SB Homes: a big team, lots of sites, money saved.
SB Homes has been building family homes in the Colne Valley since 1997, with a team of over 35 and more than one development on the go. We sat down with site manager Jamie to ask how Banksman keeps it all organised, and what it saves them.
Family housebuilder: characterful, energy efficient new homes and the renovation of old mills and buildings.
sbhomes.co.uk ↗ (opens in a new tab)In short
SB Homes is a family housebuilder in the Colne Valley, Huddersfield, building since 1997 with more than 500 homes completed and a team of over 35 people. Site manager Jamie runs its developments on Banksman. The biggest changes are money saved, from fewer wasted orders and hours that can be checked against each site, and a big team that is organised across several developments at once: who is on which site, what they are doing and what has been ordered, all on one screen.
What changed for SB Homes
- Money savedFewer wasted orders, hours checked against each site, less time chasing
- A big team, organisedWho’s on which site and what they’re doing, without ringing round
- Every development on one screenProgress, tasks and deliveries across every site at once
- Subbies and paperwork sortedSign in, RAMS and price work done on the phone
In Jamie’s words
BanksmanTell us about SB Homes and what you do there.
I’m a site manager at SB Homes. We’re a family housebuilder in the Colne Valley and we’ve been building since 1997, more than 500 homes so far. There are over 35 of us, plus the subbies, and there’s usually more than one development on the go.
My job is keeping all of that moving: the right people on the right site, the materials there when they’re needed, and the work done properly.
BanksmanWhat was running the sites like before Banksman?
A phone that never stopped. A WhatsApp group for every site, paper timesheets, deliveries booked by text and drawings in the cabin. It worked, just about, but you spent half the day finding out what was going on instead of running it.
With a team our size, if you don’t know who’s where, you find out the hard way.
BanksmanWhat’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed?
The money we’ve saved. When you’ve got a big team across a few sites, small mistakes get expensive fast: an order placed twice, a delivery to the wrong site, hours nobody can check, a job done twice because someone was working from an old drawing.
Banksman catches them before they cost us. Orders are approved before they’re placed, hours are logged against the site they were worked on, and everyone’s looking at the current drawing.
“When you’ve got a big team across a few sites, small mistakes get expensive fast. Banksman catches them before they cost us.”
Jamie, site manager, SB Homes
BanksmanHow do you keep a team that size organised?
Everyone signs in at the gate with the QR code, so I can see who’s on which site and what they’re doing without picking up the phone. Tasks are set for each site, so the team know their day before they arrive.
If someone’s needed on another development, I can see who’s free and move them. That used to take a dozen phone calls.
“I can see who’s on which site and what they’re doing without picking up the phone.”
Jamie, site manager, SB Homes
BanksmanAnd running several developments at once?
Every development is on one screen: what’s done, what’s next, what’s been ordered and what’s arriving. I know where we’re up to before I’ve even left the house.
When the office or a buyer asks how a plot’s getting on, I can tell them there and then, with photos.
“Every development is on one screen. I know where we’re up to before I’ve even left the house.”
Jamie, site manager, SB Homes
BanksmanWhat about the subcontractors?
They’re on it too. The subbies sign in, sign the RAMS and inductions and submit their price work on their phones. I approve it or query it, and it’s all written down.
It’s all there when I need it, which matters on a housing site with a lot of different trades through the gate.
“The subbies sign in, sign the RAMS and submit their price work on their phones. It’s all there when I need it.”
Jamie, site manager, SB Homes
BanksmanWas it hard to get everyone using it?
No. It works on the phone everyone already has, there’s nothing to install from an app store, and the team picked it up in a day or two. The ones who were least keen were the first to stop ringing me.
BanksmanWhat would you tell another site manager?
If you’re running more than one site with a decent sized team, try it. Start with one development, get everyone signing in and logging their hours, and see how much less time you spend chasing.
SB Homes and Banksman: the facts
- Who are SB Homes?
- SB Homes Ltd is a family housebuilder based in the Colne Valley, Huddersfield, and part of the Byram Property Group. It has been building since 1997, has completed more than 500 homes and employs a team of over 35 people.
- Does SB Homes use Banksman?
- Yes. SB Homes runs its developments on Banksman, managed day to day by site manager Jamie.
- How has Banksman saved SB Homes money?
- By cutting the small, repeated costs of a big team: materials ordered twice or not at all, hours that couldn’t be checked against a site, and time spent ringing round and driving between developments to find out where things were.
- How does SB Homes organise a big team across several sites?
- Everyone signs in on site with a QR code, so Jamie can see who is on which development. Tasks are set per site, material orders are approved before they are placed, and subcontractors sign RAMS and submit price work on their phones.
The Banksman features behind it
- Site sign inQR sign in at the gate and a live list of who’s on every site.
- TasksWork set per site, so the team know their day before they arrive.
- TimesheetsHours logged against the site, approved in a tap, exported for payroll.
- MaterialsRequested by the team, approved before they’re ordered, tracked to the gate.
- Price workSubbies submit it, managers approve or dispute it.
- RAMS and inductionsRead and signed on the phone, with proof of who signed what.
See every feature → · More case studies → · Banksman vs spreadsheets and WhatsApp →
Guides behind what SB Homes does.
- Site management · 3 min readHow to Manage Site Inductions and RAMS Without Piles of PaperworkSite inductions and RAMS eat hours of admin. Here's what the law actually requires, and how to keep them current without a cabin full of paper.Read the guide →
- Site management · 4 min readHow to Avoid Subcontractor Payment Disputes: A Guide to Proof of Work on SiteMost subcontractor payment disputes in the UK come down to missing proof. Here's how to record hours, sign off daywork and handle payment notices properly.Read the guide →
- Site management · 4 min readHow to get your building site off WhatsApp (without losing the lads)WhatsApp groups work until they don't. A bricklayer's guide to moving your site's tasks, photos, hours and drawings somewhere you can actually find them.Read the guide →
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