Home Creations is moving on up thanks to
'STEPS'
The company's philosophy empowers
competitiveness
By Beverly Bryant, Special Correspondent
MOORE -- Home Creations, one of Oklahoma's
leading homebuilding companies, is stepping up in the national rankings
of 400 giant home builders. It's because of a philosophy of being
"STEPS" above the competition, said Jalal Farzaneh, president, who owns
the company with his brother, Mohammad Farzaneh.
" 'STEPS' stands for 'Safer homes, Top quality
and service, Easy financing, People and our System,' " Jalal Farzaneh
said.
The first "step," building safer homes, came
about after the May 3, 1999, tornado that devastated much of Moore as
it cut a long path across Oklahoma. The disaster moved Home Creations
into a different league, Farzaneh said.
"That was a turning point for Home Creations.
Before that, we were building 60 to 70 to 80 homes a year," he said.
After the tornado, Farzaneh said he studied the
homes that were destroyed adjacent to those that were hit directly by
the twister.
"I took Harold Conner, who was the director of
construction science at the University of Oklahoma, to look at what was
happening. We looked at all the homes and realized a lot of those homes
that were not in the center of tornadoes were damaged because they did
not have high wind safety features," Farzaneh said. "He recommended
that we use tornado straps to connect the rafters to the top plate.
"When high winds come, the first thing that
collapses is the roof. But to make sure the top plate is not going with
the roof, we use OSB (oriented strand board) sheeting to connect the
top plate with the bottom plate.
"He said that now that you have the roof
secured to the top plate, and that's connected to the bottom plate,
then you have to connect the bottom plate to the foundation with anchor
bolts. We were the first volume builder to start using this system
regardless of the size of the home we were building."
He said this method of integrating the
structure from top to bottom significantly strengthens a home and
increases its ability to stand up to high winds.
"Previously, when they put the rafter up, they
cut a notch to fit it over the top plate," Farzaneh said. "At best,
they would fire a nail and hope it connected to the top plate. Once you
have the tornado strap, you have four nails going in sideways at a
sheer position through the rafter and another four nails in a sheer
position going through the top plate.
"It would take a massive force to cut those
loose. The rafter would shatter first."
It wasn't long before Oklahoma's weather put
the theory to a test, Farzaneh said.
The 2003 tornado "went through an area where we
had a house under construction" near Interstate 240 and Sooner Road, he
said. "Amazingly, the damage wasn't enough to report it to the
insurance company. Some shingles blew away. Our homes had no damage,
while a nearby bank was blown away."
Home Creations has put together small sample
bags showing the components the company uses to minimize wind damage.
"We now have packages at the home show and show
people that this could save their lives," he said.
When it comes to the second "step," top quality
and service, Farzaneh listed several upgraded features found in Home
Creations homes.
"We just raised the bar ever since we started
building in mass quantities," he said. "All the qualities we are
improving, everyone else has to follow. When we switched from
single-knob Delta faucets, everyone had to follow. When we went to
low-e glass vinyl windows, even on low-end homes, others did, too. We
wanted to give everyone 12-SEER air conditioning, fiberglass doors and
structured wiring with full telephone and cable outlets."
Farzaneh said the improvements have changed how
the company competes in the housing market.
"Our competition is no longer local
competition," he said. "We're competing with the national giant
builders. We're the 340th largest home builder in a list of 400 giant
home builders nationwide. We are synchronizing our quality nationwide."
The "E" step is for easy financing, Farzaneh
said.
Jan Astani, marketing director for Home
Creations, said the company works with four preferred lenders.
"If our buyers go through any of those lenders,
we will pay 100 percent of their closing costs," she said.
"People" make up the company's fourth step.
"Frankly, we could not grow beyond building 30
homes a year if it was just me and Mohammad," Farzaneh said. "Our goal
is to build 600 homes in 2005."
For the past three years, the company has had a
management team concept. The team, which consists of 12 people, meets
once a week and collectively brings topics to the table to discuss and
decide.
"Majority rules," Farzaneh said.
"That's why our company works and grows," said
Kevin Hopkins, customer care-warranty manager. "Mohammad and Jalal's
involvement with other things sometimes keeps them out of the daily
contact with customers, vendors and suppliers. They let the people who
have to deal with those parts of the business make decisions about that
part of the company."
Farzaneh said he and his brother have changed
their roles in the company structure.
"Now, if you took Jalal and Mohammad out of the
company, the company may have a hiccup, but it would continue to
function," he said. "Five years ago if you took us out of it, the
company would cease."
Farzaneh said that while the company's people
made growth possible, its business system helps keep things running
smoothly, and it's what he calls the last of the "steps."
"Mohammad's son, M.J., helped put the system
together," Farzaneh said. "Our plates are full. M.J. helped put
together a system to keep everything running."
The business system is a process that begins
after a customer signs a contract for
a custom home, with a pre-construction meeting with the company's
architectural department.
"Once all the changes are made on the plan,
they sign the plan, and then they go through color selection in the
design center," he said.
The color sheet and the floor plan go to the
estimating department, which then sends it to the information systems
department, where purchase orders and work orders are generated.
Astani said the design center is a onestop
shop.
"They have scheduled time with a design
coordinator to choose the amenities for their new home," she said.
"They choose carpet, lighting, tile -- there are hundreds of choices. To
help, there's a kitchen and a bath set up here."
Home Creations is building in neighborhoods
from Edmond to Noble, Yukon-Mustang to Midwest City, Farzaneh said.
"We're growing to both the east and west areas
around Oklahoma City. We're opening up about 18 different communities
this year," he said.
Kevin Hopkins, director of customer care
for Home Creations, inspects a window on a new home in Moore.
BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
Left: This view shows the living room of
the Home Creations model home in The Apples addition in Moore. Home
Creations is one of the leading building companies in the Oklahoma City
area.
BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
This house by Home Creations is at 200 SW
40 in The Apples addition in Moore.
BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
Left: A long counter provides a kind of
border for an otherwise open kitchen in a Home Creations model home in
Moore.
BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
