Editor's Message: What Will Your Company Do Tomorrow?

How often do you contemplate your scope of work (SOW), as it’s formally defined in ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 2? That standard was originally published in 1995 and has essentially become law with its adoption into the International Residential and International Building Codes. 

Do you reference it (mentally or physically) when you’re entering into contractual agreements with your customers and vendors? Do you have in it mind when you’re reviewing your insurance coverage? Is it something you use as a foundation when you respond to customer requests or contemplate your business operations and potential opportunities for market share growth?

Chapter 2 was developed to provide clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the component manufacturer (CM) within the building construction process, to make clear what the CM is obligated to provide, and in turn, establish and limit a CM’s exposure to risk. Yet, how often does Chapter 2 dictate how you operate in your market? This is a regular topic of discussion at SBCA’s meetings.

At the first SBCA meeting of 2019 in San Diego, the Marketing Committee launched a new initiative to scrutinize the scopes of work of CMs, builders, architects, engineers, and everyone else involved in the building construction process. If you want to know more about this project, please read Jess Lohse’s article on page 12.

This month’s cover feature, “A Southern Home for Southern Living” on page 20, provides a timely case example of what it can look like when a CM like True House in Jacksonville, Florida, pursues a business model that reimagines the role and influence it can have in the process. In fact, True House CEO and owner, Barry Dixon, remarked during the Marketing Committee that this scope of work initiative is really just an initial step toward helping the entire component manufacturing industry begin to re-envision the role it should be playing.

That observation was echoed in a subsequent conversation with Gerry McGaughey, CEO of Entekra is introducing a building construction methodology into the U.S. market that Gerry asserts he perfected over three decades in Europe as CEO of Century Homes. What Entekra has branded as a “Fully Integrated Off-Site Solution” (FIOSS), is akin to SBCA’s first “Framing the American Dream” project in 1995 and again in 2015.

“Yes, I manufacture roof trusses, wall panels, and structural floor systems, but that’s not what I sell,” says Gerry. “I offer the builder an entire structural solution to their building, and what I sell is a significant reduction in construction cycle time.”

In Gerry’s opinion, CMs sell themselves short by even calling themselves “component” or “truss” manufacturers. He argues every CM has access to the technology and manufacturing equipment to be the solutions provider he positions Entekra to be.

After you read through this issue, we’d love your input. Send us your thoughts at editor@sbcmag.info, and check out the SBCA’s scope of work project online.