And here’s the snag ...

Zero defects remains something of a Holy Grail for the housebuilding industry. The onsite reality is that homes are built, checked, and then defects are remedied. Ideally of course, that checking process should be undertaken before the buyer moves into the home. But a new breed of inspection services, including Inspectorhome, Newbuild Inspections, snagging.org and others, are part of a business growth area offering homebuyers a checking service after their move-in date.

These inspection services have divided opinion within the industry: slated by some as ambulance chasers trading on the fears of new homeowners, but praised in other quarters as consumer champions.

“We have no concerns about commercial snagging companies offering their services to homeowners or builders,” says Rod Maceachrane, NHBC commercial director. “[The only problem] is there has been a tendency by some to use exaggerated statistics to create a demand for their services, and have as a result created a distorted picture of the quality of new homes in the UK. Clearly, the ultimate aim is to remove the need for this type of service altogether.”

MacEachrane adds: “Our experience is that the industry recognises the importance of making improvements in the area of snagging and customer care. Indeed many builders are focusing hard on this area.”

Recent NHBC research has shown that the speed and efficiency with which builders respond to snagging items has a major impact on their customers’ perception of their new homes, and of the builder’s long-term reputation.

The NHBC is playing a key role in raising the finish quality of new homes. It has seen dramatic reductions in the more serious defects picked up at final inspection since the introduction of its inspection procedure linked to the Council of Mortgage Lenders initiative in April 2003. “We are now focusing our efforts to bring about similar improvements in the number of minor defects found on site,” says MacEachrane.

The NHBC has added to its key stage inspection service with the launch of Quality Management Services. This unit provide inspection and auditing services ranging from troubleshooting in areas where customer dissatisfaction levels are high through to training site personnel. Three different versions of the service are available: the first covering site audit options; the second offering an additional key stage inspection; and the third dedicated to pre-handover stage and reducing snagging. “One important aspect of the service is that it incorporates benchmarking, set by an inspection team comprising both us and the housebuilder,” says Peter Saffill, NHBC’s special projects inspection manager.

The service was piloted earlier this year and the QMS is still working with all its pilot partners, which include George Wimpey City. “Using main contractors to build our developments, we found the QMS’ role valuable on site. It not only alerted us to potential problems during construction, but was able to offer advice and solutions to put it right,” says Richard Cook, projects director with the company.

Inspector Home, which undertakes inspections for both homebuyers and housebuilders, expanded its services in June of this year with a one-day test audit for developers. The audit allows developers to compare their levels of defects to the national average and set benchmarking procedures in place.

www.nhbc.co.uk
www.inspectorhome.co.uk