Value Engineering as a Strategy for Cost Optimization in Construction Projects

Value engineering offers a structured way to examine whether construction functions can be delivered at a lower cost while maintaining the performance required by clients and users. Its application becomes problematic when the term is used for price reductions or specification changes without checking their consequences over the asset life. This focused narrative review examines the contribution of function analysis, stakeholder participation, alternative development and life-cycle evaluation to construction cost optimisation. Selected academic research and public procurement guidance are synthesised into a proposed framework connecting the definition of value with technical approval and benefit verification. An illustrative ten-year calculation compares three compliant system alternatives and demonstrates how the lowest initial cost can produce a higher whole-life cost. Sensitivity analysis identifies the operating-cost assumption at which the preferred alternative changes. The review finds a clear conceptual basis for evaluating function and cost together, while highlighting limits in the transferability of reported savings and the implementation of structured methods. The proposed framework supports transparent decisions on design and construction alternatives and is adaptable to Saudi project contexts. Its contribution is an auditable decision process; its numerical results are illustrative and do not constitute observed project savings or empirical validation.