Description of a large strategic value engineering study for a shipping company with help of the Design for Value model.

摘要

Value Engineering often delivers remarkable results and food for thought. This article tells another remarkable story of a strategic value engineering study with four Ministries, a shipping company and matter experts. The study was designed and executed by Timme Hendriksen and the author of this article Hein de Jong. In this article, also the Design for Value? model is introduced and describes how the study is designed with elements of that model. The key success drivers for the study are generic and commonly known for successes of value engineering: sharing information, analysing functions, mutual understanding, group wise idea generation, iterative designing, and formulation of the next actions. The area of application and scale of this case are somewhat unusual: how can four ministries and a shipping company optimise the utilization of their 12 sea vessels and reduce that number? In the meanwhile, some reorganisations occur and needs are changing rapidly in the years to come (e.g. internet, international databases, GPS controlled vessels, drones). To start well, is was necessary to investigate the client's needs prior to the workshops, and to position the team within the organisation to get the necessary acceptance and support for the study and its outcomes. Therefore, this large and prolonged study is shaped with the Design for Value model, addressing topics insight, organisation, and design. It resulted in some well-prepared VE-workshops in which the fifty participants (from engine-driver to colonel) discovered how to reduce the number of ships while improving performance for their business and organisations. The solution is found in cooperation, clever planning, time sharing and multipurpose vessels, reducing the need with 5 (from 12 to 7) vessels in the coming years and insight in the fleet renewal strategy for the next 10 years.