VALUE ENGINEERING OF TUNNEL EQUIPMENT

Achieving value for money in operation and maintenance of equipment in tunnels is increasingly important and areas are sought where economies can be made without compromising safety or increasing congestion. To address this need a value engineering review has been undertaken of highway tunnel equipment. The review was based on the procedures in the Highways Agency Value for Money Manual, and comprised a value management and value engineering workshop and subsequent detailed reviews. The operators of ten sets of tunnels were consulted together with various suppliers. Additionally general experience reported at meetings of the Highways Agency Tunnel Operators' Forum and the UK Tunnel Operators' Forum was incorporated. The principles of value engineering are summarised and a specific methodology is proposed for dealing with tunnel equipment. It was found that it was unrealistic to define unique optimum solutions for all tunnel equipment because of the many site specific factors associated with highway tunnels. However, it was possible to identify the areas in which changes were likely to have the most significant impact on value. For each of the main systems the function, typical maintenance, common problems and possible alternatives associated with the equipment, are discussed in the report. Where adequate information is available options have been costed and a number of detailed value engineering reviews are presented showing the implications of particular alternatives. Over 60 specific areas of possible improvement have been identified and are listed in the report. (A)