Help Wanted

Building Material Holding Corp.'s BMC Construction division, which specializes primarily in framing and foundation services, took bundling to a new level in 2005 when it acquired two western-area plumbing contractors, Riggs Supply and Campbell Cos.

There are still skeptics, though, who question the very concept of bundling. North Brunswick, N.J.–based Five Star Carpentry, which installs framing, finished carpentry, kitchen cabinets, and tile, stopped installing drywall and doesn't plan to get into other products. “We've found that contractors that claim to be jacks of all trades are masters of none,” says Five Star owner Nathan Levitt.

Builders and contractors spend too much time fixing construction mistakes that might have been caught earlier though systematic supervision and training.

James Glowania thinks there's a simple solution to construction delays: Builders and contractors should subscribe to the NAHB's National Housing Quality (NHQ) Certification program. Glowania is general production manager for Wauconda, Ill.–based Prate Installation, a $25 million business with 200-plus installers, and one of the few roofing contractors nationwide that are NHQ-certified. He says the program calls for pre-production meetings with builders to determine manpower and material needs, which “gives us structure. We know sooner when [a house] will be ready for us.” While declining to quantify Prate's improvements in days, Glowania says that since the company was certified in 2004, its workers take 10 percent to 14 percent less time to complete their stages of a house.

Ed Caldeira, a Maryland-based quality consultant, compares how some builders and contractors address construction problems as they pop up to a game of “whack-a-mole.” As an alternative, Caldeira recommends “saner” jobsite supervision that focuses systematically on “first-time quality” as a way of significantly cutting the days needed for callbacks. (Caldeira claims one client, St. Joe Towns & Resorts, shaved 36 days off its cycle time by using his formula.) Caldeira says every project is susceptible to recurring mistakes—such as hangers that aren't nailed properly—that installers can be trained not to miss. He also reminds clients that first-time quality and on-time delivery are “key factors” in buyer satisfaction. “Builders should expect defect-free work from contractors, just as buyers expect it from builders,” he says. “Otherwise, builders will be left holding the bag.”

Contractors close costly gaps in building stages.

Wheeler's Building Materials, Rome, Ga.

Schuck and Sons Construction Co., Glendale, Ariz.

Prate Installation, Wauconda, Ill.

Carroll Insulation, Eldersburg, Md.