Value engineering - intensified cost reduction

Abstract

The military has felt, with increasing pressure each passing year, the squeeze of mounting costs for more complex equipments matched against a relatively fixed allocation of funds. This continuous rise in prices generated increasing concern within the Navy Department in the early 1950' s. Action was taken to survey industry cost reduction efforts to find an effective continuing technique that might be used as a model within the Navy. The value analysis program at the General Electric Company appeared to be a unique effort of quite some achievement and promise, and after considerable study, was adopted by the Navy and has become identified as value engineering.