The Right Tech Outside

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy

It’s great to see the forward thinking suppliers, who are not already all browser and fully in the Cloud, scrambling to take our Social Housing solutions there. Obviously avoid the Silverlight, design it to be responsive and exploit the great functionality of HTML5 that will work on any browser. Lately, the message I am getting from my clients are very much Cloud & Browser, or bust, which is very refreshing.

Clearly, now having solutions available quickly in a browser, possibly after fast two factor authentication, we have all our tech outside on the patch. So in theory, we can update details, set up agreements, carry out repair tasks, collate survey information. I am working with a few clients who hope to soon be moving to browser presentation and the natural question is, “Do I still need a dedicated mobile working solution”?

It’s a great question too, particularly if you have one already (at possible significant annual cost), or considering one. So, what’s to consider?

Often in the past I have been asked, why might we need a mobile working solution? For me if a process is transactional and significant volume could be completed at the place the data update originates, we have candidates for mobile app forms. When we have a browser based solution, could we use that instead?

Clearly, when the postman or UPS delivery person delivers and asks for our signature, it’s a convenient form that is designed for us to sign & be finished in about five seconds. If that were a signature in a box as part of a browser form that needed pinching and scrolling, that would seriously slow the transaction down. Not all our housing processes are as transactional as that and its no surprise that in social housing, it was internal repair contractor/DLO, where mobile working first took off. Our skilled trades are not ICT space cadets and apart from a few exceptions, I don’t think we would expect them to be.

So, what’s to be done with new browser versions of our solutions? Might they be suitable for outside the office, just as good as mobile working?

Well, the first question for me is, what sort of coverage have we got in our stock and geography? If we are in many rural locations with significant not-spots, browser presentation will struggle to cut it. However, mobile rollout is improving all the time and there are other means of having choice of the strongest network using multiple SIMs or an always roaming SIM, such as Manx Telecom. Solve any connectivity blockers and the first hurdle is jumped.

The next job is to do a direct comparison of individual mobile forms and the browser, full fat, system equivalent. This part of the task almost takes me back to 3 months I spent in an estimating department, in a switchgear factory as part of a technician apprenticeship, back in the early eighties. If the role/task can be tackled in a browser, within no more than a third of the time of the mobile form, it’s probably acceptable.

I have done this exercise with a client and you know what, in the system we were looking at, a lot of the housing and arrears functions were all feasible in a browser. Clearly staff working mobile on the patch or the scheme need to have been trained for the wider system, rather than mobile form users, who in theory should (if the forms have been thoughtfully designed), should pick up a new form in minutes, much like we are used to picking up a smartphone app. If that is not the case, for goodness sake, look again at your design or the app developers. Great apps are picked up quickly, poor apps end up on your page 6 & 7 of your smartphone/tablet don’t they?

In this recent exercise, it was clear than the housing, arrears and contact/CRM functions easily had potential be supported as pure browser by staff. However, the blind spot was clearly assets (condition surveys in particular), multi-use void inspections another area, all ones that clearly a mobile form driving a pathway through what is needed to be done. No DLO/internal contractor was present here.  I suspect that might be similar in other organisations, with other solutions out there.

Every solution is different and your organisations needs are too. How well trained are your staff, are they ICT literate enough, or are they your person people? That should be taken into account, particularly where your primary integrated housing system provider, has not already produced a promised all browser solution, or its still festering on their roadmap. As we know there’s still a few of those around.

If you are experiencing similar ponderings, I hope this has been of use. My conclusion is that we need all solutions in a browser as soon as possible, yet the mobile (staff) app is not dead and buried yet. Far from it. Comments as usual welcomed from users in the sector and suppliers (I would be surprised if you guys & gals would not have a view).

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Related Post: Why do females do so badly in Social Housing ICT, a sector dominated by women?

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

The Fixx – Outside.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.

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Peace Of Mind

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy


As anyone who has worked with me knows, I have always done a lot of work around components, socialhousing compliance and cyclical processes.

I remember quite a while ago, coming across some surveyors who seemed stranger than most, in that they seemed to complete a lot of internal surveys, always towards the end of the day.

Fascinating though that was, it indicated that they were not getting into some of the properties at all. The answer was simply to add a little bar code in every door jamb, which had to be photographed as the first question on the mobile survey. For such a small initiative, it increased accuracy in the survey team and made a massive difference to performance too.

It’s a pity there is always a need to constantly follow up contractors or staff, to ensure procedures are being followed. No more crucial, is the area of Landlord Gas Servicing, which as we know can result in CEOs being consigned to the clink, an addition to unlimited fines.

Last week while doing some work at a council housing team in Somerset, I saw a brilliantly updated version of the idea above, providing gas compliance peace of mind.

GasTag is a new mobile app that evidences that the right certified Gas Safe engineer is in the right asset, servicing the right equipment, at the date they were meant to. It is quite a leap from the original basic bar code, although starts with a QR code RFD tag, which identifies all appliances that are found in the target property or communal facility, in the annual LGSR service schedule.

An integral GasTag app, allows the gas engineer to be linked to their certification, before attempting to carry out any work.

Every summer, ‘er indoors & I always organise a service on the Worcester-Bosch. Strangely, until it was pointed out to me, I realised that I had never asked, for our local gas engineers Gas Safe registration number. Clearly, I should be paying much closer attention(!).

With the GasTag app, invalid or expired certification, means no servicing, taking away this issue completely. As seen recently on BBC’s Rogue Traders, this is a big problem, with GasSafe Register estimating that over a million dodgy gas jobs apparently carried out in the UK by un-certified engineers.

The GasTag app allows the qualified Gas Engineer or DLO operative to complete the necessary LGSR form, being guided through each step, based on all the gas appliances in the property. Each is scanned or detected via its QR or RFC tag, as the service progresses. This documents each appliance make, model, serial etc in the secure Gas Tag Cloud. Where tenants have added a second gas fire, cooker or other appliance, this can be added and tagged on the fly, including image & details, including warranty if applicable.

As you would expect, the easy to use mobile app geotags and date stamps the LGSR, so there is no opportunity for fraud or mistakes. No access is a common problem and this is catered for too. A no-access card can be put in the letterbox, photo taken of it hanging out the front door, all geotagged and date/time stamped.

A PDF of the LGSR (Landlords Gas Safety Record) is then available to be emailed to the resident and also able to be accessed by the landlord for adding into EDRMS/Document Management system.

While too many RSL’s seem to still insecurely record and monitor gas service compliance on Excel spreadsheets, GasTag provides a handy portal.

I can see that auditors, as well as socialhousing performance and quality bods, will really love this. It’s certainly having an impact where I encountered it at Taunton Deane Borough Council for compliance, where it’s been working in the field for some time.

If you have sleepless nights about the state of your gas compliance and are like me going to the NHF Conference in Birmingham next week, check them out on stand 47.

Do say hi too, if you spot me down there. Register free now for the event at http://www.eventdata.co.uk/Forms/Default.aspx?FormRef=Hou97Visitor

Read more about GasTag at http://gastag.co.uk  or contact them on 03302 290277

    

Attend NHF

Visit

Register

Related Post: Why time is the key for efficient gas servicing 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Boston – Peace Of Mind.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
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