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In today’s fast-paced and super-competitive homebuilding industry, staying on top of project management is a difficult task. Like most homebuilders, Beazer Homes develops properties across expansive territories. Keeping up with progress tracking, dirt balancing, and resolving issues to keep these projects moving, while spending countless hours a week on the road, in meetings, and trying to get answers, is something their land development team struggled with.
Recognizing the need for an innovative solution, Beazer Homes implemented TraceAir to overcome these challenges and streamline their operations. With TraceAir, their team can quickly and easily get the information they need to keep their projects moving from anywhere, significantly improving their efficiency. Trusted by top homebuilders and land developers, TraceAir was particularly appealing to Beazer Homes for several reasons:
- Ease of Implementation: Using TraceAir’s licensed drone pilots and data processing eliminates the need and hassle of purchasing drones, hiring pilots, or processing any data to receive topographic scans. Implementing TraceAir is fast and easy.
- Fast Turnaround Times: TraceAir eliminates the traditional multi-day lag time between surveying a site and receiving the data by processing scans overnight, so they are ready within 24 hours.
- Accuracy and Quality: 3D scans from TraceAir are high-resolution and accurate to 3 centimeters.
- Dedicated Support: Each project is assigned a Customer Success Manager, ensuring a seamless setup process and ongoing white glove service.
- Collaboration: TraceAir offers unlimited licenses at no extra charge, fostering seamless collaboration among project teams, contractors, and stakeholders.
- User-Friendly Interface: Designed for the entire team, TraceAir's interface is accessible even to those less tech-savvy, streamlining operations with a few clicks.
- Remote Accessibility: Users can access project data, conduct measurements, and track progress from anywhere using TraceAir’s cloud-based software, no downloads needed.
“A key aspect of our success with TraceAir has been the simplicity”, shared Greg Coleman, Director of Land Development for Beazer’s Houston Division. “The technology is powerful, yet simple enough that our entire team can use it easily. Having access to all this data at our fingertips helps our team make fast, confident decisions and keep our projects moving. On a larger scale, sharing TraceAir with our contractors and stakeholders has really strengthened our entire projects. TraceAir has become an important tool that we use everyday, it solves problems we didn’t even know we had.”
Optimized Site Balance and Progress Tracking
By having their projects flown on a weekly basis and processed overnight, TraceAir equips Beazer Homes with almost real-time data to track and quantify progress and dirt movement. Traditionally, obtaining this information could take weeks, causing delays and hindering productivity.
“Being able to view the entire project on one screen, visualize dirt movement with the heat maps, and easily quantify progress compared to design grade has been a game changer”, shared Coleman. “Not only is this information useful for tracking progress, but it also helps us confirm that our invoices align with work completed. Prior to TraceAir, we sometimes received huge bills from contractors for moving dirt. It would take several weeks to confirm those quantities, resulting in lost time and money. With TraceAir, we can verify quantities with a few clicks.”
As a Director of Land Development, TraceAir allows me to oversee all our projects, quickly address issues, and hold everyone accountable. The collaborative features ensure that my team, contractors, and stakeholders are aligned. When we pull it up in meetings or on calls, it’s like we’re all on site together. It really helps us stay on schedule and maximize our efficiency.”
– Greg Coleman, Director of Land Development, Beazer Homes
Erik Haaland, a Land Development Manager at Beazer Homes' Houston division, also attests to the importance of TraceAir in avoiding project delays and unwarranted expenses in a discrepancy with a contractor: “We had hired a contractor to clear a site, but they were not progressing as planned. By comparing our weekly scans and using the measuring tools within TraceAir, we confirmed that the work they claimed to have completed did not match what was actually completed. Ultimately, we had to replace this contractor.
TraceAir made it easy for me to bring the new contractor up to speed on what was previously completed, and allow them to make their own assessments of the site. Catching this issue fast and with indisputable data from TraceAir saved us a lot of time and money.”
A year of progress documented within TraceAir. Using TraceAir’s tracking and measuring tools, progress can be quantified and compared to previous dates, and also design grade. TraceAir maintains a historical archive that can be referred back to at any time.
