Housing Giants - March 1, 2009 - (Page 6) tech By Tom Gebes, BuilderMT 3-part tech Overhaul keeps builder running How one builder upgraded its technology, revamped its workflow and tapped an expert to save 5 FTES Have you got your eyes covered to block out the horror show of this market? Well, you can peek. One home builder that has contracted operations is doing quite well. Technology upgrades, revamped workflow systems and investing in a tech expert has saved the company five fulltime equivalents — and in these times, that savings is huge. The builder you’ll soon learn about requested anonymity – his formula has been so successful, he fears his practices would be poached by local competitors. Still, the company has key takeaways you can use. The home builder has been around for decades, and it’s been winning awards for more than 15 years. In 2008, the company started 500 homes in multiple cities. That’s down from more than 700 in 2007, but 500 starts makes them a remarkably successful home builder in any market. Though the company has all the hallmarks of a production home builder, it wasn’t always a production builder. Indeed, it deliberately assumed that identity — along with the responsibilities and processes for building homes at that scale — about three or four years ago. As a result, it has grown dramatically in the last three years. 06 03.01.09 HOUSING GIANTS www.HousingGiants.com At its peak, the company recently carried almost 230 employees, but it’s down to fewer than 200 employees now. That includes an employed sales team of 30 people who are apparently doing a heck of a job, because they exceeded a January sales goal by well over a dozen homes. There are 20 superintendents in all their cities of operation, and the remainder of the team — 150 people — is distributed among departments such as construction management; service and warranty management; drafting and design; estimating; accounting; IT; and office administration. Latent Technology Brought to Life Here’s the irony of this home builder’s story. A few years ago they had committed to a technology upgrade, bringing in a workflow management system, accounting, estimating and sales front-end. It was paid for and fully implemented in 2005, but some of the management apparently didn’t recognize the full utility of the systems they have purchased. The result: The technology systems sat dormant, and the builder didn’t realize the workforce reduction it has since achieved. Plus, the company’s workflow has since been optimized for better customer service and faster turnaround on design. Then the company brought in a new staff technology expert who played a major role in the technology revitalization effort. Now, with its systems up and running the right way and after investing in some professional services, it saved five full-time equivalents. At a typical carrying cost of the staff technology expert claims that if it didn’t have technology, the builder would triple its overhead and operating costs. http://www.buildermt.com/ http://www.HousingGiants.com
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