Fix Me Now

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

I was down in Paddington just the other week in one of my favourite boozers, The Victoria. Not part of a pub quiz team, but I was helping some lads from Brighton with the questions from north of Watford. It was the best I could do. 

This included, which Scottish Whisky has a name meaning “The Valley of the Deer”? (Glenfiddich - Gaelic “Gleann Fhiodhaich”), highest mountain in England which stumped many (Scafell Pike at 978 m, just over the height of of a Scottish Corbett) and finally, what is the common name for the “Gravelly Hill Interchange”? (Easy one for anyone from the NW of England who has wasted days of their life on it, “Spaghetti Junction”).

One question that stumped me and the whole pub, was what did the “B” represent in B&Q ?

The answer, if you need it for your next pub quiz is “Block”, after original founders “Richard Block and David Quayle”, from 1969. 

If you have ever visited B&Q you will no doubt have encountered one of their excellent team of enabled pensioners with lots of practical building experience, who can guide you to section 6 for that copper plumbing joint, or rack 18a for that heavy duty shed hasp and staple. An amazing number of retired folk have decades of experience that are being cleverly leveraged by B&Q, that's valuable knowledge too.

The same principle has been provided by Help Me Fix since 2022. It’s a clever service with great feedback satisfaction reports. A lot of data could be built up from 500 or so repair reports weekly, as well as supplied images. If that was 50,000+ or so examples, that was always clear after the advent of modern AI, that could only be a suitable learning database for a language model. Effectively, it was obvious that much of that experience could be encapsulated into AI, to reduce the costs of having staff in the process, based on that many use-cases. So possibly, that’s more potential staff for B&Q, as well as a leaner business.

My money would have been on Plentific buying up Help me Fix, however this month Aareon serial snapper upper have snapped them up. See Homemaster & ActiveH blogs....

This makes some commercial sense as some of Aareon's Fixflo product has had integrations since October 2024 and clearly proved its worth. The AI developed has been named Aidenn and looks to have initial capability to interpret uploaded images and cross-reference to supplied text or spoken details. Most likely “Aidenn” might be Aareon’s future AI anchoring. It will be to be seen if this has realistic Agentic AI capabilities that can operate beyond this tightly constrained use case.

A lovely substantial payday then for Ettan Bazil, nice juicy return for just over 3 years work, get that Sunseeker ordered and the condo plans prepared in Sandbanks. There is no indication of what this has cost Aareon, who posted a £10m+ loss last financial year. Hopefully some German’s in Mainz have done the mathematic on this. Perhaps the next financial postings will reveal the cost of this, Homemaster and ActiveH and also of course the positive effects on the bottom line. Lack of turning a dollar (or a Euro perhaps in Aareon UK’s EU parent context) puts organisations at risk of takeover, being the smallest of the UK remaining big four.

In the UK public sector, organisations value great products, acceptable service, stability, low risk and value pricing. As choice in the UK continues to narrow, it will be interesting how existing customers and new ones coming to market, react to these new developments. 

Some chapter & verse here 

Multiple councils are expected to merge, how best to manage bringing systems together?

Get in touch , I will drop in for a brew & bring the essential Jaffa Cakes ☕

       Related Post: Repairs - how can landlords do it way better?

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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.

Garbage - Fix Me Now

(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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Drip, Drip, Drip…

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

Damp and mould, should become the next strict incarnation of holding housing CEOs to account, like we do in the UK over violations of LGSRs, annual gas servicing – Unlimited fines and prison sentences ?

Based on the level of interaction I have from a lot of my Twitter/X followers who are residents & tenants, a lot of those would be fully behind that type of move. For sure there are quite a few repeat offenders out there that have made for great BBC & Channel4 investigations. Looking in, it looks like quite a mess.

Based on clients I have been working with over the last 18 months, looking out from within, a lot is being done to identify, manage, communicate and improve damp and mould issues. Residents I engage with often would cite their own landlords & RSLs/RPs etc as seemingly doing very little when I mention this. Maybe I have a more optimistic glass half full view on this, as clients working with me are always looking to improve their service and systems, generally putting quality of solutions above raw cost to do things better.

