VCE measures how materials move and how facility space is used, then turns that evidence into better layouts, expansion decisions, and operational requirements.
Robin Owens, Founder & Principal Engineer
Is this a good layout? Here's how VCE actually measures one.
Most facility decisions are made from floor plans and total square footage. VCE measures two things those documents do not show: how materials actually move and how space is actually used. That evidence supports better layout, expansion, consolidation, and capital decisions.
Flow and space are different measurements that answer different questions. Run one, or run both.
How materials and products actually move through the facility — current-state travel distances, alternative comparisons, ranked improvement opportunities.
See the full methodology →How the space itself is actually used — Operations vs. Non-Operations Square Footage, Equipment Packing Density, compared across areas or buildings.
See the full methodology →Both measurements together, for a full current-state baseline and comparison of alternatives.
See both studies →Capacity, operating sequence, relationships, block layout, flow, space, and utilities, developed together into one validated package your architect and MEP engineers can build from.
A four-phase, four-gate process for defining the scope of any facility project before capital gets committed — including the Facility Readiness Score, which assesses how completely the required project definition has been developed and documented before Gate 3 review. Free to download.
The Construction Industry Institute (CII) and Independent Project Analysis (IPA) have tracked this across hundreds of real capital projects. Here's what they found:
CII = Construction Industry Institute, Front End Planning research (17 case studies; ~$1.5B in projects, $35B+ in aggregated data). IPA = Independent Project Analysis, Front-End Loading (FEL) benchmarking research.
It's how facilities end up with costly rework — relationships baked into the wrong places, utilities sized for the wrong loads, capacity and space allocated to the wrong things. VCE defines the operation first, so those decisions get made while they're still cheap to change.
Conflicts surface mid-construction — change orders, cost overruns, a broken schedule. Utilities and layouts get retrofitted after the fact instead of designed right the first time.
Program planning, then one engineered step before architectural design advances too far. Design, construction, and move-in continue exactly as they always have.
Swipe to see the full process →
The highlighted phase is what VCE adds. Architects and MEP engineers begin detailed design from a validated package, a schematic facility layout model included, instead of a blank sheet.
Flow and space studies can stand alone; the broader Engineer the Operation capabilities are integrated as the project requires.
Block layout, capacity, operating sequence and routing, relationships, space, flow, utilities, 2D/3D modeling, and operating-cost impact, run together into one concept package for your architect and MEP team.
Learn more →Just need to know if your space is used well, or where flow is wasting time? Pick a single piece. Each one stands on its own.
Learn more →No internal owner's rep with the bandwidth to run a disciplined four-gate process? VCE can serve as that accountable person, Phase 1 through Gate 4.
Learn more →Either way, the goal is the same: real answers before decisions get expensive to change.
Planning a new facility, expansion, renovation, or layout change? Let's talk about where you are in the process — and where the risk actually sits.
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