Final answer:
Value engineering aims to maintain or improve the quality of a product while minimizing costs, focusing on substituting high-quality components with low-cost components without losing product functionality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Value engineering is commonly understood as the practice of analyzing products, services, and projects to achieve their essential functions at the lowest life cycle cost without compromising quality. Essentially, it focuses on substituting high-quality components with low-cost components that still meet the product's lifetime duration and basic purpose. This process incorporates a critical evaluation of all aspects of the engineering design process to reduce costs while maintaining functionality and quality.
Engineering design engages the application of the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences to optimally use resources to meet specific needs. This decision-making process is often iterative, involving modification of existing products (incremental design) or the creation of new products from scratch (new design). Therefore, value engineering is not limited to reduction of costs but extends to improving the performance or quality of the product to ensure the highest value. The role of value engineering becomes especially prominent when considering the environmental impact of manufacturing and disposal.