‘Buy cheap, buy twice’ as is often said. Tackling damp and mould needs a focussed approach and I believe cannot be done on the cheap. However, done right it improves health and home conditions of residents and longer term protects landlord assets. Benefits for all then if done right!

So what am I seeing ‘Done Right’ looking right then? Well I am currently working with a mixture of providers, some lucky enough to be developing too. Good modern construction can provide good benefits around water tightness as well as applying improvements in modern building M&E systems for efficient ventilation while retaining much of the heat that might be traditionally lost.

This is a crucial point as the move from the 1980s to the 2000s, use of central heating, double glazing planned works etc with limited ventilation provision, has created some of the challenges residents in some historic building architypes face now, many of which were less of an issue originally. Also, in a transition to a warming planet our storms are getting wetter, heavier and windier. Thus meaning that more attention is needed on preventative maintenance of gutters, roofs and rainwater goods than we ever needed previously.

So what do good systems and processes look like in a proactive landlord, with modern integrated housing solutions ?

Well start with an efficient CRM or self-service means of logging all resident interactions about damp, mould, leaks etc. Any that become responsive repairs should start with a dedicated void inspection and checklist, including captured images. A dedicated mobile form to capture details directly and automatically tag/file against calls/property/repair WOs adds efficiency. If a new repair damp issue is logged, can we easily tell if this has occurred at the same home before, over the last 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 months? Any repeat issues would obviously warrant additional consideration (you might expect).   

An asset management module or third party solution that can correctly relate a residents home to its siblings or other properties in a block is exceptionally useful. IE if flat 14 logs a leak coming from above, have we data as to what number flats are actually above, or is the roof overhead? On what side of the building roof is the flat? Where warranted, this incident should also trigger a HHSRS failure until rectified. How easy it to record the need for cyclical gutter cleaning in your asset management solution and get some regular visits scheduled in? Better in your system than rows on a spreadsheet OBVs.

IOT (Internet Of Things) monitoring using remote sensing data loggers, left in homes for a period of a few weeks to a few months if necessary, can be convenient and economic. These are capable of recording temperature, humidity and calculate the dew point, typically required for faster mould growth. There is also potential also to check to see if any of the data from a home is most likely due to fuel poverty etc. Adding single Room Heat Recovery units (SRHRU’s) which have evolved to be quite small and low wattage, can be really useful in historic properties. Stale air is extracted while holding around 70% to 80% of the heat. Keeping humidity below about 60% is sufficient to restrict development of mould colonies.

Good case management (from the likes of a dedicated module, D365 or Salesforce CRM etc) is an essential means of setting up a complete template process. Functions available in other case management processes, such as disrepair, ASB, complaints/complements etc are right for use here. IE automation for communication, capturing details, meetings, interventions, logical and concise timeline, outcome satisfaction surveys, lessons learned etc.

Increasingly I have worked with landlords trying hard to leverage the systems they have and also helping to better acquire additional functionality to improve or fill in the gaps. It all helps and is especially important through these winter months, when increased rainfall and cold conditions create additional stresses.

I hope there are a few useful takeaways here. Anyone out there who needs any help, just call or email. Merry Christmas and a best wishes for an exciting New Year to all 🎅🎄

Acutance Consulting would be happy to help you turbo-charge current solutions, 

please just get in touch, for a chat over a few digestives & a cup of coffee ☕😋

       Related Post: Do you use partnering contractors? - Do you let them mark their own homework

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.

Chumbawamba – Drip, Drip, Drip.
(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, TS Acutance Consulting, Tony Smith Acutance ConsultingACL,ALMO,AMS,AX,Aareon,Abritas,Academy,Accuserv,Accuserve,Active Housing,ActiveH,ActiveHousing,Acutence,Advanced,Affinity,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 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interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft 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Falling From The Sky

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

As a regular Private Eye reader, the recent revelation that in the UK we have a hundred or more schools blighted by failing RAAC (Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete). It’s a lightweight material that was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s. It is a cheaper alternative to standard concrete, is quicker to produce and easier to install. In hindsight it was a time when so many new and replacement buildings were required after a crippling world war and full implications and life cycle of this newish material.

While the Romans apparently had concrete in their buildings, they didn’t have RACC, as far as archaeologists seem to agree. Romans also didn’t seem to require substantial ‘planned maintenance’, as evidence such as Hadrian’s Wall and the Rome Colosseum attests.

