STANDARD

JANUARY 2004
the electronic IN THIS ISSUE:
TEXT IN RED is a LINK.
u Customer Service
THE BUILDING CODES & STANDARDS DIVISION WEBSITE NEWSLETTER
u Lake Wilson Explosion
u Building Official Update
Resolution #1: LISTEN u Website Updates
Disaster Memorandum
Customer service was a hot topic with a standing-room only 2 Technical Opinions
crowd participating in a seminar that Charles Durenberger and Upcoming Training
Fred Driver conducted at a Builders Association of Minnesota Advisory committee form
(BAM) day-long training event last month. u BCSD On the Move:
“‘No one is listening to me!’ is the complaint I hear most often Annual School
when people call to complain about a firm they are working HUD/MHCC Meeting
with,” stated Fred Driver, Building Codes and Standards Division u Survey & Email Request
code administration supervisor. He continued, “Frequently small
problems become major sources of anger when customers For photos, fun facts,
perceive they are being ignored or dismissed, even when that and directions go to:
www.winter-carnival.com
isn’t necessarily the case. Their anger is further compounded by Thanks to the hundreds
normal stress of a building project, so a minor item that could of trades workers
have been resolved quickly becomes a very personal issue.” involved in building
— from the
“Almost all of our complaints involve an element of the ground-floor
contractor’s failure to communicate with their customer,” ice rink to
added Charles Durenberger, Department of Commerce, Market the roof!
Assurance Division, investigation supervisor. “I stress the
importance of documenting as much as possible, particularly
items that will change either the scope of work being performed
or the final cost of the project. Change orders should always be
documented in a log or file for a job.”

Both presenters stressed the human side of the business.

“Contractors should keep in mind that although construction or
remodeling of a home may be a way for them to make a living,
it is a hugely important matter to their customer.” explained
Durenberger, “Customers invest much personal time and emotion
into the project, to say nothing of the financial capital, and they
must be treated with respect and understanding.”

Fred and Charles’ advice is reflected in a homeowner satisfaction

study conducted by NRS Corporation in 2003. The results of the
continued on page 3

BUILDING CODES &

Check out the new website:
STANDARDS DIVISION MNCodes.org
408 METRO SQUARE BUILDING 121 7TH PLACE EAST • ST. PAUL MN 55101 Your one stop for
651.296.4639 • FAX: 651.297.1973 • TTY: (1-800) 627.3529
WWW.BUILDINGCODES.ADMIIN.STATE.MN.US
code information. 1
 When Disaster
Strikes
F.Y.I. Congratulations to the state’s recently
designated municipal Building
Officials:
• Robert Baumann – Carlos
• Mick Kaehler – Pine Springs
• Alan Strand – Rosemount
• Bernard Schulte – Dassel and Cokato
• Philip Drotning – Sandstone
Building officials joined emergency • Loren Kohnen – Montgomery
personnel in responding to an • Armand Eshleman – Worthington
explosion that rocked Lake Wilson
the night of January 12th. Photos by Dan Kelsey, Building Codes &
• Dale Kurtz – Byron
Standards Division Structural Engineer
• Paul Waldron – Kimball and Green Isle
LAKE WILSON
Pipestone
Be sure to check the website
at least once a week:
90
Worthington 90
www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
220
Current notices in What’s New:
u Mechanical Bond information is
After a collective sigh of relief that no one was currently posted at the very top of this
injured in an explosion that rocked Lake Wilson, section because cities frequently access
a town located in southwestern Minnesota, the list.
assessment and recovery work began. RECENT POSTINGS:

As with most disasters, emergency crews What’s New:

first assess personal injuries and damage u Disaster Memo

posing imminent danger such as gas leaks u Memorandum Regarding the Use of

and downed power lines. The second wave of Platform Lifts in Change of Occupancy,
disaster response personnel includes building Minnesota Rules Chapter 1311
u Information Regarding Manufactured
inspectors. Mark Hensen is the Regional
Building Official for Region 4. He was joined by Structures Seminars
Link to
u Memorandum regarding
other building officials responsible for assessing info to
Cold Weather Concrete order a
structural damage. As outlined in the Disaster
and Masonry & Booklet booklet.
Preparedness Manual, Building Department
u Memorandum Regarding
the assessment includes
JURISDICTION

