Dear Sir/ Ma'am,

Subject: Dissertation Survey Questionnaire about the application of Value Engineering in construction industry practice.

I am currently pursuing my M Sc degree in Construction Project Management at Heriot Watt University, Dubai Campus. In partial fulfillment of the degree programme, I am required to conduct a research of an area of interest for the construction industry and submit a dissertation. For this purpose, I am currently investigating the application of Value engineering in EPC firms and owners organization in the Industrial Construction projects especially in Gulf countries. The purpose of this research work is to understand the perception of Construction Industry representatives about the subject, the viability of application of this concept in the Construction projects especially in the EPC procurement delivery method. I am confident that your assistance in making this research valuable by providing the required information about Industry practice. The information gathered is only for the dissertation purpose and will not be used and disclosed for any other purpose and confidentiality will be maintained. I would be thankful if you could spare 10 minutes to complete this questionnaire attached with this cover letter. Your responses are requested on or before 6th of August and it would be greatly appreciated upon receipt.

Thanks for your help. Yours Sincerely,

Kathirvel Maruthamuthu

Email: alkathir@yahoo.co.in Or Email: km212@hw.ac.uk

General Information

1. Name of the Respondent ____________________________________________ 2. Name of the Company ______________________________________________ 3. Years of Professional Experience _____________________________________ 3. What is the approximate annual turnover of your company _________________ 4. Your Position in the organization______________________________________ 5. Core Discipline (Example-Civil/ Electrical, etc) __________________________

Section A- Respondents background/ nature of employing firms

1. Please specify the type of construction projects you are working with for the last 5 years A. Oil & Gas B. Water & Power C. Infrastructure D. Buildings E. Others ( please specify)________________________

2. Background / Nature of Employer A. Working in EPC Contractors B. Owner Consultants/ Project Management consultant C. Owner/ developer/ Public companies D. Vendors/ Suppliers or others

Section B Respondents Value Engineering Experience 3. How familiar are you with application of Value Engineering concepts and its application in the construction Industry? A. Excellent B. Good C. Poor D. No idea of value concepts Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 4. In your perspective , how do you define a Value Engineering exercise A. Value Engineering is not simply a design review or a cost cutting exercise; it is a creative, organized effort to achieve the functions of the project. B. Value Engineering (VE) is an intensive, interdisciplinary problem solving activity that focuses on improving the value of the functions of the project C. It is simply a traditional cost cutting exercise in other name Remarks if any _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

5. Did you participate in any of Value Engineering Study workshop formally or informally? A. Formally B. Informally C. Not participated in any such study or workshop Remarks if any _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ______

Section C- Respondents Value engineering recommendations 6. Implementation of Value Engineering technique in Construction projects will benefit the whole construction industry participants. A. Agree B. Disagree C. No idea Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 7. Which Method do you apply to carryout Value Engineering Study? A. Value Engineering work shop B. Value Engineering Audit C. Contractors change proposal D. Others ( please specify)________________________________ E. No Idea of such methods Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 8. At which stage of the Design do you apply Value Engineering Study? A. At concept Stage 10 % Design complete, ( preliminary Design Stage) B. At Schematic Design Stage 35% Design Complete ( FEED Stage) C. At Detail Engineering Stage 60% to 90 % ( At contractors office ) D. During construction Engineering & Methods E. During Testing & Commissioning F. Operation and Maintenance Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

9. Who is normally responsible for conducting a Value Engineering Study in your organization? A. Internal Design Team B. External Value Engineering Team C. Others D. No idea Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 10. In your opinion, who should lead the Value Engineering Study? (Note: Rank the preference form 1 to 5, Rate 1 for the highest and 5 for least)

S. NO A B C D E

Value Engineering Workshop Leader Design Manager Operation & Maintenance Manager Construction Manager Others Not known

Rating

Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 11. Based on your experience, select the best Project Delivery method to implement Value Engineering. ( Rank the below from 1 to 4 , 1 for the first preference and 4 for last ) A. Traditional method (Design- Bid Build) (_____) B. Construction Management (_____)

C. Design & Build / EPC/ Turnkey(_____) D. Built , Operate and Transfer (_____)

Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

12. Do you believe the selection of EPC procurement method for the project delivery will complement Value Engineering applications in construction projects? A. Strongly agree B. Agree C. Disagree D. Strongly disagree E. Dont know Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 13. Which tool is the most useful in implementing Value Engineering in Construction projects? A. Functional analysis system technique ( FAST) B. Life cycle costing C. Time, cost and quality triangle D. Others(Please specify) Remarks if any _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ 14. In your opinion, who will be benefit the most from applying Value Engineering concepts in construction projects? (please tick the appropriate one) A. Front End Engineering and Design phase( FEED) EPC Contractor Client /Owner Both Not known

B. Detailed Engineering and construction phase EPC Contractor Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Client /Owner Both Not known

15. In your opinion, which of the below concept will improve Value Engineering work shop results? ( Rank them form 1 to 5, assign 1 to highest and 5 to the least) A. Innovation ( ____) B. Sustainability ( ____) C. Robustness( ____) D. Lean construction techniques ( ____) Remarks if any _____________________________________________________ 16. Frequency of applying Value Engineering in construction practice A. At Owner & Owners Engineer office (please tick the appropriate one) Never or rarely applied Some times Frequently

B. At EPC Contactor office (please tick the appropriate one) Never or rarely applied Some times Frequently

Remarks if any ____________________________________________________

17. In your opinion, which of the below advantages of Value Engineering is most important for the construction industry ( Rank them from high to low, 1 for high) A. Reduces the life cycle cost (_____) B. Helpful to determine the best design alternatives(_____) C. Used to achieve the desired functions at minimal cost without compromising the quality, safety(_____) D. Useful to reduce the project risk(_____) E. Long term competitiveness & sustainability of the companies(_____) Remarks if any __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

18. In your opinion , please rank the major obstacles to the application of Value Engineering in construction from below list, (Rank from high to low, 1 for very important and 11 for the less important) A. Lack of time to implement value engineering in project ( ___) B. Lack of knowledge about value engineering in construction industry( ___) C. Conflict of interest among the project stakeholders involved in the project implementation ( ___) D. Problems in the decision making process ( ___) E. Lack of support from top Management and unwilling to fund for the Value Engineering process ( ___) F. Owners Engineer or Contractor does not have financial incentive to produce a most efficient design( ___) G. Owners Engineer or Contractor want to complete the design as soon as possible as they paid lump sump sum and not want to spend more time in exploring the designs ( ___) H. Design codes and Design criteria restricts the application of Value Engineering ( ___) I. EPC contract forms like FIDC not providing enough flexibility for the contractors to implement Value Engineering ( ___) J. Non availability of dedicated Value Engineering Team in owners organization. K. Non availability of dedicated Value Engineering Team in contractors organization.

19. Provide two examples of Value Engineering exercise in your professional career A. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

B. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________