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THE NEWSLETTER FOR SAVE INTERNATIONAL ® VOLUME 38 | NUMBER 3 | MARCH 2014 InterActions Adding Value Enhancing Ideas 7 Ways to boost your EQ— Putting your emotional intelligence to work By Casey Mulqueen, Ph.D., Director of Research & Product Development , the TRACOM Group Editor’s Note: It’s no surprise that facilitating a value study team can be an exercise likened to herding cats. How you handle the disparate personalities and egos comprising the value study team can affect value study outcomes and influence whether the client—and team members— recall the experience as something positive that they want to repeat. This article offers some valuable tips on controlling behavior and your responses so you can improve your facilitation skills. While emotional intelligence addresses how we perceive and understand our own emotions and the emotions of others, Behavior EQ is the evolution of that awareness; it is our ability to use EQ to manage personal behavior and relationships. BEQ skills are objective, measurable benefits associated with increased sales, be�er recruiting, effec- tive leadership and customer service. The good news is that BEQ skills can be learned, and in fact, by focusing first on BEQ, our EQ will subsequently increase as a result. Below are some actionable items you can do to immediately improve you interactions at work (your BEQ). 1. Control your behavior by understanding your emotions. Learn and understand your emotional triggers—the things that result in losing behavioral control. This is invaluable for understanding the situations and emotions that you experi- ence just prior to losing control of your behavior. Understanding emotions is important for learning how to manage your behavior. 2. Mentally rehearse common situations that set off your emotional triggers. Research shows that when you mentally rehearse scenarios, you are activating the Continued on page 3

Transcript of Enhancing Ideas InterActions - c.ymcdn.com · Enhancing Ideas 7 Ways to boost your EQ ... valuable...

THE NEWSLETTER FOR SAVE INTERNATIONAL®

VOLUME 38 | NUMBER 3 | MARCH 2014Inte

rAct

ions

Adding ValueEnhancing Ideas

7 Ways to boost your EQ—Putting your emotional intelligence to workBy Casey Mulqueen, Ph.D., Director of Research & Product Development , the TRACOM Group

Editor’s Note: It’s no surprise that facilitating a value study team can be an exercise likened to herding cats. How you handle the disparate personalities and egos comprising the value study team can aff ect value study outcomes and infl uence whether the client—and team members—recall the experience as something positive that they want to repeat. This article off ers some valuable tips on controlling behavior and your responses so you can improve your facilitation skills.

While emotional intelligence addresses how we perceive and understand our own emotions and the emotions of others, Behavior EQ is the evolution of that awareness; it is our ability to use EQ to manage personal behavior and relationships. BEQ skills are objective, measurable benefi ts associated with increased sales, be� er recruiting, eff ec-tive leadership and customer service.

The good news is that BEQ skills can be learned, and in fact, by focusing fi rst on BEQ, our EQ will subsequently increase as a result. Below are some actionable items you can do to immediately improve you interactions at work (your BEQ).

1. Control your behavior by understanding your emotions. Learn and understand your emotional triggers—the things that result in losing behavioral control.

This is invaluable for understanding the situations and emotions that you experi-ence just prior to losing control of your behavior. Understanding emotions is important for learning how to manage your behavior.

2. Mentally rehearse common situations that set off your emotional triggers. Research shows that when you mentally rehearse scenarios, you are activating the

Continued on page 3

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

In this issue:1 Feature Article

7 ways to boost your EQ—Putting your emotional intelligence to

work 14 Summit Summary

Alfred Benesch & Company hosts benchmark post-event fi eld trip 4

Register for pre-conference workshops 4

5 Certifi cation CornerCourse application requirements

clarifi ed 5Newly certifi ed 6

7 Society NewsStrategy for association growth

evolves 7President’s message 8

9 Member NewsNew members 9

VE job opportunities 1012 MVF News

What is happening at the MVF 12Legacy concept 13

16 VM News & EventsVM travels to Spain

Publisher InformationVP-Marketing & Communication

Robert B. Stewart, CVS©-Life, PMP, FSAVE

EditorRichard D. Lambert, PE, CVS©

Staff WriterKaren M. Smith

InterActions is the offi cial member newsle� er of SAVE International and published by SAVE International on a monthly basis. The newsle� er is distributed electronically to all members and is available for download from the members-only resources located on SAVE International’s web site (www.value-eng.org).

InterActions seeks articles related to value engineering, society and chapter activities and programs, and member updates. Article content may be taken from questions and messages posted to the society business offi ce, SAVE’s Yahoo discussion group, or SAVE Facebook page.

To place an article in InterActions, send your name, contact information, article content, and any graphics electronically to [email protected]. A� ach graphic fi les separately from the article content.

InterActions is distributed electronically and may be downloaded from the members’ only area SAVE Web site. No part of InterActions may be reproduced without wri� en consent of the publisher and proper credit given to SAVE International and, if available, the author.

For more information, contact:

SAVE International®

136 South Keowee StreetDayton, OH 45402 USA

T 937.224.7283 | F 937.222.5794www.enhancingideas.com

Advertising RatesInterActions accepts advertisements. Rates are as fol-

lows and are applied on a per-issue basis.

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

same neural circuitry that is activated when you are actu-ally in the scenario. Instead of responding the way you typically have in the past, imagine yourself acting in a more productive way. Develop a mental “movie” of your-self and clearly imagine yourself behaving in the ways you want. This will help prepare you for when these situations actually occur. You will have a script to follow.

3. Force your brain into action by solving a problem. Actively distracting yourself is an eff ective way to main-tain self-control. If you are suddenly in a situation where you are feeling anger or frustration, for instance, shift your focus from the other person or situation to a mental problem. Make the problem challenging. For example, work out the solution to 15 x 18. This will force your brain to focus on the math problem and away from the stressful situation. The old adage that you should count to ten is not eff ective. The reason is that it is too easy and, therefore, does not actively engage the brain. Distracting yourself with a diffi cult problem is an eff ective strategy for avoid-ing an emotional reaction. It is not important to solve the problem correctly.

The point is to engage the brain region that solves problems, thereby preventing the emotional center of your brain from fl ooding the bloodstream with adrenalin and other stress hormones that cause strong emotional reac-tions.

4. Engage in healthy escapism. If it is too hard to fi nd a mental problem to solve, another form of distraction is to actively let your a� ention shift to a pleasant memory. You can sing a song in your mind, think of your favorite place or activity, a funny TV show, whatever works best for you. Similar to solving a problem, this will engage your mind and prevent the amygdala from taking control and causing a strong emotional reaction.

