Thursday 7 March 2024

Burnt (out) by our projects

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

I had three chats this very week with clients about implementation projects and their resourcing. All three have asked suppliers how they might resource proposals and also what other projects they have on-going. That is an important and essential question for sure, although one aspect that sometimes gets totally overlooked, is our own internal capabilities.

I’ve sometimes been involved with big implementation projects that have been delivered to very tight timescales, although all of those have been generously resourced by both clients and suppliers, in order to make it all work. Although suppliers (sometimes quite rightly) pick up the blame for failure and delay, a good 40% of projects that fail badly are let down by poor internal client resourcing or communication.

Clear problems are created by not having enough resource or not the right mix. Suppliers at their ‘pitching’ stage if asked can indicate how many FTE’s might be needed and from which teams and with the right subject matter experience. Having said that, not many contracting bodies always bother to ask. Reference sites can also share their stories, from which much can be learned. ICT staff should be expected in most instances to not be contributing too much, if individual teams will be expected to take good ownership of their own solutions and processes.

I feel that we need the best quality project staff we can afford to free from the BAU, although I understand the challenges. Particularly in smaller organisations this can be problematic. Back-filling experienced and valuable staff is a serious issue and I normally suggest getting more junior staff to act up, then potentially back filling them which should be easier.

Having additional overtime available is useful, but must not be relied on as a crutch. Also, the possibility of deferring / banking leave and TOIL is useful, particularly beyond the current holiday year if needed.

With all these in place, it is still very common for most of the implementation work to come down to one or two key involved and extremely valuable staff. Sometimes many moons ago, I could have been one of those staff. Opportunity for burnout to occur in these people is high. That can happen quite tragically for the project as they inevitably are a single point of failure.

Looking out for the signs, getting into the office or logging in remotely very early, picking extra work up late evenings or weekends etc, is essential. An open culture of being able to ask for help via managers or project sponsor is essential, as well as being realistic with highlight reports. It benefits no one long-term if there is too much good news. All projects have amber and red periods. If its all greens, the right questions are not being asked.

Look after your project staff and don’t be afraid to consider change control and project extension if needed. Arbitrary go-live targets with little relation to reality or just tick-box completions without delivering the change or transformations promised, do little for staff, ICT or overall process improvements.

As a Critical Friend, either during procurement or afterwards, I do my best to help clients prepare for the above and support everyone when issues occur. If we can do it better together, I think we should!

Acutance Consulting are here to help with your complex projects, 
please just get in touch, for a chat over a coffee & a few Hobnobs 😋

       Related Post: What can erode the quality of communication with our customers?

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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.

David Bryne - Burnt by the SunDavid Bryne - Burnt by the Sun.
(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,Cx Assets, 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,CxFeedback, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab 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,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,TS Acutance Consulting, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK |

Wednesday 28 February 2024

Life On The Telephone

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

I had a few thoughts on the whole omni-channel thing this week. Most organisations in social housing and councils that I work with, are trying (or struggling) hard in some cases to crack digital shift. That’s only sensible in a world where we are ever more digitally served and connected.

Tech is getting better particularly when it supports telephony. We have all had the cinema booking experience trying to get into the film at Stockport, with the confirmation back, “Did you say ‘Stratford’ ?”. We do battle with it don’t we?

I do believe we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater however, and ‘tackling omnichannel’ not be a mere tick box. There will always be folk who for all kinds of reasons want to pick up a phone & chat, or walk into an office to see someone who manages their home, patch or area in person. Indeed, today I was in two supermarkets today and in one used self-service tills and in another queued to choose a conventional checkout and had a short chat which brightened up both our afternoons.

For a resident to do something in person they most likely will not have a local office anymore in their village/estate area and maybe will need to travel 25 or more mins on public transport, to make that happen. It might be more important to them and of course it might be better for all than days or weeks of email ping-pong. Certainly if we promote different channels, telephone, email, WhatsApp, Twitter/X, Facebook etc, at least check them on a regular basis. Outside office ours too, as we all have issues 24/7, just not only when your offices are staffed!

