The Department of Defense presented the fiscal year 2014 DoD Value Engineering Achievement Awards today in a ceremony at the Pentagon, according to a DoD news release.
Value engineering is a DoD effort to continually analyze defense organizations, facilities, and processes to determine "best value" or the best relationship between worth and cost consistent with required performance, quality, and safety of essential functions and products, the release said.
Value engineering contributes to the department's overall "Better Buying Power" initiative, which seeks to streamline operations, improve quality, and reduce or avoid costs, the release said.
The Value Engineering Achievement Awards Program provides an incentive for government and defense industry partners to improve the value of weapon systems and programs by promoting innovation and creativity, the release said.
During fiscal year 2014, the department executed in-house value engineering proposals and accepted contractor-initiated value engineering change proposals producing a combined actual savings and cost avoidance of $5.5 billion, the release said.
The Value Engineering Achievement Awards acknowledge outstanding achievement and encourage additional projects to improve government and contractor productivity, the release said.
The department selected award winners in five categories: program/project, individual, team, organization, and special, according to the release.