VALUE LEADERSHIP

 

 

    

 
   
 

Downloads

VMS Résumés
VMS Technical Papers

 

Quick Links

 
 
 

RECENT PROJECTS
 

Value Studies for Recent Projects

 

Over the past year, VMS has conducted value studies for the following clients:

California Dept. of Transportation
City of Fontana, CA
City of New York, NY

Golden Gate Bridge District

Santa Clara Valley Trans. Authority
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Navy

Provided below is a small sample of VMS, Inc. projects.


Information Technology / Telecommunications Complex Consolidation - Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, North Carolina
 

The goal of this Function Analysis Concept Development (FACD) workshop was to develop a design concept that demonstrates the feasibility of constructing the project to meet the users’ functional needs, within budget constraints and scope parameters.  The basic FACD approach uses function analysis techniques and the Value Engineering (VE) job plan to bring the owners, users, and stakeholders into the design process and incorporate their needs into the concept designs.

 

This project adds a new Communications and Administrative Facility to the renovations of existing Building 24 located within Camp Lejeune.  In addition to the renovations and additions to Building 24, the project includes a Cable Storage Shed, Base Telephone Facility, Equipment Yard, Enterprise Land Mobile Radio (ELMR)/Radio Maintenance Facility, HAZMAT Building, and POV and GOV parking area within the compound.

 

The need for the new Complex is associated with “Grow the Force” mandate starting in fiscal year 2007, which increases the telecommunication load at the installation.  The Marine Corps is expected to continue to grow over the next five years and will require additional information technology and telecommunications support for its on-going and anticipated mission.

The FACD team, end users, other stakeholders, and interested parties generated 69 ideas for change during the Function Analysis and Creative Ideas phases of the VE Job Plan.  Of the 69 ideas generated, 25 of them were sufficiently rated to warrant further investigation.  Continued research and development of these ideas yielded 16 alternatives and 3 design suggestions for change with an impact on the project.  Cost savings of the 16 resulting VE alternatives totaled $4,445,000.

Using the VE Job Plan, and with the incorporation of the VE Alternatives, the resulting Final FACD Concept’s base bid was $40,497,559 which was $502,441 under the design-to cost of $42,000,000.
Doyle Drive - San Francisco, CA
 

The Doyle Drive project consists of improving the seismic, structural, and traffic safety of Doyle Drive within the setting and context of the Presidio of San Francisco and its purpose as a National Park.  A portion of Route 101, Doyle Drive winds one and a half miles along the northern edge of San Francisco and connects the San Francisco peninsula to the Golden Gate Bridge and the North Bay.

Constructed almost 60 years ago to provide direct access to the Golden Gate Bridge, Doyle Drive had deteriorated structurally and could not accommodate the existing traffic volume. The problems included lanes that were too narrow by 2 to 3 feet, a lack of a barrier separating opposing traffic flows, and a lack of shoulders for use by disabled vehicles, maintenance crews, and emergency and enforcement vehicles.  As of 1992, Doyle Drive was experiencing almost three times the normal number of accidents for a facility of its type.

VMS conducted two VA studies on this $600 million project.  The first, conducted during the project’s early planning stages, defined and evaluated possible project alternatives and assisted in the selection of the preferred project alternative. The second VA study, conducted after completion of the final Environmental Impact Statement Report, recommended design, construction, and staging alternatives that could reduce the project costs in order to assist the stakeholder agencies in funding the project.  

As a result of the first VA study, a fifth alternative, the Presidio Parkway, was added to the list of alternatives for more detailed study.  The Presidio Parkway design replaces the existing structures with a new parkway-type roadway that includes short tunnels, new access, and improved views from within the Presidio. In comparison to the tunnel alternatives it was determined that Alternative 5, the Presidio Parkway, would provide all the benefits and functions of the other design alternatives with less cost, construction duration, and environmental impact. 

The areas of potential value improvements resulting from the second VA study were grouped into the following categories: revised strategy for replacement parking, revised configuration of Park Presidio Interchange, implement long-term closures of local movements, implement a temporary mainline crossover to allow whole project to be constructed in lieu of piecemeal, and improved construction sequencing due to improved access and reduction in complexity of stage construction.  Based on the results of the second VA workshop, the project’s stakeholders accepted a total of $127 million in cost reduction concepts or over 21% of the project’s total construction cost.  These cost savings and performance improvements allowed the project, which had been delayed due to funding constraints and other stakeholder concerns, to proceed into final design and construction.

 
Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Phase III -
San Francisco, CA
 

This VE Study conducted by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Trans-portation District (the District), and facilitated by Value Management Strategies, Inc., was intended to develop new roadway deck types for the North Anchorage Housing roadway deck/roof, with a focus on constructibility.

The VE team developed five alternatives, three of which were deck/roof rehabilitation or replacement options. One alternative dealt with the sidewalks only, and one described an overlay concept.

The VE alternative to use cast-in-place concrete box girder for the sidewalks was accepted modified, in that a cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab on steel stringers will be used.  The alternatives to rehabilitate the deck, or to overlay the deck with a polymer concrete, were rejected because the existing deck spalling and cracking has led to the determination that the deck should be replaced. 

For the bridge deck, a precast post-tensioned reinforced concrete T-beam slab system was selected. The VA alternatives for precast box girders and precast pre-tensioned slabs were rejected, primarily because installation of the post-tensioning would be expensive and difficult under the contractual lane closure provisions required; in addition, the stressing sequence required would also be greatly influenced by the lane closure restrictions.

