As public sector organisations fall under increasing pressure to exploit mobile technology to improve quality and timeliness of service delivery, Bristol based charity Brunelcare has transformed the speed and effectiveness of the property maintenance processes carried out by its Direct Labour Organisation (DLO).
Using Impact:Response from Impact Applications, Brunelcare is updating the mobile workforce with emergency, urgent and routine jobs via PDAs. The combination of mobile parts ordering, improved scheduling and accurate job information has transformed workforce productivity, adding an average 30 minutes per person per day. The charity has improved its performance to the Housing Corporation’s Key Performance Indicators from less than 90% to an average 99% and has transformed stock management.
The improved cost control and productivity and, critically, understanding of the complete property maintenance process enabled by Impact:Response, will provide Brunelcare with a platform for extending its DLO services to other housing associations in the West Country.
Mobile Imperative for Bristol social housing charity
Brunelcare is a Bristol based charity providing residential homes, sheltered housing and very sheltered housing to the elderly. Established during the Second World War to provide the first ‘Meals on Wheels’ for elderly people, Brunelcare now provides care and housing for thousands of people living within 1000 sheltered housing units, six care homes, and their own homes.
Keeping the residential units in good condition is a primary objective – with work ranging from redecorating the 20% of units that become vacant every year, to responding to the resident’s emergency, urgent and routine maintenance requirements. Given the average age of the residents is 82, these can range from serious heating or plumbing faults to replacing a blown light bulb.
Paul Musgrove, Development Director of Brunelcare, states, “The Housing Corporation has defined strict Key Performance Indicators for all housing associations with regards to maintenance work. All emergencies must be dealt with within 24 hours, urgent requests within seven days and routine jobs within one month.”
However, a haphazard paper based system was constraining the charity’s ability to regularly hit these KPIs. Furthermore, given that most housing associations have replaced a Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) with external contractors, a lack of good information on DLO performance and costs was making it ever harder to justify the use of a DLO on commercial grounds – although the charity prefers this way of working to provide continuity for the residents.
Musgrove confirms, “Our system was out-dated, and was predominantly paper-based which led to inaccuracies. We had little visibility of the whereabouts of our mobile workforce, and the status of the jobs they were working on.” Nor did the charity have any real visibility of the parts used by the mobile workforce, making it difficult to understand operational costs.
Brunelcare opted to transform its maintenance process by implementing Impact:Response, a web based Operations Management System from Impact Applications. Using mobile technology, the charity is providing the DLO workforce with up to date information about jobs - including location and a detailed overview of what is required. Using a ‘zero-client’ model, the PDA is constantly connected to Brunelcare’s back-office via the Internet.
Job requests are made either via the Resident Support Co-ordinator (RSC) at each site or via the call centre providing emergency response to all residents 24/7. The RSC enters the information into the Impact:Response system and jobs are then scheduled and allocated by two central Repair Co-ordinators.
Musgrove says, “Impact Applications provided a solution that was specific to Brunelcare’s business needs. The software is simple to use, which is key to ensuring consistent service to our customers, while the ‘zero-client’ approach ensures that no data is held on the mobile device, reassuring our customers that confidential data is not at risk and minimising downtime from loss or failure of the device.”
The charity will also use Impact:Response to provide the appointments system required by the Housing Corporation. While obviously not an option for the emergency or urgent repairs – by the time the notification is sent, the job will have been completed – appointments can be offered for the 50% of jobs that are routine.
However, rather than provide direct notification to the elderly residents – which causes problems if they forget or are taken ill – the RSC will use the information in Impact:Response to track forthcoming appointments and inform residents either by phone or face to face on the day.
Cost Control
The quality of service now delivered by Brunelcare is excellent - with emergency repairs dealt with within two hours, urgent within three to four days and routine within days, well within the KPIs set by the Housing Corporation. Critically the charity now has complete visibility over DLO operations, which has driven significant productivity improvements and cost reduction. Improved central visibility has enabled the Repair Co-ordinators to improve scheduling, reducing the amount of time operatives waste in the notorious Bristol traffic.
Furthermore, by providing the ability to order parts via the PDA - with a fax including purchase order automatically send to the relevant supplier - operatives now spend significantly less time locating the right equipment for each job.
Musgrove confirms, “In the past DLO operatives spent between four and four and a half hours working on site each day. Since the implementation of Impact:Response that productive time has increased to at least five hours per day – which represents a significant improvement.”
The system is also being used to transform stock control. In common with the rest of the housing association sector, Brunelcare is working hard to rationalise its supplier base. In addition to automated ordering via the PDA to these suppliers, Brunelcare is using Impact:Response to track stock held within operative’s vans and within the central warehouse - which holds the standard parts used regularly.
“Prior to the implementation of Impact:Response there was no audit trail, no traceability of either jobs or stock,” he says. “As a result, Brunelcare was not charging for about a third of the work that was done by the DLO. Now, with full visibility of the day to day performance of the DLO, the charity has the information required to demonstrate the value of the DLO over contractors.”
An expanded Service
This information will also provide Brunelcare with an excellent platform for possibly expanding the services delivered by the DLO to other housing associations. As Musgrove explains, “Many housing associations are working together – for example in consortia like the Sovereign Consortium. Using the detailed costings provided by Impact:Response Brunelcare can now demonstrate the ability to run a DLO for maintenance work for other housing associations in Bristol at a cost that compares favourably to external contractors.”
Indeed, the charity is convinced it can significantly expand the number of operatives within the DLO without adding administrative personnel, further improving economies of scale. These services can cover not only the emergency, urgent and routine calls but also the cyclical work, such as gas checks and electrical testing, and the work undertaken when a property is left vacant.
Using Impact:Response, Brunelcare now has complete visibility over all of the work associated with maintaining its property portfolio, information that will support the new strategy for broader service delivery, a key objective if the organisation is to retain its DLO.
Musgrove explains, “The work done over the past few years to improve the quality of Brunelcare’s property has resulted in a gradual reduction in maintenance calls. While we need 12 DLO operatives to cover peak demand, especially in winter, as the call level drops from 600-700 per month, it will become increasing hard to cost justify the use of the DLO against external contractors.”
However, he says, “By transforming the productivity and cost effectiveness of Brunelcare’s DLO, Impact:Response has enabled us to meet the needs of the residents far more quickly. Furthermore, the charity is now in a position to demonstrate to others that we can deliver high quality maintenance services at a lower cost than external contractors – and, critically, offer residents the continuity of personnel that is really important, especially when caring for the elderly.”
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