Well, the holiday season is upon us. We have a
tradition in our family of hauling a Christmas tree
home and decorating it. As the ornaments are hung
on the tree, there are specific ones that must go on
the back—out of view! Why? Because they are, quite
frankly, ugly. We have a good laugh about them, and
everyone understands that what was cute in pre-
school is now gaudy or half-broken. Nonetheless,
they still go on the tree. In keeping with our family
tradition, this newsletter includes some ornaments
for your holiday tree. Since some of them
highlight “the ugly side of value engineering,” they
should probably go on the back of your tree.
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The Ugly Side of Value Engineering
Be Skeptical of Cost-Saving Promises
By Joel K. Sims, AIA
Value engineering is a common term in school design
and construction that has gained popularity through
the years as a way to save the owner (i.e., school
district) money while maintaining the overall quality
of a project. Telling the school board you are saving
the district money is a politically acceptable thing to
do. It is always met with positive feedback.
As I have talked with design professionals through
the years, the term value engineering tends to strike
a nerve. Some will say “value engineering is neither,”
meaning, of course, that it does not create value
and it is not engineering. But perhaps the term is
appropriate since often “value” is “engineered” right
out of a project.
Cutting the cost of a project while maintaining the
overall quality sounds good in theory, but the reality
is often quite different. The value is often removed
from the project in an effort to save money. Why is
that? Perhaps the lure of saving money blinds one to
the full impact. In addition, the implications of value
engineering are not always fully understood. Cuts
made often impact the learning environment, staff,
and students in a negative way.
So, the next time you have an opportunity to reduce
the cost of your project, take into consideration the
following points.
1. Involve the Maintenance Staff
Yes, it
is difficult for people to work together when
their priorities seem to be polar opposites. An
architect is the champion of aesthetics; the business
manager is watching the cost; and the custodian
cares about maintaining the school. All their duties
and perspectives are equally important.
Decreasing or eliminating storage rooms is a common
ploy in saving money. It is senseless to cut critical
storage or custodial space and still expect the
custodial staff to perform well. Having the
maintenance staff involved in the design process
helps keep these spaces from being unfairly targeted
(if you listen to them).
When storage rooms get reduced and crowded,
ugliness occurs. Take a look at the ugly
side
2. Beware of Knights in Shining Armor
When someone, like a consultant, sells his services
by convincing a district that he can save them
money, it’s time to put on the “let’s be skeptical”
glasses and take a look at what is actually occurring.
The only way he can convince you that he has
performed heroically and is worthy of his fee, is to
actually reduce the cost.
There are two primary ways this is done to the
detriment of the project. First, eliminate “stuff” from
the project and/or reduce material quality. Second,
inflate the estimated construction cost and then
artificially reduce it. A little smoke and mirrors works
with a lot of clients. After all, it’s not how much you
spend as much as how much you save, right?
Eliminating brick on the exterior and using an inferior
product can save money, but it creates ongoing
repair issues. Take a look at the ugly side
3. Rely on the Architect
Recently, I was told by a superintendent that his
large high school project came in significantly over
budget. After much angst, the district elected to
retain the same architect to redesign and re-bid the
project. The administrators had considered firing the
architect and hiring another firm. He asked me if I
thought they made the right decision. Yes, I agreed
with their decision.
Although there are a number of reasons to always try
to work things out with your existing architect, one
very good reason is that he knows the building he
designed. Who better to change the creation than
the creator? The architect and consulting engineers
who designed your project are the first people you
should look to for assistance in reducing cost.
4. Evaluate Life Cycle Cost
Do you see a theme developing here? Save
some money now, and spend more money later. Life
cycle cost analysis looks at the short-term and long-
term costs. If you pay twice as much for a product,
but it lasts three times longer than another product,
it will have a lower cost over the long run.
John Ruskin once said, “It is unwise to pay too
much,
but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too
much, you lose a little money— that is all. When you
pay too little, you sometimes lose everything
because the thing you bought was incapable of doing
the work it was bought to do.” This is a very
insightful from a guy who lived in the 1800s!
The attached chart compares types of toilet
partitions, showing two different sides of selecting
partitions, and one is ugly. Take a look
Eliminating ceramic tile in a toilet room can save
a
little money but create more maintenance issues.
