Rethinking Repairs: Delivering Excellent Repairs Services pdfs/Presentations/Rethinking Rep… · Effective recharge scheme operating Batching repairs to improve efficiency . Learn

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Rethinking Repairs: Delivering Excellent Repairs Services 30 January 2014

Steve Osborne, Mears

Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us | www.cih.org 2

What we will cover today

• What makes an excellent response repairs service?

• Trends in response repairs

• Background to ‘Getting the basics right campaign and CIH Repairs Charter’

• How you can use it

• Discussion


Ringing the changes: Out with the old……

• The coalition government

End to central government direction

End to national targets and PIs

End to consumer driven regulation and AC inspection

Regulation enhanced focus on efficiency and VFM

Affordable rent, fixed term tenancies and welfare reform


So what does this have to do with R&M?

• Balancing income streams with expenditure

Repairs biggest area of spend

• Economic pressures – balancing business minds with social values

• Critical – more commercially astute

Creative mgmt and maintenance of assets

New delivery models and markets

• Big differences between ‘the good and the bad’


TSA National Standards

Proposed standard Particular requirements

1. Tenant Involvement and Empowerment

Involvement and Empowerment Customer Service and Choice (including in relation to Equalities and diversity, and tenants with additional support needs) Complaints

2. Home Repairs and Maintenance Quality of Accommodation

3. Tenancy Agreement Allocations Rent Tenure

4. Neighbourhood and Community Anti-Social Behaviour Neighbourhood Management Local Area Cooperation

5. Value for Money Value for Money

6. Governance and Financial Viability

Governance Financial Viability


Registered providers shall:

Provide a cost effective repairs and maintenance service to homes and communal areas that responds to the needs of, and offers choices to, tenants, and has the objective of completing repairs and improvements right first time

Meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the occupants in their homes

Registered providers shall ensure a prudent, planned approach to repairs and maintenance of homes and communal areas. This should demonstrate an appropriate balance of planned and responsive repairs, and value for money. The approach should include: responsive and cyclical repairs, planned and capital work, work on empty properties, and adaptations


Attributes of a 3 Star Landlord & Service Provider – Top 10

Customer Focus

Service Standards

Continuous Improvement

Performance Management

Culture

Awareness of costs and

VFM

Customer Feedback

Strong Leadership

Effective Business Planning

Customer Satisfaction

Integrated IT


Excellent Repairs Service

Effective appointment

scheme

Effective repairs diagnose

Good performance

High level of customer

satisfaction

Good information provided for

customers on the repairs service

Effective post-inspection scheme

Effective partnership in

service delivery which achieves

VFM

Reasonable level of emergency

repairs

Easy to report repairs

Robust methods for assessing performance

Effective out of hours repairs

service

Link between repairs and DH

services to inform DH programme

Handyperson service for vulnerable customers

Low % of responsive

repairs compared with planned

Effective recharge scheme operating

Batching repairs to improve efficiency


Dissatisfaction Trends - National

Not easy to report repairs (can’t get through; customer care & knowledge of staff)

Inconvenient appointments

Not keeping service commitments (doing what we say)

Not tailoring to tenants needs (i.e. disability, vulnerability etc)

Not returning phone calls

Not being kept informed

Late for appointment

Complex works, Follow on/further works, Following pre-inspection

When things go wrong


Right First Time or First Visit Fix?

What does it mean to you?

Avoid complicated performance measures

How many repairs can be done at the ‘first visit’?

80%-85%

Monitor reasons why job not completed at ‘first visit’

Operative skills / productivity

Materials / van stocks

Process, procedures and stock condition


Recalls

What is a recall?

Quality measure

Work not completed correctly

Materials or repair fails

Operative left mess

Recall = waste of resource; increased costs; dissatisfaction


National Service Improvement trends

Change from emergency and non-emergency priorities

Non-emergency complete within 7 to 10 days

Value / Failure Demand review

Operatives multi-skilled (can most ops undertake most common/ non-specialist repairs?) - productivity

It’s more than repairs - sign post residents to other services (added value)

Real time repair ordering (before leave tenants home)

More focus on ‘self service’? (i.e. e- reporting; mobile Apps; Smart Phones)


Get the basics right!