Enhanced Productivity and Collaboration
Continually recognized as a top and rapidly growing homebuilder, Beazer Homes actively seeks innovative ways to take on more projects and boost profits without overwhelming their team. With remote access and easy tools, TraceAir empowers their team to make the best use of their time and resources.
“TraceAir saves me an entire trip every week to my projects”, said Haaland. “Being able to access the project data from anywhere within TraceAir is really helpful. Whether I’m at home or in the office, I can easily check progress, conduct measurements, and see what’s going on with our grading and utilities. Not only does this save me time on the road, but also allows me to make the best use of my time when I am on site.”
Beazer Homes further enhances productivity by using TraceAir in meetings and throughout conversations. Taking advantage of unlimited licenses from TraceAir, Beazer Homes shares the platform throughout their own project team, and also with their contractors and stakeholders. “Everyone having access to the same data has significantly elevated our conversations”, shared Coleman.
“We used to waste a lot of time going back and forth to verify things or deal with miscommunications. Now TraceAir is our single source of truth, and everyone is on the same page. We use this newfound time to collaborate and come up with creative solutions to challenges. At first many contractors were hesitant to use TraceAir, especially those less comfortable with technology. The more they use it, the more they love it. TraceAir helps our contractors verify their numbers as well.”
TraceAir saves me an entire trip every week to my projects. Not only does this save me time on the road, but also allows me to make the best use of my time when I am on site. It’s a really great tool that our whole team loves.”
– Erik Haaland, Land Development Manager, Beazer Homes
Prevention of Expensive Rework
Leveraging tools from TraceAir helps Beazer Homes take a proactive approach to avoid rework. “TraceAir allows us to see problems before they happen, so we can get ahead of them”, explained Coleman. “There is only so much you can see from the ground or by looking at project plans, TraceAir helps us see the bigger picture.
Recently, I was walking the site with the contractor, and noticed an area that I thought should have been cleared, but wasn’t. On the spot, I pulled up TraceAir, turned on the project overlay, and confirmed I was correct. From the ground, this was hard to verify, but with TraceAir it was easy. Without TraceAir in this situation, I likely would have missed this, paid the contractor, and they would have left, resulting in expensive rework and schedule delays.
We also use TraceAir to find efficient locations to place our stockpiles, so we don’t have to move dirt twice.”, Coleman added. “Between hourly rates and the cost of fuel, having to move dirt multiple times or redo tasks adds up quickly.”
Using overlays and precise measuring tools within TraceAir helps Beazer Homes ensure everything is properly aligned and accurate.
TraceAir allows us to see problems before they happen, so we can get ahead of them before they become costly or affect our schedule. We’ve compared our field checks to data from TraceAir, and have proven TraceAir to be extremely accurate. We trust TraceAir.”
– Greg Coleman, Director of Land Development, Beazer Homes
Accessible from anywhere, users can access TraceAir on iPads and tablets while on site. Within TraceAir, you can select “My Location” which shows you exactly where you are on site. From there, users can overlay the design grade to ensure they are completing tasks in the right spot. They can also add notes, circles, lines, drawings, etc. to collaborate with their team within the platform, making it easy to avoid rework.
Reducing Risk with Data and Documentation
TraceAir maintains a historical record of project progress that can be revisited at any time. This feature has repeatedly proven its value to Beazer Homes. “Having our project history in TraceAir is huge”, explained Haaland. “Knowing the dates that certain things happened on site, or where we were on progress on a specific date, and then being able to look at that information, compare it to other dates, or share it, has been extremely helpful. It helps me make sense of our current project status and relay this information to stakeholders.”
To add to Haaland’s insight, Coleman shared, “Having this historical documentation of our project sites backed by data within TraceAir is invaluable for us. In the event of a discrepancy or legal matter, it’s super easy for us to prove compliance.”
A Proven Solution
“If you’re looking for a tool to streamline your workflows and maximize efficiency, I strongly encourage you to give TraceAir a try. The results we’ve experienced and support we’ve received from TraceAir have exceeded our expectations,” said Coleman.
Trusted by industry leaders, TraceAir is the key to redefining your operations and streamlining workflows. If you’re ready to learn more about how your company could benefit, schedule a demo today.