Value engineering for the selection of a suitable type of foundation in metro rail projects: A case study from India

The design and construction of foundation systems for metro rail projects require effective planning and performing analysis over various alternatives in achieving a suitable cost-effective solution. Often the foundation system is selected based on the Soil Bearing Capacity (SBC) and other onsite constraints are left unconsidered. This results in costly design changes during the execution stages and incurs severe delays in the project. This demands the application of advanced managerial techniques to select costeffective solutions during the design stages of metro rail projects. Value Engineering is one such function-oriented approach used in analyzing the functions of a product or a process and selecting a suitable solution that achieves all the required functions at the lowest possible cost. The application of the value engineering concept in metro rail projects would enable identifying suitable solutions while considering different alternatives over several criteria. Hence, this paper applies value engineering technique for selecting the suitable foundation type for the construction of metro rail projects. A case study of an ongoing metro rail project was considered and three foundation alternative types and nine significant selection criteria were identified. The foundation alternatives were quantitatively analyzed using the weighted evaluation technique. The results indicate that for limited availability of Right of Way (ROW), the foundation with Controlled Low Strength Mortar (CLSM) is highly suitable. In scenarios of limited ROW with less SBC use of pile foundation is identified as a suitable cost-effective foundation type.