““Now we have the new repairs process in place, I have no doubt about A2D’s capability to turn around the performance of the repairs service and meet our customer needs and expectations”.
A2Dominion deliver responsive repairs management to 38,000+ homes_
A2Dominion is a UK housing association with a long history going back eight decades. A2Dominion’s vision is to provide homes people love to live in. Everything they do is designed to improve customers’ homes and provide new, much needed ones.
Download the case study_
You can learn more about the Responsive Repairs solution that was delivered for A2Dominion here.
About A2Dominion_
Their core focus is social housing. But they have also expanded into specialist housing for those who need additional support, accommodation for key workers and students, shared ownership and leasehold properties, as well as community services and projects.
Managing over 38,000 homes across London and Southern England, A2Dominon are committed to making sure all customers live in safe, high quality and sustainable homes.
Their development strategy focusses on buying and developing land to provide quality new homes across all tenures. A2Dominion places emphasis on delivering new homes on existing assets and acquiring land where there is a clear need for social and affordable homes.
To help deliver A2Dominion’s charitable objectives, they market new homes for sale and shared ownership, through their FABRICA by A2Dominion brand. Caring by nature, working better together and thinking for tomorrow are three core values at the heart of everything they do. A2Dominion are also a member of the G15, a group of the largest housing providers in London.
The context_
A2Dominion uses outsourced contractors to manage repairs for their stock of properties.
With an average of 8,700 responsive repairs requests logged monthly by residents directly to the customer service team, all requests are then logged on Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Once logged, the repairs are then allocated to their responsive repairs contractor.
The challenge with repairs management_
Having recently gone to tender for a new repairs contractor – Mears was awarded the contract. With a change in supplier came a need to change the systems that supported the responsive repairs management process.
The change in the repair contractor also provided A2Dominion with the opportunity to enhance the repair process to provide a better, more joined up, service to their residents.
The challenge to implement a brand-new repairs process was two-fold. Not only did the solution have to be delivered within 2 months, an unprecedented challenge for any large housing association, but the business processes that underpinned the repairs process needed overhauling at the same time.
This included the following:
- Introduction of Schedule of Rates (SoR) to provide more accurate repair logging and costing
- Embedding a visual repair diagnostic tool to help agents assign the appropriate SOR codes to the work order A new two-way integration with
- Mears’ repair logging system Real-time booking of repairs on Mears system direct from Dynamics 365
- Automatic creation of inspections based on Work Order and Contract criteria
- Work Order Variations (post go-live)
The current system provided limited visibility of when repairs were being carried out by the contractor. Therefore, it was difficult to provide up-to-date details of the status of a Repair when the resident called for an update.
Additionally, any detailed financial information relating to the repair activity was not sufficiently granular and was dependent on the contractor passing across financial details after the repair was resolved.
The reposnse_
A2Dominion realised that their ambitious aim to radically change how repairs were logged was going to be challenging in the two-month timeframe using the usual approach of custom development on Dynamics 365.
Having reviewed what Dynamics 365 repairs products were available off the shelf to meet the requirement – the Redkite Repairs solution was selected.
A2Dominion were looking for a solution that could be slotted into any Dynamics environment and connected to the existing structure, with out-of-the box rules applied.
Additionally, the rule-based approach to managing contracts, approvals, pre and post inspection and variations allowed for rapid configuration rather than lengthy customisation.
The repairs product was installed into the A2Dominion development environment in a couple of hours and then connected to the Repairs case within a day. Out-of-the-box rules were then applied and then overlayed with more complex business specific requirements.
Two-way integration with external contractor_
One of the most critical elements of the project was the two-way integration between the Redkite Repairs product and the Mears system via a Manifest integration layer. This included:
Work Orders being sent to the external contractor_
The real-time retrieval of slots from the Mears system to allow the call-centre to select a repair slot and book an appointment.
Repair event updates being passed back from Mears to update the Work Order_
To aid the correct identification and classification of a repair, Dynamics 365 was also integrated to M3 locator plus.
What A2Dominion needed from their solution_
- More accurate detailed data to actively improve the repair logging process.
- More accurate costing.
- Better contractor management and data to improve performance.
- Better categorisation of the job raised.
- More oversight of the repairs through automated pre and post inspections.
Trevor Graham
Interim Director of Repairs & Maintenance
The outcomes_
Optimised Work Order logging_
The first day of go live over 340 Work Orders were logged in the call centre.
Efficient forecasting_
All Repairs now logged are categorised with the correct SoR codes which generates accurate costings.
First-contact resolution_
A2Dominion’s call-centre advisors are now able to book slots directly while the resident is on a call as well as providing an updated status on when a repair operative will be visiting and any updates regarding the repair.
Improved reporting accuracy_
From an analytics perspective, A2Dominion can now accurately report if the contractor carried out the repair within the SLA.
Deeper insights into costs of repairs_
Costs of each job can be accurately measured, and the surveyor team can be automatically prompted to carry out an inspection if a job is over a certain amount.
Improved operational efficiency_
All repair events (circa 15 events) including if a Work Order is cancelled, rescheduled, requires additional work, operative en route etc. can be viewed in real-time and reported on to provide operational improvements.
The next steps_
As A2Dominion move onto the next phase of their transformation, they will seek to continue to make enhancements to variations and variation approval processes – including migrating additional contracts to the new repairs work order process.
Further embedding their solution into the wider Dynamics 365 product set, an integration through to Dynamics Finance (F&O) will be created.
This will include a solution to cover automatic creations of Purchase Orders when a Work Order is sent to external contractors. At Infinity Group, we look forward to continuing to help A2Dominion serve the residents of their 38,000+ homes.
Speak to us about your responsive repairs project_
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