Behind the Business Brightwater Homes: Crafting quality at scale with Buildertrend (part 2 of 2)

We’re bringing you the second installment in our Behind the Business series featuring Brightwater Homes, where we explore sustainability in semi-custom home building. In this three-part feature, you’ll hear from the Brightwater team how software helped them scale their business while allowing for client customizations and sustainability in every home.

In part one, we introduced Brightwater Homes’ vision for blending sustainability and semi-custom design. Now, we’re diving deeper into how they maintain quality and efficiency as they scale, using Buildertrend to simplify project management and communication across their team and trade partners.

The challenge of scaling a semi-custom approach

As a semi-custom builder, Brightwater Homes strikes a unique balance between efficiency and personalization. At their Sweet Apple development, Steven Sanders-Myers, estimating and purchasing manager, describes how they carefully designed each home to feel custom while maintaining a structured approach.

“We’ve got about 36 lots,” Steven said. “We really took a hard look at how each of the homes are going to interact with each other. So, while we’re not a custom builder, our semi-custom approach still affords us the flexibility to use a wide array of products, and then piece them together through unique design, so each home has a custom feel and curated element to it.”

This approach ensures homeowners get a personalized experience without the delays and complexities of fully custom builds. But as Brightwater Homes grew, managing this balance became more challenging.

Actionable tips for building at scale while maintaining a custom feel

• Curate a flexible design palette: Offering a well-thought-out selection of finishes, fixtures and layouts allows for personalization without overwhelming buyers or delaying construction.
• Leverage smart lot planning: Designing communities with homes that complement each other while avoiding a cookie-cutter appearance ensures visual diversity. Varying elevations, materials and layouts strategically can enhance uniqueness.
• Standardize where it counts: Identifying core structural and operational elements like framing, HVAC and plumbing layouts that remain consistent across builds helps maintain efficiency while allowing aesthetic customization.
• Use digital tools for seamless selections: Implementing software like Buildertrend streamlines client selections, approvals and design modifications while keeping everything organized for the team.
• Prioritize strong vendor and trade partnerships: Working and maintaining relationships with suppliers and subs who understand your process ensures they can reliably deliver quality materials and craftsmanship at scale.
• Maintain clear client communication: Setting expectations early about what can and cannot be customized, and providing visual examples, helps buyers feel confident in their choices.

The turning point: Centralizing operations with Buildertrend

Before implementing Buildertrend, Brightwater Homes relied on spreadsheets and scattered documents to manage projects. As they took on more homes, that system quickly became unsustainable.

“Prior to implementing Buildertrend as our main project management software, we were a little bit smaller and – probably as a lot of builders do – using a lot of spreadsheets and documents,” said Joel Ferguson, VP of operations at Brightwater Homes. “We ended up having issues when we wanted to share these files with other people, like consultants, our trade partners and subcontractors.”

As their workload increased, they realized they needed a more efficient way to coordinate across teams. That’s where Buildertrend helped them thrive.

Actionable tips for using Buildertrend to coordinate across teams

• Use project templates for consistency: Standardize workflows by creating templates for scheduling, budgeting and subcontractor coordination, ensuring every project starts with a solid foundation.
• Centralize design selections and approvals: Keep all client selections, design changes and approvals in one place to eliminate miscommunication and delays between sales, design and construction teams.
• Leverage Daily Logs for real-time updates: Require teams to submit Daily Logs with photos, progress notes and updates, so all stakeholders have visibility into project status.
• Streamline purchase orders and budgeting: Use Buildertrend to manage purchase orders and track expenses, reducing errors and ensuring seamless communication between purchasing, accounting and field teams.
• Enhance trade partner collaboration: Provide subcontractors and vendors with access to project details, schedules and documents through Buildertrend, reducing back-and-forth emails and phone calls.
• Automate task assignments and notifications: Set up automated notifications to alert teams when approvals are needed, tasks are due or schedules change, keeping projects on track.
• Ensure accountability with file storage: Keep contracts, blueprints, client communications and compliance documents stored in Buildertrend, so everyone has access to the latest information.

Consistency and communication at every stage

With Buildertrend, Brightwater Homes has built a more streamlined and scalable workflow. From project templates to purchase orders and design selections, everything is now centralized in one place.

“Through our templates, design Selections, Purchase Orders, Daily Logs – it’s really given us a consistent platform for our building team, our trade partners, our design and architecture teams and our purchasing team to all go to one place for documentation, for approvals and for consistent communication,” Steven said.

By leveraging Buildertrend, Brightwater Homes ensures every project runs smoothly, trade partners stay informed and homeowners receive the high-quality, semi-custom experience they expect. Schedule your free demo to discover how you can build at scale, while maintaining quality with Buildertrend.

Stay tuned for the final installment of our Behind the Business series with Brightwater Homes!