How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part

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

There’s more than one way for customer services to take a repair request call, from a resident. I have guess I have seen most of them and recommended a few on occasion, to my CRM or DLO internal repairs system clients.

One aspect that often divides opinion, is do we need a generalist approach or a dedicated repairs reception. The latter works great where we have experienced repairs people, occasionally some of them have at some time, ‘been on the tools’. Think B&Q. Find a 55+ year old in aisle 16 and you will (potentially) walk away with the replacement security bolt (and fittings) of a lifetime. I think I did once!

The point is that we need to capture good quality data, ask the right questions and be consistent.

For the former, the logical historic go-to, was a graphical repairs diagnostic tool. You know the ones. Repairfinder, Keyfax, Locator, ActiveHousing, FixFlow etc. The last few of these are now pitched via browser & cloud these days, adding extra flexibility. The last in the list (FixFlow) was snapped up by European and UK Social Housing solution specialist ‘Aareon AG’ last month. "Fixflo customers will benefit from a significant increase in Fixflo’s research and development budget as its solutions form part of the roadmap for the wider Aareon group".

This is Aareon's second SaaS solution acquisition, just 6 months after private property manager Arthur Online. Is the new way to grow a successful housing software group, to buy in all the SaaS solutions, pre-built, rather than a software giant convert or build them themselves? [Discuss]. 

Its an interesting acquisition, however not an unexpected one, as Aareon QLF/QLX is migrating to Cloud and browser. A SaaS based graphical repairs diagnosis tool makes sense, however if you were a customer already with one of the other tools, does that mean a potential costly re-purchase or options for squeezing more life out of the existing kit could be available? Interesting times ahead maybe for those RSLs and Councils. ‘Everything in the Cloud’ is very seductive. 

I would be surprised if some of the initiators of these Cloud based additions, don't in the long term yield senior staff for the acquiring companies, as they attempt to progress from Client-Server to all in the Cloud/available anywhere. Keep an eye on Rajeev Nayyar, he might well pop up in Aareon's senior management at some point, if he gets on well with the Germans (or partial VC owners).

In a wider sense though, web-based and SaaS repairs diagnosis tools make sense. These could be priced based volume, i.e. on each diagnosis – pay as you go. Perhaps fairer for smaller RSLs and charities, as not big ticket initial capital outlay. Similar to the way some repair scheduling solutions can sometimes be charged for self-service.

Another big bonus of web/Cloud based repair diagnosis tools is they can be used in multiple settings. EG For customer services receiving repair requests, self-service in the resident portal, plus availability for use by repair operatives, creating follow-on/follow-up jobs. The mysterious ‘Doorstep Appointment’, that I have seen on supplier roadmaps for many years and occasionally in the wild.

A single tool that can be used, if desired, for up to three different settings, would be really useful. It would be great to see if that option emerges, from this Aareon acquisition, or from other players.

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Related Post: Asbestos management for Social Housing, how to apply tech to your data ?

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.

Iggy Pop - How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part.
(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.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alfresco,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CEDRM,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica 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. . . . . . . . . . . .

New Beginning

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It was great last week to be invited to present, by what used to be the DWF (the Direct Works Forum) group, which is being re-organised and getting a makeover, a new beginning as ‘Direct Works’.

It will still have a discussion forum, but should be a better organisation to represent Housing Associations, Local Authorities and RSLs employing their own trades staff to undertake repairs and maintenance.

A big thank you to Mike Wilson and Russell Thompson for inviting me. Judging by the volume of recent projects, it’s a good time more than ever, for internal workforces and DLO’s, to share best practice. So I wish them well.

My session was my take on ‘Why we buy some of the best IT and then implement and use it badly” and we had good attendance, many people I am sure have experienced, first hand, a lot of the areas I covered. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am not keen that everyone has to suffer and learn from their own mistakes, why not get a leg up from others? So where with systems do you start?

Well, know your market to start with. Too many organisations rush in and buy the first silver bullet they see. OJEU has always provided pre-market analysis as an option, its strange so few take advantage of it. Risks are rarely taken into account too. Who might have thought that software was risky? Sales people never mention risks, do they?

What about alternatives to external software packages? Who hasn’t had their social housing ICT team, offer to ‘write a system for you’? Often I wager, followed by, ‘How hard can it be’? This approach contains risks too, particularly as its more likely your IT team are more skilled at support than writing quality software. When I was a supplier I had a few customer IT teams suggest they had useful things they had written, which might be profitable (for us both) when sold to a wider customer audience. Only one idea ever made the cut and only then after a total re-write to bring error trapping etc, up to scratch. A common problem, quality control.

When we go to seriously buy, do we understand the problems we are looking to solve? A business case generally flushes this out with benefits. I have seen many business cases done afterwards to tick the box. OJEU does try to protect us from ourselves and we should embrace formal process that does that.

After the excitement of the procurement, how well do we resource projects. Regular readers know I always prefer the A-Team, although occasionally it’s the C, D or reserve teams, we can get stuck with. Never try to involve staff who have to juggle their day jobs too.

In DLO’s and internal workforces, often introducing software creates cultural changes for staff too. This is often neglected and the reason why dynamic scheduling is most often far less than dynamic and users are not guided into new roles and behaviours. As with many issues, some are embedded in the phrase, “well we have always done it that way”.

