3 Things to Consider Before Developing a QA Program

A quality assurance (QA) program is an important part of any homebuilding business. These programs ensure customer satisfaction and maintain construction quality. Since QA is so important, you might think that everyone in the homebuilding industry is an expert on the subject, however, that’s often not the case. The cliché, “if it were easy, everyone would be doing it” certainly applies to QA. If you’ve never had a program like this before or lack the elements needed to implement one, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Here are a few important things to consider when contemplating a QA program:

1 – Customer Feedback is Priority Number One

There are a number of factors that make a successful QA program, but asking for customer feedback is at the foundation. Distributing customer satisfaction surveys to all homebuyers will uncover issues that need addressed and give them an opportunity to share what’s important to them. Some builders hire an outside survey firm for this, while others prefer to do the work in-house. Regardless, the survey results identify recurring problems that need corrected first, which sets in motion the course of action for the rest of your program.

2 – Understand the ROI of QA

Before developing or adopting a QA program, it’s important to understand how it could impact your business. Aside from ensuring satisfied customers, you’ll also experience a significant amount of return on your investment (ROI).

By studying satisfaction data from leading survey firms and surveying a number of production builders, Professional Builder magazine reported the average builder could save $7,200 per house by investing about $1,200 in QA. That’s a 6:1 savings return for every dollar invested in quality.* It’s clear that the investment in QA pays for itself many times over but it will also improve the overall quality of the homes you build.

3 – Partnering with a Franchise Will Make Things Easier

Developing your own QA program requires a lot of time, resources and money. Builders across the country have found that partnering with a franchise has given them a blueprint to solve the challenges that come with building and managing a QA program. At Epcon, we supply our franchise builders with a complete, field-tested QA system, along with multiple support options.

Pat McKee, owner of McKee Homes, became an Epcon Franchise Builder in 2007 and has gone from building 20 to 200 homes per year. The support he enjoys includes all the essential elements of a QA program: pre-engineered floorplans, a library of best practice details for use by installers and surveys of each homebuyer.

Uncover the keys to QA success when you download our toolkit, How to Solve the Quality Assurance Puzzle.

This is part 1 in a series highlighting the elements of a successful QA program. Read part 2: Improve Your Home Quality, Improve Your ROI

*Professional Builder Magazine, March 2017