Value engineering support & priced alternates
Priced alternates for the decisions clients actually ask about, costed side by side inside the same workbook.
What value engineering covers
Value engineering conversations stall when nobody has numbers attached to the options. Alternates are measured and priced against the base scheme so the trade-off is visible: what the change saves, what it costs elsewhere, and what it does to the programme.
Options live in the same workbook as the base estimate, so switching between them is a selection rather than a rebuild, and the base number is never lost while the options are explored.
Turnaround
2–4 working days for a priced alternates package
Who it is for
Contractors, developers and design teams working a scheme back into budget.
Value engineering
- Side-by-side pricing of base scheme and alternates
- Cost impact of specification and system substitutions
- Phasing and sequencing options priced
- Knock-on effects on other divisions identified
- Programme implications noted where they are material
The deliverable.
Consistent whatever the engagement, so it drops into how you already work.
Alternates comparison inside the estimate workbook
Summary of savings and knock-on costs per option
Common value engineering mistakes
These are the errors that turn up most often when work of this kind is checked. None of them are exotic, and all of them are cheaper to find before the number goes out than after.
For a longer list with examples, read nine takeoff mistakes that only show up on bid day.
- A saving claimed in one division while the extra cost it creates in another goes unpriced
- The base estimate overwritten while options are explored, so there is nothing left to compare against
- Programme and sequence effects of a substitution ignored
Common questions on value engineering
Yes, though the comparison is cleaner if the base estimate is ours, because both sides then share a basis. If not, the basis we used for the alternates is stated so the two can be reconciled.
Work that usually sits alongside this
Most engagements combine more than one of these.
By trade, by sector, and further reading
Trades this applies to
- HVAC & mechanical estimating servicesDivision 23
- Roofing estimating & takeoff servicesDivision 07
- Flooring & tile estimating servicesDivision 09
Estimating by sector
- Residential construction estimatingHomes, villas & apartments
- Commercial construction estimatingOffices, retail & warehouses
- Industrial & process estimatingProcess, structural & plant MEP
- Civil & sitework estimatingLand clearing to final grade
Further reading
- Construction estimating methods comparedEstimating
- Reading an estimate you did not writeEstimating
Tell us what you need priced.
A fixed fee, a firm delivery date and a written scope statement, usually back the same working day.
Fixed project fees · Written scope before work starts · Unlimited revisions within scope