Sizing of Secondary Roof Drains

PHONE

Dangerous - Keep Out

preparing damage
Rules Section:
THIS STRUCTURE IS

reports and tagging Uninhabitable

u 1346 - Notice of Continuance of Hearing

ADDRESS

buildings as to their INSPECTOR

BUILDING OCCUPANCY CLASS AND DESCRIPTION

DATE

safety and accessibility. CONTACT BUILDING DEPARTMENT BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH WORK

DO NOT REMOVE THIS PLACARD UNTIL AUTHORIZED BY GOVERNING AUTHORITY

Relating to Adoption of 2000 IMC/IFGC
u Rule Change Request form for Advisory
COLOR: RED

Because public buildings One of the signs buildings

were included it might be tagged with after a Committees
damage assessment.
the damage it was OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST:
fortunate that the explosion happened at night. u BCSD Calendar (exams, seminars)
Additional information will be provided in future u The Standard (current and past issues)
issues of the Standard. u Minn. State Building Code in pdf format
u Map with directions to BCSD
u Counties that have adopted the code.
The Disaster Preparedness Manual is posted as a

2
pdf document on the website: u Question Form and Contact Info
www.buildingcodes.admin.state.mn.us
Click on Informational Printouts & Forms
 Customer Service continued
“Change orders study are detailed in Housing Zone: Scoring Points with Customers
should always (www.housingzone.com/topics). According to the report, remodelers
be executed and who truly excel in customer satisfaction have distinguished
conversations themselves from the competition in the following areas:
should be - Quality processes for working with customers.
documented in a - Pre-planned standards for dealing with the inevitable questions,
log or file for the concerns, and problems.
job.” BAM event - Instead of trying to control customers rigidly, these companies
encourage homeowners input and make customers feel
empowered.
“It is ok say ‘no’ - Let customers set the standards of how communication should
to a customer work during the project.
as long as you - Make a point of being accessible to clients at all times.
communicate - Accept accountability for every aspect of each remodeling
your position project, whether the fault lies elsewhere, and well beyond
respectfully and walk-through and warranty.
clearly.” BAM event
Bottomline: Firms that communicate a philosophy that great
service is ultimately more important than cutting margins were the
“Rather than most successful. The study measures the following components of
under-promise customer satisfaction: project design, quality of materials, quality of
and over-deliver, workmanship, work-site conditions, production schedules, budget,
these companies the value-to-price relationship, the sales process, the production
acknowledge their process, punchlist items and process, and pre-contract expectations.
customers’ fears,
promise the moon Remodelers scored lowest in the following areas:
anyway and then Number of walk-through items
strive to deliver Price/value of project
the sun as well as Adherence to production schedule
the moon.” NRS Study Time taken to correct walk-through items
Adherence to budget
“Examples of Cleanliness of work site
going above Communication of price changes caused by change orders
and beyond for Where do codes fit into successful communications? Well, first of all,
customers include building to code is not considered at ‘above and beyond’ service.
baby-sitting their Builders are expected to know and follow the code which is available
children, shoveling through Minnesota’s Bookstore.
snow from their
walkways and As for developing or fine-tuning a customer service program, there
driveways, are many resources available. In addition to industry-sponsored
preparing or training opportunities, (link to list of industry organizations),
monitoring dinner check out some of these resources on the web:
for them, bringing continued on page 5

them breakfast,
Seminar participants benefited from the opportunity to discuss customer
and walking their
pets.” NRS Study service challenges and solutions with their peers. Do you have a
customer service ‘tip’ to share or a customer challenge you would like
to get feedback about (using fake names of course). Submit it using our

