NHQ Certified Trade Contractor Program - Afternoon Session - 06/21/2005

The Training component includes approximately 16 hours of interactive instruction for two to four employees from your company. The instruction focuses on providing participants with the understanding, tools, assistance, and support needed to develop your company's Quality Assurance System. At the end of the Certified Trade Contractor training, your company will have its own customized Quality Assurance System tailored to meet the unique needs of your company. Every training session relies not only on group instruction by the trainer, but also on interactive workshops within each session to create a customized Quality Assurance System and manual for each company. Your company will be ready for an independent third-party audit and Certification about three to six months after you begin implementation of your Quality Assurance System. Program experience shows that trade contractors that implement the NAHB Research Center's Certified Trade Contractor Program show improved profitability; reduced defects; elimination of recurring punch list items; and improved builder satisfaction with the quality of their work. Certified trade contractors distinguish themselves with their builder customers. Designed around the internationally-recognized quality principles of ISO 9000, but adapted for the real-world of home building, the Certified Trade Contractor Program uses a four-step approach- Plan, Do, Check, Act-to assure quality in a contractor's operations. Trade contractors determine the results their customers expect, and then develop and implement a Quality Assurance plan to meet those expectations.