Working together to rethink repairs. Steve Tucker CIH consultancy 18 January 2017

Transcription

1 Working together to rethink repairs Steve Tucker CIH consultancy 18 January 2017

2 Our project aims & objectives To use sector led collaborative techniques to explore how best to radically shrink the cost of repairs & maintenance whilst driving up investment value delivered in tenants homes To provide an evidence based examination of good practice in R & M service design and operation and an objective appraisal of the results and outcomes Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

3 Rethinking repairs the agenda Realising efficiency savings Enhancing stock value Delivering better for less: managing demand and driving down costs Sustaining the housing asset: ensuring all repairs contribute and add value to the stock Housing Plus: the role of repairs in meeting wider landlord objectives e.g. more successful households Repairs workforce of the future: core skills and abilities; educating and coaching tenants Management interventions: driving good repairs performance: e.g. business analysis to generate insight Traditional repairs delivery models will not match the value and economy thresholds now expected Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

4 Working Together to rethink repairs Project Objectives Evaluating innovation in R+M: one response to the need to manage demand is the property MOT approach - but can it evidence real savings and added value? Comparison and testing the impact of competing pricing models: does the new Price per Property/Void model outperform the close cost control offered by the Schedule of Rates? Challenging traditional assumptions about R+M: Planned and reactive divide: is it really best value to have a 70/30 split? Decent Homes yardsticks and approaches: can we repair kitchens rather than renew? New operating models: is the combination of commercial management and in-house workforce really the new best practice? New Craft Operative: defining the core skills and capabilities that the industry should be cultivating in the future R+M workforce Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

5 Our project members North Gateshead Council Halton Housing Trust Housing Leeds North Tyneside Homes Regenda Together Housing Group Central Northampton Partnership Homes Nottingham City Homes Stoke on Trent (City of) National Mears Group Riverside Willmott Dixon South Homes for Haringey Moat Homes London Borough of Barking & Dagenham London Borough of Southwark Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

6 Working Together with CIH Collective sessions on key project elements, acting as focus points and milestones Individual organisational critical challenge & support days operational assessment and evaluation; what is done, how, why and what impact is it having Big emphasis on supporting documents, models, briefings and checklists this is popular because this gives teams lots of guidance and source materials Huge emphasis on organisational collaboration we encourage joint working, both within your own organisation and with other project members A sector leading Learning Report - featuring organisations projects and the insight, lessons and learning that that have emerged Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

7 Learning from the first project: Working together to break new ground in repairs & maintenance Recognise that the golden age of funding for social housing is over and Value for Money considerations now prevail - repairs and maintenance must deliver as stock investment as well as a service to tenants Adopt a framework for repairs & maintenance to encourage and support tenants to look after their home as part of a rights and responsibilities agenda in landlord and tenant relations. The core characteristics of a good R+M service are: excellent two way communication with residents rapid and effective problem solving high levels of productivity and user satisfaction. A sustainable organisational culture and smart and efficient business processes are the essential foundation for promoting this Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

8 Value for money in repairs Management of repairs demand not all repairs demand is good value for the stock Measured approach to procurement and its junior partner, contract management, which needs to be properly resourced Complexity of developing successful in-house provision often under estimated Workforce development what does the repairs operative of the 21 st Century look like? Technology platform and business process set the parameters of what the business can achieve Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

9 Managing repairs demand Four areas that require focused attention to reduce demand: Shaping tenant behaviour Frontline services provided by operatives Repairs Contact Centre Management interventions Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

10 Managing Repairs Demand: Tenant behaviour Informing, influencing and supporting tenants to take the initiative in looking after their home: Tenancy awareness course to prepare potential future tenants Setting clear expectations: rights and responsibilities of tenants New tenancy induction visit to explain how the home works Rewards and sanctions Support for self service repairs Goal of tenancy sustainment Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

11 Managing repairs demand: Frontline services from operatives Make good use of the opportunities afforded by the repairs visit to support and promote key household objectives Communication and coaching: interacting with tenants to promote tenancy success Multiskilling across trades and beyond key members of housing management team Monitoring tenancy and property compliance Implies the way that productivity is measured will need to adjust to the new role Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