The VE study was beneficial to the District because it provided validation of the final design scheme included in their design phase.  Their chosen system allows for the most adjustment flexibility during installation, creates a structural diaphragm without post-tensioning, is least prone to fatigue, and is easy to maintain.

 
Antlers Bridge Replacement - Lake Shasta, CA
 

This project proposes to replace the existing Antlers Bridge, on Interstate 5, which spans the Sacramento River arm of Lake Shasta.  Included in the scope is consideration to modify the centerline alignment of the freeway to improve radii of the two curves immediately south of the structure.  Depending on the concepts adopted, the new structure will have two 3.6-meter northbound lanes, three 3.6-meter southbound lanes, a 6.6-meter median, and 3.0-meter shoulders.  The original estimated cost of the project was approximately $105 million.

The VMS led Value Analysis team developed eleven VA alternatives, six of which were organized into two sets.  Of these alternatives, two were accepted and three others were identified as conditionally accepted.  One of the accepted alternatives resulted in the adoption of a new highway alignment that will improve the horizontal geometry and save over $12 million in construction costs.  Another accepted alternative will allow the contractor to develop a temporary boat ramp for construction purposes on the west side of the north abutment for staging purposes.  These two alternatives resulted in a net performance improvement of 19% with an increase in total value by 35%.

 
Inland Empire Transportation Management Center - Fontana, CA
 

The California Department of Transportation’s District 8, encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties, has partnered with two local transportation agencies to plan and construct a new Transportation Management Center (TMC). Facility design is currently scheduled to begin in December 2004, with construction starting in February 2007, and move-in planned for June 2008.  This facility will co-locate the California Highway patrol’s 911 Emergency Response operations with Caltrans traffic management operations in this facility.  The TMC will consist of a 2-story base isolated structure with a total floor space area of 45,000 square feet.  An 80- to 120-foot communications tower will be constructed on the site for the TMC.  A Park and Ride lot of approximately 200 spaces will be developed as part of the TMC.  The TMC would be designed to meet the requirements of the Essential Services Act of 1986 and will accommodate a staff of approximately 175 employees, which will be moved from two facilities in the City of San Bernardino.

The project is currently in the early stages of design development.  The budget for the project per the Project Study Report, dated September 13, 2001, is approximately $30 million.  The VMS, Inc. led Value Analysis team identified 21 VA alternatives that recommend improvements to all aspects of the design.  The VA alternatives have the potential of saving over $2 million in construction costs and $5 million in life cycle costs while improving project performance by nearly 50%. 

 
SR 29 / SR 12 Interchange Improvements - Napa, CA
 

VMS recently completed a challenging project for the California Dept. of Transportation.  The SR 29/SR 12 Interchange Improvements project is being developed in order to improve operations and traffic safety at the current junction, which is a signalized, at-grade intersection.  The original Project Study Report identified eight build alternatives to be further studied during the Project Approval Environmental Document (PA/ED) phase. The alternatives included three at-grade improvements (two of which are low cost alternatives), upgrading the intersection to an interchange with a tight diamond, single point or partial cloverleaf configuration, including a low cost interchange alternative, and constructing a flyover for the Route 29 southbound to Route 12 eastbound traffic movement.

The estimated capital costs range from $26 million for the tight diamond interchange to $42 million for the partial cloverleaf interchange. This intersection is being studied at the request of the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency (NCTPA).

The VMS, inc. led Value Analysis team developed seven alternatives for improvement of the project.  One of the most important alternatives, which has subsequently been identified as the "preferred" alternative, is a modified single point urban interchange.  This alternative will dramatically improve project performance by approximately 60%.  Another innovative VA alternative would acquire a construction easement south of the existing alignment in order to construct a temporary facility to maintain traffic while SR 12 is reconstructed and the new overcrossing is built.  This alternative would significantly improve construction staging, reduce the construction schedule by half a year, and save $10's of millions in highway-user costs.

 
Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant - Queens, NY
 

The Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) is located on Berrian Boulevard in Astoria, Queens, New York. It began operation in 1939 and serves the western portion of the Borough of Queens.  The Bowery Bay WPCP has undergone a series of expansions and upgrades over the years with major construction projects occurring in 1940, 1949, 1954, and 1971-75. The plant is currently undergoing an upgrade which includes new raw sewage pumps, return activated sludge (RAS) pumps for 100% RAS flow, primary tank skimming equipment, hypochlorination equipment, and a residuals handling building.

The plant is a step-aeration activated sludge plant designed for an average dry weather flow of 150 million gallons per day (mgd). Maximum primary treatment capacity is 300 mgd. Secondary treatment facilities can handle 225 mgd, which is one and one-half times the average dry weather flow. The estimated average daily flow for 1990 was 159 mgd and the mean dry weather flow was 143 mgd. Two intercepting sewers, one low level and one high level, convey wastewater to the plant. The invert of the low level interceptor as it enters the plant is at elevation -36.1 feet below the invert of the high level sewer. Treated effluent is discharged into the Rikers Island Channel through a 10-foot diameter outfall. 

The reconciled cost estimate places the construction value of the proposed upgrades at approximately $106 million with a target completion date of December 31, 2010. The original proposed plan was estimated at $149 million. 

The VMS, Inc. led VA Study identified 29 alternatives and 27 design suggestions.  Of these, 33 were accepted for a total of $3.8 million in savings.  Four additional alternatives are being studied further, which could yield an additional $2 million.

 

 

Value Management Strategies, Inc.
C
opyright © 2010 [Value Management Strategies, Inc.]. All rights reserved