By Wayne A. Endicott
The National Association of Home Builders Research Center's National Housing Quality Certification Program provides a solid tool for builders in their search for a way to meet or exceed the expectations of their customers and thereby reduce service calls. That's the message that Don Carr of the Research Center passed along to his audience at a seminar Wednesday at the 2006 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.
"The program," Don said, "is designed to ensure the homebuilder's purchaser and the customer of any trade contractor that there is a documented quality-assurance system in place and that it is fully operational at all times."
A quality-assurance system approaches the subject on two primary fronts:
1) The builder should make sure that specifications are met by verifying conformance and correcting defects.
2) It should focus on continuous improvement to prevent these defects from occurring in the first place.
Doing it right the first time is a good mantra to follow, Don suggested. He also cautioned, "Be sure that your program is both systematic and reproducible." Without both characteristics, it will be impossible to guarantee the same quality in the next house.
A win-win deal
Pointing out that establishing a quality-assurance program can benefit the builder, Don enumerated some of the advantages:
- Fewer callbacks and service calls
- Increased credibility in the marketplace
- Establishment of a common goal for all trades
- Providing objective feedback to use as a basis for continuous improvement.
"Customer satisfaction adds up to more repeat business," Don said. It also lowers general liability insurance premiums and can reduce or eliminate lawsuits brought on by defects.
The first step to any quality-assurance program is to set goals, then put a system in place to measure progress against those goals. The same is true for a builder to determine if his company has met customer expectations: It is imperative for builders to measure and track the level of customer satisfaction, Don added. The builder must identify where problems may lie and where there is room for improvement. Communication throughout the company–sales staff, construction personnel and the purchasing department–keeps everybody on track, he added.
To receive certification under the NHQ program, a builder must operate an approved quality-assurance program. To ensure that the program is ongoing, an independent third party confirms the operation of each builder's quality system annually.
The program must include documented training for all operations, including staff training and evaluation, trade training and evaluation, adherence to code requirements and to manufacturer installation requirements.
An effective quality-assurance program can go a long way to increase buyer satisfaction and reduce service calls and customer complaints. It's a true win-win situation: happier clients with better quality homes, and happier builders with better profits.
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