How to: Build in Quality in New Home Construction

 A recent Carl Seville blog, Desperately Seeking Quality, was featured in Green Building Advisor.

Associate QI with task to achieve Milestone

Great title!

Seville bemoans a shortage of skilled labor and current high volume of work combining to create knowledge and communications gaps in the field.

Seville asks: "Where is the quality control?" He says inspectors are finding a significant amount of deficient work and that field superintendents tend to rely on their subcontractors to monitor their own work.

Most would agree: quality needs to start early in the process. While it can be reviewed or measured at the end of a job, that's really too late to be effective.  At that point, quality problems mean rework is the solution -- and that's both costly and inefficient.

Having your home buyers walk their new home to discover problems doesn't build the type of relationship home builders need in today's market.   Facebook is only too happy to post photos and comments submitted by unhappy homeowners.  And, referrals are too good of a source for future business to ignore.

One effective way to build in quality is to develop Quality Inspection measures at meaningful points throughout the construction process.  Don't wait for a  builder walk check list, in other words! Your Quality Inspections don't need to measure at every milestone although that might be a reasonable initial starting point.

QI templates drill down for specifics

Are you using automated scheduling software? Make a Quality Inspection the last task of a milestone in the schedule.  In other words, the milestone can't be complete until every task -- including the Quality Inspection -- is complete. That way, your superintendent or field manager is reviewing work in a timely manner and schedules stuck at a milestone with an open QI task are easily identified within schedule progress.

CPS offers construction scheduling software providing Quality Inspection processes -- contact us and see how FieldCollaborate lets you build in quality during the construction process! And, you'll be doing it on the jobsite, in real-time with results available for your vendors, anywhere/anytime, using the Vendor Portal.

IBS2016 Forum Preview: Are the Best Builders the Best Schedulers?

CPS' Troy Warr and Noelle Tarabulski, Builder Consulting Group's President, will be presenting an IBS 2016 Education Forum, Are the Best Builders the Best Schedulers?

Join us at 2pm, Tuesday, January 19th in Central Hall Booth 9327! 

The presentation will take about 40 minutes -- and there will be a brief Q&A period afterwards, as well.  CE credits are available!

One of the key ideas to be presented is that home builder scheduling is an ever-evolving -- and collaborative -- process.  The end result, on any given day, is a published schedule that is the most authentic source of information.

Good Scheduling Provides a Single Source of Good Data!

Many individuals and organizations (just to name a few: vendors, field managers, management, accounting, options coordinators and, of course, buyers!!) need to know when a construction task is scheduled -- as well as when it is completed.  And,  they all need to know if it is rescheduled.

One objective of a good scheduling process is to provide a single source of information -- available to all stakeholders, anytime/anywhere.  There shouldn't be multiple schedules or a need to call/fax/text someone to find out if XYZ Plumbing is supposed to be on Lot 35 tomorrow.  Everyone should be able to pull that information -- on their own -- and there can only be a single source for that information.

Want to learn how to get to a single, reliable source of scheduling information -- and how to optimize your homebuilding organization as a result?  Join us on Tuesday!

Perspective on the Buyer's Journey

Most sales agents know, when talking to a potential customer, they should be interacting from the perspective of the "buyer's journey," rather than a "by the rules" sales process.

Not everyone, however, has an understanding of how purchase decisions are made durin that "journey" and how creative sales/marketing tools are available to facilitate that decision making process.

CPS SalesTouch: an interactive, visual sales tool

To better understand the psychology behind why people buy, Gareth Goh at Insight Squared suggests several ideas that we related to CPS sales/marketing products:

• Buyers respond psychologically to visual elements and stories: We've talked about it previously; buyers (particularly women involved in new home purchases) are drawn by stories as they picture themselves experiencing similar events. And, while facts and figures are important, the buyer's purchase process is facilitated by images. Take a look at the SalesTouch system displayed above; can't you imagine being part of that cheering Rodeo crowd or taking a walk along the trail?

• Buyers crave value: Buyers are motivated by the thought that they are receiving as much value as possible.  Value isn't a fixed dollar amount, however -- it is a relative assessment. Why not highlight community amenities, neighborhood "hot spots", schools in the area through an interactive exploration to increase your community's value?  Your buyers will keep peeling the onion to find out more and, as a result of their exploration, obtain additional value.

Selling skills and processes are key to being a successful sales agent -- but so is having an understanding of what motivates buyers and having tools on hand to develop that process.

Interested in learning more about adding visual elements, stories and a value proposition to your sales office experience? Contact CPS for SalesTouch details.

Bringing Green Out from "Behind the Walls"

Incorporating green into building has been gaining momentum -- particularly, according to a recent Constructech article -- among residential homebuilders.  Builders, says Constructech, can market green from a cost savings perspective -- thus, a gaining a competitive value add in the marketing equation.

What drives consumer interest in green?

A recent Navigant Research study (discussed in a Constructech article here) suggests home energy-management systems have had a difficult time gaining traction in the market. But...Navigant suggests increased awareness will drive future growth.

How can you provide the critical increased awareness so your home shoppers will want to buy-in to your energy-saving options?  Take a look at what Navigant says are the primary drivers: the desire to reduce electricity bills as well as utilize smart thermostats.

Consumers have signaled their interest -- how are you responding?  One great way to

What type of imagery is more impactful: Product or Lifestyle?

CPS develops interactive touchscreen presentations for clients to use in customer-facing environments.  Our SalesTouch product (used in sales and leasing offices) frequently displays neighborhood amenities -- schools, shopping, dining, recreation, etc. 

We're often asked, "What do you think? Should we use pictures of the outside of the location or a map or something different?"

Wouldn't you like to find out more about living in this neighborhood?

The same question can be asked more generically, "What types of images motivate consumers: product or lifestyle?" since motivating a consumer decision is the ultimate objective of the image.

Opinions vary all over the map. 

Those advocating for "product" say that type of image creates a communications path and link with the product. 

Others suggest "lifestyle" saying those images can instantly illustrate an unrealized need in an uncomplicated fashion. 

In a somewhat informal poll, using marketing blogs, lifestyle appears to be the most prevalent.  Karl Adrian said it well, "Rule of thumb: first, sell the heart, then the mind, then the wallet with product benefits and pricing." 

What do you think?