Think of this as a healthy form of mental escapism.5. When it comes to email, the “send” bu� on is not

your friend. Ask a friend or trusted colleague to review questionable emails before you send them. Research shows that as many as one-half of all emails are misinterpreted by the recipient. If you think something sounds neutral, it might be interpreted as off ensive or rude. Carefully consider your message and the recipients. What type of people are they? What are their behavioral styles? How are they likely to interpret your email? In what ways could your message be misinterpreted? Just as important, if you are feeling angry or frustrated when writing the email, this is a red fl ag. It is too easy to hit the “send” bu� on, so develop a habit to always wait at least 30 minutes before sending an email when you are feeling emotional.

6. Walk away from tense situations. If you are in an emotionally heated conversation or situation, say, “I need time to think about this before I respond,” or some other

appropriate response that allows you to leave the situ-ation. Not everything has to be dealt with immediately, especially if tempers are high. Separate yourself from the situation. Allow adequate time to pass so you, and the oth-er person, can calm down. When feeling more controlled, you can then respond to the person. Remember that in these situations the amygdala is in control of your mind. It takes time to calm down and for your prefrontal cortex to resume control of your thoughts and actions. Leaving the situation is not escapism; it is a healthy and productive action that will result in a be� er outcome.

7. Make a conscious decision to speak clearly and with decorum whenever you are in an emotionally charged situation. This is an eff ective strategy for avoiding the urge to blow up and lose control. Think of the lan-guage you will use; make sure it is respectful and calmly delivered. Like all habits, practice will enhance your eff ec-tiveness and it will become more natural over time. If you know that you will be in an emotional discussion, rehearse ahead of time. Determine exactly what you will you say and the language you will use.

These tips are excerpted from TRACOM’s white paper, “Behavioral EQ: Pu� ing Emotional Intelligence to Work.”

Feature article continued from page 1

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

summit summary

Register for pre-conference workshops

Alfred Benesch & Company hosts post-event benchmark fi eld tripBy Jessica Chapman, Conference Manager

SAVE International® is excited to announce that the 2014 Value Summit’s benchmark fi eld trip will take at-tendees on a tour of Alfred Benesch & Company. The tour will be a wonderful opportunity to get an inside view of a company that is a pioneer in value engineering.

Led by Muthiah Kasi, PE, SE, CVS®-Life, Chairman Emeritus. the benchmark fi eld trip will also feature presentations by Michael N. Goodkind, Ph.D., PE, SE, CVS®, Project Principal, and James H. Canham, PE, CVS®, Michigan Division Manager, Senior Vice President.

Since its founding in 1946, Alfred Benesch & Company has specialized in providing civil, structural, environ-mental and geotechnical engineering services to clients in transportation and infrastructure development.

A pioneer in value engineering, Benesch has made great strides in the advancement of value planning, value analysis and life cycle cost analysis.

Benesch applies VE to all types of project and at all phases of the project. Benesch was the fi rst consulting engineer-ing fi rm to receive the SAVE International® Excellence in Value Engineering Award in 1989, recognizing 10 years of outstanding contributions to the practice of VE.

Today, Benesch has more than three decades of experi-ence providing VE studies to clients and has built a staff rich in experience and education. They have 126 employ-ees who are trained in SAVE-approved Module I work-shops, as well as three CVS®-certifi ed professionals and 22 AVS-certifi ed engineers, in 23 locations across 14 states.

Learn more about how Benesch is advancing VE by adding the benchmark fi eld trip to your Summit regis-tration. The tour will take place on the last day of the Summit, Thursday, June 26, at 11:30 a.m. The cost to a� end is $35 and will include lunch. There is a maximum capac-

ity of 50 people, so register today before it is too late.

The URL for conference registrations is h� p://www.value-eng-conference.org/.

The SAVE Value Summit website now lists and describes the pre-conference events scheduled for 2014. As customary, both Module I and Module II certifi cation training courses will be held; however, the Module I will run concurrently with the conference program. Here’s the roster of pre-conference courses:

Module I Basic Certifi cation Training Workshop (June 21-25) taught by Anna M. Bremmer, CVS, LEED AP and Ginger Adams, IAF-CPF, CVS-Life, FSAVE.Module II Advanced Certifi cation Training Seminar (June 21-23) taught by Laurie Dennis, PE, CVS-Life, LEED AP and Renee Hoekstra, CVSEnhanced Brainstorming Using TRIZ (June 22-23)

taught by John Borza, PE, AVS, TRIZ MBBRisk Management for Value Practitioners (June 23) taught by Gregory Brink, CVS, PMI-RMP, PMP, CCE/AIf the Shoe Fits—Matching the VE Tool to the Needs of Your VE Event (June 23) taught by Joseph F Otero, CVS-Life, FSAVEDFMA and Manufacturing Profi tability (June 23, afternoon) taught by Chris TsaiFor full course descriptions and registration informa-

tion, go to the conference website: h� p://www.value-eng-conference.org/.

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

certifi cation cornerCourse application requirements clarifi edBy Greg Andrysiak, CVS®

The Certifi cation Board’s workshop review commi� ee has been working diligently to process a backlog of Module I and Module II course applications. Much of the delay can be a� ributed to ap-plicant confusion as to submi� al requirements and the disorganized quality of workshop and seminar applica-tions received. With this article, the SAVE Certifi cation Board is issuing a clarifi cation of expectations regarding the submi� al of Module I and Module II course applica-tions.

All applications are approved or disapproved only af-ter payment is received and all documents are submi� ed. When payment is received, all course applications then go through an initial review performed by the Certifi cation Board Executive Director. That review insures all required parts are present, organized, and in the proper format.

The course application must contain the following for Modules I and II:

WS-1 applicationWS-2 agenda for Module I or WS-3 agenda for Module IIWS-4 for the course syllabusCopy of the principal workbook or textbook in English. (This requirement may be waived if the book is a text previously published by the Miles Value Foundation.)Presentation slidesLists of videos, supplementary texts, and other train-ing aids being usedSample copy of the certifi cate of completion that

includes the information required in Section II, Guidelines.