Having omnichannel’s that are just a black hole and never answered are worse than not having one. Don’t advertise anything that’s hardly monitored.

Its not just residents and customers either. We are all either provider or customer in real life transactions and experiences and I see that with suppliers and clients I work with. We all communicate differently and like system interfaces, means needs to be taloired with what works best with how the other party would like to interact.

For example, one mutual supplier to a client I work with is very telephone orientated. My contact there who is extremely responsive most often asks to, “can we all jump on a call and talk it through”? The attitude is that primarily we change and improve culture, one conversation at a time. This works, although most likely what is discussed would also be exchanged in an email too, just to make sure everyone was on the same page.

In contrast, another supplier contact this week replied to a weeks old SMS query message to a work number, with a “sorry, no one uses the phone anymore”. I dodged a bullet there, I could’ve have wasted more time and left a voicemail there 😉

It was just one of those moments where for a change I was in the position of some of those residents at the end of our solutions and technology. The tech however good will always be somewhat second-rate to a well trained human, who might be relied on to provide more of an experience, than a transaction. You might be familiar with the phrase “people buy from people” that is often used to describe the importance of building relationships in sales. In other words, people are more likely to do business with someone they know, like, and trust.

I think even in 2024 this still holds water. Not losing the human touch, improves our relationships with customers, and the best tech supports that, rather than totally replaces it.

Acutance Consulting would be happy to help you untangle your interfaces, 
please just get in touch, for a chat over a brew & a chocolate ginger 😋

       Related Post: What can erode the quality of communication with our customers?

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

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.

Flag Of Convenience - Life On The TelephoneFlag Of Convenience - Life On The Telephone.
(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,Cx Assets, 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,CxFeedback, DRS,Deeplake,Designer Software,Development Systems,Director,Document,Documotive,Docuware,Dynamic AI,DynamicAI,Dynamics 365,D365,Dynamics365,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab 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,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,TS Acutance Consulting, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK |

Tuesday 13 February 2024

Jet Set Junta

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

It's been a little while since I have properly emersed myself in components, Asset Management and stock condition surveys, although I have been involved with many projects over a couple of decades. 

Obtaining decent component information is a challenge, while an even bigger one is keeping it up to date afterwards. Its not easy but rewarding from the viewpoint of being able to make insightful budget and planning decisions, going 2, 5 or up to 30 years ahead.  

Unless you are managing less than a few (3) hundred homes, an Excel spreadsheet will not cut it. There’s many a module out there of decent quality and some good standalones too. Anyone who has been out into the market to choose one will also know that each has its blind-spots. One I saw a demo of recently (obviously I wont name the guilty party), was only capable of reporting past expenditure, rather than planning potential future budgets based on providing (English) Decent Homes, SHQS or the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS). Clearly a software supplier with no socialhousing solution, they then asked “why a landlord wouldn’t just do the replacements?”.

It seemed inconceivable that there would not always be budget to just do the work, quite the reverse of what generally needs to be worked with. Decent graphical modelling tools are a boon to productivity in a planning process like this, rather than manually moving assets around a Life Cycle Costing report piecemeal.

The quality of surveyors vary and also their understanding of socialhousing. Often this can be corrected by issuing surveyors with the actual data we want them to collect, before they start a traditional 20% survey. Surprisingly this is rarely the case. The most extreme example I ever saw was a socialhousing asset condition survey completed by an outfit who previously specialised in surveying North Sea oil rigs. I kid you not. We could see how many hanging baskets our units had, but not the state or existence of kitchens or bathrooms.

Often too, surveyors get hung up on life of components and a predetermined idea of condition coding. If we were surveying passenger aircraft, there are certainly many parts for sure, that will need to be serviced after every 5,000 logged flying hours. Unlike an Airbus A320, after 30 years kitchens and bathrooms just don’t drop out of the skies desperately requiring replacement. Clearly in student accommodation or bigger households, these might not last 30 years. Where an elderly resident on the other hand have some from the 1960s that they have looked after and actively refuse upgrades. These would now be getting on for 50 years old.

