Gary Fleisher, Modular Construction Industry Observer and Information Gatherer

It’s Time for Horton to Hear a “Modular” Who!

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On Monday I posted a request for people in our industry to make suggestions about improving it. As I suspected most of the suggestions centered on what the modular home factory folks should do and only a couple of suggestions for builders.

Getting everyone on the same page is tough in this industry.

Viking Carrier
PFS Corporation
Mariotti Building Products


Here are some of the suggestions and for what it’s worth…my comments.

1. Eliminate the HUD mentality from the modular production: “On the floor and out the door.”

Modcoach: Since our industry was founded by HUD oriented owners, that still follows us today. This is not a bad thing overall but it does make innovation in modular housing confined to what we have always done.

2. Eliminate the lack of promotion. Get out of your chair and out in the field. Make the phone ring instead of waiting for a sales call to come in.

Modcoach: In years past this was all we had. Today social media reaches millions of potential customers faster than any regional print, radio or TV marketing effort ever could. If you don’t have a social media person on board doing blogs, video and social media marketing, you will never reach the tech-connected new home buyer. You are “the who that Horton” needs to hear.

3. Eliminate the “It’s a mobile home” mentality. Talk to your local municipalities and introduce them to the modular world that is great for vacant lots, in-fill projects and multi-family housing. If need be, invite them for a plant tour, including the Council, development services, inspectors, and zoning personnel. Yes, I work for a municipality. Yes, I came from the modular world. Yes, I have promoted and permitted 3 modular in 9 months, while previous administrations permitted none in 10 years.

Modcoach: This is exactly what needs to happen especially in the East. Between the media pushing ‘modular’ as the future and you introducing local building and zoning officials to the factory we can begin making vast headway to total acceptance.

4. Factories need to join the BSC and the MHBA

Modcoach: While currently focusing mostly on the East Coast and New England regions, both of these organizations need everyone’s help. If you don’t belong to at least one of them, you are missing something whose time has come

5. Builders need to stop expecting the factories to be the source of leads and marketing for them

Modcoach: I can’t believe builders are still looking to factories for all their leads. That ship has sailed. Today it’s the builder’s responsibility to generate their own leads. I can still remember the good old days when factories would send out leads galore to every builder and weeks later nobody had even reached out to them.

6. Factories need to improve their service departments right now

Modcoach: Builders have been complaining about service since the first modular home was delivered over 50 years ago. Jesus was a carpenter and I would bet that even he got complaints about shoddy work once in a while. It happens.

7. I have been involved in almost every aspect of this business — finance, running factories, wholesale sales, retail sales and as a builder. The greatest need is for proper coordination and alignment between factory and builder, including:

1. Clear and unambiguous delineation of scope.
2. Rapid (or automatic) estimating, even if a fee is required.
3. Rapid drawings and engineering, even if a fee is required. (3D drawings are becoming the new standard.)
4. Factory assistance to the level desired, and paid for, by the builder.

Modcoach: What you’re talking about here is what should have happened years ago. Asking builders for a fee to do work at the factory is tantamount to heresy. That said, it really should happen if builders want to be more involved with the factory processes.

8. There is way too much customization to get the drawings done any faster.

Modcoach: Word to the wise. Watch for some, if not most, to begin cutting back on the ever expanding demand for more difficult and expensive custom work. The factories want to do it and can do it but the builder and their customers are demanding low cost and fast turnaround and that simply cannot continue to happen without some very serious conversations between all parties.

9. I’m a multiFamily guy in Modular. I can think of a couple of things that would help us out. AIA contracts specifically designed to include, not exclude, modular construction. Developer adoption of Design-Build, not Design – Bid – Build. It just makes sense and realizes savings for everyone. Do your “do-diligence” and pick your team before you hire an Architect. Project Management – Project Management – Project Management. It’s not just overhead.

Modcoach: Rough truth- As long as single family modular home factories enter into contracts to build large commercial projects on a part time basis you will not see the dedicated staff or effort put in place to make all the things happen you mention above.

I suspect that there are a couple of modular home factories in the East that have already made the decision to do commercial right and even open a second line or a second factory to produce commercial. It has to happen.

10. Order Entry Software that is as customized as our product is. Software that is modular friendly, instead of software created for a similar industry that really can’t be tweaked properly for our industry. Software that is NOT an ERP software.

Modcoach: Installing a BIM program into the mix is really expensive and time consuming to get installed properly. The current ordering system from factories range from paper and pencil entry (Yes, there are more of these than you think) to semi automated where manual entry is required for special order items and procedures to fully automated entry systems that is used more in the ‘plan book’ factory side of the modular industry.

If Horton is ever going to hear a Who, the Who needs to get working on taking the current modular home industry on a trip to “Innovation World”.

Gary Fleisher is a housing veteran, editor/writer of the ModcoachNews blog and Modular Construction Industry Observer and Information Gatherer

Contact modcoach@gmail.com

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