UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - (Business Wire) To help home builders and residential remodelers survive in the most challenging market environment the industry has seen in decades, the NAHB Research Center is joining forces once again with Reed Construction Media – a division of Reed Business Information, publisher of Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler magazines, to recognize, reward, and spread the word about the industry’s best business practices via the National Housing Quality (NHQ) Award. Established in 1992 and modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the NHQ Award is the only program that recognizes quality management achievements and operational excellence in the residential construction industry. While continually operating its National Housing Quality Certification program for builders and trade contractors, the NAHB Research Center had taken a brief hiatus from direct participation in the NHQ Awards while developing other lines of business, including its National Green Building Certification, launched in January 2008. Research Center president Michael Luzier said, “We have always been supportive of the National Housing Quality Award principles and are glad to be taking an active role in the Award’s administration again. NHQ Award winners represent the best of the best in the home building industry, and we are extremely proud to help recognize these leaders for their customer focus, exceptional quality achievements, and all that their best practices can mean to the industry at large during this difficult period.”
Winning the NHQ Award requires more than just operating a great home building company; it requires genuine effort. Not only do candidates have to implement sophisticated operating processes that improve performance, those processes must also be documented in an extensive application and verified through a site visit by NHQ Award judges. Preparing an NHQ application is an important step in every applicant’s quality journey. Program participants benefit from the introspective process of preparing an application, as well as the insightful feedback received from the expert judging panel, many of whom are past NHQ Award winners. Winners of the NHQ Award are featured in Professional Builder and Professional Remodeler articles that highlight their quality management practices and serve as models for the benefit of the housing industry.
The 2011 application process is now open and the awards will be presented at Professional Builder’s 2010 Benchmark Conference. For more information, visit www.HousingZone.com.
ABOUT THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER: Located in Upper Marlboro, Md., the NAHB Research Center promotes innovation in housing technology to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of homes and home building products. Created nearly 50 years ago as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the NAHB Research Center has established itself as the source for reliable, objective information and research on housing construction and development issues. Through its various testing and certification services, the Research Center seal is internationally-recognized as a mark of product quality and an assurance of product performance. Since February 2008, the NAHB Research Center has been administering National Green Building Certification using the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines; in January 2009 the option to have a project scored to the National Green Building Standard became available when the Standard was approved by ANSI.
REED CONSTRUCTION MEDIA, a division of Reed Business Information, is the publisher of Building Design+Construction, BDCnetwork.com, Custom Builder, Construction Bulletin, Construction Equipment, ConstructionEquipment.com, Housing Giants, HousingZone.com, LogInAndLearn.com, Spec-Check and VisibleCity.com.
NAHB Research Center
Anne Holtz Schmick, 301-430-6211
aholtz@nahbrc.com