Surveyors love the idea of doing a survey this year to determine a remaining life and counting it down annually, towards a ‘poor’ or ‘failed’. One popular surveyor used to charge to take data away each year for ‘aging’. While we could at this point make parallels with fine wine, I would make it with real ale. Our asset data like proper beer which is a living breathing thing and is better when nurtured and carefully looked after.

At the end of the day, socialhousing condition of components can only be based on a sampled view at a point in time. While predictions could be assumed, within decent home calculations, many criteria are defined based on components being old (i.e. exceeded expected life) and poor (i.e. usable condition), in order to define a failure.     

If we are unable to disconnect ‘Condition’ and age exceeding expected life, we will apparently have more failures than actually defined in the legislation. Our (incorrectly) budgets (incorrectly) may then need to be higher. In fact the biggest obstacle to being more accurate in planning budgets is ensuring all internal improvements are properly recorded. IE timely recording in your system of major void work and planned maintenance improvements. Relevant examples may be whole boiler, heating, kitchen, bathroom replacements, rather than minor upgrades. The former will also reset the clock for component accounting for these items. Another area there which often is spreadsheet or standalone application based. Probably one for a future blog since I have helped suppliers to design in this area as a critical friend too.  

For sure, keeping a tight asset component database is of benefit to landlords and residents, opening the door to providing better informed service. Newer boilers, lifts and other M&E equipment where selected, often now have IOT capabilities. Yet another aspect where the asset management solution can earn its keep in flagging up issues before residents realise them, or protecting the asset from much more expensive damage.

Investment in targeted surveys, good data management for assets and some more blue sky thinking, will all bring together potential for better decision making and improving efficiency.  

Acutance Consulting love solving asset data issues, 
please just get in touch, for a chat over a jammy dodger & a coffee 😋

       Related Post: The case for closer systems between #ukhousing development & assets..

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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 Monochrome Set - Jet Set JuntaThe Monochrome Set - Jet Set Junta.
(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,Cx Assets, 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,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab 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,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,TS Acutance Consulting, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK |

Saturday 27 January 2024

Seconds Too Late

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


Back at the start of this century, interfaces were always a continual bugbear. I’ve written many times about integration issues and suppliers. Closed solutions are not helpful, although ones way too open can bring a different type of hazard, such as increased cyber-attack risk.

These days I see more organisations trying to put more eggs in one basket, if that’s practical. That might mean trying to use more of a traditional HMS’s (already integrated) modules or keeping everything within the umbrella of a CRM/product stack, such as MS D365 or F&O etc. This should reduce issues and allow a more joined up approach. Its 2024, we shouldn’t be manually re-keying information or unduly feeding and watering interfaces on a hair-trigger each morning.

Some interfaces cannot be avoided however, such as when using partnering repairs contractors etc. Some of the ways that these interfaces let us down is through poor data. Examples I see are Repair Works Orders completed before they were issued, invalid data-types presented, reasons for cancellation or lateness not supplied, where mandatory for the main system.

Inevitably, some slight attention may be needed each morning, if hundreds of orders are being updated daily, with interfaced solutions, just down to the complex nature of repair scenarios. One scenario I have encountered before is where two server date/times are slightly out or not completely synchronised exactly with time on mobile devices. Thus a few seconds can make the difference between on-time and what looks like a completion in the future (or before something is issued).

One recent interfacing issue I have come across with one Contractor system on an interface, is a problem with calculating if priority KPIs have been achieved or not. ‘The Regulator’ defines a 24 hour or 7 day priority target as exactly that. If a resident logs a repair at 10:11 on Tuesday, anything completed until after 10:11 Wednesday is within target. Similar for a 7 day (urgent) or 28 day (routine) repair priority.

