Quality is what every homebuyer is looking for in a new home – and what every builder and trade contractor claims to provide. Too often, however, building professionals demonstrate quality through the traditional, inefficient approach that requires multiple inspections and many repairs. Not only is this method time-consuming and costly, but it rarely results in customer satisfaction or prevents reoccurrence of problems.
To break this counterproductive cycle, we have refined the ISO 9000 quality management principals into our Home Innovation Quality Certified™ program – a set of requirements that provide outstanding quality management systems for builders and trade contractors.
Whether you’re a builder, a trade contractor, a supplier or service provider, our quality certification program participants will realize improved customer satisfaction, reduced call backs, and an improved bottom line.
To become Home Innovation Quality Certified™, a building company must have developed and implemented a formal quality management system that meets our Quality Certified Builder requirements. The system must include the company’s production, purchasing, sales, and customer service processes; must be effectively implemented for at least three months prior to applying for certification; and must have resulted in continuous company improvement.
To become Home Innovation Quality Certified™, a trade contractor must have developed and implemented a formal quality management system that meets our Quality Certified Trade Contractor requirements. A critically important element of the trade certification program is for the contractor to take primary responsibility for the quality of its own work and not rely on the builder’s inspections to find oversights. A Home Innovation Quality Certified contractor is responsible for job-ready, in-process, and job-complete inspections. The contractor must be able to demonstrate that its quality management system has been effectively deployed for at least three months and has resulted in a continuous improvement approach before applying for certification.
Having the proper materials and products delivered in good condition and on time are critical to a builder’s ability to deliver a high-quality home on time and on budget. The Home Innovation Quality Certified™ Supplier requirements focus on helping building product suppliers achieve this goal. The supplier must be able to demonstrate that its quality management system has been deployed for at least three months and has resulted in continuous improvements before applying for certification.
Quality management systems are also beneficial to those companies that provide support services to the home building industry. Organizations such as design firms, inspection firms, and cleaning services are eligible for Home Innovation Quality Certification as well. The Home Innovation Quality Certified™ Service Provider requirements help these businesses establish a customized QMS that will result in continuous improvements in the caliber of service they provide clients and in their overall customer satisfaction.
In addition to our certification program, our quality experts are available as consultants to help builders, trade contractors, and suppliers create or improve existing quality management systems. Consultative services are tailored to the needs your organization. Quality is especially critical to today’s high-performance, energy-efficient, and green homes, and we are experts at helping in this area.