3 REQUEST form to be included in a future issue. (name optional)

BCSD staff are always On the Move... Merwyn Larson, Director
of Inspections for the
Minneapolis receiving the
q The 48TH Annual Institute for Building Officials Alvin Kleinbeck, Code
Official of the Year award
In addition to presentations regarding building codes and specialized training recognizing an individual for
seminars, the Annual Institute provides an excellent opportunity to meet with professional contributions to
peers in the industry. BCSD staff who participated as presenters included code enforcement.
Duane DeLonais, Mike Fricke, Peter Kulczyk, Paul Heimkes, Greg Karow,
Tom Joachim, Jim Muyres, Jerry
Russell Thornberg,
Norman, Randy Vogt, and Curt Chapter President for
Wiehle. the ICC SW Minnesota
Chapter, accepting the
Educator of the Year award
from Roger Axel, the
Association of Minnesota
Building Officials (AMBO)
Chairman, and Building
Official for the City of New
Hope.

q The Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee

(HUD/MHCC) Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, Dec. 9-11, 2003. The HUD/MHCC full committee’s next meeting is scheduled
One of the main items of the agenda was the review and for Feb. 24,25,and 26, 2004, in Washington, DC
finalization of the National Manufactured Home Installation Conference calls scheduled prior to the next full committee
Standard draft. The draft was reviewed and approved meeting are:
by the MHCC to forward (forwarded to the Secretary of Installation sub-committee 1/8/04 and 1/20/04
HUD 12/18/03) to HUD for final review, comment, and Regulatory sub-committee 1/27/04
publication of proposed rule. Discussions at the meeting Full MHCC 2/13/04
also included
• A future installation program for the licensing/
certification and training of installers (task force
appointed to draft outline of program Randy Vogt-chair
State of MN, Mark Nunn-MHI, Alan Youse-AARP, and
Richard Weinert- State of CA).
• The priorities and resources of HUD for the MHCC and
the program administrator-NFPA.
• Possibility of accessibility standards incorporated into
HUD construction standards.
• Possible CFR 3282 Regulations, Subpart I (consumer

protection) revisions to the regulations.
• Review of possible incorporation of proposed
construction standards, CFR3280.
4
Randy Vogt, BCSD - Manufactured Structures (back row, sixth from left)
with other members of the HUD/MHCC during a tour of CAVCO in Phoenix.
 Customer Service continued from page 3
A Sampling of Building Industry Customer Service
Resources Through the Internet:

Samples of Housing Zone Articles - www.housingzone.com

Communications, Communications, Communications article
The NRS top performers prove that open, honest and frequent
conversation with clients is the key to customer satisfaction.
Scoring Points With Customers article
Good news from NRS Corp study verified by Professional Remodeler

National Association of Home Builders www.nahb.org has

many resources including books, many addressing the ‘soft side’
of the building business - customer communications from both the
customer’s and builder’s perspective - builderbooks@nahb.com.

Don’t dismiss the books written for customers. They could be

useful guides for looking at your business as your customer would.
For example, would your firm meet the quality and value criteria
outlined in this book? Review the list of places they suggest
looking for referrals including previous customers. How would your
customers respond to questions such as “Are you happy with your
new home?” “ If you had any problems, were they fixed promptly
and properly?” and “Would you buy a home from this builder?”
The book states that people will usually tell you if they are pleased
with their homes and if they aren’t, they want to tell you why.

Add a Customer Manual to your ‘tools of the trade’.

Top-rated firms in the NRS study included a customer manual in
their ‘tools of the trade’ and many of the NAHB site books give
suggestions on how to create one. A Customer Manual can be
used to initially market a company, manage a project, and provide
the home-owner with information to reference after the project
is completed. Start with a $5 3-ring binder with a clear slip-in
cover for a sheet identifying your firm. Suggestions for tabs and
information with those tabs include:

Your marketing
WELCOME

Highlight dates Help your customer

TIMELINESS

TOOLBOX

information - who, that require home finish their

what, where, and owner cooperation. ‘Homeowner’s
why your firm Document Manual’ - a place for
should be selected. maintenance tips,
expectations - don’t
assume anything warranty info, and
Define the terms
DEFINITIONS

- put it in writing. resource contacts.

you use most
frequently (the ones This manual gave
REFERRALS
FORMS

you need customers Copies of critical them piece of mind,

to understand). documents. Who and helped create a
Include photos or can they contact home they love.
illustrations when - names and phone Now let them say
appropriate. numbers. thanks.

5
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