Winner
Miller Homes
Defects down, more homes ready on time, quality of workmanship and customer satisfaction all on the up: these are the benefits being realised by Miller Homes. It has developed a quality improvement strategy that goes right to the root of the housebuilding process by impelling contractors to take ownership of the quality of their work. The company has introduced an accreditation process for contractors, trains those contractors in its quality assurance system, equipping them with a special version of its customer care manual, and has introduced a self-certification system for contractors for which the required standards are clearly set out in its tender documents. The housebuilder requires homes to be build-complete 14 days prior to legal completion date and to be accompanied by a certificate of conformity. In the final 14 days three inspections are carried out and defects remedied. "The system has highlighted the fact that you can't under-resource at site level," Miller Homes managing director Geoff Potton told Building Homes earlier this year.

Second
D Campbell & Company
With 43 apprentices under its wing, D Campbell and Company is a significant source of construction skills training north of the border and a rare investor in the housebuilding industry's future. Growing its own workforce is one of the ways the company is improving quality, but it is not relying on traditional skills alone. It is making greater use of prefabricated elements such as timber frame, pre-finished windows and doorsets in its quest to raise quality standards. The company is a strong advocate of the partnering style of working relationship for project teams, and it incentivises its own team to deliver quality through a bonus system that rewards the achievement of zero defects.

The whole approach is designed to deliver a fault-free product