Unfortunately this interface just works on providing a mandatory late reason if completion is after the next day. So, a contractor would have until 23:59 (& 59 secs) to be able to report a job being completed within target. The regulator would not agree however, nor does the HMS raising the client repair. The latter rejects anything properly late that does not have a (late) reason supplied, so as you can imagine, a lot of updates do not update smoothly. Imagine my surprise when I was told its been like this for a long time.

A sad blast from the past
Now I remember even the very earliest calculators when I was at school could manage subtraction, as well as the novelty of making words too. Premature boys were big fans of these, you might recall. So you would expect the top level processors, servers and databases of today could easily manage this feat too & much more. The DateDiff() SQL Server function would be my go-to thing to use in the failing calculation above, although you could always go old-skool longhand.

Now this has been logged on a slow-moving helpdesk for a few weeks already and I have reigned in my sarcasm and not yet pointed anyone to search Google for DateDiff() – well I don’t want to be outed as an IT Geek! It will be funny if this comes back as a chargeable fix to just make software work properly. However, that will add fuel to the fire of the DIY brigade and the folk keen to use D365 to squeeze out the traditional (failing, entrenched?) suppliers. I can see them saying it now, “See Tony, these suppliers can’t be trusted !”. In this instance, I would probably be inclined to agree with them too!

Acutance Consulting would be happy to help you untangle your interfaces, 
please just get in touch, for a chat over a macaroon & a mug of chai 😋

       Related Post: The world of DLO scheduling has changed, checkout some of the new options out there..

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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.

Cabaret Voltaire – Seconds Too LateCabaret Voltaire – Seconds Too Late.
(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,Cx Assets, 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,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab 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,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,TS Acutance Consulting, ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . ES | FR | DE | IT | UK |

Wednesday 10 January 2024

Little Bob

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

Something brought a smile to my face recently, when looking at some old training guides.

It used that fantastic font you don’t see much these days: Comic Sans MS. 

Clearly it could only be a font created by Microsoft. When used in situations for which it was not intended, has become the subject of criticism and mockery. While it is said to aid learning, that is only apparently for the under tens.

I was reminded by that old joke, “Comic Sans walks into a Wetherspoons and orders a drink. The barman tells him to get out he’s barred. Comic Sans asks what he has done wrong? Barman answers ‘Nothing, we just don’t like your type in here’ 😂

It has been around since 1994 and was originally designed for ‘Microsoft Bob’ application. Not many folk may remember it as it was another MS flop, with only the character ‘Rover’ reincarnated as ‘Clippy’, in later Office programs occasionally popping up to help, whatever project you were involved with.

Released just as the Internet was beginning to become popular, Bob offered an email client with which a user could subscribe to a dial-up email account. For $5 a month you could send up to 15 emails. Each email was limited to 5,000 characters, and each additional email after the limit was reached was an additional 45 cents. Innocent times!

Comic Sans Pro (an enhanced version that no one needed) was released April Fools day (when else) in 2011.

Famously, as part of the United Kingdom's Brexit debate, the Conservative Party tweeted an image stating "MPs must come together and get Brexit done" using Comic Sans. A fitting font as there wasn’t one called ‘Sh**show-Sans’ !

If you are thinking of using it on anything other than your child’s lemonade stand, please don’t bother, your SMT / EMT may not thank you.

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: The world of DLO scheduling has changed, checkout some of the new options out there..

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

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.

Black Grape – Little BobBlack Grape – Little Bob.
(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,Cx Assets, 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,Dynaway ECMK,EDM,EDRMS,ERP,ESRI,Elmhurst,Enghouse Interactive,England,English,EnterpriseBI,Estatecraft,Esuasive,Etive,Exhibition,Exponential-e, Facebook,Factorwise,Field Service management,Finance,Financial Systems,Financials,Footprint,Forms,Freezes,Fusion,Fuzzlab 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,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 | FR | DE | IT | UK |

 

 

Saturday 23 December 2023

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


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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, DripChumbawamba – Drip, Drip, Drip.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


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