HOUSING
It’s Prime and
it’s Key
Colonel Bill Morris is leading work on the National Housing Prime which could shape the way Service accommodation is delivered in the future. The three Service Families Federations were at the briefing to ensure the interests of the families were represented. Dawn McCafferty explains more…
C
olonel Bill is drafting a Statement of Requirement to guide the contract negotiations and, whilst
much of his work is necessarily ‘commercial in confidence’, he recognised the high level of interest some families would have. Given the less than optimum experience of many Service families when the last contract was let to Modern Housing Solutions, many at the briefing wished to ensure that lessons had been learned.
A big ‘ask’. In broad terms, the next contract is aimed at delivering: better housing services; improved customer satisfaction; better and more flexible contracting; better value for money; optimised outsourcing to industry providers, where appropriate; and reduced requirement to use Surplus SFA.
The next contract will include the management of housing, repairs and maintenance, new works, preparation of empty (void) properties and void management. Depending on the interest and capacity of the contract bidders, the contract could be extended to include: the distribution and storage of Service furniture supplies; the management of the Move-in and Move-out processes, allocations and other activities currently performed by the Housing Information Centres; and Land Management services.
Timelines. The organisations who submitted Expressions of Interest earlier this year have been shortlisted, with the following three now entering competitive dialogue with the MoD:
30 Envoy Autumn 2011
Carillion Holdings Ltd and Enterprise Managed Services Ltd; Babcock Support Services Ltd and Kier Ltd and Turner Facilities Management Ltd. Main Gate Business cases from each will be submitted by 18 Jun 12 and the National Housing Prime contract will be awarded in mid Sep 12, allowing six months prior to contract launch in Apr 13.
Repairs and appointments. The Statement of Requirement proposes a repair regime that would pay the contractor a fixed fee to deliver 98% of all repairs, incentivising the contractor to fix first time. The residual 2% of works tend to be the more complex and expensive and would be subject to MoD approval. Existing response maintenance categories would be amended to incorporate a new ‘critical’ category and categorised as either: Emergency – immediate response to ‘make safe’; Critical – Attend within 3 hours to fix or provide alternative ASAP and within 24 hrs; Urgent – Fix within 5 working days; and Routine – Fix within 15 working days. Appointments would be zoned to 4-hour periods, with contractors obliged to call/text to confirm when en route and known cancellations to be advised to occupant at least 24 hours before.
‘Intelligent customers’. If the Move-in and Move-out processes were to be outsourced, this would see the relationship between the contractor and the occupant change significantly, with no DIO Housing Officer present to arbitrate over standards. Therefore, SFA occupants would be required to act as ‘intelligent customers’ and would need to be sure of the standards required; a simple manual to guide all occupants and contractors is proposed.
If the SFA is declared not habitable on Move-in, the contractor would be required to provide alternative accommodation and storage of furniture until the property, or an alternative, is provided. If repairs are required on Move-in, these would need to be completed within 5 working days. Minor repairs completed within 24 hours would not count against the contractor’s Key Performance Indicator, which could be set at 98% of all Move-ins to be at the correct standard.
During occupancy, most families would be expected to deal with the Help Desk to address and accommodation issues that arise. This would be backed up by a Regional Customer Service Centre (a trial of these will take place at Larkhill this year). Contractors would be responsible for communal areas and local liaison with units and local commanders would continue.
During Move-out, again, the handover of the property would be between the contractor and the occupant working to agreed, published standards. Repairs considered to be the fault of the occupant would be charged at scheduled, published costs and repayment would be to the MoD, not the contractor.
Real customer care. The contract would include a comprehensive complaints, appeals and issues process based on the current 3-stage JSP (Joint Service Publication) process. However, greater emphasis would be placed on resolving any disputes at the lowest level possible, with contract managers empowered to engage at local level.
Communication is key. This contract is significant and it is vitally important that we keep the contractors’ eyes firmly on the customer service ball. To that end, the three Federations have offered to brief the remaining contract bidders on the ‘customer journey’ from a family perspective, to ensure the three organisations understand the culture, ethos and unique lifestyle of military families living in SFA.
Our key message here is one of Communication. Communicate with occupants in a timely, relevant and helpful manner and many of the problems encountered with SFA can be overcome with minimal fuss. Fail to communicate and even minor housing issues can soon snowball into highly complex disputes that take time to resolve, damage the reputation of the contractor, and, most importantly, undermine the support that is essential if military families are to feel valued.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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