Everything You Need To Know About Industrial Value Engineering
Do you ever find yourself sounding like an infomercial when you’re looking at a product or process in your business? “There’s got to be a better way!” If so, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s a way to find that better way.
Value engineering can help you find more efficient ways to create better products or services. Read on to learn more about value engineering and how it can help you improve your business’s profit margins.
What Is Value Engineering?
It may sound simple, but value engineering works to improve the value of a product. It works off two basic ideas: function and cost.
Function is a measurement of the performance capabilities of the service, project, or product. So the function of a travel mug might include how well it prevents leaks, how long it keeps your coffee hot, and how easy it is to carry.
The cost portion of value engineering looks at how much money it takes to produce the product. This can include labor, materials, tools, shipping prices, and anything else required to achieve the function.
How It Works
Value engineering looks for ways to improve the function without raising the cost or lower the cost without decreasing the function. A standard job plan consists of six different phases.
Value engineers start by looking at the primary goals of their project and identifying the function of the service or product they’re working with. They try to generate specific sentences about this function, such as “Transport coffee.”
From there, value engineers work to generate creative solutions to improve the function/cost relationship. They narrow that list down to workable solutions, come up with action plans to implement these improvements, and present their ideas to shareholders.
Using It on Your Projects
Value engineering can be useful for just about any sort of service, project, or product. You can hire a value engineer to do this if you like, and in some cases (such as large construction projects) this is a very good idea. But for smaller projects, you can do some value engineering yourself.
Follow the phases we laid out, starting with establishing the specific function of your product, project, or service. Take a look at the cost and see if there are any places you can trim costs without compromising your function. Think outside the box, don’t be afraid to get wild brainstorming, and then figure out how to implement workable solutions.
Learn More About Industrial Value Engineering
Value engineering is a great way to improve the efficiency of your business. You come out with a better product for a lower cost, meaning higher profit margins. So consider hiring a value engineer for your next product and watch how you reap the benefits.
If you’d like to get the best value products for the lowest cost, check out the rest of our site at CPV Manufacturing. As fitting manufacturers, we provide American engineering that’s trusted worldwide. Learn about the industries we serve and start improving your company’s value today.