Schedule of Rates, what are they good for?

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or LinkedIn here http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

 

I don’t need to point out that response repairs spending is any RSL’s biggest area of external spending. So it’s no surprise that subcontracting out repairs to a third party offering a service at a steal is always attractive.  We are a good year on from the whole Connaught fiasco, when that old adage, ‘if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is bud’ came true for a few dozen UK RSL’s and some larger housing groups.

SOR’s have been the means of diagnosing and analysing response repairs for a few decades. My question is, after a few decades of seeing them misused, is:

1.  Did we understand them and use them properly in the first place?
2.  Do we need them now in the era of open book and just paying an annual cost to maintain?  

Strange questions as these SORs are practically everywhere, I have seen them everywhere, perhaps at 30+ housing organisations. It’s rare to see SOR’s to be use properly, well firstly there’s so many of them. Err, yep about 3000+ of the NHF rascals.

Tailoring has always been the key. I have experience of HA’s with less than 45 SORs (using good Vanguard practice) and some with more than the number that were delivered. It’s a technique of working what you use, what is relevant and how your contractors work. This all needs to support how you manage it. If it doesn’t do that, it’s not fit for purpose.

Reducing that number down to a manageable size takes time, effort and analysis of what repairs are diagnosed. Most modern housing management systems these days enable multiple tables of SORs to be supported. Also the means to create your own specialist ones. Just because some boffins in a bunker decided that bleeding a radiator takes 12.5 SMV’s (Standard Minute Values), it does not mean that will be exactly true in Dewsbury, Stornoway and off Ealing Broadway. Customising to fit your local situation will create more accurate estimates and better control of spending.

Customising to the response repairs that actually occur, will create more accurate diagnosis.  For example if you manage bin stores, ensure you have a comprehensive range of SORs to diagnose and support them.   

Often responsive repair managers do not have the time, experience or inclination to do this. Where diagnosis scripts are in use, effort needs to be directed here too. To neglect customisation to support local needs, CSA staff will divert from an inappropriate scripts and use ‘common sense’. Unfortunately, residents and customers  experience a far from consistent approach. Management and resource spent here always pay dividends. I am aware of one housing group where one manager is just assigned to response repair scripting and one to other processes (eg ASB, arrears processing etc). They gain such advantages from this approach.

So what’s the benefit of SORs in the world of open book?

I would say they are of even more value than ever before. The reason d’etre of RSL’s and the like is to provide social housing for those who need it. For your repair suppliers it is generally to provide dividends for shareholders. Nothing wrong in that, but I would suggest that it would be prudent to look for adequate checks and balances, to make sure you obtain value for money and continue to do so.

Paying an average price per property for your response repairs is a great idea. It needs to be right. Knowing what is being ordered and what % falls out of the agreed scope is essential to manage this properly. Driving repairs directly to contractors may also seem a great way to implement efficiency, maybe saving some staff too. This can mean that the organisation can lose vital control of these services. Perhaps only discovering issues when residents arrive at reception to complain.  It cannot be like that.

I have seen it myself. SOR’s are your friends, just understand which ones you need most.

Read on, DLOs are they coming back?

http://tonysmiththathousingitguy.blogspot.com/2012/01/model-dlo-workers.html

Remember that dis-repair can leave you and your residents heartbroken



(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854655009

PS As usual, if there are subjects you might like me to tackle on this blog, please get in touch and let me know!

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