Helena Partnerships has just installed new software from Documotive to ensure it complies with the requirement for Energy Performance Certificates which came into effect at the beginning of October.
Documotive’s mobile EPC Surveys system lets on-site surveyors enter data into PDAs which instantly generate an energy performance rating for each property, removing the need for paper forms and the subsequent transfer of information back at the office.
Helena Partnerships, formerly Helena Housing, is responsible for 13,000 homes around Merseyside. As well as the EPC Surveys system, Helena Partnerships also runs Documotive’s document management system which links to its IBS OpenHousing housing management system. This means that all inbound letters and documents from tenants, as well as supporting information, can be stored centrally and accessed instantly, removing the need to search through piles of paper by hand.
Ian Robertson, IT manager, Helena Partnerships, said, “We were confident that the new EPC Surveys system would not only bring cost savings, but also reduce the amount of surveyor’s time needed to generate an energy performance rating.”
In addition to the time- and cost-savings that Documotive’s system brings to the physical production of an EPC, the resulting performance assessment can be instantly ‘filed’ with the other paperwork for that particular property depending on which other Documotive applications are being used.
Based on the success of its own in-house work, Helena Partnerships is now offering the EPC Surveys system to other housing associations and RSLs that need to become compliant with the new legislation.
