Dear Pamela and Fellow Listers:

In addition to "comissioning" there is another field which is fairly new
within the museum community (not so new in the design/construction or
planning fields outside the museum community) known as Value
Methodology.

Value Methodology (or as it is sometimes known - Value Engineering or
Value Analysis or Value Management) originated in the industrial
community (within the GE Company during the 1940's) and has rapidly
spread to to all levels of government (local, state, and Federal) due to
its potential for yielding a large return on a small investment.  VM has
long been recognized as an effective technique to lower costs while
maintaining and increasing necessary quality levels.

Value Methodology performs its job so well that it is now mandated by
Federal Law for use by all Executive Agencies on any and all projects
over one million dollars (OMB Circular A-131).  Many states and local
governments have also passed legislation mandating the use of Value
Methodology on projects over a certain level of funding.

The Commonwealth of Virginia was one of the first states to pass
legislation mandating the use of Value Methodology Studies on all
projects over a certain funding level (State of Virginia 1994, House
(State of Virginia 1994, House Bill 18 requires Value Methodology to be
employed for any capital project costing more than $5 million).  And,
this is where Museum Services International first became aware of the
tremendous potential Value Methodology holds for the museum community.

We were a part of the Value Methodology Team (it is a multi-disciplinary
team operation) which conducted a Value Methodology Study on the
Architectural Planning for The Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.
Out of this study, I wrote an article with the Director of that museum
which was recently published in "The International Journal of Museum
Management and Curatorship" in Oxford, UK.  It behooves all museum
professionals who are presently involoved with a museum
design/construction project or will be involved with such a project to
read this article.

One element of Value Methodology which will assist museums to lower
their operating costs after the buidling is constructed or renovated
(and to which you were referring) is known as "life-cycle costing."
This process examines the costs for operating a specific product over
the life of the unit.  In other words, what will that HVAC unit cost to
operate over a 12 year period?

Another very important element of Value Methodology is that the VM Study
team be completely independent of the architectural/planning
organization and of the Director/Board of the museum.  This independence
provides for the freedom and creativity of the VM team members and the
complete objectivity of the Study recommendations.  Allowing an
architectural organization to conduct a Value Methodology Study on its
own design raises some serious ethical and practical considerations
(under Federal Contracting Law, contractors are allowed to receive a
percentage of cost savings from a Value Methodology Study).

Finally, Value Methodology can be applied to other projects and programs
within the museum community and not just design/construction.  In my
article, I outline how Value Methodology was used during the Exhibition
Development Program of the new National Museum of New Zealand - Te
Papa.

VM utilizes a functional analysis approach to any program or process.
It provides a new way of thinking for some old problems.

If you would like an electronic copy of the article - or if we may be of
some assistance to you in ensuring quality in your museum project and
cutting costs (on a documented basis), please contact us.

Kind Regards

Roger Wulff

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at:     http://www.MuseumServicesIntl.org

Museum Services International is a non-profit organization which
provides services in all areas of the planning and development of
cultural institutions and museums - especially in the new area of
"Economuseology."
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