1960s concrete corroding tie bar corrosion checks

Planned maintenance is often neglected and in my 25+ years in Social Housing continues to reinforce the view that we often do it badly in the sector. In theory (and practice) if we get planned/capital spend targeted right, much can be saved in reactive repairs. While we have many software solutions to help with that, we still love our spreadsheets and manual solutions don’t we?

Many a time I have seen half a dozen staff in a room earnestly lamenting a £80 estimated SOR responsive repair being varied to £350 and examining it in detail, while four blokes next door manage a £4.3m capital budget on spreadsheets no-one can understand. Honestly, we need to understand why the latter is the most vulnerable budget for fraud, not the former.

So, what do the main solutions out there provide, from bigger all encompassing integrated solutions, to more third party interfaced, brand new innovations or standalone options?

All provide the options of defining our required component structure, with options of applying lifecycles, costs, replacement options and other criteria as needed. One size definitely does not fit all, as all RSLs & RPs have special requirements, in addition to 85% of everything that is usually ‘vanilla’ in the sector. This could be as quirky as having some properties with thatched roofs (such as in Gloucestershire or the south west), or communal heating for example.

Once a component structure has been defined, this needs to drive and inform condition surveys, to collect accurate information on what’s present, remaining life, condition and other specific valuable insights. Beware survey companies that resist or refuse to structure their survey offerings to what you need. Surveys are expensive and to extract maximum value fit Social Housing needs closely and be provided in a format easy to bring into the target system or module.

Failure to get this stage right can be extremely time consuming later, costly and frustrating. I have been involved at the start of many clients engaging survey companies and this has been a valuable exercise for client team and surveyors. Most surveyors can be flexible, although keeping to a ‘vanilla’ format saves them money and time, so the argument can be that they have used this for council or HA x, so it should be ok for you. Probably verify with council or HA x what their actual experience was like. In one example I saw of a ‘vanilla’ survey, it could tell us how many hanging baskets the properties had, but not condition or existence of Kitchen, Bathroom or wiring.

If you are paying for it, ensure you are getting good value and exactly what is useful to you. Many stock condition surveys come in spreadsheets, one row per asset (property or block etc), often with hundreds of columns. Remember, Excel or Google spreadsheets are not databases, don’t get confused they are!

Once the data is in your system/module database (a proper one OBVs, not a spreadsheet), we have the means to start to drive practical planned maintenance budgets and programmes. Clearly after initial Life Cycle Costings are produced, other work might be necessary or carried out to determine fit to available budgets and drive practical and effective programmes. 

Trellick Tower Cheltenham Estate in Kensal Green, London - built 1972

In the case of suspected or actual RAAC, it appears to be not thought to be common in 1960s-80’s social housing, although possibly condition surveys should incorporate checks in specific build archetypes. If it is suspected in your stock, a component or attribute can easily be added, to allow convenient reporting, monitoring and addressing of issues.  

Spookily enough 17 or so years back I was involved in implementing an assets, planned maintenance and survey solution across the Isle Of Man education authority. Thankfully the BBC reported that the IOM government has stated that there is no indication that RAAC was used there - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-66729079

Efficient and complete planned maintenance is crucial for safe buildings and keeping residents, children and others safe. We ignore it at our peril, prevention will save lives and be less costly than a later cure.

If you think your organisation, whatever size you are (we work with organisations managing from 32 properties, right up to 150,000+ ) needs help, please reach out to us.

Subscribe to our blog here on this link, to always catch the latest news on whats happening in the sector.

Acutance Consulting would be happy to help you review Planned Maintenance system options, 

please just get in touch, for a chat over a macaroon & a brew ☕😋

       Related Post: How does your assets team manage Capital Works then?

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

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Shed Seven – Falling From The Sky.
(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,Affinity,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 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Thieves Like Us

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

In lots of the system and process Critical Friend work I regularly get involved with, I see plenty of wide open goals, which could easily enable internal fraud.

Early on, here in this blog, I must declare my honesty, you can of course trust a boyhood good Catholic and altar boy. I can assure you that I have never had to confess to breaking the eight commandment.

