs. If such a correlation is established for each of the Change Proposals, it would be easier to assess the benefits of one over the others. This tool is intended to be used in the latter part of the Creative Phase to recommendation Phase.

The diagrammatical model of the Value Creation tool with a common example is shown as below:

Value Creation Model, Example: – Cola Bottle

A color coding can be administered to represent improvement or decrease of attributes with respect to any of the Five Senses. The color coding should have only 3 colors: Red, Orange and Green. Red indicates lesser attributes of a particular proposal when compared to the existing design/available design/competitive design; Orange indicates same degree of attributes and Green indicates improvement in attributes. Thus, it can be diagrammatically represented as below:

Thus, as mentioned above, this technique will help to differentiate one proposal from the others and can be illustrated during the Evaluation & Recommendation Phase. This will also indicate whether the final proposal is better than the existing. The new proposal could then indicate that there are several value additions done using Value Engineering Methodology.

 Conclusion

The Value Creation Model thus presents a simple tool to evaluate the extent to which VE proposals influence the Five Senses that perceive and evaluate a Need, Want and Worth; and thereby attribute a Value to the new product / process/system.

It is interesting to note that the following three sentences encapsulate powerful indicators for Value Creation:

One feels satisfied when one’s need is fulfilled.

One feels successful when one gets what one wants.

One feels happy when one wants what one gets.

About Author:

Mr. Md Yousef Alsulaiman is a VMA and pursuing CVS qualification. He is Project Manager with over 18 years of extensive experience in leading complex airport projects for prestigious organizations, including Dammam Airports Company and the General Authority of Civil Aviation in KSA. His proven track record includes the successful management of a portfolio of multi-million SAR projects, guiding them from initial conception to flawless execution, consistently meeting deadlines, adhering to budgets, and surpassing rigorous quality standards. He has certifications in project management, engineering, sustainability and many other relevant areas.