All parts of the application must be submi� ed in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) fi le format. The PDF docu-ments can be com-pressed into a ZIP fi le. The total document(s) submi� ed may not exceed 10MB and must be submi� ed via the on-line application on the SAVE website. Only af-ter payment is processed and the Certifi cation Board’s Executive

Director has determined that the application package is complete, will the application be moved to the commi� ee to review. Under normal circumstances, the applicant will be notifi ed within 30 days after the commi� ee commences review as to whether the application is approved or not.

Incomplete applications either lacking payment or parts will not be reviewed. Such applicants will be noti-fi ed via email that their applications are incomplete and off ered an opportunity to provide the missing information. If SAVE does not receive the requested information within 60 days, the application will be dismissed. Only complete applications are accepted for review.

For complete course requirements, see the Workshops & Seminars Manual, which can be downloaded from the SAVE website.

It is important to remember that the SAVE Certifi cation Board does not renew course approvals. Instructors who already have approved courses and who wish to continue teaching approved certifi cation training courses must submit new and complete course application packages. The requirement ensures that instructors update their materials in accordance with evolving SAVE certifi ca-tion program standards.

Module I workshop taught by Jeff Rude, CVS, at 2013 SAVE Value Summit, Arlington, VA.

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

Newly certifi edThe following individuals were

certifi ed in the month of February. Certifi ed Value Specialist® and CVS® are registered trademarks of SAVE International® and may only be used by those individuals who have been approved by SAVE.

Canada David Hartman, AVSJesse Kostelyk, AVSJohn Moylan, AVSGary Schul� , AVS

Egypt Ehab Abdel Monem Rashad

Ahmed, AVSAhmed Kotb Mohamed Nassar,

AVSBabu Arumugam, AVS

India Benson Babu, AVSPrashant S. Biraris, AVSRaghuram Rao Danavandi, AVSDevaraja Doddahanumaiah, AVSRajthilak Durairaj, AVSMohan Kumar Pu� e Gowde, AVSPrashanth H. R., AVSJayant Karambelkar, AVSTushar Kulkarni, AVSManohara Kumar, AVSMurali M. P., AVSVirendra Nikam, AVSKamaraju Badavanahalli

Ranganath, AVSChandrashekharaiah S. G., AVSSomashekara Shivanna, AVSGirish Sonawane, AVS

Norway Nils Olav Huseby, AVSGadaria Dharmesh Kumar

Pratapsinh, AVS

Saudi Arabia Albaraa A. Abaalkhail, AVSEsam Minaji Al Hamzi, AVSSuliman A. Al-Asiri, AVS

Mohammad A. Al-Manea, AVSKhalid S. Al-Obodi, AVSAbdullah M. Al-Qarni, AVSAl Amer B. Hasan, AVS

Spain Fernando Bardon Herrera, AVSIvan Ricardo Bethencourt

Castillo, AVSMarta Bielza, AVSPedro Pablo Cano Blanco, AVSArthur Denis, AVSIgnacio Martin Gutierrez, AVSMaria Isabel Mancebo, AVSFrancisco Martin Estruch, AVSMaria Gabriela Moreno Delgado,

AVSCarlos Mourelo Llorente, AVSYago Mourelo Novo, AVS

Is your AVS due for recertifi cation?If you were certifi ed as an Associate Value Specialist in 2010, then you are due for recertifi cation in 2014. Your recertifi cation deadline is the last day of the month your certifi cate was issued.

SAVE will no longer accept payment of annual maintenance fees to keep those AVS certifi cates in good standing.

To recertify, submit in PDF format a completed AVS recertifi cation application and AVS recertifi cation summary worksheet. Both can be downloaded from the SAVE website (www.value-eng.org) and submitted online. Be sure that any delinquent maintenance fees are paid. The AVS recertifi cation application fee is $240 for SAVE members and $720 for non-members.

The Certifi cation Board will not review incomplete or unpaid applications.

For more information on SAVE’s AVS recertifi cation policy, go to http://www.value-eng.org/education_certifi cation.php#avs_recert. AVS recertifi cation criteria can be found in the certifi cation manual, which can be downloaded here: http://www.value-eng.org/pdf_docs/certifi cation/certifi cation_manual.pdf.

Miguel Angel Redondo Allue, AVS

Alvaro Rivas Fernandiz, AVS

Sweden Sven Pe� ersson, AVS

United Kingdom Catherine Messenger, AVSWilliam Rowell, AVS

United States of America Karl Connolly, AVSLuke James Durand, AVSDonald Lee Greenfi eld, AVSBarbara C. Hummell, AVSKevin Wayne Stewart, AVS

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

society newsStrategy for association growth evolvesBy Karen M. Smith, Staff Writer

The strategy meeting held by the SAVE Board of Directors in January resulted in articulation of mission and vision for the association. Board members expanded SAVE’s mission to:

To promote the benefi ts of adopting value improvement methods as a business process to individuals and organizations who might use Value Methodology and value enhancement methods.

To establish standards and meth-ods for the application of Value Methodology.

To train individuals in the use of the Value Methodology and value enhancing methods.

To certify individuals who demonstrate the requisite knowledge and experience in the application and use of the Value Methodology and other value enhancing tools.

To provide an organizational structure where practi-tioners are recognized for the Value Methodology and can openly discuss, share and debate issues.

Advocate the Value Methodology for its members.

Board members participated in an exercise to envision what a successful association would look like in 10 years. The summarized ideas highlighted expanding SAVE’s fo-cus to value enhancing methodologies to incorporate other techniques and tools, exponential membership growth, dramatically enhanced technological capabilities, strong infl uence with standards se� ing organizations, improv-ing the quality of certifi ed professionals, and employing a large, multilingual staff to manage it all. The basis of thevision is a goal to stimulate clients’ greater demand for value engineering which would then drive increased membership and certifi cation.

After discussing such lofty goals, board members buckled down to fi gure out how SAVE was going to

achieve them. They drafted action plans to address specifi c aspects of SAVE’s busi-ness.

A key focus of SAVE is its relation-ships with affi liated organizations. A sub-group comprised of Renee Hoekstra, John Sloggy, Drew Algase, Mary Ann Lewis, and Jim Bolton focused their discussion on growth in membership, alliances, chap-ter structure, and affi liate relationships. They set a goal to have a new affi liate policy and affi liate agreements in place and operating by June 2015. The new agreements would be� er align revenue with the value affi liate receive through their association with SAVE while still maintaining good relationships with those organizations.

