Many home builders will resolve to get a handle on their schedules in the new year. They know sound scheduling practices lead to shorter cycle times, on-time completions, and higher profit margins, but many don’t know how to achieve them.
During a Jan. 10 education session at IBS, consultant Joe Stoddard, along with a builder who has made the switch to centralized scheduling, will provide details on selecting and implementing a system. Here, Stoddard talks with BUILDER about the importance of centrally managed scheduling.
Joe Stoddard will present "Centralized Scheduling: Build 25% Faster, 50% More Profitable & with 90% Fewer Hassles" at the International Builders' Show on Jan. 10 from 2 to 3 p.m.
The title of your session says it will help builders build 25% faster, 50% more profitable, and with 90% fewer hassles. Can you give us a few insights into what you’ll cover?
I’ll talk about spending substantially more time at the beginning of the job—in the planning stages—to spend less time in construction. I’ll show builders how to deliver the right information at the right time to the right people. When everyone is on the same page, so-called surprises (which really are the result of poor or nonexistent planning) are minimized so that the kinds of results we’re claiming in the session title really are possible.
Why is centrally managed scheduling so important for builders?
The schedule is one of the primary places builders can search for and eliminate multiple wastes, and centralized scheduling is one approach to that goal. Centralized scheduling allows builders to do more with less, which is at the heart of a lean business philosophy. It gives builders the tools to visualize their demand for cashflow, for skilled trades, for supervision, and for dig dates on one end of the process and closings on the other.
What are the challenges to implementing a central scheduling system?
The three major impediments that I see are:
–Poor time management. A builder can’t implement centralized multiple-project scheduling if he or she is not managing time in the first place, so we have to teach builders how to create and prosecute an accurate construction schedule if they’re not already doing it.
–Field staff that don’t update their project schedules as close to real time as possible. A multi-community, multi-project centralized schedule that is days or weeks out of date presents a threat to the health of a business because management is making financial or product decisions based on bad information.
–A fear of new technology. The ongoing issue of teaching old dogs new tricks can be a problem in terms of dealing with actual technology required for centralized scheduling. Thankfully it’s getting easier to help builders adopt new technology thanks to SmartPhones and more user-friendly “cloud” software.
How can builders evaluate which system to use?
There’s only one way I know of to successfully evaluate any technology or related systems. It involves approaching the problem top-down and getting clarity on “what” before thinking about “how.” In other words, builders have to identify their true objectives and requirements before they should even begin looking at specific products/services. The more detailed and clear the requirements, the better the odds of selecting a viable system. The best fit will become pretty obvious if you know exactly what you are looking for, and understand what compromises you can live with.
Far too often it goes the other way – a builder buys into something they see at a tradeshow before they have clarity on what it is they were trying to solve in the first place. Builders are impatient and want to buy something and start using it tomorrow morning – but that approach will almost never lead to a successful software project.