However, a father of one of my primary school friends (a senior in the St Vincent De Paul Society too), was hauled off for a six month stretch at HM's Pleasure, for swapping his gas meter connections around a few weeks each quarter. He was only caught when British Gas found one quarter he (accidently) supplied more gas to them than he had from them (apparently). As with all criminal dodges, it was sussed in the end when mistakes were made and they asked for three years of similar crimes to be also taken into account too.

Who knew that swapping your gas meter pipes around, would run an analogue meter backwards? Maybe that’s why suppliers are almost falling over themselves, to tempt us over to Smart Meters?

I don’t think I have a particularly criminal mind, but in one of my early jobs in retail ICT at Littlewoods Liverpool, I did a lot of work with the internal auditor, particularly with the payroll packages. We did have a payroll of over 32,000 staff, so it was an area that got attention pretty much every other month. His name (strangely) was Gerry Myers. I learn't a lot through the questions he asked, bespoke reports he wanted etc, It was a real insight into how a criminal mind might work, or a detective. He kind of had the charisma of Columbo, without the cigar, (just when you think you have seen the back of him, he would ask, “Just one more thing….”).

System and project reviews for me often identify numerous security holes that I recognise, like those in a 16 month matured Swiss cheese. For example, obsessive system control of responsive repairs budget is common. If a kitchen repair SOR cost escalates from £85 to £365, the repairs team experience a grilling like the Spanish Inquisition. There is generally a tight audit trail of authorisation for a DLO or key partnering contractor. It's very rare these are not tightly linked to the finance purchase ledger too. Trying to embezzle here, is as crazy as trying to gemmy open an ATM cash machine.

However, where external contractors are used with manual replication of documents in the finance purchase ledger, or fed from a hefty (multi-million pound) capital/cyclical budget, there is often rich pickings, even if just a few % can be creamed off, there’s a few hundred grand per annum for the taking. Unbelievably easily stolen in plain sight.

One project I was involved in for a large Midlands based landlord, involved automating asbestos surveys and any follow-on work, updating Asset register and leaving a good audit trail. While we had rolled this out for reactive and voids work, the planned/capital/cyclical team, said, “we can't work like that”. The reason was that team were not actually in control of ordering asbestos surveys. They just added a PO to the value of the monthly invoices when they came in. The budget was over £600k for asbestos annually. I explained how between three of us, we could pocket 3 x £20k each annually, by just starting a convenient arrangement to raise £60k of bogus orders, which would always just be paid. For all I knew it might already have been happened by accident now and again!

Its tempting to put specialist compliance/cyclical contractors totally in charge of doing the work, with few checks & audit etc. Gas service & LGSR is a very common situation for this. Where there are few controls, poor/missing integration to finance, apart from the staff cost of waste due to double-handling, it’s an open goal to the unscrupulous.

There have been plenty of cases that have come to court, the latest being one at Greenwich Council, where last month two Council workers were jailed, over a £1.5m false repair contracts fraud. A nice little earner for using the technique I have outlined above, this time by arranging bogus lift works and servicing. Nice little earner, read more on it here.

This is one of many. 

When I was at one of the HMS system suppliers in a past life, there was a case in 2005 where a two handed social housing DLO con of over £330k was perpetrated over just 7 months. Read about that one here -  There were plenty of integration, checks and balances in the supplied solution, however few were implemented and audited, by the landlord. You can bet they certainly were put in, after that court case.

Internally audit must remain vigilant, it should not and cannot be just a tick-box exercise. Trust your audits or system reviews, think like a thief and be sure to prioritise plugging any gaps found. While improving organisation security, internal efficiency will also be improved, opening the door to effective transformation.

Subscribe to our blog here on this link, to always catch the latest news on whats happening in the sector.

Acutance Consulting would be happy to help you review systems options, 

please just get in touch, for a chat over a brew ☕😋

       Related Post: How can landlords manage repair complaints better for everyone 

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

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

New Order - Thieves Like Us.
(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,Affinity,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 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survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plenfific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QLX, QLF, QL Yuneo,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket,Rubixx, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,TAIM,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Tilt,TiltAffinity,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, Yuneo, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . - | ES | DE | FR | UK |

One of the Repair Girls

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

It was inspirational last week to read about how Golding Homes have helped diversify their repairs and maintenance team by achieving 23% female representation. 