Steve Kirk, Tom Wiggins, and Rick Johnson formed a subgroup to discuss the improvement of knowledge delivery systems. The discussion included a focus on e-learning, expansion of SAVE’s social media presence, and development of mobile applications.

Jeff Plant, Mary Ann Lewis, and Drew Algase focused on SAVE business strategy, which entailed protecting the SAVE brand, revenue generation, and association gover-nance. Included in those topics were tasks such as clearly defi ning board roles and responsibilities, streamlining governing documents, reviewing and assessing fi nances, and increasing revenue from multiple sources.

Rob Stewart and John Sloggy centered their discus-sion upon SAVE’s communication vehicles, primarily InterActions and Value World. They discussed how to increase readership and advertisement-driven revenue as well as improving the quality of the content. They broached the idea of producing a marketing-oriented jour-nal for perusal by clients/owners.

Board members were tasked with formulating post-meeting action plans, which would then be circulated among the board members for feedback.

Of necessity, executing the action plans will take years rather than months to accomplish—and the goals may even change in the meantime. Board members reaffi rmed their commitment to making SAVE a stronger, more vi-able, more relevant organization.

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

President’s messageBy James D. Bolton, PE, CVS®-Life, PVM, FSAVE

This month I would like to focus on two major items: the status of our Summit in Chicago from June 23-26 and the au-dit that was just completed in February with an independent certifi ed public accounting fi rm

reviewing our fi nancial records.First, I am really excited about our upcoming 53rd an-

nual Value Summit in Oak Brook, IL, a suburb of Chicago just on the west side. We have lined up, I believe, the best keynote speakers that we have a� racted in many recent years. You won’t want to miss any of them this year, so please plan to stay for the complete Summit. Our fi rst keynote speaker to kick us off on Tuesday, June 24, will be the well known author and keynote speaker, Roger Schwarz. He is a recognized thought leader and organi-zational psychologist and is president and CEO of Roger Schwarz Associates. He has been a sought-after advisor to many global companies, federal agencies, and non-profi t organizations. Some of his clients include American Airlines, American Red Cross, TransCanada, Chevron, and the US Department of the Interior. Roger is the author of Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams, How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results, The Skilled Facilitator, and co-author of The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook. In addition, his seminal works on mutual learning are widely used in business and graduate degree programs. Roger holds a Ph.D. in organi-zational psychology from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Education degree from Harvard University.

Our second keynote speaker on Wednesday, June 25, is Rakesh Shreewastav, P.Eng., AVS, FEC, who cur-rently works for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group (Windsor BIIG) and who also serves as a value engineer-ing coordinator for the branch. Previously, he worked for MTO’s Northeastern Region, Ontario Power Generation, and for multidisciplinary engineering companies and gov-ernment sectors in Russia and Nepal. Rakesh will share the tales and adventurous stories of his trip to Mt. Everest Base Camp. He will share what successes he experienced, what unique challenges he faced, and what valuable les-sons he learned. Rakesh is a member of the board of direc-tors of the Canadian Society of Value Analysis (CSVA) and serves as the membership director of the Greater Michigan Chapter of SAVE International. Rakesh also serves on the boards of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and Engineers Canada. Rakesh holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Moscow State University. I have per-sonally had the opportunity to experience his trip to Mt. Everest Base Camp at a previous presentation to SAVE’s

Greater Michigan Chapter. You won’t want to miss the chance to meet Rakesh, ask questions, and share in this unique presentation.

Finally, on Thursday, June 26, David (Dave) T. Szczupak, the executive vice president of the Global Product Organization at Whirlpool Corporation (the largest appliance manufacturer in the world) will speak on how the Value Methodology has globally impacted Whirlpool and how it has been embedded within the Lean Product Development process. Dave provides overall lead-ership for the company’s product businesses and strategic sourcing. He joined Whirlpool in July 2008; however, prior to joining the company, Szczupak served as chief operat-ing offi cer of Dura Automotive Systems in Rochester Hills, MI, a $2 billion international automotive supplier. While at Dura, he provided strategic direction for product develop-ment, purchasing, manufacturing and product quality. Before joining Dura in 2006, he worked for Ford Motor Company for 22 years, where he held a variety of leader-ship roles. While at Ford, Szczupak led a transformation of Ford’s automatic transmissions to world class status and a rationalization eff ort for Ford’s global engine and transmission lineups. He also spearheaded an initiative to improve quality, achieving a 22 percent improvement in overall quality metrics while driving lean world-class competitiveness. Szczupak also worked for Jaguar Cars for fi ve years before it was acquired by Ford in 1990. Szczupak has a master’s degree in automotive engineering from Cranfi eld University in the United Kingdom. You will not want to miss this closing keynote speech and learn how the power of the Value Methodology can change the cul-ture of a company.

In addition to some great keynote speakers, SAVE has also a� racted some generous sponsorships for this year’s Summit, with the host Chicago Metropolitan Chapter be-coming a platinum sponsor, the Greater Michigan Chapter becoming gold sponsor, Boothroyd & Dewhurst Inc. becoming a silver sponsor, and both Muthiah Kasi and Jim Bolton becoming bronze sponsors this year. There is still room for a few more sponsors, one at the platinum level, two at the gold level, and four more at the silver level. There is no limit on the bronze sponsorships; however, once these other sponsorship opportunities are spoken for there will be no additional sponsorships at these levels off ered, so secure them while there are still a few left. In addition, amenity sponsors for the badge lanyards have been claimed by PMA Consultants, LLC and the summit bags have been claimed by RHA, LLC. At this point, the proceedings CD amenity sponsorship is still open.

We have also planned an exciting post-event VE benchmarking trip to the downtown Chicago headquar-ters of Alfred Benesch & Company, an organization which

Continued on page 11

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

member newsNew members

The following individuals joined SAVE International® in the month of February.

Brazil Marcelo da Fonseca Bueno

Canada David Hartman, AVSGary Schul� , AVS

Egypt Ehab Abdel Monem Rashad Ahmed, AVSMoihamed Hossam Elbahrawy, S. SAVE Intl.Vivian Youssef Mansour Ahmed Kotb Mohamed Nassar, AVSKhaled Mohamed Nassar Zakaria

France Denis Messmer

Hong Kong Wei Liu, S. SAVE Intl.Peng Peng, S. SAVE Intl.Zhao Peng, S. SAVE Intl.Zhanbin Shi, S. SAVE Intl.Dengcheng Xi, S. SAVE Intl.Dingcheng Xi, S. SAVE Intl.Da Zhou, S. SAVE Intl.Zejun Zhou, S. SAVE Intl.Xindong Zhuo, S. SAVE Intl.

