Venu Jaya, S.; Swarnakar, V.; Acquaye, A.; Khalfan, M. and El Fadel, M. (2026) Unlocking 3r-driven value engineering potential in sustainable construction: An empirical analysis of drivers, challenges, benefits, tools and techniques. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 24(6), ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to examine how value engineering (VE) can be aligned with the 3R principles – reduce, reuse and recycle – to advance sustainable construction practices. It empirically investigates the key drivers, challenges, benefits and enabling tools and techniques influencing the adoption of 3R-driven VE across different stages of the construction project lifecycle, thereby bridging the gap between conceptual frameworks and practical implementation. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-methods strategy was adopted, combining a systematic literature review, a structured questionnaire survey of 200 construction professionals from 14 countries and 30 semi-structured expert interviews. The Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to prioritize influencing factors, while thematic analysis of interview data was used to validate, enrich and contextualize the quantitative findings. Findings – The findings reveal that supportive government policies, early integration of VE during project planning and structured functional analysis are the most influential drivers of 3R-driven VE adoption. Major challenges include limited awareness of economic and sustainability benefits, shortage of skilled professionals and lack of standardized tools for sustainable material management. Key benefits include reduced construction waste, improved alignment between lean construction and sustainability objectives and enhanced lifecycle performance. Building information modeling-based material tracking and life cycle assessment emerged as the most critical enabling tools. Practical implications – The paper offers an environment for practitioners and policymakers to integrate 3R methods into VE, facilitated by digital technologies and incentive-based contracts, thus promoting cost-effective, waste-reducing and resilient building methodologies. Originality/value – This study contributes to sustainable construction research by providing a comprehensive empirical assessment of VE implementation grounded in the 3R principles. It advances practical understanding of circular economy integration by synthesizing drivers, challenges, benefits and enabling tools and techniques within a unified, phase-based framework spanning the construction project lifecycle.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | circular economy; reduce–reuse–recycle (3r) principles; sustainable construction; value engineering |
| Index terms: | construction waste, integration, construction professional, sustainable material, value engineering, construction project, conceptual framework, interview, lean construction, government policy, lifecycle, life cycle assessment, methodology, sustainable construction, systematic literature review, implementation, practitioner, thematic analysis, influencing factor, strategy, sustainable construction practice, questionnaire, survey, building information modelling, digital technology, project planning, relative importance index, recycle, circular economy |
| Subjects: | practitioner, theoretical framing, professional development, research evaluation and metrics, public policy, computing systems, risk assessment, building construction, data collection methods, sustainable construction, sustainable materials, research methods, contractual arrangements, management, value management, information systems, project delivery, sustainable design, organizational analysis, environmental impact, control systems, production management, methods and analysis, waste management |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Organizational Design, Project Management, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Procurement, Site Management, Information Management, Risk Management, Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Governance, Cost Management, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here