To put this in perspective, social housing staff comprise over 57% females. Overly male representation is common for me to see in teams for assets and maintenance, as it is in the ICT and systems team, I have written previously about this phenomena, which hasn't really improved in many areas.

In a previous life on the supplier dark side, I worked with two excellent female development managers, overseeing twenty-odd developers, as well as in other sectors having some brilliant lady bosses myself in ICT. Closing the door to about half of the labour force can only hold us back, its not just a diversity tick box approach we need.

The Chief Executive at Golding is Stephanie Goad. While females at the top are more often than not the norm these days, the same cannot be generally said in R&M. Why exactly is that then? Well, I would point to the common practice of promoting operatives ‘good on the tools, electricians, plumbers etc’, up to management. With less than 2% of those on the tools being women, you can see the source of the problem. A report was put together (and forwarded by Alison Inman) by Mears back in 2017, that examined why we see that pathetic 2%. Its fair to say that across the whole sector, 13% or so of staff in construction are estimated to be female. Many of these are in project management and design roles, as well as admin.

There are excellent business cases for levelling that up, as many Social Housing managers agree. CEO's clearly would need to drive this from the very top. Tenants who may feel vulnerable with tradesmen due to factors such as prior domestic abuse, or for religious reasons would certainly I'm sure welcome a gas service from a female operative. Why shouldn't our staff properly reflect the demographic of our tenants? Progress is slow, so what are the barriers to females getting on the tools and improving gender balance from bottom up? 

A lesser-spotted female trades-person on the tools

Some job stereotyping is still occurring in families, secondary school, college and apprenticeship education, often pushing girls to more admin based than practical and technical vocations. Budget cuts do not help, nor does the current qualification system. Equal pay and equivalent access to promotion/career path is also important. Good support and mentoring is key, as is the development of strong role models for support.
 
While the traditional path to management clearly needs some attention, as mentioned in the article, Golding Homes have clearly worked to bring in managers from various sources, enriching the team with new skills. These include empathy, soft and customer service skills, which will be as essential as ‘wet trades’, in dealing with the current recent focus on mould and damp.

I have seen this approach myself work well and I have worked on some excellent projects with some housing, but out of R&M sector, female managers, who have absolutely transformed/turned around Asset Management and Repairs teams. Respect from staff they were managing, always was high and generally those managers were very detailed in their approach.

Another pathway I have seen in many projects, is the where female asset & R&M admin staff can be encouraged to train, take external courses and migrate into roles around survey, servicing, asbestos, compliance and data analysis. This can create a new positive dynamic within the team, if a genuine atmosphere of mentoring and support can be provided. These staff can then be positive role models to others joining the organisation.

For sure Golding Homes are a great example to the sector, credit deserved. But there is much to do and even if many of the principles and ideas I have covered here are faithfully executed, I still feel we are decades away from a more gender balanced workforce. With overall a better balance across the whole workforce, we stand a better chance of improving service, hence image and actually addressing more tenant repair issues, correctly first time.

If we at Acutance Consulting can help your organisation with data issues, 

please just get in touch, for a friendly chat over some lemon drizzle Cake & a brew ☕😋.

       Related Post: Integrate your stock condition surveys into your HMS data 

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

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

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.

