RealTorch / Field Guide / Construction Management
14 / 15 The 15 Functions of a Homebuilding Company
Construction Management for Home Builders
Construction Management confirms that a home is ready before work begins.
“Construction, Warranty and Sales Must be Aligned and Consistent.”
At a glance.
- What this function decides
- Construction decides whether each job is ready to start. It defines the schedule, sets the pace of starts, manages active homes, coordinates superintendent and trade capacity, assigns problems, checks quality, completes punch work, and prepares the home for turnover.
- What you need to know
- The team needs the current plans, scopes, permits, selections, material orders, and trade commitments. It also needs stage definitions and dates, recorded holds, comparable homes, inspections, rework, punch lists, photos, travel time, available capacity, messages, and turnover requirements.
- What good work produces
- The output is a clear decision about a start, schedule, staffing need, or quality issue. It states which clock the team used, which stage changed, which jobs are ready, which jobs are waiting, who owns each problem, and what happens next.
A worked example.
The team assigns each of the 29 added days to a schedule stage and chooses what to check first.
Atlas
Cycle time moved from 118 to 147 days. First tell me exactly when our clock starts and stops, which holds pause it, and which homes make a fair comparison. Then use the schedule, permit, selections, and plan-revision records to show which stages gained the 29 days. Show the sample size, median, and the result for the slower quarter of homes. For each likely cause, name the owner, the days we may recover, how confident we are, and what the team should check next.
Tools and sources used
File Retrieval5+
Atlas reviewed the schedule definition, holds, stage dates, permits, selections, plan revisions, and resubmittals for 48 homes.
- Used
- The review used five operating records. Each record included the relevant home, plan, jurisdiction, community, and dates.
- Did
- Put all 48 homes on the same clock, split the work into common stages, and flagged missing or conflicting dates.
- Supports
- The records show which stages account for the change from 118 to 147 days.
Builder Knowledge Lookup+
Atlas used the builder methods for schedule definitions, job readiness, field capacity, finishing work, quality checks, and turnover.
- Used
- The review used the Construction Management guide and the related Administration and Selections guide.
- Did
- Atlas reviewed each stage separately. It kept the 12 days that still need an explanation in the result.
- Supports
- The method supports a review of the complete schedule before the team changes a trade or process.
Running Analysis+
Atlas compared homes by plan, jurisdiction, community, and quarter. It reported the median, the slower quarter, and the number of homes.
- Used
- The analysis used the combined schedule history for 48 homes.
- Did
- Placed all 29 added days into stages, compared like homes, separated likely explanations from open time, and generated the XLSX bridge and PDF plan.
- Supports
- The analysis explains 17 days and identifies the 12 days that need better field records.
Saving File2+
Atlas saved the stage-by-stage schedule comparison and the plan for the next review.
- Used
- The saved files are the Cycle Time Evidence Bridge workbook and the Cycle Time Investigation Plan PDF.
- Did
- Atlas saved the calculations, missing or conflicting records, next actions, owners, and follow-up checks.
- Supports
- A leadership review that shows where the schedule changed, who owns each next step, and what the team will measure.
Twenty-one of the 29 added days happened before start. The records explain 17 days. The team will collect the information needed to explain the other 12.
The company measures calendar days from contract to turnover and pauses the clock for formally recorded buyer holds. We compared 24 earlier homes with 24 current homes. The median moved from 118 to 147 days, and the slower quarter of homes moved from 132 to 166. Selections added 8 days, permit-to-start added 13, and three field stages added 3, 2, and 3, for the full 29-day change. Matched homes entering selections after the catalog expansion ran a median 8 days longer. Bellamy homes with the repeated engineering resubmittal ran a median 11 permit days longer than matched Bellamy homes without it. In that comparison, the repeated resubmittal accounts for about 9 of the 13 added permit days. That gives leadership two clear places to start: correct the repeated plan detail and test an earlier selections deadline. Four pre-start days and all 8 field days still need an explanation. The team will add reason codes and owners at those stages. The next review can then explain the changes using recorded field information.
| Stage | Earlier median | Current median | Change | What the records show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract to selections | 24 d | 32 d | +8 | Catalog-change group ran 8 days longer |
| Permit to start | 19 d | 32 d | +13 | The repeated plan resubmittal explains 9 days. Four days still need an explanation. |
| Start to dry-in | 31 d | 34 d | +3 | This stage gained 3 days. The next review will record the reason. |
| Dry-in to trim | 28 d | 30 d | +2 | This stage gained 2 days. The next review will record the reason. |
| Trim to turnover | 16 d | 19 d | +3 | This stage gained 3 days. The next review will record the reason. |
| Total | 118 d | 147 d | +29 | The records explain 17 days. The team will collect the reason for the other 12. |
- 1Correct the repeated Bellamy detail and measure the next homesProduct and Engineering own this work. The current estimate is 7 to 11 recoverable days. Compare the next homes in the same jurisdiction. Confidence is medium.
- 2Test an earlier selections deadlineAdministration and Selections own this test. The current estimate is 4 to 8 recoverable days. Measure release time, buyer changes, and permit rework. Confidence is medium.
- 3Capture why the other 12 days movedConstruction Operations owns this work. Add a reason, owner, and schedule effect at each stage. The current estimate is 0 to 12 recoverable days. Confidence is low.