12 Managing repairs demand: Repairs contact centre Quality and purpose of call handling needs to accommodate and support demand management Identify rechargeable repairs and enforce whilst making allowance for validated vulnerability Identifying work that should be funded from elsewhere: warranties; service charges Checking demand against future planned and cyclical maintenance programmes Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

13 Managing repairs demand: management interventions Acting on maintenance intensive properties Tracking average order values Review of out of hours demand and redirecting this Live connection to asset management database Close analysis of higher cost areas and trades e.g. roofing and scaffolding Working with other landlord teams to address difficult issues Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

14 Repairs essentials for landlords Every social housing landlord needs to address and reach a judgement on these critical issues when designing their repairs service model: Is it primarily an on-demand service to tenants or must it also be an investment in a crucial business asset? How will the repairs service make a telling contribution to the vision of successful lives for tenants? How exactly will the repairs workforce make a difference? What is the repairs business model to be adopted and how will the supporting ICT make this a genuinely modern and smart service? Should the provider service be made or bought? Is a hybrid of these the preferred solution? Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

15 Successful client organisations are characterised by: A fully integrated and coherent client team with the technical and professional skills to deliver value across reactive repairs, voids, planned and cyclical maintenance Improves efficiency through a well focused client role and seamless business processes Responsibility for coordinating all repair and planned programmes to reflect investment priorities and facilitate movement of work into the planned category and to maximise value Oversees redirection of resources from reactive repairs and voids to planned maintenance Adoption of a five year strategic budget plan for repairs and maintenance to align annual investment made with landlord commitments to residents Sound awareness of emerging good practice in commissioning repairs and maintenance Appraises and reviews options for future procurement and commissioning Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

16 The key challenges we face 1. Providing the right leadership & culture 2. Adding value through responsive repairs (customer v asset) 3. Delivering fairness in service provision 4. Responding to the needs of a changing customer base 5. Securing better organisational systems & processes 6. Maximising the benefits of procurement & partnering 7. Maximising the opportunities & benefits of IT 8. Better use of data to improve performance measurement Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

17 Working together to rethink repairs: Common challenges and shared objectives Tension between repairs quality and economy/efficiency - homeowners can t obtain/afford the type of Rolls Royce repairs service tenants receive have to accommodate tenants who should be taking responsibility for basic repairs Are we guilty of spending money on the wrong things? Use of business intelligence in the challenge to sustain properties and sharing of information with other parts of the organisation Shortening time and generating more productivity Collaboration shared services has not gone as well as hoped Behavioural change and tenants designed to reduce the volume of demand Self-service options and better repairs diagnosis to eliminate waste Problem of the decent homes culture eclipsing our view of the property Ever increasing levels of customer satisfaction may not be affordable Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

18 Key questions for repairs and maintenance Is it primarily an on-demand service to tenants or must it also be an investment in a crucial business asset? How will the repairs service make a telling contribution to the vision of successful lives for tenants? How exactly will the repairs workforce make a difference? What is the repairs business model to be adopted and how will the supporting ICT make this a genuinely modern and smart service? Should the provider service be made or bought? Is a hybrid of these the preferred solution? Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

19 Working together to rethink repairs: The story so far Collective reaction expressed against the regime of absolute customer sovereignty as being in any way relevant for the future of repairs and maintenance Need for better integration with both property/asset management and with housing management For a new repairs and maintenance offer to be defined for tenants The departure signaled from old and redundant concepts like: customer excellence; best practice; top quartile performance; the reactive and planned split; voids standard; decent homes standard The new vocabulary may include: disruption; measuring value invested in the asset; integrated tenancy and property management; business intelligence; component life profiling Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

