TIGHTER CONTROLThe Builder MT software identifies every milestone in the construction process. If the milestone is tied to a purchase order, once the super signs off, Builder MT tells the Timberline accounting system to pay the bill. No data entry is required, and back-office clerks don't have to reconcile the sub's invoice with the original purchase order. The company works off the original purchase order. All the back-office clerk has to do is click a button, and a check is cut.
“At first, it freaked the subs out that we wouldn't be taking invoices anymore,” says Goff. “But our biggest vendors are getting their checks now before they internally print an invoice,” he explains, adding that there's a link between paying subs on time and staying on schedule.
Moving forward, Goff plans to add the sales and warranty management/ customer care features built into Builder MT. He says the added applications will be most welcome from a customer service perspective. For example, he really wants his salespeople and customer care people to be able to bring up a customer's full history with the company on a PC.
But Goff says the real impact on cycle time is with the construction phase. “When it comes to reducing cycle time, it all starts with scheduling and production,” he concludes.
AUTOMATION TIPSHere's how back-office software can help you reduce cycle time and improve customer relations.
Use the right product. Find a software company that understands home building. Leaders include Builder MT/Timberline, BuildTopia, Constellation, Homesphere, Latista, Mark Systems, and Reflex.Get your processes in order. Installing software over an inefficient construction system makes no sense. Work closely with your supers and subs to tighten up construction quality standards so that nothing moves forward until the last task is 100 percent complete. It's intricate and difficult, but worth the effort.Set a baseline schedule. Graham Hart Home Builder sets its closing date 120 days from the start date. This will give you enough air in the schedule to move up the close date if the customer prefers, but if the system is working properly, you shouldn't have to push the close date back.Use available handheld tools. Many builders use BlackBerrys or some other handheld to update schedules and sign off on purchase orders. The handhelds eliminate time wasted driving back and forth to the home office. With a handheld system tied into accounting, supers no longer have to spend Fridays reviewing paperwork and signing invoices by hand.Communicate frequently with customers. Give customers a password to your Web site so they can view the schedule and/or e-mail them the status of their house every week. Show them that you are keeping to the schedule and that there is a plan. Nothing turns off customers more than if they think the builder's processes are out of control and the original deadlines won't be met.REALISTIC RESULTSGraham Hart Home Builder, Grapevine, Texas
ACTION: Combined streamlined construction processes with construction management software from BuilderMT and Timberline's accounting software.TIME SAVED: Reduced cycle time from roughly 140 days to 108 days from the start of a house to completion.