Smarter residential home-building with Fieldwire
Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Level Homes was established in 2000 to bring high-quality homes and neighborhoods to Baton Rouge and other leading Louisiana markets. In 2013, they expanded to the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. As a fast-growing business, Level Homes understands the need to innovate and improve from project-to-project and it was this understanding that led them to Fieldwire. Phil Hughes, Quality Control Manager, and Emma Moore, Construction Coordinator, have been in charge of rolling out Fieldwire over the past year. With tremendous buy-in from the construction team, who were receptive to trying a new process to gain efficiency, Fieldwire has expanded to over 200 Level Homes’ projects.
Key Facts
- Builds 300 homes each year
- Have seen dramatic reduction in variance cost on projects
- Grown from using Fieldwire on one to 200+ projects in just one year
Use Cases
- Quality Assurance/Quality Control
- Punch Lists
- Increase Accountability
Coordinate more efficiently and effectively
Level Homes currently builds nearly 300 homes each year. As the number of active job sites increased, the time spent on inspections and quality assurance checks must be efficient, with detailed information that can be easily interpreted by the construction team, trades, and vendors. With Fieldwire, the Construction Manager no longer has to be on-site at all times to communicate with trade technicians. “If you’ve got a technician already in that development, then you can relay that task to them and they can complete it that day. It can minimize travel time, they can easily resolve issues when they’re at the development instead of going back-and-forth.” The time saved allows the construction manager to focus on coordinating projects, delegate tasks, and, ultimately, drive productivity across the board.
Do all your QC and inspections from your phone
When Phil conducts inspections, Fieldwire is right there helping him to document issues electronically, slashing through the stacks of paper he used to carry. “We’re not walking into a house anymore with a notepad. I do my QC’s on my iPhone. We’re not paperless, but we’re moving in that direction.” Fieldwire’s powerful punch lists feature makes it perfect for documenting deficiencies on the job site.
Fieldwire Tasks increase transparency
Using Fieldwire’s robust task feature, Level Homes has been able to increase transparency, improve performance, and create a single “source of truth” communication platform across their projects. “Whenever you think about sending an email, making a call, or sending a text to a trade or vendor, send it as a Fieldwire task. We want to track everything so we have information on the project to help us grow and be better the next time we build that house.” The ability to track their progress ensures that Level Homes improves with every build and never makes the same mistake twice.
“Fieldwire’s not a micromanagement tool, it’s a management tool”
Tracking all communications has increased transparency on their projects and helped everyone to stay on the same page. After seeing how Fieldwire aided everyone on the project, from technicians to subcontractors, virtually everyone has started using it. “The cool thing is once they use it, they realize it benefits everyone. It’s a tool to track and manage your day and your projects. It’s not a micromanagement tool, it’s a management tool.”
Improved accountability for trade contractors
Accountability is a crucial part of any project, but when working with an outside entity like a trade or specialty contractor, accountability becomes even more important for both sides. “Since we’ve started using Fieldwire, it’s holding ourselves, trades, and vendors more accountable, our variance cost have gone down significantly. They’re being held accountable and it’s being documented now,” Emma Moore said. Documenting all their work in one, easy to view place has saved Level Homes a great deal of trouble, but more importantly, it has saved money.
Value creation where it counts - for the customer
Level Homes, its vendors, and its subcontractors have all benefited as a result of Fieldwire, but we would be remiss to not mention the most important beneficiary: the home’s owner! Level Homes, through its focus on customer service, does everything it can to make sure the home buying process is easy and stress-free. As the build nears completion, Level Homes uses Fieldwire to inspect and QC many tasks and bring their project across the finish line. “The reporting aspect is huge, especially near the end of a build in the quality control phase. There’s a big push before the customer is going to walk in and see their home for the first time at the completed phase. Having that ability to get so many tasks done in a short period of time has changed the way Level Homes approaches that final push.”
Continual innovation and evolution
Level Homes is an innovative company, and its growth shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. As the number of projects it take on increases, it must also find ways to increase efficiency while preserving the high-quality work it is known for. Fieldwire has made a serious impact at Level Homes. “It’s something that is just going to continue to evolve for us. It’s a game changer. We love Fieldwire. We love the support that’s provided, and so far it’s been a great experience,” said Phil Hughes.
