Builders who sub out all their labor face a built-in structural challenge: Virtually all their communication with field personnel crosses company lines. That makes documentation—vital to any custom builder—even more important. Chris Folk and Alan Banks (left to right in photo), who run a $2 million company with only one additional employee, recognized the problem early, and after only five years in business they have developed a simple but comprehensive system to control the situation. At its core is a computer database that collects all of the information generated on the company’s jobs. Every product selection, paint color, paper document, and e-mail is saved in digital form and can be accessed instantly from any computer on the company’s network. That keeps information organized, available, and far more compact than the three-ring binders that many custom builders use.
But this database is more than a passive electronic memory. Banks and Folk use it as a medium for communication. When a selection is entered into the database—a roof shingle, for example—it is keyed to the supplier who will deliver the product and the trade contractor who will install it. “Somebody’s name is always associated with that,” Banks says. “Somebody is responsible for every aspect of the house.” When the job schedule reaches the relevant date—say, three weeks before the roofing will go on—the database sends what Banks and Folk call a “Start Pack Fax” to the supplier and installer. Start Pack Faxes include all the information the subs need out on the job, from schedule and description of the work to driving directions and the location of the hidden house key. “We try to minimize phone conversations,” Banks says. A brief follow-up call confirming the fax is all that is required. Change orders are generated in similar fashion.
Unlike a phone call, the faxes remain as retrievable records in the database. That allows Banks and Folk to stay on top of the growing mound of data that accumulates on each job and to easily access data from previous jobs. “The advantage to us is profitability,” Banks says, “tighter schedule, fewer mistakes.” Since they put the system into use, they report, their average gross margin is up by 1.25 points.
Evans Coghill Homes, Charlotte, N.C.
www.evanscoghill.com
Type of business: custom builder
Years in business: 5
Employees: 3
2004 volume: $2.95 million
2004 starts: 7
