COLUMN: Builders, subs `go to school'

Education has become the watchword at the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.

In a continued effort to enhance the quality of housing in the Las Vegas Valley, the association recently issued diplomas to the first class of local home building and subcontracting companies that completed the preliminary phase of the Quality Assurance Program launched in late 2001.

Although many Las Vegas-area home building companies already have quality assurance programs in place, the association's program will provide a higher level of uniform quality assurance standards areawide and lead to certification issued by the National Association of Home Builders Research Center.

The center is the research and development leader in the home building industry, dedicated to advancing housing technology and affordability.

The local association is also the first national affiliate to adopt and implement the national's program on a regional basis, which means it is open to member and nonmember home builders and subcontractors in the area.

Because of the success of the local program, the Research Center is using it as a pilot and model for other associations nationwide. The center also invited John Pinna, the local program coordinator, to speak at a seminar during the national convention in February in Atlanta.

Local association members Garo Injasoulian and Bill Schmidt of CGI/Blue Sky Construction, Consulting and Management, recently traveled to the Research Center in Washington, D.C., where they received training so they can take over teaching the program in Las Vegas.

The first trainees to finish the implementation phase Dec. 20, were home builders Carina Corp., KB Home, Pulte Homes and Signature Homes; framing subcontractors Gary G. Day Construction, Knipp Brothers Inc., Pratte Development and Vegas General Construction; drywall subcontractors Champion Drywall, Hutchins Drywall and Pete Kink Corp.; and stucco subcontractor Gypsum Construction.

Another 30 home builders and subcontractors, representing the second and third classes, are nearing completion of the implementation phase and will receive diplomas in late spring.

The graduating companies will be eligible for a certification audit by the Research Center after the training and implementation of the guidelines are completed and in place for six months. Research Center auditors will visit the companies to determine whether the program is in place and functioning before approving certification. Companies will be audited annually for recertification.

Education is an important component of the association's services to its members and others in the local home building industry, according to director Irene Porter.

"The association holds monthly classes through its H.O.M.E.S. program, which covers topics of interest to members and others; and co-sponsors the annual certified Graduate Builders Series of year-long educational classes on industry topics geared for builders and construction superintendents," Porter said.

The GBS series is taught in conjunction with the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mark Tomlinson, 2002 president of the local association, praised Porter and her staff for being in the vanguard of this educational trend, especially the newly instituted Quality Assurance Program.

"This is a win-win situation for the Southern Nevada home building industry and our home buyers," Tomlinson said.

My sentiments, exactly.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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