Upon receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Illinois, Howard joined the Peace Corps and served in Colombia, South America, where he designed rural schools built with community labor. Returning to the USA he went to work for the Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago, first as an architect, then as a project manager, a construction contract administrator and finally as Value Engineering Officer. After 16 years he left the Corps to open his own consulting firm. In the interim he received his MA with a focus in Urban Studies from Loyola University of Chicago.
Howard brings to his work a wealth of practical experience accumulated over 30 years applying and teaching Value methodology for design and construction, manufactured products and business processes. Howard has managed two in-house Value programs, directed his own Value consulting firm and worked and taught in private, public and university settings in the USA and abroad. He has brought the benefits of Value methodology to hundreds of projects from small electrical switches selling for several dollars to large design and construction undertakings in the $500 million to $750 million range.
To help participants better understand and apply Value methodology Howard consistently seeks ways to improve how he conducts studies and training. He has integrated into his Value work processes from other methodologies including Total Quality Management. Howard creatively extends basic Value methodology, including Function Analysis and FAST, to derive tools for teams to use in such diverse arenas as Partnering, Process Improvement, Strategic Planning and Enhancing Team Performance. He pioneered using FAST diagramming to scope and budget projects. His in depth understanding of basic Value methodology and insistence on thorough Function Analysis contributes heavily to Howard working successfully with Value teams in design and construction, manufacturing and business process improvement.
Howard has facilitated over 250 Value Engineering studies, taught more than 40 SAVE Approved Module I workshops, several Module II courses and presented many shorter training courses and papers at SAVE International Conferences, to the International Facility Management Association, and for the American Institute of Architects and other organizations. He has written numerous articles on Value Engineering, the first of which was published in 1978 and contributed sections on Value Engineering to two books on project management. Howard is a past Chair of the SAVE Certification Board. In 1994 SAVE recognized his contributions to the Value profession by presenting him with its Distinguished Service Award.
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