LOUISE WALTERS explains the importance of delivering value-engineered solutions as a way of saving customers money without compromising on quality, performance, or aesthetics
Value engineering (VE) has become THE hot topic across the flooring sector – especially with tighter budgets, rising material costs, and growing client demands for sustainability to the fore.
It’s not difficult to understand why VE has become such an important tool in the flooring sector over the past 18 months. As more and more customers switch to centralised buying in a bid to slash costs but still expect functionality, aesthetics, compliance requirements, sustainability demands etc to be met, there’s often a balancing act to be done.
For us, as the UK’s largest flooring contractor, that balance often takes the form of offering a VE alternative. One that delivers all of the above considerations along with high expectations of performance and durability, lifecycle cost (not just upfront) and installation efficiency within a budget.
It’s a skill that needs a fair degree of expertise to execute, requiring smart material selection, lifecycle thinking, and efficient installation. For that reason, all our customer facing team have been extensively trained to offer value engineered alternatives where appropriate.
They understand that VE isn’t simply about cutting corners and they also know the best outcomes happen when contractors and specifiers get involved early. This gives them the opportunity to suggest alternatives that reduce costs without undermining safety, performance, or sustainability.
It’s about a collaborative approach and optimising flooring specifications so that projects meet all requirements — but at a lower overall cost.
There can be many challenges involved. In terms of balancing cost vs performance, then downgrading too far can lead to premature wear, higher lifecycle costs, or client dissatisfaction. And it’s important to stress that VE isn’t seen as just ‘cheaper’ – but better value over time.
This might involve mock-ups and samples to demonstrate that lower-cost options still meet design intent. Using total cost of ownership (TCO) models to show lifecycle savings (maintenance, durability, replacement cycles) can also be important along with comparing environmental and cost data across products.
There are several ways in which VE can be achieved, one of them being material substitution by exploring alternative flooring types that offer similar performance at a lower cost.
Reducing lifecycle and maintenance considerations also contribute to overall savings. Choosing a finish that reduces cleaning frequency, labour and chemical use might be one option – for example while PU-coated vinyl or stain resistant carpet tiles can cost more upfront, there are longer term savings to be made over 10-15 years.
Factoring in replacement cycles is also essential and highlights the importance of distinguishing between ‘cheap’ and ‘value’. A cheaper floor that needs replacing twice in 15 years may work out to be more expensive in the long run than a slightly higher-cost but longer-lasting option.
Yet another cost consideration is efficient installation methods. Click systems, modular systems and prefabricated solutions can all speed up installs and reduce downtime in commercial spaces as well as cut on-site labour costs.
Avoiding over-specification can keep costs down too. So, where a project demands rubber or safety flooring, it might be that savings can be made by using slip-resistant alternatives only where required. Similarly, specifying heavy-duty safety flooring in low-traffic areas where a commercial vinyl suffices is another potential saving.
Finally, clients increasingly see sustainability as part of value and not just a cost. So recycled or recyclable flooring (particularly where there are take-back schemes such as the multi-award-winning Designer Contract’s carpet recycling scheme, first introduced in 2015) all carry weight when submitting a proposal.
Products with environmental product declarations (EPDs) and those with lower embodied carbon materials all matter too.
As a company, our teams are all well versed in working collaboratively to identify areas where costs can be optimised without sacrificing aesthetics or functionality. It can involve any number of the above approaches, but the ultimate aim is always to enhance the functionality of a space through the specification of products that meet specific needs within budget.
www.designercontracts.com
Louise Walters is commercial director at Designer Contracts