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Written by Jason Baumgarten
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Wednesday, 10 October 2007 |
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Home Builders Cite Communication Woes
FMI, management consultants to the construction industry, just released its first survey of construction management practices for home builders. Communication, especially oral communication, is a big area of concern for construction managers.
Who Said What
The “FMI 2007 Residential Construction Management Survey” was comprised of construction executives that build in the range of 250 homes a year to those that build more than 2,000 homes per year. Ten of the industry’s top 40 homebuilders participated. It was estimated that, on average, the company divisions represented in this survey build an average of 1,125 homes per year and the total homes built by all respondents made up an estimated 3 percent of new homes sold in the U.S. in 2006.
The majority (74 percent) of individuals who completed the survey were vice presidents, presidents and CEOs. Other survey participants included directors of construction and production managers.
In addition to communication, the survey results also indicated that as much as 27 percent of home builders are still relying on lists and records tracked manually in order to manage the construction process, leaving significant opportunity to implement new technology such as project management enterprise software and collaboration tools.
Management Lists Top Concerns
The top construction management concerns for home builders, according to FMI’s research, are:
- Lack of communication skills - not only in construction, but between divisions.
- Poor business acumen and little understanding of the financial aspect of construction management
- Poor project pre-start processes
- Incompetent subcontractors and poor management of those subcontractors
- Cultural resistance to change
Nearly one-third of respondents felt it was possible to improve schedules and budget by more than 11 percent by better planning in pre-construction and getting trade contractors involved during this phase.
All of these challenges are things that are within the home builder’s control, assuming leadership is committed to improvement. Through some simple process and behavioral change, each one of these challenges can be overcome.
Technology Lags
The construction industry has often been accused of being slow to adopt technology for productivity gains, but technologies like project management enterprise software and collaboration tools are increasingly entering the construction process for homebuilders. Among the challenges are the questions of developing and using software solutions in-house or from outside software vendors as well as the need to train all those in the division and across divisions that utilize the software.
Construction managers need to be able to take on a number of roles that require good communication, good business knowledge and an understanding of the financial aspects of building. Technology plays an important role in enabling construction managers to track and manage a wealth of data in real time. While it is apparent that many homebuilders are still relying on lists and records tracked manually (27 percent), this approach is often slow and doesn’t readily adapt to the increasingly fast pace conducive to improving productivity.
Missing an Opportunity
Since nearly 40 percent of construction managers are responsible for more than $20 million per year, developing skilled and trained construction managers in the areas of leadership, communication skills, and financial management will provide significant opportunities to improve the schedule and increase the bottom line for home builders. SLDT |
Sustainable Land Development Today 
