After ten years of practicing architecture in the private sector, Harvey took a position in state government. This job initiated by the state legislature was designed to develop ways of reducing the cost of school construction while at the same time improving the quality.
Using the brainstorming technique, a group of learned professionals developed several ideas of ways to meet these goals. One idea that stood out was Value Engineering (VE). So, in 1979 Harvey was sent to St. Louis to receive training from his now very good friend, Al Dell’Isola. Entering the workshop, Harvey had no clue what VE was, but after the week was convinced that VE was the answer to the State of Washington’s desires.
After a period of training, demonstrating, and convincing school officials, the design and construction community and the state school board, value engineering became a requirement for all school construction that received state matching funds. In 1990, Harvey left his position with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and took on the challenge as Capital Budget Analyst for the Governor.
He was now responsible for developing the state’s capital budget for over half of the state agencies including higher education. Because of his work with the schools, VE had become a household word and was being used during the design process for major projects by all agencies. However, Harvey was not involved in these projects and wanted to continue using this wonderful technique.
Therefore, he developed a tool called BEST which stands for Budget Evaluation Study Teams. The value engineering job plan was used to analyze major projects at the predesign phase in order to determine the proposed budget that would be recommended by the Governor.
Like the school program, the BEST program was a success and millions of state taxpayer dollars were saved and additional projects funded with the savings.
Harvey's career begin by receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Washington, serving in the Air Force, and working for various A/E firms. What he found missing in his practice was a connection to the budget. This is why he moved beyond his original education and pursued a Master of Public Administration degree. This training along with his involvement in the VE community has given him much career satisfaction. He feels that he can truly say he has made a difference.
In 2000, Harvey took his present position as Manager of Capital Program and Engineering for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In this role he is responsible for developing the Department’s capital budget and overseeing all the design and construction undertaken by the agency. They do use value engineering on a daily basis to provide the best product for the dollar in a timely manner.
Harvey has worked over the past 25 years with some very talented and dedicated value engineer practitioners that have taught him the VE way. For this he says that he will forever be indebted.
|