India Srijan Manish, S. SAVE Intl.

Mexico Eduardo Aguilar, S. SAVE Intl.Marcela Ayon Redon, S. SAVE Intl.Adela del Carmen Burgueno

James, S. SAVE Intl.Carlos Alberto Cazares Hernandez, S. SAVE Intl.Carlos Benito Chavez Tostado, S. SAVE Intl.Kenya Renee Corona Villarreal, S. SAVE Intl.Esteban Espinosa, S. SAVE Intl.Fernando Gomez Amezquita, S. SAVE Intl.Victor Hugo Gonzalez Montoya, S. SAVE Intl.Jesus Salvador Hernandez, S. SAVE Intl.Vania Guadalupe Javier Herandez, S. SAVE Intl.Hector Kelly, S. SAVE Intl.Maria Jose Marintez Vergara, S. SAVE Intl.Cesar Arnoldo Martin Marin, S. SAVE Intl.Paola Michelle Moreno Zambrano, S. SAVE Intl.Juan Francisco Mucino, S. SAVE Intl.Cristina Penunuri Garcia, S. SAVE Intl.Salvador Ramirez Martinez, S. SAVE Intl.Jose Miguel Ramirez Medina, S. SAVE Intl.Daniel Rivas Moreno, S. SAVE Intl.Sebastian Nicolas Rodriguez Romero, S. SAVE Intl.Brenda Maria Rojas Camacho, S. SAVE Intl.Alejandro Solorzano, S. SAVE Intl.Jose Eduardo Tamayo Pacheco, S. SAVE Intl.Santiago Villasenor Urrea S. SAVE Intl.

Norway Nils Olav Huseby, AVSGadaria Dharmesh Kumar Pratapsinh, AVSMuhammad Jawad Qasim, S.

SAVE Intl.

Qatar Abdulla Al-Baker

Saudi Arabia Albaraa A. Abaalkhail, AVSAhmed Abdul Muhimen Ali Abdul Aleem Esam Minaji Al Hamzi, AVSAbdullah Mohammed Al Jifre Abdulaziz Hamad Al Mutiri Muneer Al Shafai Suliman A. Al-Asiri, AVSAli A. Al-Dogaim Farhan W. F. Alenizi Saleem M. Algary Hisham Mohammed AlGhamdi Khaled Saeed Alghamdi Mohammad R. Alharbi Saleh Khalaf A. AlHarbi Waleed Mohammednoor S. Aljawi Mohammad M. Al-Lehyani Mohammad A. Al-Manea, AVSKhalid A. Al-Masoud Amro O. Al-Masri Ahmad M. Al-Mutairy Sunhat D. Al-Mutairy Abdul Aziz K. Al-Nahdi Eyad A. Al-Obaid Khalid S. Al-Obodi, AVSAmjad Ahmed Alofaysam Saleh Awad M. Alotaibi Abdulrahman S. Alqahtani Abdullah M. Al-Qarni, AVSBader M. Al-Quthami Faris A. Al-Rubiash Ismail S. Al-Sagabi Abdullah A. Al-Sallal Rajeh A. Alsenani Khalid M. Al-Tamimi Fares Hussain Hamad Alyami Yahya M. Al-Zahrani Ahmad M. Ashi Omar Baghlaf

Continued on page 11

10

Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

VE job opportunitiesAs a member benefi t, SAVE posts employment and

project opportunities in the members-only area of the website (h� p://www.value-eng.org/members_only/proj-ects_and_employment.php). Abbreviated announce-ments are published in InterActions. Persons interested in a posted opportunity should read the full job or project description on the SAVE website. Respond as instructed in the announcements; do not reply to SAVE.

PMSI, Alexandria, VAProject Management Services, Inc. (PMSI), a Michael

Baker International company, is seeking a senior level expert within the construction industry to provide value engineering and cost estimating services for a variety of domestic and international projects. The ideal candidate will be able to serve as both a senior value engineer and senior cost estimator per workload requirements. This position will work directly under the supervision of the director of operations and may require technical oversight of one to three estimators. PMSI requires that the success-ful candidate hold an active certifi cation as a Certifi ed Value Specialist®.

Roles & responsibilities:Organize, facilitate and lead value engineering work-shops, reports and presentations;Analyze various construction activities to provide cost estimates for a range of projects;Develop cost estimates encompassing all materials, equipment and labor costs;Prepare biddable amounts from quantity take-off s and quantify calculations;Provide pricing support for development of bids and proposals;Calculate staff and production levels required to sup-port project estimates;Review job order changes for cost eff ectiveness;Negotiate variations from estimate with technical team members; andTravel to nationwide job and client sites (international travel is not expected).

Corbus, Evendale, OHCorbus, a consulting company that provides services

to GE, is seeking a value engineering professional to work on site with GE in Evendale, Ohio.

The value engineering professional serves as a con-sultant for a world-leading provider of commercial and

military jet engines and components, as well as avionics, electric power, and mechanical systems. Duties include, but are not limited to:

Review of GE issued blue prints to establish a cost for the new product.Review of the issued GE drawing to develop a product “should cost” when moving hardware to a new sup-plier. For example: set up cost; process cost; mate-rial/special process cost; machine complete; bench; fpi; mark part; fi nal inspection. Resolve engineering issues.Resolve issues with the supplier concerning complex manufacturing, blue print or specifi cation problems.Provide technical assistance and data to substantiate Corbus supplier selection for placing new work.Review and approve newly issued GE drawings and sign off manufacturing prior to issuance. Other ad hoc duties or requirements as periodically defi ned or suggested by manager.

Rexnord Gear, Stuarts Draft, VAFounded in 1892, Rexnord is a $2 billion, multi-pla-

torm, diversifi ed global industrial company that off ers a broad array of trusted brands. The company’s Gear Group is a signifi cant business unit within the Power Transmission Segment, a highly respected, $1 billion-plus supplier of industrial bearings, couplings, gears, modular conveyor belting, industrial chain and conveyor systems through three product-based operating units.