The ugly side can become apparent rather quickly. Take a look at the ugly
side
5. Make Decisions Early in the
Process
Making informed decisions early in
the design process
can help save significant money. Carefully reviewing
overall school size and total building systems
produces impressive savings. Making cost-cutting
decisions late in the process often negates the
reason for including the feature in the first place.
Deciding on what alternates to price at bid time
should also be done sooner rather than later.
Making decisions like specifying non-electric
partitions is definitely something that appears on the “ugly side” of value
engineering.
6. Ask the Question: Can It Be Added Later?
Some of the wise decisions regarding cost
reduction
are when things that can be easily added later are
eliminated. If you make a classroom too small, it will
never become larger, at least not for another 50
years. Eliminating cabinetry (or casework) is
sometimes a good decision but, depending on your
specific district, you may never see the additional
casework in your lifetime. So, along with asking if it
can be added or changed later, ask “what is the
likelihood that we will actually get it later?”
Making compact parking spaces is a nice idea but...
well, you’ll understand when you see the photo. Re-
striping a parking lot, if needed, is a low-cost item. The ugly side
If your school will be less safe if you institute some
value engineering recommendations, will you move
forward with them? I recently saw recommendations
to reduce costs at an actual school that were
provided by a consultant to the district.
Recommendations included eliminating glass panels
next to classroom doors and eliminating windows at
the courtyard. These strategies go squarely against
the solutions we outlined in our October newsletter
on Safer School Design. Reducing the cost of a
building, and making it less safe in the process, is
perhaps the ugliest side to value engineering.
While there are certainly appropriate ways to reduce
the cost of a school project, many times the
decisions made end up harming the project. Maybe
we should think of a better name for the process.
Maybe we should just come to grips with the fact
that there are two sides to value engineering—and
one side is really ugly.
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OUT OF SITE!
How Much Land is Needed for a New School?
By Joel K. Sims, AIA
You’re ready to build a new school, whether it’s
replacing an existing facility or accommodating
district growth. One of the first steps in planning a
new school is acquiring a site that is both large
enough for the building, parking, playgrounds/athletic
fields, etc., and is a suitable location for housing a
school.
Site Size
Many states have guidelines for site size. The
guidelines include using a formula to calculate site
size, and that formula consists of a base acreage
amount plus additional acreage based on the school's
capacity.
Minnesota appears to have one of the largest
requirements. For a 500-student elementary school,
the state recommends 15 to 20 acres. For a 1,500-
student high school, 45 to 55 acres are preferred.
Guidelines aside, when it comes to determining how
much land you need, there are a number of questions
that must be asked, including the following.
1. How many students will be housed in the school?
2. What grades are planned for the school?
3. How many athletic fields are needed for the
school?
4. What is the potential for future expansion?
Site Location
Although site size is an important factor, location
may be an even more critical factor. And there are a
number of items to consider when determining if a
site is a suitable location for a school.
1. Usable acreage:
A site that has mine
subsidence,
steep terrain or wetlands needs to be larger than one
that does not, so that the overall usable acreage is
adequate. Quality must be considered along with
quantity.
2. More is better:
Since the production
of land was
halted years ago, it is better to have extra land than
not enough. When—not if—the school expands, there
needs to be room to not only expand the building but
also adequate parking, storm water detention, play
fields and other amenities.
3. Cost:
The cost of land is only a small
part of the
total site cost. The cost for infrastructure (utilities,
access road, traffic lights, on-site sewer, etc.)
should be carefully considered in the site
evaluations.
4. Community use:
Many districts are
adding play
fields that can be used by the community. In some
cases, this can double the number of acres needed
for a school.
If you are embarking on a new school construction
project, your design professional can assist in the
site selection and evaluation process. A careful
review of site features and costs ensures that the
school district makes an informed decision.
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DESIGNER PRODUCTS
On a final note, we have a few products highlighted
in this month’s newsletter. Whether it is classroom
furniture, toilet partitions, or security enhancements,
the key to any successful project is specifying high-
quality products. At Schooldesigner.com, we are
selective about the products we choose to feature.
All of our product sponsors are committed to the K-
12 educational market, and we are thankful to their
support in helping promote quality school design
around the world.
Happy Holidays,
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