US Embassy Facilities Worldwide

Value Engineering Services (2000 – Ongoing)

Since 2000, MACTEC has been providing value engineering (VE) services to the US Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations (OBO) worldwide. Locations have included Afghanistan, Algeria, Cambodia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru, Spain, and Uzbekistan. To perform value engineering, MACTEC uses a multi-disciplined VE team, led by a team facilitator, to develop alternative design concepts that perform the same function as the originals at more favorable lifecycle costs. Our services for the OBO have included problem solving studies and studies of schematic facility design documents, which were prepared by third-party design or design-build firms.

In 2002, we performed an onsite VE study in Jamaica for the conversion of existing hotel rooms into two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments in a ten-story, concrete frame facility totaling 116,000 square feet.

Our team’s 38 recommendations and design suggestions offered a potential savings of $3.6 million. Twenty-seven were implemented, providing our client $2.4 million in savings and a return on investment of $33:1. One implementation added $24,000 in costs but improved occupant living conditions, while another resulted in a $50,000 energy savings per year.

In 2003, we performed a four-day VE study on the design of the New Embassy Compound in Conakry, Guinea. The compound included four buildings and three Compound Access Control structures totaling 110,200 square feet. Special design considerations included Conakry’s year-round humidity and seasonal dust storms.

Throughout the study, all design aspects were analyzed including security requirements and energy conservation. MACTEC’s VE team made 46 recommendations with a potential savings of $4.6 million. In all, 23 of the 46 proposed recommendations were implemented, providing our client a return on investment of $17:1.