Rexnord Gear is looking for a VAVE engineer at their plant in Stuarts Draft, VA. Key accountabilities of this posi-tion include working with internal and external teams to reduce cost of a product without negatively aff ecting the product or process performance. This position works with purchasing, R&D, engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing through new product design/ redesign, manag-ing product development projects, and competitor analy-sis.

The successful candidate will have:

Experience with design of machine elements, mecha-nisms, gear products or other similar power transmis-sion productsPrevious experience in project managementAbility to work in an interactive environmentStrong oral and wri� en communication skillsStrong organizational, analytical, and motivational skillsKnowledge and experience using modeling software.

11

Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

Al Amer B. Hasan, AVSIbrahim Omar Ibrahim Jizani Ayman Adham Khojah Mahmoud Taha Ali Sagr Abdullah M. Sokkar Rayan Swedan Ahmed Moh. Ali Yousef

Sweden Sven Pe� ersson, AVS

United Arab Emirates Jamal Abukou

United Kingdom Catherine Messenger, AVSWilliam Rowell, Ph.D., AVSMohamed Sayed, S. SAVE Intl.

United States of American Issam H. Algraiw, S. SAVE Intl.Lori Buffi ngton Danyal Ejaz, S. SAVE Intl.Pratima Gatehouse Donald Lee Greenfi eld, AVSBarbara C. Hummell, AVSThomas Kershaw Ph.D.Venkatasainavyateja Kurapati, S. SAVE Intl.Marie Paulimene Louis, S. SAVE Intl.Lorenzo Martinez, Jr. Javier Perez Kevin Wayne Stewart, AVSSuzanne Wood Alexi Zanders, S. SAVE Intl.

New members continued from page 9

specializes in providing civil, structural, environmental and geotechnical engineering services to various clients in transportation and infrastructure development. Their services range from initial planning and feasibility studies through to construction management. Benesch has been a pioneer in value engineering and has made great strides in the advancement of value planning, value analysis and life cycle cost analysis. Benesch applies VE to all types of projects and at all phases of the project. Benesch was the fi rst consulting engineering fi rm to receive the SAVE International Excellence in Value Engineering Award in 1989, recognizing ten years of outstanding contributions to the practice of VE.

Again, you won’t want to miss this VE benchmark-ing trip on Thursday afternoon, June 26, as it will be an exciting opportunity to see how VE is used in action on a variety of projects.

I hope by now you are as excited about this year’s Summit as I am and that you are planning not only to a� end for the full Summit, but also to bring your family to the exciting city of Chicago only 25 minutes away. We are also in the planning stages of a spousal program to the Millennium Mile shopping district on Michigan Avenue and the Navy Pier. Those plans will be announced in the next issue of InterActions.

Come to Chicago, bring your family, and enjoy one of the greatest large cities in the USA. My son-in-law completed his law degree in downtown Chicago at Northwestern University a few years ago, so I know the city well and have spent much time in Chicago. If you have any concerns, contact me. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Summit this year.

Finally, I would like to speak about the fi nancial audit which Jeff Plant, Drew Algase, and I conducted in February at our headquarters in Dayton, OH. The actual audit was conducted by Goldshot, Lamb & Hobbs, Inc., who are certifi ed public accountant that SAVE has retained to complete an audit which is usually done every three years. The exact words of the audit fi rm for the fi nancial year of November 1, 2012, to October 31, 2013, stated:

In our opinion, the fi nancial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the fi nancial position of SAVE International, Inc. as of October 31, 2013, and the chang-es in all net assets and its cash fl ows for the year then ended in accordance with accounting practices generally accepted in the United States of America.

With respect to the previous fi nancial year, the audit fi rm stated:

The October 31, 2012 fi nancial statements were reviewed by us, and our report thereon, dated February 1, 2013, stated that we were not aware of any material modifi cations that should be made to those statements for them to be in conformity with

accounting principles generally accepted in the United States if America. However, a review is substantially less in scope than an audit and does not provide a basis for the expression of an opinion on the fi nancial statements taken as a whole. In non-lawyer terms, this means that the audits have found no issues with the way SAVE handles its fi nancial records for the last couple of years. I would like to personally thank, Krista Saul, the CPA from AMC, for the great job she is doing to manage our fi nancial ma� ers. This was a great learning experience for me and the fi rst time I have had to actually visit the association’s headquarters.

President’s message continued from page 8

12

Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

mvf newsWhat is happening at the MVFBy Jim Rains, CVS®, FSAVE

As chairman of the Lawrence D. Miles Value Foundation (MVF), I thought it would be a great time to explain a li� le about the MVF and give everyone an update of activities and ongoing eff orts. First, I believe you need to know who volunteers their time and out-of-pocket expenses to come to board meetings to accomplish our goals and objectives.

They are:

James D. Bolton, CVS® (SAVE president must serve as an MVF board member)Peter C. Feldman, CVS®Richard A. Harrington, CVS®Mary S. HartStephen J. Kirk, CVS®, FSAVEBruce Lenzer, CVS®, FSAVEJay Mandelbaum D. Sc.Javier Masini, AVSDonald Parker, CVS®, FSAVERobert B. Stewart, CVS®, FSAVE, PMPJames R. Vickers, AVS

The MVF charter carries out the work started by Larry Miles. Larry had a goal to spread the Value Methodology around the world. Thus we “Advance the Value Methodology by Implementing Initiatives to: INNOVATE, EDUCATE AND ADVOCATE.”

Some of our key initiatives are:

Promote the proper education of the Value Methodology in colleges and universities,

Support SAVE in its eff ort to revise the ASTM Standard,

Support SAVE in the eff ort for the new A-131 Circular (U.S. government),

To develop a DVD of individuals who had real face-to-face interaction with Larry Miles in an eff ort to have an historical record of the development of the Value Methodology,

Where we can, support the expansion of the Value Methodology in India,

Maintain a Larry Miles/VM historical document center at the Wendt Library at the University of Wisconsin,

Convert hard copy books, to which that the MVF holds the publishing rights, to a digital format so that more people around the globe can gain access,

Maintain an annual presence at SAVE’s VE Summit with forum themes on “Educate and Innovate,”

Give monetary awards to people and chapters for eff orts to promote the advancement of the Value Methodology.

Keep the “Value Methodology” Goal/QCP book cur-rent. This book sells more copies than any other book on VM around the globe . This is especially necessary since SAVE International® has adopted this book to represent its body of knowledge.

