One Vision Housing announces £35million facilities management partnership

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Housing

One Vision Housing has appointed Connaught Partnerships Ltd. and Apollo Heating Ltd. in a four-year, £35 million facilities management contract.

From December Connaught Partnerships Ltd. will be responsible for the delivery of routine repairs to all of One Vision Housing’s 11,150 homes across Sefton.

Apollo Heating Ltd. will take responsibility for conducting gas services and central heating repairs for the housing association.

An important aspect of the new contract is the safe guarding of jobs, with over 80 workers transferring from the previous contractor to take up positions with Connaught Partnerships Ltd.

This was to ensure that the skills and knowledge possessed by those individuals was retained and to ensure that the labour remained locally sourced. This is a huge benefit to the local area, particularly in the current financial environment.

The extensive tendering process saw 15 companies vetted by a panel that included not only OVH representatives but also several local tenants.

A key requirement of the tender was the ability to utilise the latest mobile IT equipment to deliver a prompt service with a ‘right first time’ approach.

One Vision Housing Strategic Director for Assets and Regeneration Andrew Spencer said: “This new partnering agreement is further evidence of our commitment as an organisation to providing excellent quality and value for money services for our tenants.

“In a recent poll 94% of customers told us they were satisfied with the repairs service they received and it was important that any new partnership arrangements stayed true to those elements that were working well – yet addressed those areas that we know we can improve upon.

“That is why our tenants themselves were so heavily involved in the selection process and the contract places emphasis on new handheld technology to make the process of reporting and scheduling repairs more efficient.”

Connaught’s Area Director David Mawson said: “We are extremely excited about being given the opportunity to deliver One Vision Housing’s customers with a repairs service that meets and exceeds their expectations.

“We are particularly pleased that our client OVH is so committed to listening and acting on the views of the most important stakeholders in their business – their customers.

“We would also like to benefit from the invaluable insight and first hand experience of the repairs and maintenance service that only the customer can provide. We are confident that with help of customers we will be able to deliver a service that is shaped to meet their needs and expectations.”