Agenda item

Matt West, Head of Repairs and Maintenance, was present and laid round a presentation, copy interleaved.

During the presentation the following main points were made –

·         The in house Gas repairs went live in June 2014 and the in house repairs service in August 2014

·         There were 50,000 works orders per year and 200 plus staff had been transferred under TUPE arrangements

·         There are 30 specialist and overspill contractors

·         The stores has been established and stock catalogues are being developed

·         Performance data is starting to be available but at present needs validating

·         The benefits of an in house service include the service being more customer centred, multiskilling, a training centre, materials supply, direct control and digital integration

·         Current challenges include – IT systems, reporting, productivity, the roofing supply chain where a new tender process was being prepared and call volumes

·         Current challenges – recruitment,24/7 cover, managing installation contractors, developing staff competence, incentive/bonus scheme, online appointment booking

·         Current work in progress – reorganisation, local employment and apprenticeships, fleet and management review, new IT systems, and reviewing contract arrangements

·         Concern was expressed that Members still could not see performance data in order to ascertain whether repairs were being carried out effectively. It was stated that the new system would be able to identify cases repairs that had not been dealt with satisfactorily and repairs outstanding for a long time

·         In response to a question it was stated that appointment slots were being looked at to make them more realistic and convenient for tenants and there was a Repairs Reference Group set up that would be discussing such issues with residents

·         In order to offer the repairs service to leaseholders and RSL’s etc. it would be necessary to ensure an efficient and reliable service was in place and appointments offered to fit in with customers lifestyles

·         A Member stated that it was important that different parts of the Council worked together as when she had recently moved into a flat it had taken 4 days from her getting the keys to having her gas connected. The Head of Repairs and Maintenance stated that this should not have taken as long as this and if details were supplied to him he would investigate, however wherever possible services were integrated

·         It was noted that the repairs service would continue to be a regular agenda item to ensure the Committee could  ensure the service was working as effectively as possible

·         A Member raised the issue of outstanding estate repairs and stated that there was a need for data to be available together with other KPI’s

·         In response to a question it was stated that the repairs service was 100% customer focused and that the focus was on developing this not just only for tenants but also leaseholders

·         It was stated that in order to develop services for disabled residents and to understand their needs better discussion should be held with the Disability Panel

·         Members were informed that one of the benefits of an ‘in house’ repairs service was access to the Council’s IT systems and that this would enable them to access any tenants special requirements and the translation and sign language services

·         In response to a question it was stated that staff transferring under TUPE arrangements from Kiers appeared to be pleased to have done so and there were regular meetings with the Trade Unions. With regard to multiskilling there may be possibilities of achieving savings efficiencies from this in the future

·          Reference was made to the system to obtain stores from Travis Perkins and it was stated that orders were being assessed to ensure that stores were in stock when required and there was a quarterly review of the stores catalogue

·         In response to a question as to whether consideration had been given to a scooter delivery for parts it was stated that a driver at present did deliver spares if required, however this could be considered in the future. In addition, there will always be occasions where there will be problems with getting some spares however once the joinery shop was operational this would also deal with glazing repairs

·         It was stated that whilst housing information was fairly well integrated there was a need to analyse future repair jobs in order to ascertain and build up knowledge of parts that are regularly required. An analysis of kitchen furniture would be the next task to be undertaken

·          A Member enquired whether operatives were supposed to take their rubbish away with them after completion of a repair as this did not appear to be the case in all repairs. It was stated that rubbish/discarded materials should be taken however if he was supplied with details he would investigate this

·         In response to a question it was stated that it was important to get the IT system to meet the requirements that were needed and that the system requirements were still being designed

RESOLVED:

That regular reports on the progress of the ‘in house repairs’ service be submitted to the Committee and Members be informed of performance information as soon as possible

The Committee thanked Matt West for his presentation