The MVF is a non-profi t 501(c)3 organization, which means that donations from U.S. citizens are tax deduct-ible. The Foundation is guided by a board of directors who serve without compensation. Please support the Foundation through your fi nancial contributions.

The MVF Board has openings. If you have a desire to learn more about the MVF or see what it takes to be-come a member of the board, please email Jim Rains at [email protected]. If you do not desire to be a board member but feel a need to support any of our initia-tives, then we will take all helpers.

For more information, contact Jim Rains at [email protected].

MVF board members at 2013 SAVE Value Summit.

13

Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

Legacy concepts: Search out the best suppliers, sell them on the jobThis was wri� en by Larry Miles, circa 1950, and extracted from his Value Analysis Instructors Guide. Complements of the General Electric Company.

Person to contactOur assignment this morning is to fi nd the best sup-

pliers and sell them on the job. That’s the fi rst assignment. How shall we do it? First of all, use the best contact there is in the company. Maybe that contact is your boss, or the president. Maybe it’s Doc Baker, Bill Bryant, or maybe it’s somebody in the tool room. Secondly, make initial contact with the best source in that company. Don’t make it some-body who doesn’t draw any water, or someone who doesn’t know anything or who doesn’t carry any weight in the company. With General Electric it should very seldom be less than the president or the general manager or the sales manager. By gosh, let them know what we are after in here.

Top contact brings resultsMaybe you think that’s silly. How do you think it

would be if folks called on Cordiner when they wanted to sell General Electric. Well, you boys in purchasing in General Electric can answer that one. They do! Every week people come here sent by Mr. Cordiner. They call on him, if they’re smart, and say, “We want this General Electric business; we think we’re entitled to it because of so and so. How do we get it? Where do we go? Where do we sell it?” They come, and don’t you ever think they don’t get a� ention! Of course, anybody gets a� ention, but that fel-low really has something on his side when he walks in the door. That’s because he came through the right way. Let’s do the same thing.

Use our top men to make contactsThen, when we want to have the best contact in our

company start this with the best contact in theirs. Now, our job is to make sure that the best people work on our jobs all the time, that we don’t let them get pushed down to the bo� om of the pile where they’ve got their marginal fellow fi ddling his time on them.

Select the right supplierOK, let’s select the supplier. There is always a way to

fi nd the supplier you need. Always! What is it? Let’s think

about it. Look diff erent places. In the Erie Locomotive Department, one of the jobs covered by a trainee was the governor for the locomotive. On that was a very precise valve, about the size of a cigar, machined and ground all over. It costs $6.40 each—1,400 a year. Gee, is that a good supplier? Is that right? Can we do anything with it? I don’t know, but if we’re going to do a value analysis job we’ve got to be sure we’ve got the best purchasing there is, the best engineering, and the best manufactur-ing. How shall we go about this? Think, now think! Well, there’s Cleveland. You like to do business fairly close to home—Cleveland and Erie—90 miles apart. Cleveland is full of good manufacturing places—machine houses. But how can we pick one out? Well, think, what’s our contact in Cleveland? It is Frank Namick, Manager of Purchasing of the Lamp Department. We call Frank. “Frank, here’s a job. We need a thoroughly reliable supplier who can give us the best value. Whom do you suggest?” He said, “Larry, give me a li� le time to think.” He called back the next morning and gave us the names of two of them. So, we called the two. We invited them to Schenectady on two succeeding days. We had this job and several others to discuss with them.

Sell General ElectricNow, what do we do? First, to get good value you

have to sell, so the fi rst thing we have to do is sell General Electric. In this case we planned to put in about an hour selling General Electric. How do you do it? There are dif-

Continued on next page

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

Continued on next page

ferent ways. You get in the car and drive down around the turbine building or you drive out to the Knolls. It’s easy to sell General Electric in an hour. What do we do next? Invest an hour selling value analysis. What do we do there? We take them through our offi ce and show them the philosophy of value analysis—how we are trying to cut all unnecessary costs and how we try to get everybody in the country working who can really make a contribution. Gee, they buy it. They think that’s swell; they’re ge� ing on a winning team.

Sell the jobNext, sell the job. Here’s this governor that is part

of our “dieselization” program; this type of part that we think they can fi t into. This company is located nicely in relation to Erie. They have to produce every one in good condition. They must have it when we want it and they’ve got to have competitive costs. We think, maybe, they’re the ones that can give it. How long does it take? It may take half a day. We have to set aside a day for it. He goes back, and in this case quotes $4.60 instead of $6.40. In that small volume it makes $2,500 saving, and it’s pure gold. We’re not taking any chances. We pick good suppliers, tried and proved. Other jobs will be done the same way.

Automobile crank shaftHere’s a crank shaft used on our air conditioning

equipment. We’re paying $5.20 for it—$9,000 a year. How much is it worth? Where should we buy it? Well, let’s go on this mental hunt again. Who makes a lot of crank shafts? Where would be the place to buy it? Well, the automotive industry, probably. Millions of crank shafts are made in there. So we make inquiry of three places in the automotive industry. We fi nd a supplier’s name who does an outstanding job. He quotes a price of $2.28 each—a saving of $3.00 each or $27,000 a year. But that isn’t the whole story. The other story is that his shop and his busi-ness are all tuned to making crank shafts of castings, not forgings. Ours are made by forging. So in order to get this $27,000, the engineers have a re-evaluating job to do. So the suggestion sheet with the $27,000 name tag on it goes to the engineer and to the purchasing group. To the engi-neers is asked, “Can you do it?” In cases like this they say, “We can, but we always did make them out of cast iron. During the war we had to go to forgings because we sold some on shipboard.” So they made the change back, and engineering and purchasing picked up $27,000.

Automobile pulleyNow, every one of these projects starts with this same

orderly thinking. I don’t care what you want to buy, this same orderly thinking will take you through a chain that will get you to the right place. Here’s a pulley about 10 inches in diameter and a V-belt pulley costing 74¢. How would we go about trying something different on that? We certainly want to try the fellows who make the fabri-cated pulleys. Well, I spoke to the man who makes them the other day. Of course, you go to the man who makes automotive water pump pulleys too. It’s 63¢ instead of 74¢—$6,000 saving.

