In small custom building companies, communication is seldom a major concern. The right hand always knows what the left hand is doing. The larger a company becomes, the farther lines of communication are stretched. Communication—both within the company and with clients, suppliers, and subcontractors—becomes a matter of procedures or perish. Larry Weinberg (left photo) and Josh Baker, principals of BOWA Builders, have taken their company past the $20 million mark with rock-solid procedures built around a deceptively simple set of internal and external reports.
The regime kicks off each project with a checklist of permits, utility-company and neighbor notifications, and long-lead selections. Field superintendents file daily and weekly reports. Clients get a weekly progress memo from the production staff, usually via e-mail. By keeping clients updated on decisions they need to make—and producing a record of such notifications—the weekly memo can be a lifesaver, says Weinberg. “The intent is not to replace face-to-face meetings. But clients are busy, architects are busy. Not having that meeting can be devastating to a project.”
Perhaps the sharpest arrow in BOWA’s quiver is what Weinberg and Baker call “the daily huddle,” a mandatory 10-minute conference call for each work group that ensures that employees start the day fully informed. “It also gives us the opportunity to pass information from management through the company,” says Baker, and the daily open-channel works horizontally as well as vertically. When one crew needs extra hands on the job, for example, “There’s not this back-and-forth and phone tag. They literally say ‘Can you spare a couple of people from noon to two o’clock?’ It gives you the ability to shift resources effectively.”
Other simple but smart production procedures include tracking unscheduled lumberyard runs, retaining independent safety inspectors to conduct unannounced site inspections, and publishing a regular newsletter to notify subcontractors of upcoming projects.
Custom building is a game of continuously shifting variables, Weinberg says. “When you’re a company of 15 people it’s not that hard to adjust.” Thanks to an unblinking focus on communication, “as a company of 90 people we’re just as nimble.”
BOWA Builders Inc., McLean, Va.
Type of business: custom builder, remodeler
Years in business: 17
Employees: 83
2003 volume: $21.5 million
2003 starts: 2 custom homes, 26 major remodels, 102 small projects
