"Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth." Any multi-location builder who solicits input and assimilates changes from designers, architects, project managers, sales staff and even homeowners to floorplans, 3D renderings or CAD drawings, knows that old saying.
As every staff person adds or subtracts different ingredients, the home design can turn into a lengthy, costly and sour-tasting Hungarian goulash instead of a delicious masterpiece. So much for "home cooking." The compilation and retrieval of accurate as-built documentation has always been a problem for designers, builders, developers and homebuyers. Builders need a strategy and technology for creating and tying electronic as-built with computerized project scheduling, marketing department renderings, and even options selection.
In this era when large homebuilders are under pressure to accommodate more closings in order to maintain growth (and please investors), Mike Richards, operations manager, central services for SunCor Development Co., a master-plan community developer based in Tempe, Ariz., knew the bitter taste of duplicative efforts-especially during the red-line revision process for engineering documents for site development, road construction, or water and sewer construction plans. In many cases, changes were made in parallel by multiple personnel. Often times, those changes were contradictory or duplicative.
For example, SunCor has new projects on the drawing board in Boise, Idaho, Sante Fe, N.M., and Southern Utah. Richards says it can be "a challenge to communicate effectively between all the locations."
The solution for SunCor and other developers and builders, such as Richmond American Homes in Chicago and Maracay Builders in Scottsdale, Ariz., is Web-based systems for real-time archival of as-built documentation that integrates CAD, 3D modeling and graphics output systems. These systems allow builders to more easily render 3D modeling or elevations through the municipal approval process, but also save builders time and money during the basic drafting process.
"We are looking to have significant reductions in lag time during the red-line process," says Richards. He says he hopes to take the efficiencies a step farther by also honing the options selection procedure with homeowners, potentially cutting weeks out of the process.
Many builders hire architects, draftsmen and CAD specialists and more. Having software that interactively combines many of these services saves builders time and money. For example, many builders recreate house renderings from scratch for their marketing-style brochures. With a quality interactive system, those renderings can be picked right out of the finished architectural drawings supplied to the municipality for final approval. Often, those architectural drawings must be maintained during the life of the community.
SunCor is just starting use of its collaboration software system. "We were initially looking for an interactive floorplan system. It's a young technology, and we wanted a system that would allow buyers to select floorplans and options over Web and drop those selections graphically into their new home plan. During that process, we saw the value in combining everything into one system, from engineering documentation changes to 3D modeling to renderings," says Richards. SunCor is not integrating its drafting/architectural department into its collaboration software.
"We just started our first community using interactive plans, with a second and third going online soon," adds Richards. Previously at SunCor, the sales staff would indicate on the floorplan which options were selected by the homebuyer. Those selections were then drawn on paper by the options coordinator, who in turn gave the drawing to one of the company's architects, who would then convert it into a "neater" drawing, according to Richards. The entire process was at least two weeks in length.
"With interactive floorplans, we will cut the amount of time it takes to finalize development plans. The next phase for us will be adding Internet access for the homeowner in selecting lot sites, floorplans and options," adds Richards.
Software Offers 300% Bump
Like a lot of builder/developers, Chris Canaday, president and owner of Canaday & Company in Tustin, Calif., likes to know exactly how much a project is going to cost and what his profits will be before he even purchases the land. Sometimes, determining the total ROI on a project can be difficult, especially when he must estimate the land price, sales prices for each unit, total construction costs, fees and permits, advertising, model home operation, sales commissions, loan draw costs, overhead and many other variables.
"In a 24-month project, that's a lot. If one number changes, they all change," says Canaday, who builds mostly in small subdivisions. For years, he used a simple program to calculate cash flow and budgets. It worked, but it wasn't flexible. Canaday emphatically says the company is "300 times more productive" since he embraced software in his business. Ten years ago, he built 50 to 70 homes. In 2004, Canaday & Company built 200 homes and is now working on a 270-lot project with a 1,500-home project in the hopper.
Using a new software system that helps track projections has been key to the growth. "[The software] is great at giving me the 'what-ifs' for front-end feasibility. In 15 minutes I can create pro forma reports for cash flow, equity and ROI in whatever timeframe I want...per month, per quarter or per year," says Canaday.
With his new larger projects on the drawing board, Canaday is also excited about using software to help him better calculate and track land purchasing and entitlements and land development scheduling process.