DNA - When To Conduct a VM Workshop

Value Analysis has its Organized Approach. This is a step by step procedure for the elimination of unnecessary costs. This approach works best and results are most fruitful when the effort and activity is accomplished by a group of functionally qualified individuals working together completing all the steps of the Value analysis Job Plan, each doing his work, Engineers - Engineering Work, Manufacturing People - Manufacturing Work, etc. A Value engineer or Value Analyst is not and cannot be competent Design Engineer, a competent Manufacturing Engineer, a competent Purchasing individual, and a competent Finance man. Working in this manner will not only produce mediocrity or failure, but will also develop relations with the various groups of such low degree that any value or good created by the Value individual will be defeated and "killed" by the mantle of ill will that will develop toward him.

The group is not a committee drifting about upon a sea of conferences bickering and wandering about in a cloud of indecision. It is a task force with a specified leader, specifically charged with the task of removing unnecessary cost from the product assigned to it and completing each step of the job plan. Also, with a specific individual guiding the portion of each step that is to be accomplished by the function he represents.

The integrated action also sparks a competitive situation within the group and this situation produces a hole that is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Strange as it may seem, the questions raised by the untrained, such as, Finance about Engineering, or Engineering about Sales, etc., have sparked actions or explanations to clarify questions, and these developments have led to the success of the project. The Value Analysts or Engineer in this area of work guides and councils the group and adds his input of value relationships and past activities as needed.

The ideal team should have representatives of each functional group to skillfully execute the inter-functional review and redesign - Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, Purchasing, Sales and Quality Control. The maximum size is six people, however, the group could operate with as few as three. A group with less than six, naturally, cannot have all of the functional groups represented. The theoretical group can be reduced, but representatives of the functional group should be available for information and consultation as needed. Engineering and Manufacturing are a must, and nothing is wrong with having two of one functional group on the same team.

The immediate and close previous relationship of individuals with the produce being reviewed is a subject with strong pros and cons. Humans, being what they are, do not permit one specific rule that must be followed. The inherent knowledge that an active, close to the subject worker, brings to the group is of great value, and can be well used, but experience has shown that along with the knowledge comes defensive habits and attitudes. These individuals benefit the team through vital knowledge, but impair the teams' action through attitude reactions, particularly in the creative phase. A compromise of situations has shown that excellent results can be obtained by having individuals present who have a "speaking" acquaintance with the part, but have no "axes to grind" or "bridgeheads to defend", and by having available for consultation the individuals who were originally associated with the assembly. In this manner the required background and data is available but defensive actions are eliminated.

A built in advantage of deliberate inter-functional redesign through the group task force operation is the effective completion and implementation of the selected alternate. The development of the alternate is done by representatives of various groups. Their presence insures the intercommunication of the facts. The representatives are equally a part, and are on the ground floor. Thus, the build in personality trait of "loving your own child" works to the alternate's advantage. It has parents in all the effected areas, and this will mature as needed.

The organized group integrates the diversified functional groups and brings together the various knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences, forming a resource much greater than the sum of each individual part. This unification stimulates diversified, "independent" units to work for the common good; not to defend their individual domains.