VAVEhub · Toolkit 10
VE Programme Charter
One page that says why the programme exists, who runs it, how it's measured and when it meets.
Step 1 · Purpose and scope
| Why we're running a programme (one sentence) | |
|---|
| Product lines in scope | |
|---|
| Out of scope | |
|---|
| Savings target this year (£, and % of product cost) | |
|---|
| Engineering time funded to deliver it (people or hours) | |
|---|
A savings target bigger than the engineering time you've paid for becomes a number nobody owns.
Step 2 · The value board
| Role | Name | What they do |
|---|
| Sponsor (chairs the board) | | Makes decisions, removes blockers |
| Programme lead / facilitator | | Runs studies and the savings funnel |
| Finance | | Checks every saving against the fixed starting cost |
| Engineering | | |
| Purchasing | | |
| Manufacturing and quality | | |
If you can't name the people, that's your first action.
Step 3 · KPIs: pick three to start
| ✓ | KPI | How it's measured | Target | Owner | Now |
|---|
| ☐ | Funnel coverage | % of product cost being actively studied | 60% or more | | |
| ☐ | Cost visibility | % of the parts list with a should-cost | 80% or more | | |
| ☐ | Ideas implemented | % of approved ideas that reach production | | | |
| ☐ | Savings arriving | £ of checked savings in production each quarter | | | |
| ☐ | Average payback | One-time cost ÷ annual saving, in months | Under 12 | | |
| ☐ | Idea reuse | Ideas reused on other product lines | | | |
| | | | | |
Step 4 · The monthly review (30 minutes)
| Minutes | Item | Who |
|---|
| 0–5 | Savings confirmed at L4 since last month | Finance |
| 5–15 | Ideas that haven't moved since the last review: owner, blocker, new date | Programme lead |
| 15–25 | Decisions: approve, reject or ask for more on business cases at L2 | Value board |
| 25–30 | Actions, owners and dates | Programme lead |
Step 5 · The year
| When | What | Owner |
|---|
| Every month | Funnel review (above) | |
| Every quarter (months 3, 6, 9, 12) | Choose the next products to study and the next teardowns | |
| Every year | Value plan for each product line, linked to its margin plan; an internal value day | |
| Training | Who is trained, to what level, by when | |
What to expect (Module 12): a first proper round on a product nobody has studied usually finds 8–15% of product cost; an established programme keeps finding 3–5% a year. Worked example, year 2: funnel coverage 64%, cost visibility 83%, 41% of approved ideas implemented, £1.9M of checked savings a quarter, average payback 8.2 months.