Custom built

• Not a regulatory tool but provides a basis for internal challenge

• Sign up in voluntary and based on self assessment

• Focused on outcomes not processes

• Intended to drive sector-led improvement

• Effective tool to engage tenants


The headlines

Getting the Basics Right Campaign

Range of CIH Charters

Developed by 60+ landlords and national agencies: Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS)

Tenants And Residents Organisations of England (TAROE)

Direct Works Forum

Chartered Institute of Housing

National Housing Federation

HouseMark

Any landlord / any delivery model (UK)

6 core commitments and principles Planning – Delivery - Improvement


Charter Overview….

1. Corporate & Strategic priority

2. Capacity, skills and resources

3. Accessible and accountable

services

4. Quality service

5. Value for money

6. Service improvement


Corporate & Strategic Priority

There is a clear understanding, right across our organisation, that our responsive repairs service is one of the most important and valued services we provide. Delivering a quality service is a key organisational objective for us and all of our delivery partners

Supports other organisational strategies, objectives and departments to deliver services in a joined up way (i.e. housing management, development)


Skills, Capacity & Resources

Commit time, capacity and resources to deliver an effective and efficient service

Right people, with right skills in right jobs avoiding duplication of roles and processes

Invest in training and capacity building for staff and tenants

Effective IT and systems


Accessible and accountable service

Tenants can easily access the service

Collect and use profile information to tailor service to tenants needs

Effective two way communication

Communicate what the service can and cannot deliver, including what will be charged/recharged for to manage expectations and deliver service consistently and fairly

Clear policies, procedures and processes


Quality Service

Clear operational responsibility

All statutory and regulatory requirement met

Flexibility about how the service is delivered

Right First Time: repair done in one visit where feasible, to the required quality and to the overall satisfaction of the tenant

Flexible appointment system that demonstrates value for money

Effective quality assurance system in place


Value for Money

What does it mean?

Cost – Quality - Performance

Understood and embedded across the organisation

Understand costs and balance need to minimise costs with maintaining a quality service

Compare costs and performance externally

Procurement: sustainable and demonstrates value for money for duration of the contract


Improve Performance

Effective performance management People and process

Using information intelligently

Tenants empowered to hold us to account…provide information to tenants on cost and performance in a format agreed by them

Welcome and use tenant feedback on services

Seek and use best practice

Continuously review service to minimise waste and improve


Survey – Main Challenges

• The main challenges:

– VFM - balancing customer expectations (service offer diversification emerging)

– Budget cuts – competing with the private sector (emerging HA market)

– Staff retention – maintaining standards, budget cuts (succession planning, future skills costs, apprentices)

– Welfare reform

– Procurement (the success of the contract depends heavily on effective client procurement and client skills)


What you told us?

• New ways of working – what skills do you need for the future:

– IT • channel shifting

• innovative reporting, scheduling of repairs, e-procurement

• culture change

– Commercial skills –market trends and competition (emerging HA market / DLO trends)

– Training/up-skilling – Green, new ways of stock investment, component accounting


How can we use it?

Improve R&M

services

Assess services

Produce Action plan

Deliver plan

Monitor, update & feedback


Workshop Overview….

What makes an excellent response

repairs service?

What works well in delivering response

repairs?

What doesn’t work well?

What are your priorities for

improvement?




Best Practice

Range of supporting ‘how to...’ guides:

• How to…deliver value for money repairs services

• How to…carry out repairs on time, first time

• How to…build skills and capacity in repairs services

• How to…use technology to improve responsive repairs services

Download from www.cih.org/repairscharter

http://www.cih.org/repairscharter


The front runners

• Launched June 12

• Lincoln City Council first landlord to sign up

• More than 80 signatories

• Nottingham City Homes

– Basis for VFM / ALMO assessment


Our offer ….

• Sign up to the Charter and online network

• How to… briefings support the challenges identified: – IT (consumer focus)

– Building skills and capacity

– VFM

– Right first time

• New qualification: Level 4 certificate and diploma in Managing Responsive Repairs

• CIH membership - individual professional development (3 month free)

• CIH consultancy - external assistance and critical challenge



Thank you - Questions

[email protected]

Mobile: 07595 887601

[email protected]

Senior Policy and Practice Officer

Direct: 024 7685 1715

Mobile: 079 4445 8294

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Rethinking Repairs: Delivering Excellent Repairs Services pdfs/Presentations/Rethinking Rep… · Effective recharge scheme operating Batching repairs to improve efficiency . Learn