SPONSORED ROUNDTABLE | VALUE ENGINEERING New competency regulations will present some serious challenges and implications for anyone wanting to value engineer a project Hywel Davies, CIBSE I sometimes feel we [architect, structural engineer and MEP] work in silos when we go through the value engineering process, said Varia. But when we have a collaborative approach, thats when we get the most significant value engineering opportunities. Were having more grown-up conversations with contractors, as they have a lot of knowledge on products, buildability and prefabrication. Given that were getting tender returns at 20% higher than the cost plan because of inflationary pressures, projects will stop unless we find a suitable compromise with contractors on the budget. Santos enthusiastically agreed. As designers, we need to understand that the contractors role is difficult and they work to very tight programmes, she said. They also work with designs that are not good, and sometimes they need to make changes, which are not always bad. Legislation requires us to build bridges across the different disciplines and we are changing, as designers, in the way we look at this communication. Given that sustainability, energy savings, embodied carbon and operational carbon are all in the spotlight, said Santos, these aspects remind engineers that they must design differently. Clients are aware of this, and contractors are being forced to see this, to ensure the project meets the clients expectations. Santos recently completed a refurbishment project that, she said, was very successful mainly because everyones different points of view were respected. There was a desire to do better, and good communication between the multidisciplinary teams was key to its success. Warne is very supportive of this approach. Without doubt, good results come from collaborative teamwork, he said. We need to stop building boundaries and say that were all part of one team. We must value engineer, not cost cut, and value engineer at an early stage. Wellinformed clients make this process easier, but competent designers should take the lead. Warne, however, argued that we face a significant challenge to comply with the Building Safety Act, which requires competent people. Because of the massive skills gap across every stage of the construction Every single project that Im involved with is about cost. Its never about a suitable alternative Malcolm Atherton, Water Consultants industry, he said, there arent enough skilled people to do the construction work over the next 30 years. He suggested that modern methods of construction and innovation could be employed to look at how to de-skill processes. But Atherton is concerned: The real danger is that, if you go too far de-skilling something, the person physically doing the process wont fully understand what it is they are doing and the importance of what they are doing. Warne agreed about the risk, but argued that the industry needs to find the answer, given the shortage of As a conglomerate of manufacturers, were having conversations about making sure our products meet standards and that, when any of the products are specified, they meet the building requirements Antony Corbett, Geberit 30 July 2023 www.cibsejournal.com