Housing providers and contractors who are facing new challenges to access properties during the pandemic can now use Gas Tag’s ‘unable to access’ (UTA) software free of charge. Gas Tag’s software makes it easier for housing providers and contractors to report and evidence UTA incidents due to self-isolation.
Originally developed to support the company’s current clients with gas compliance and fire safety, Gas Tag has opened up the functionality so that it can be used to cover all areas where access attempts are being made.
John Roche, chief operating officer, Gas Tag, said, “Our data shows that it is becoming harder and harder for housing providers and contractors to access properties to carry out their work. With many organisations also facing staff shortages, repeated failed access attempts are expensive and time-consuming.
“Through our ‘Isolation UTA’ feature, operatives can easily mark incidents where residents are self-isolating, allowing them to manage their resources effectively and ensure they can access homes when it is safe to do so.”
Users of Gas Tag’s free functionality will be able to take geotagged, time-stamped photographs of a property when they are unable to access and mark the incident as due to self-isolation.
Stephen Collins, executive director of property, Housing Plus Group, said, “The data we are pulling from the Gas Tag system is allowing us to proactively manage our gas compliance in the face of the pandemic.
“Before Gas Tag introduced the new functionality, the granular data enabled us to easily identify a rise in UTAs and ensure we had real-time evidence of engineers being at a property. However, we can now pinpoint individual incidents where a resident is self-isolating and ensure we are taking appropriate steps to gain access while keeping everyone safe.
“The system also allows us to mark self-isolation via the Gas Tag portal. This means we can prevent engineers from turning up at properties where we already know they can’t gain access and instead redirect our resources elsewhere.”