Check other purchasing agentsLet’s think a little more about some of these chan-

nels you go through to get the best suppliers. Some of you are purchasing people, and most of you are not. I’ll tell you something that’s true in most purchasing circles. Purchasing agents feel a very common problem, and they like to help each other. Many times in my purchasing experience have I called a purchasing agent in another company and said, “Here’s what I’m up against, and I need the answer by so and so. Can you help me?” It isn’t surprising for that fellow to make three or four calls on me and we gel something. I can have a 12-man team working for an hour, if I need it, if I do my job when they need a little bit of help. And we do it!

Many of our departments buy in large quantities

So, we can go to other purchasing people. Now, in our company we have an added opportunity. We make so many products in so many different places. We take a little mental tour around and we’ll find one of our people who uses the things we need in big quantities. That’s the supplier for us. For example, we need a spacer. This spacer, costing $12.00 per 1,000, is merely a 1/4-inch rod with both ends turned down a little. What shall we do about that? How can we get a better price on that? In this case the solution came from studying these periodicals every morning. Here was a pic-ture that showed that one of the vendors could put an upset on both ends; in other words, he could make a nail with two heads on it if you wanted him to. Well, if we make this spacer like a nail with two heads instead of screw machined out of stock, it’ll be less stock and instead of 12¢ it will cost 4¢. The same kind of thinking leads us to it.

Legacy concept continued from previous page

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Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

Check specialistsHere’s a part that’s made as two metal parts, a little

shaft and a little gear. Let’s get some more ideas on it. What can we do about it? Well, there are the plastic spe-cialists. Maybe they can make it in plastics. But don’t stop there. Let’s get a plastic specialist outside of the company, but don’t stop there. Let’s get a specialist from DuPont, some big company that’s thinking about tomorrow and working right against tomorrow with the new materials today. Well, it works out that this reduces the price from 17¢ each to 9¢ each when it goes from metal to nylon. It was made in one piece instead of two, and that was the kind of study that bought results.

Make inquiry—get top attentionLet’s wind up our thinking about vendors with just

a few examples. First of all, don’t just write an inquiry to a vendor. They get all kinds of them. They put them in the bottom of the stack and keep pulling out the interest-ing ones from the stack. That’s business. We do that, too. Everybody does. Make your inquiry the one that gets top attention. You don’t get it by just sending an inquiry. When you’re rolling they’ll be looking for that General Electric paper. They’ll pull it right out and put a good man on it, because they’re sold on the company, your program and what you’re doing. After you get the initial selling job done, then you can really work fast and effectively with them.

Ask for suggestionsVendors are really afraid to suggest changes on GE

drawings. Many vendors will lead off a little with a differ-ent way of doing it, but they won’t lead very far, because if they get the slightest slip they’ll pull right back in their shell. They don’t want to lose favor with any element of General Electric. So, somehow, disarm the vendor when he’s talking with you. Let him know he’s among friends. We want him to go all the way. You’ll have to do that. If you don’t do it, it won’t be done.

Selection of specialistsIn selecting these specialists, let’s think of a few ways

we can use General Electric. For example, down in the Control Division we had a the cold control. I showed you the red dart of color that cost the consumer $40,000 a year. When we wanted to change that to stainless steel, the buyer down in that department hadn’t had experience

buying little parts like that. He found a vendor for it. He saved money even with that vendor. But, when I was over at Telechron and show the part to Jim Donovan, he looked at me and said, “You’re sure a damn fool. What’re you talking about? You don’t practice what you preach. You’ve been reaching for fellows to get in touch with somebody who knows their business when they want any class of thing. Did anybody call us to ask us for good vendors for little parts like that? No. Well, there it is. I could have given you a half dozen vendors who are sound, tried, and reliable. Their cost would have been half the price you’ll pick up on an item like that without calling me.” Control got into difficulty with the vendor on the doggone thing and had to make the change later. Isn’t it simple? But you can’t think of simple things, ordinarily.

Checking the right place pays offLet’s think of the street lighting glass that was sent

over. It was about 10 inches in diameter—a piece of glass with a hole in it. It cost $1.25. The note that came with it said, “with 20,000 of these a year we think $1.25 is a lot of money, but there’s only one vendor who makes a glass part like that.” Well, by now I learned my lesson, so I picked up the phone and called Jim. He said, “We have five excellent vendors for glass parts.” “OK, I’m sending you a half dozen drawings.” Jim sent them out, and we got exactly the same thing for 50¢ instead of $1.25. It’s just as easy to do that as it is to pick up the telephone. But you have to go on a little mental tour in General Electric. Where do we use that in big quantities? By gosh, you’ll find a place where we use most anything you’d want in big quantities, and some purchasing department is a specialist on it.

Simple techniques pay offWhen we were asked to look at about 30 parts of the

disposal, one of them was the condenser. It was costing something like 76¢. Well, right away you think, “One condenser! That buyer only has one condenser to buy.” In Syracuse, they buy millions of them. It would be a miracle if he has the best supplier. So, pick up the telephone from his office and call Syracuse. Hand him the telephone, and the fellows talk it out. Within a month, he’s buying these condensers for something like 10¢ less, saving $8,500 a year. It’s just that simple. Those simple techniques of do-ing the job right instead of doing it nearly right pay off.

Legacy concept continued from previous page

16

Volume 38 | Number 3 | March 2013

vm news & eventsVM travels to SpainBy Anil Kumar Mukhopadhyaya, CVS®-Life, FINVEST

Madrid, Spain (Feb. 22) — Now it is time for Técnicas Reunidas S.A. in Madrid, Spain.

Técnicas Reunidas is a leader for value engineering in the oil and gas sector in Space, a leaders in Europe in the design and construction for oil and gas facilities, and a world leader in the refi ning sector.

For the structured approach to value management of their products, they resorted to the Value Methodology. The company arranged for a Module I workshop and sub-sequent examination for Associate Value Specialist.

Mr. Anil Kumar Mukhopadhyaya, CVS®-Life, was asked to conduct the Module I workshop and proctor the exam for AVS certifi cation. The workshop was held from February 10-14, with the certifi cation exam administered on the last day. The 14 participants included four female associates. The participants formed three teams with the project areas of pipelines, electrical items, and civil struc-tures. At the end of the program, the teams presented their projects.

All 14 participants tested for certifi cation, with 13 qualifying for Associate Value Specialist certifi cation.

Module I workshop participants and instructor Anil Kumar Mukhopadhyaya (center front). Seventh from left is Vincente Arias Fouz, Engineering Manager.

Above: Module I workshop project teams.

Left: Mukhopadhyaya presents Module I certifi cate to workshop participant.