20 Learning from HouseMark Data Overall satisfaction levels (Star survey) have remained relatively consistent over the period, fluctuating between 82% and 84% at the median point over the period 2014/2015 median result showed that 83% of tenants were very or fairly satisfied with their landlord's repairs and maintenance service Total cost per property of responsive repairs is slightly higher for landlords with DLOs, which is driven by comparatively higher expenditure on service provision. Cost per property of managing responsive repairs carried out by a DLO is less than similar supervision and back-office costs when the work is contracted out. Star perception satisfaction is more than two percentage points higher for DLOs, but satisfaction with last repair (measured through Star) is virtually the same. Landlords with more than 10,000 properties recorded the highest median cost per repair and the lowest satisfaction rates Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

21 Housing repairs workforce of the future Implications for future succession planning and training suggests a hierarchy of skills that begin with craft ability but will also include: communicating with, advising and educating tenants inspecting and surveying the property application of new technology assessing how the tenancy is being managed and looking out for any concerns More opportunities for transitioning between asset management and housing management and for women to work in R+M Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

22 Planned on demand Planned maintenance based on lifetime cycles: Is arbitrary and does not take into account improved quality Is not customer-focussed and does not respond to tenant demand Wastes money and creates bureaucracy Raises unrealistic expectations and is expensive Planned maintenance based on lifetime cycles will result in: Wasted resources in surveying, specifying, tendering High prelim and site set-up costs Repairable elements being renewed and therefore unfocussed investment Increased pressure on responsive repair budgets and increased voids Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

23 Planned on demand process is simple Tenant originates the repair - I need a new kitchen/bathroom Operative inspects - repairs or condemns (based purely on condition) If a new kitchen or bathroom is needed, it is replaced, as a one-off Use of P.L.A.N. to inform right course of action Proportionate (is renewal a proportionate response?) Lawful (is it a landlord repair? tenant damage?) Auditable (ensure we log the reason for decision) Necessary (is it necessary to do something?) Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

24 Planned on Demand Demand-focussed approach to major element replacement Not survey-led; Not stock condition-led; Not based on elemental lifecycles Response to tenant requests: major elements only replaced when they fail and can t be repaired Single-element replacement not whole house refurbishment Replace elements when they fail, not linked to life-cycles Invest in the external environment, not just internals Savings through: No surveys; no detailed specifications; no tender documents; no site cabins or prelim costs; no site storage or welfare cabins; no stock tied-up for long periods; no complex project management; no site manager/project manager; no downtime due to no accesses/refusals; no complex invoice/certification processes; no tenant consultation; no expectations unrealistically raised Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

25 Relationship with Residents Defining a repairs offer that both informs and manages the expectations of residents about the responsibilities they hold for looking after their home Key initiatives that are designed to shape resident understanding and behaviour in ways that will benefit the upkeep of the asset and reduce costs Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

26 New approach to tenant involvement and repairs Traditional forms of involvement have a tendency to be: Dominated by a vocal minority and inaccessible to the majority of tenants Unrepresentative of all but a limited cohort, adversarial and with unrealistic expectations Expensive to develop and maintain and no real understanding of the business case Having a handful of involved tenants shaping services for the majority has become widely discredited Landlords have started to adopt a more commercial approach that recognises that tenants are individual consumers of services and interaction and influence should be focused at an individual as well as a collective level Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

27 New approach to tenant involvement and repairs Offer greater levels of influence to a larger number and more diverse range of tenants Increase the objectivity of tenant led influence through evidence based decision making Increase the effectiveness and validity of strategic and operational responses to tenants needs and aspirations Increase the efficiency and value for money of tenant involvement by targeting resources to the most effective areas Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

28 New approach to tenant involvement and repairs Increased expectations of customers as a result of increased competition Recognition of the value of customer focused business principles mirroring the commercial sector Collection, interpretation and application of customer insight as the principle involvement mechanism Emphasis on evidence informed decision making The need to demonstrate value for money through cost benefit analysis and indicators of impact The value of social investment and community development in complementing repairs and maintenance services Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us

29 Applying commercial principles to deliver enhanced value for money Identifying the principal barriers that prevent social housing landlords from operating more commercially, both generally and in relation to repairs & maintenance Proposing and recommending new freedoms that would allow the benefits of a more commercial approach to be realised Addressing the tension between delivering a high quality repairs offer and a high quality service How to reduce costs and improve service quality at the same time Learn with us. Improve with us. Influence with us