In times of economic uncertainty, overpopulation and Brexit, the housing sector is under increasing pressure to provide high quality and affordable accommodation as quickly as possible. Only last month, the UK government announced its ambitious plans to build the homes that Britain needs. In this current climate, it’s more important than ever for housing associations…
Transforming local communities through social mediaRead More →
056 - March 2017
The gamification of slips, trips and falls
New Charter Group, the University of Manchester (Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, Alliance Manchester Business School and Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work) and Reason Digital have been collaborating on an innovative approach to the growing problem of slips, trips and falls among older people, and how digital interventions can help. The first digital…
The gamification of slips, trips and fallsRead More →
Pushing the boundaries of customer services
Social housing is in the midst of a customer service revolution. We have seen it in many ways already, with the development of customer service centres, web sites, online payments and social media. As a consequence, over recent years we have seen the loss of rent collectors, repairs inspectors, local offices and resident wardens. More…
Pushing the boundaries of customer servicesRead More →
Building information modelling – Rethinking stock condition surveys
For the uninitiated, building information modelling (BIM) is a technology platform predicted to revolutionise how we visualise and use data within the built environment. Consisting of broadly two elements, BIM can be summarised as: 3D representations of buildings or infrastructure; Interoperable data to support digital models and collaborative working practices. In April 2016, housing providers…
Building information modelling – Rethinking stock condition surveysRead More →
Flexible payment options for UC arrears
Research conducted by the National Federation of ALMOS (NFA) and the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) recently found that 86 per cent of universal credit claimants living in social housing are in arrears. For 59 per cent of claimants, this equates to more than one month’s rent, with the problem steadily getting worse since…
Flexible payment options for UC arrearsRead More →
Being data driven – Lean manufacturing vs. Systems thinking
Many housing providers’ IT and business teams are now talking about ‘systems thinking’ in terms of their data-driven processes, often as a complement to ‘lean manufacturing’ practices. I have had the privilege of working with both approaches in service and manufacturing environments and the purpose of this article is to detail my findings of these…
Being data driven – Lean manufacturing vs. Systems thinkingRead More →