International organization asks Pulte Homes to write quality procedures
As the first nationwide home builder to be certified under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Pulte Homes has made the leap from home developer to author, as the company was asked to write ISO procedures from scratch, according to Robert Sprague, director of quality for the builder's Nevada operations.
The procedures were reviewed and approved in 2005 by an ISO-certified reviewing organization.
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ISO is a Switzerland-based organization that maintains quality standards for major industries worldwide. Since then, Pulte has maintained its certification.
"Everybody can say they build a quality home, but how do they verify it?" Sprague said. "This certification shows how dedicated we are to the quality of our homes and the satisfaction of our customers."
Sprague, who oversaw implementation, said the designation may not be as obvious a selling point as an architectural style, but it represents one of the most important amenities a builder can offer to home buyers -- a proven, verifiable process for ensuring consistently high-quality homes.
"We've committed all of our processes, everything we do, to paper, created procedures for all of our staff to follow, then brought in an independent third-party company to check our work.
"Together, it all shows that we do more than build quality homes, we have built a system that will consistently produce quality homes."
The standard includes procedures, checklists, documentation and corrective actions, should anything out of the ordinary arise, and affects all departments of the company.
The company's Nevada Operations division was the first in the company to receive the ISO 9001: 2000 designation. In December, a third-party verifier conducted inspections at several of the company's Southern Nevada construction sites to renew the division's certification.
While relatively new to the home-building business, ISO standards are common among manufacturers in other industries, including aerospace and automobiles, according to Nat Hodgson, vice president of construction.
"We build the last big product that's assembled in the field," Hodgson said. "Because of that -- because our industry's work crews are in so many places -- it's important to make sure they all build with the same high level of quality. We've created the procedures, the first in our industry, which permit us to do just that."
Pulte is also certified under the National Housing Quality standards devised by the National Association of Home Builders. The purpose of NHQ is similar, although the two systems require separate audits.
"These are two separate third-party verifications systems," Hodgson said. "In addition, all of our homes are certified to comply with Environments for Living guidelines, which ensure a high standard for health, comfort, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. That, too, requires outside verification.
"We've set a high bar for ourselves and we're proud to see once again that we continue to meet those standards. As one of the largest companies in our industry, we believe we have an obligation to set the benchmark for building quality homes."
All homes constructed by the builder are done so with Environments for Living building technology.
According to the builder, this technology results in decreased internal and external contaminants; increased indoor air quality; decreased heating and cooling usage; and increased comfort, durability, and tightness. Such technology makes use of blown-in Cocoon cellulose insulation, conditioned attic spaces, 15 SEER air conditioning units and dual-pane, vinyl framed low-e windows.
