2007 National Housing Quality Award Winners
Winning a National Housing Quality Award requires more than just operating a great building company; it requires real effort. Not only do you have to implement sophisticated operating processes in your company that improve performance, you have to document those processes in an extensive application.
Gold: Benchmarking the industry
On the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula in a small town with a funny name is a progressive builder with lofty goals. Estes Builders isn't interested in just being good; it wants to be great. "No matter what thing we're working on, we look to be in the top 20 percent nationally. We're benchmarking against the best in the country," says company founder and president, Kevin Estes.
Silver: Floored by Technology
Floor Art, a small residential flooring contractor in metropolitan Phoenix, is intensely focused on customer and employee satisfaction. With a well-established strategic planning process, the firm stays a steady course toward growth and financial success. Technology is resourcefully used to effectively achieve the firm's overall vision and mission.
Silver: Operational Know-How
Schuck and Sons Construction Co. operates like a well-oiled quality control machine. With a solid reputation for professionalism and superior workmanship in the markets it serves, the company continues to experience steady sales volume growth. Already an NHQ Award recipient in 2004, the firm has once again achieved a Silver level award for 2006.
Construction Quality
Honorable Mention: Doing It Right the First Time
Keystone Custom Homes keeps its trades accountable to "doing it right the first time," demonstrating that the pen is mightier than the saw in ensuring construction quality
Honorable Mention: Human Touch
It's not written in a formal statement or printed on any wall, but Atlantic Builders' mission is to instill a sense of ownership in its employees. President Tom Schoedel and his partner Adam Fried have created a family atmosphere at this Fredericksburg, Va., building company by empowering employees and giving them a say in how things are run.
Best Practices
From Trash to Treasure: How Builders Can Limit Construction Waste
Helpful ideas builders can use to put jobsite waste to work and limit the amount of construction waste they send to the landfill
Product Review: Software
Here is an overview of current software on the market for various facets of the home building industry.
Customer Satisfaction
Leading the Way to Better Customer Service
Many home builders invest in customer service training for their staff, but they will always fall short if the company's leadership doesn't model attitudes and behavior
Cleaning Up the Clean Water Act
Two initiatives are in the works that would streamline the Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System of the Clean Water Act, which regulates storm water pollution on construction sites.
