What's the difference between Value Analysis, Value Engineering and VAVE?
Value analysis (VA) improves products that are already in production: you take them apart, question each part and redesign. Value engineering (VE) uses the same method during design, before the cost is locked in, which is when it saves the most. VAVE is the name for both together, and value management is the set of habits that keeps it going over time.
When should we run a VE study?
There are four usual reasons: a new product reaching its concept or design reviews (when VE saves the most), margins squeezed by price pressure or inflation, a teardown showing a competitor makes something for less, and, in companies that do this well, simply the calendar, with a VE round every year on each high-volume product.
Who should be in the workshop team?
Six to ten people from design, manufacturing, purchasing, quality, finance and service, plus key suppliers who know their own costs. A trained facilitator runs the process but doesn’t own the answers. A team from just one department tends to come up with the same kind of ideas, so the mix matters.
How long does a study take, end to end?
Two to four weeks to prepare (data, a costed parts list, samples and benchmarks), three to five days for the workshop itself covering all six phases, then six to twelve weeks to develop and implement the ideas. Savings usually start coming through within three to six months.
How much does it actually save?
A first proper VE round on a product that’s never had one usually finds 8–15% of its cost. Companies that keep it going save 3–5% a year after that. A study usually returns more than 10 times what it costs, because the study is cheap compared with savings that repeat on every unit made.
Will cost reduction hurt our quality or brand?
Not if it’s done properly. VE is about improving value, so the functions customers need are kept or improved, and any feature you remove has to be backed by customer, warranty and usage data. Most quality problems come from flat percentage cuts, which is exactly what VE is meant to replace.
Which standards and certifications matter?
SAVE International’s Value Methodology Standard sets out the job plan used around the world, and EN 12973 covers value management in Europe. Practitioners can certify through SAVE as VMA (associate) and CVS (certified value specialist). A study led by a CVS is seen as the professional standard.
How is VE different from ordinary cost-cutting?
Cost-cutting starts from the accounts and removes whatever is easiest, which is often something the customer valued. VE starts from what the product needs to do and what that’s worth, uses should-cost data to find where you’re overpaying, brings different departments together to find alternatives, and only then takes cost out. Cost-cutting makes the product smaller. VE makes it better value.