Thrnkey Dealers Working with builders to make structural framing easier and faster

By Joel Russell Millard Lumber Inc.

CITRUCTURAL framing is one of L)the single largest components of building a home-accounting for approximately 20Vo of construction costs according to the National Association of Home Builders. With the costs, labor, and schedule challenges of building framing, is it any wonder builders are increasingly looking to professional building material dealers to partner with them to find solutions?

Millard Lumber has found that more builders are turning to their dealers for turnkey building solutions (combining labor and materials) for the inherent time and cost savings and higher quality versus site-built framing. And, the current slowdown in housing is providing them the time to re-evaluate how they build homes and look for ways to do it more efficiently. Pro dealers can attract and retain customers, and potentially increase rev- enues and profits, by growing the range of framing-related services we offer.

The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that major U.S. homebuilders are using four key operating practices to improve construction efficiency: (l) greater coordination with subcontractors, (2) pre-assembly of major components, (3) supplier installation of materials, and (4) better supply chain management. Pro dealers play a primary role in making each of these improvements possible. More specifically. turnkey framing services are one important way we can support builders in each of these areas. The beauty of turnkey framing is that we can help builders construct framing not only more quickly and with higher quality, but also cost effectively.

In the past, some builders believed that prefabricated framing resulted in identical-looking homes or lower quality components than those built onsite. Now, more of them are finding that prefabricated and installed floor systems, wall panels, and roof trusses can be customized and reduce construction time and hassles, helping them focus on other aspects of their businesses, including marketing and selling the completed homes.

Turnkey framing fulfills builders' greatest needs: building homes better, faster, more safely, and with higher quality. One of the builders that Millard works with, Whit Smith Construction, reports that for the same house design, using prefabricated and installed structural panels took about half the time needed for stick framing. We have also been working with the builder of the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing Concept Home in Omaha to demonstrate the advantages ofpanelized construction. In the Concept Home, the first floor was fully placed in about an hour and the walls in a day.

With turnkey framing, we can offer builders greater control over project costs by locking in a guaranteed lump sum price for the entire project-virtually eliminating the need to order more materials due to theft or errors. Builders send us their plans and we do the rest. Using this approach, they can receive one price, one invoice, and one point of contact, simplifying the management and accounting needed for construction. We've discovered that once builders become involved in turnkey framing and receive some training on how to make it work, they are thrilled with the results.

An additional benefit of turnkey framing is that because the components are manufactured in a controlled environment, they can be consistently built to higher quality standards than is typically possible at the job site. Turnkey framing also reduces on-site labor time and costs, reduces the risk of theft, and improves safety by reducing the time workers spend in situa- tions where most injuries due to falls occur. It also can help builders use materials more efficienlly and reduce waste and costs associated with disposal fees since individual material cuts can be better planned.

Millard Lumber is using ilevel NextPhase site solutions to enable our turnkey framing services. In addition to premium quality Trus Joist and Structurwood products, il-evel provides proprietary design and fabrication software tools that integrate with specialized saws, material handling, and component fabrication equipment. and help provide a superior solution for the entire structural frame.

Our computer-controlled saws enable us to cut materials precisely and to optimize cuts based on available inventory. Advanced scheduling programs and tools also help us ensure that materials are staged and sequenced for delivery to the job site when they are needed. Builders appreciate this because it makes their construction schedules smoother, by reducing material delays and the costs and challenges ofonsite storage.

While our focus is on turnkey framing services, some builders are not ready to make the full leap into turning all aspects of framing over to a third party. Nevertheless, we still have many opportunities to work with builders who want more efficient framing, but want to maintain a handson approach. For example, one of the services we provide is precision endtrimmed TJI joists for floors, which we deliver to the job site as job packs, precut to the builder's specifications.

We also help builders further streamline floor framing by offering the option of labeling and packaging pre-cut framing materials, along with pre-drilling holes for utility runs. To make installation fast and easy, we provide builders with detailed language-independent layouts and installation instructions. These job packs allow for rapid assembly on site, reducing and simplifying labor.

Helping builders become more efficient in constructing homes is a key way we as dealers can continue to be a valued partner. Moving from being only a supplier to a full-service turnkey building solutions provider doesn't have to happen in one step. Speaking to builders about their greatest areas of need, and implementing new framing services in stages, can be an easy, yet important way to break into the future of framing.

800 o r w o o d @ millardlumbe r. c om.