Construction today is all about doing more with less as you balance workforce challenges, tighter schedules, and growing cost pressure. For many specialty contractors, prefabrication has become the key to staying competitive. But turning prefab into a scalable, repeatable system takes more than just a shop floor. It demands better visibility, tighter coordination, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
That’s the journey Facility Solutions Group (FSG), one of the largest providers of electrical and lighting services in the U.S., found themselves on.
In our recent Quickbase webinar, leaders from FSG shared how they went from tracking work through scattered emails and spreadsheets to running a fully connected prefab operation. Here are some of the highlights from the FSG story, as told by Andrew Layman, VP of Prefabrication at FSG, Nathaniel Kevresian, Prefab Manager at FSG, and Bob Salaj, Principal Industry Advisor at Quickbase.
Prefab Is Growing—But So Is the Complexity
According to a recent report by Market Research Future, the modular prefabricated construction market is expected to grow from $209.43 billion in 2025 to $452.68 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 8.9% during the forecast period.
That kind of growth shows just how much prefab is taking off—but it also means teams need better systems to handle the increasing complexity. And yet, many teams still manage prefab with disconnected tools: spreadsheets, email threads, paper QA checklists. While this may work for small projects, it becomes a serious bottleneck as operations scale.
The Problem: Why Spreadsheets Weren’t Enough for FSG’s Prefab Team
Prefabrication delivers speed and quality—but only when supported by equally strong back-end systems. FSG’s story began like many others. Their prefab team initially relied on:
- Emails for requests
- Shared Google Sheets for labor tracking
- Paper QA/QC checklists
- Verbal updates for project status
It worked—until it didn’t. As demand increased, so did the inefficiencies. Data was scattered. Tasks were missed. Scaling became harder without a central system in place.
The Turning Point: A Platform That Fits the Process
FSG needed a way to consolidate everything—from orders and labor tracking to QA and delivery status—into one system that matched how their team actually worked. That’s when they turned to Quickbase to manage and streamline their prefabrication process.
They started small. What began as a simple idea—digitize prefab orders—evolved into a fully integrated prefab management solution. Nathaniel, the Prefab Manager at FSG, developed the system in-house, tailoring Quickbase to fit FSG's unique workflow.
With Quickbase’s prefab management tool, FSG can now:
- Capture and track job orders with historical data
- Log and assign tasks to shop floor staff
- Track build progress and labor hours in real time
- Replace paper-based QA with mobile checklists
- Automate notifications for field teams and project managers
- Visualize workload and status through role-based dashboards
The result? A single, connected system shaped by the team using it.
Using Lean Thinking to Improve Daily Work
With Quickbase, FSG didn’t just digitize their workflows—they improved them.
Plan-Do-Check-Adjust (PDCA) in Action:
FSG used Quickbase to iteratively fine-tune their operations. For example, when apprentices reported eye strain during detailed wiring tasks, leadership responded by introducing magnifying lamps at workstations—fixing the issue in days.
Transparency Builds Trust:
Instead of waiting for calls asking about job status, field teams could now check real-time dashboards showing where each assembly stood in the process.
Giving Apprentices a Voice:
New hires weren’t just trained in prefab—they contributed to how it evolved. With Quickbase, apprentices logged hours, flagged issues, and added process feedback—creating a direct feedback loop for training and improvement.
Better Visibility Leads to Better Decisions
One of the most common challenges prefab teams face is a lack of visibility. Where’s that order? How far along is the build? Has QA cleared it for delivery? Without clear answers, projects slow down, and communication breaks down.
Quickbase solves that by giving every stakeholder a clear view of what’s happening—when and where. Supervisors track real-time progress. PMs get alerts when jobs hit milestones. Leadership can spot delays before they snowball.
This level of insight empowers everyone on your team to plan better, respond faster, and collaborate more effectively.
Why Prefab Teams Choose Quickbase
While there are plenty of construction work management tools out there, most aren’t built with prefab teams in mind. Quickbase’s Prefab Tracking app is purpose-built for prefab.
Here’s what sets it apart:
- Flexible and customizable: Tables, fields, and workflows tailored to off-site teams.
- No-code customization: Change layouts, add automation, or adjust logic as your process evolves.
- Real-time updates: Keep field and shop teams on the same page.
- Mobile-ready: Log hours, complete checklists, and report issues from the floor.
- Scalable: Start with just a few builds and grow as your shop does.
With Quickbase, you’re not locked into someone else’s process—you’re building your own and improving it every step of the way.
Explore FSG’s Real-World Journey
If you’re still managing prefab builds with spreadsheets, sticky notes, or shared drives, it’s time to rethink how your team works.
Quickbase’s Prefab Tracking Pro App helps you move from manual tracking to modern prefab management—while giving your team the tools to improve, adapt, and grow over time.
And if you’d like to see how FSG built their system from scratch and hear the full story, check out our on-demand webinar.
Final Thoughts
Prefabrication is no longer an add-on—it’s core to how construction gets done. But prefab alone isn’t the answer. How you manage prefab is what makes or breaks performance.
FSG didn’t get there overnight. They took small steps, made smart changes, and backed it all with the right platform. And that’s what prefab success looks like today: a connected system that empowers your team, adapts to change, and supports ongoing improvement.
Ready to rethink how you prefab? Start with visibility. Start with lean. Start with Quickbase.
