FTQ360 began in 2002 with a vision of a tool for home builders to measure the performance of material and installation suppliers. Since the beginning when only tracking of scores from front-line field personnel was available, the system has expanded in scope to include one performance metric from one stakeholder as a basic feature. Today, FTQ360 is having breakthrough effects on alignment of supplier performance and crew behaviors with an eye on the needs of field superintendents.
Spurred by early successes, in 2004 job-ready scores were added to inspection forms and tracked in a database. After job-ready scores came supplier self-inspection scores, the first use of the multiple stakeholder concept to trade performance management. The concept of suppliers as customers to other suppliers was an important breakthrough because home building is largely a virtual production process whereby outsourced material and installation suppliers conduct nearly all production activities.
2005 developments concentrated on extracting intelligence from supplier performance data and automating the sharing of reports with trade contractors, community managers, and process managers.
2006 introduced the ability to define any number of customer-supplier relationships for a specific activity. The scope of the system expanded to include the full range of material suppliers, contracted services, independent inspectors, and builder support departments. This meant the FTQ360 system could include the entire organization and supply chain into the performance management process. There were also technical upgrades to a web-based system.
In 2007 the FTQ360 analysis engine was developed, providing for the direct communication of scores and feedback on issues between customers and suppliers. Automated data import and export was added to facilitate integration with client’s existing data sources. Real-time creation of ad-hoc reports was added to facilitate users mining of performance data.
Also in 2007, FTQ360 new process management capabilities were developed creating a new generation of tools for optimizing the performance of the entire production process. Powerful tools for monitoring performance and making improvements were added: one example is network diagrams providing the ability to visualize the process flow and the ability to identify obstacles to a smooth, efficient production system. Continued client successes have spurred an accelerated development of FTQ360 for 2008.
Caldeira Quality, the developer of FTQ360, is a firm specializing in supplier and process performance improvement since 2001. We provide training, consulting and software for businesses of a wide variety of sizes and types.
Caldeira Quality was founded by Ed Caldeira, who pioneered the development of residential construction quality and safety systems, the first of their kind to apply ISO 9000 principles to U.S. homebuilding.
Since 1996, more than 50 of Ed’s quality articles have appeared in leading industry magazines. He is author of the new book First Time Quality and Safety Management for Home Builders. He also wrote the book Quality Management Best Practices for Homebuilders and is a frequent presenter of quality seminars at industry conferences.
In addition, Ed is the author of Quality Systems Implementation, a Trade Contractor Case Study and A Quality System for Wood Frame Contractors, both published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As Director of Quality for the National Association of Home Builders for nine years, Mr. Caldeira established the National Housing Quality program as a quality center of excellence for the residential construction industry. This includes the National Housing Quality Award, the industry benchmark for customer-focused business excellence. Ed is also the principal developer of the NAHB's certified trade contractor program.
Prior to NAHB, Ed worked in the manufacturing sector as the Director of Quality for an aerospace firm, and managed the manufacturing management consulting services practice group for the firm that is now PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Ed holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Syracuse University.
