Builder

BUILDERONLINE.COM BUILDER 33

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 an 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.

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 plan-

ning stages—to spend

less time in construc-

tion. 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.

Flex

Spaces

CENTRALIZED

SCHEDULING

with

JOE STODDARD

Founder,

Mountain Consulting Group

KBIS

ATTENDEES

WILL BE

THE FIRST

TO SEE THIS

CUSTOMIZABLE

BEDROOM

AND HOME

OFFICE

Why is centrally managed sched-

uling so important for builders?

The schedule is one of the primary

places builders can search for and

eliminate multiple wastes. Central-

ized 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 cash flow, 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 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.

► Field staff that don’t update their

project schedules as close to real

time as possible. A multicommunity,

multiproject 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that is days or weeks out of date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.

How can builders evaluate

which system to use?

There’s only one way I know of to

successfully evaluate any technol-

ogy or related systems. It involves

approaching the problem top-down

and getting clarity on “what” before

thinking about “how.” 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 under-

stand what compro-

mises you can live with.

EDUCATION

SESSION

Centralized Scheduling:

Build 25% Faster,

50% More Profitable

With 90% Fewer Hassles

JAN. 10 → 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

the team behind virginia tech’s housing
prototype FutureHaus returns to the Kitchen
& Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in January to
unveil the latest phase of the university’s four-
part, research-driven project. KBIS, co-located
with IBS in Orlando, will be held Jan. 10-12.
Led by architecture professor Joseph
Wheeler, the FutureHaus concept looks at
factory prefabrication of the individual rooms
and parts of a home. This year’s exhibit will
demonstrate a customizable bedroom and
home office divided by a movable closet wall
that can shift to expand or contract the room to
accommodate different activities.
The multipurpose space is fitted with several
futuristic enhancements. To take the guess-
work out of dressing, the exhibit’s smart closet
communicates with tiny radio frequency iden-
tification (RFID) tags in the user’s clothing
that scan and locate items and display them on
the unit’s smart mirror. Self-opening drawers
and automated carousels deliver articles of
clothing to the user or help sort dirty laundry
by placing it inside a designated hamper.
For telecommuters, a built-in adjustable
desk raises and lowers to alternate between
sitting or standing work positions, and a wall
clad with glass also serves as a white board and
spins 180 degrees to facilitate video conferenc-
ing with the unit’s wall-mounted cameras.
Wheeler says this flexible approach aims to
shrink the amount of square footage people
need, resulting in more affordable homes. “We
envision that future homes will be more like
our cars: more technologically advanced, user-
friendly, accessible, adaptable, affordable,
oC energy-efficient, and sustainable,” he says.
urt

esy Joe

Sto

dd

ard;

Ren

dering co

urt

esy V

T^ Futu

re

HAUS