Otha - One of the Girls.
(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,Affinity,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 Saffron,Clearview,Clik,Cloud Dialogs,CloudDialogs,Coactiva,Codeman,Comino,Commontime,Community Reward Services,Company,Competitive Dialogue process,Component Accounting,Consilium,Consolidation, Consultancy,Consultant,Consultants,Contact Manager,Context,Contractor Systems,CorVu,Cost Reductions,Covalent,Crystal Reports,Customer Relationship Management,Cx, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365, ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion, Gas Tag,G-Cloud,GCloud,GDPR,GGP,GIS,GasTag,Genero,GeoSolveIT,Getting best from,GoTonySmith,Grasp,Grip,Group Apex, HFI (Housing Financials interface),HG,HRA,Hardware,Hitachi Systems,Hitex,HomeMaster,Hometeam,HouSys,House,Housemark,Housemark survey,Housing,Housing Contact,Housing Group,Housing Insight,Housing Management,Housing Management Consultant,Housing Partners,Housing Portfolio Management System,Hub Asset Management,Homeswapper,Housing jigsaw, Housing Support Pro,HousingIT,HousingSupportPro,HyperOptic, IMS,IT,IT Budget,IT Training,ITIL,Impact Response,In,In4,In4Systems Promaster,InfoBoss,InHouse,InMotion,InMotion2015,InMotion2016,InfoBoss,Infoflow,Information,Information Technology,Information@Work components,Informix,Innovation, Informetis,Inphase,Inside Housing,Insight,Internet Portal,Internetalia,Invu,Ireland,Irish,itLab, Keyfax,Keylogic,Keypera,Keystone,Kirona,Kypera,Keynamics, Landlord,Ledgers,Linkedin,Liquid,Locality,Localz, M3,MAVIS,MD,MDM,MI,MIS,MIS-AMS,MISCS,MRI,MS Dynamics,MRI,MS Dynamics CRM2011,Microsoft365,microsoft 365,MWL,Management,Management Server,Manifest,Measuring,Mebus,More IQ,MoreIQ,Microsoft Dynamics 365,Microsoft dynamics GP 2013,Miracle,MobileIron,Mobysoft,Monopoly board images and pictures,Montal,Mr Void,MriEngage,MrVoid,MoreIQ NDL,NINTEX,NINTEX workflow,NPS,NPS ASSIST,NPS Housing,NPS Job Manager Mobile,NROSH,Natural,Neighbourhoods and Communities,Nintexworkflow,Northgate,Northgate Codeman,Northgate Public Services,Notice, OA,OGC Buying Solutions,OJEU Limits,ORS,Ohms,OmFax,Omniledger,One,OneAdvanced,OneServe,Open source,OpenContractor,OpenHousing,Opti-time,Options,Optitime,Oracle,Orchard,Outsource and outsourcing,OutSystems, PIMMS,PIMSS Data,PM,PRINCE2,Paloma,Pamwin,PanConnect,People Value,Peoplevalue,PfH,Pick,PlanForm,Planned maintenance,Plenfific,Plus,Portfolio Management System,PowerObjects,Pro,Pro-Points,Prodo,Progress,Promaster,Propoints,Proval,Providers,Pyramid, QL,QuantSpark,Qube,QLX,Qlikview,QueryView,Queryview reporting,Quiss, RM865,ROCC,RPs,RSL,Rave,ReAct,Reality,RedkiteCRM,Red Olive,Registered,Registered Social,Rent Increase,RentSense,RentSenseLite,Repairfinder,Reporting,Reports,RobotAutomation,Rocket, Salesforce,Salesforce.Org,SAP,SASSHA,SDM,SHBVN,SM,SOTI,SP,SQL,SQL Open Housing,SQL Reporting,SQL Server,Saffron,Safron,Saturn,Scenario,Scotland,Scots,Scottish,Scout,Sequoa,Serengeti,Serros,Server,Service,Services,Servitor,Sharepoint,Sim,SimPro, Simdel,Simdell,Slash and Burn,Social Housing ICT,Social Housing Software Applications,Social Media,Software,Software solutions,Spotlight Service,Spotlightservice,Star rating,Stores and Stock,Strategic,SunAccounts,Sunguard,Surveys,Streetwise, Swordfish,Sx3,Symatrix Human,System alignment,Systems,Systemwise, T-Files,TEAMS,TED,TFiles,TP Tracker,TSG,Tagish Casework,Tagra,Task,TAIM,Technologies (India) PVT Limited,Telecetera,Template,Terminal Services,That,Three Star,Tilt,TiltAffinity,Today,Tony Smith,Tony Smith That Housing IT Guy,TonySmith that housing IT,TonySmithHou,TonySmithHousing, ,TonySmithHousingITguy,Total,Total Mobile,Totalmobile,Trace,Tribal,Twitter, U2,UC,UK,UK Housing,Ukhousing,UniClass Enterprise,Unidata,United Kingdom,Universal,Universalcredit,Universe,Unrest, Valueworks,Van Stock,Vantage,Vantage Sentinel,Version,Virtualisation,Visualmetrics,Voice,Voice and data,Voluntas, Wales,Welsh,Wheatley,Windows Server,Workflow and,Work Hub,Works Connect, XML,Xen App,XenApp,Xmbrace, ...
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