Well I cover all of the above and more in the recording of the session. I would guess there’s half a dozen takeaways, for even the most seasoned DLO systems implementers. If you would like to get access to the session, checkout this link - Zoom.US/DW_HousingITGuy_Jul2020

Related Post: Budget for regular ICT infrastructure or application maintenance & get the best from your previous investment

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.

Girlschool – New Beginning.
(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.

File Under: #HomesForBritain,#HousingDAY,#InternetOfTenants,#Shout,#UKHousing, 07854655009, 1st Touch,1stTouch,360,365Agile,3squared,4Js, ACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Agile,Agile365,AirWatch,Alignment,Allpay,Amazon Web Services,Anite,Apex,App,ArchHouse,Archouse,Asprey e-state pro,Asset Management,Associates,Aurora,Average IT Costs,AWI SX Integration Toolkit,AWS, BI,BO,BPR,BancTec,BigChange,Blockwise,BluTek,Bluebox,Blueprint,Browser Applications,Business Objects,Business Planning,Business Process Review,Business social networking, CACI,Capita One Housing,CBL,CCS IT Keystone CCSIT,CHICS,CHR,CIH,CMS,COA,CORE,CPL,CRM,CRM2013,CRS,CTI,CTX,Cadcorp,Capita,CapitaOne,Capita One,Capital Management,Cashflow,Castle,Castleton,Castleton Technology,Cedar Open Accounts,Cerrus,Change,Charges,Chartered Institute Of Housing,Cheaper Housing IT,Chics, Citrix,Civica,Civica CTX,Civica Cx,Civica Genero,Civica 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. . . . . . . . . . .

Material Girl

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





If your organisation has its own DLO, you probably have materials to manage and maybe van stock too. Handling these well potentially brings efficiencies and can reduce costs. Selection of a good partner who can work with you is essential, everyone is aware of the big four who operate in the sector, who can generally bring billing simplification and good value if pushed.

What can be done if an organisation works across a wide area or are very local or rurally based? The likes of TP, Grafton etc often locate facilities in urban concentrations, which can be problematic. There are ways of working with a small portfolio of material suppliers, without creating a whole mass of admin in the finance function.

Something many DLOs are looking at, is aggregating material purchases via credit cards. Barclaycard are putting a service together currently and this I believe this provides a pretty credible solution. Access is via secure VCF4 format and will require a secure FTP setup.

if you are a distributed set up, it's definitely worth a look. Get your applications software supplier on board. Obviously already proven implementations offer reassurance that your project should work well. If you are a pioneer, you may want to request a discount. Don't tell your supplier I suggested that however! 

     Catch the blog monthly archive at https://archive.org/details/@housingitguy

Related Post: Have you go ttrouble in your CRM message centre? 

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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.


Madonna - Material Girl.
(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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Automatic Lover

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

I was reading an article on LinkedIn a few weeks ago, about why in cars where we can drive ones with an automatic gearbox, most of us in the UK and wider Europe choose a manual 'stick shift'.

It was quite interesting as I have always driven a manual, probably thinking too that a 'special' licence for 'Automatics' devalues it somewhat. Stereotypically I imagine the whole of the USA driving automatic automobiles and it being very difficult there to even buy or hire a 'stick-shift'.

I won't be so rude here to share my 'American Tourist Stick-Shift' joke, but ask me when you see me next out and about, and I might! I don't want to offend any of my many North American readers.

So, with the convenience and better fuel economy these days of automatics, why on earth do we not all switch over to them? Well, its probably the same answer to the question, "If we have proper dynamic scheduling for repairs, why do we lock so many jobs down manually?". Well, probably because people like their control don't they?

It's a bit hard-wired into us. I know some people who have their CD's, LP's, books (fiction and non-fiction separated naturally...) and tinned food, sorted into alphabetical order on shelves and cupboards. We like our control and carry on our habits, when in the car or out of it. We find it hard to let go.

I am not doing an ad for any particular dynamic scheduling solution, but I know many RSL DLOS and independent contractors with them. This problem of not letting the algorithm do its stuff is extremely common. Locking down jobs by timeslot AND resource is often the main issue with users of Dynamic Scheduling. It inherently disables the whole dynamic, automated element of these applications. Much like automatic gearboxes could perhaps give us slightly better fuel economy, albeit at a more boring and sedate speed.

Maybe we should be trusting some of our systems more, as under the bonnet they will have been programmed to do the best job, won't they? Dynamic scheduling is often cited to me as one application where directors ask me, "Why have we got more planners now than we started with"? Well, perhaps because we are still working a bit like it's got a 'stick-shift'. Let operatives finish their jobs, don't lock to resources and let the application do its magic. Planners should then just deal with the exceptions. You know what, we will perhaps need less planners then.

Management have a role to play here too. If managers don't check how many appointments are locked each month and why, it is hard to change the service and how it is delivered. While follow-on jobs with the same operative means they take responsibility for the whole job, hopefully technology should enable any operative to do that second part. It's a change of culture, but one that can be only enforced by managers, as well as technology.

Related Post: The DLO Internal Workforce is on its way back. Are you rolling with the changes?

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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 Vibrators - Automatic Lover.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


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