Ongo, the partnership organisation set up by North Lincolnshire Homes, is now using Kirona’s Project Planner module to manage its voids work alongside its existing Xmbrace DRS scheduling software to allocate work to its responsive repairs team.
John Smith, Head of Voids, North Lincolnshire Homes, said, “Project Planner is unique in the way it breaks down complex maintenance projects, such as void properties, into manageable chunks of work that are allocated to the appropriate operatives.
“Crucially, it manages the work sequentially, so that a piece of work is only allocated when any dependent tasks have been completed. For example, a new electric shower being fitted in a void property might need both an electrician and a plumber to install it. Project Planner ensures that the plumber isn’t allocated their job until the electrician has done theirs, and if that electrician has been delayed then Xmbrace DRS dynamically pushes the plumber’s job back as well.”
This process is the same for each property, so Ongo can see in a single screen the progress of all voids projects. This not only gives the voids team greater visibility of the progression of work, but also provides greater scope for work planner and management intervention where necessary.
Margaret Slingsby, performance and productivity manager, North Lincolnshire Homes, said, “It’s been a long journey getting our systems up and running, but the support from Kirona, 1st Touch and our own IT team to get this project live has been fantastic.
“We have also worked with other members of the Kirona and 1st Touch user groups, such as Together Group, to ensure that we have shared knowledge on the project to assist the recent developments by Kirona.”
