Repairs and maintenance services across the social housing sector are under immense pressure currently, as a result of consumer standards obligations, value for money, homes standards, tenant satisfaction measures, as well as increasing disrepair claims.
Against this backdrop, Karbon Homes reviewed its KPIs for repairs which had previously focused on metrics such as average time taken to complete repairs and percentage of jobs completed. The North East-based landlord discovered that these KPIs were no longer appropriate, were driving the wrong behaviours and focus, whilst preventing the repairs operation from considering (and measuring) the quality of repairs being carried and prioritising speed instead.
In a concerted effort to enhance the quality and efficiency of their repairs and maintenance services, Karbon Homes partnered with Mobysoft to leverage the RepairSense platform, including the RepairSense Damp & Mould Module. Karbon’s ultimate aims from the investment in the platform was to use RepairSense across its 4 main trades areas (plumbing, heating, joinery, and electrical) to reduce the number of repeat repairs jobs by approximately 4,000 cases. After using RepairSense for a period of 12 months between 2023 – 2024, Karbon has achieved some remarkable results encompassing a reducing of repeat repairs to 3,185 cases (representing a cost saving of £574,145).
In this case study, we delve into the rationale, implementation, and outcomes of this partnership with Jonathan Fletcher, Director of Pre-Tenancy & Property Services at Karbon Homes.
Mobysoft:
Can you share with us the rationale behind your investment in Mobysoft’s RepairSense platform?
Jonathan Fletcher:
Overall, Karbon’s customer satisfaction scores for responsive repairs and maintenance are high, but the ‘right first time’ score was sitting at 87%, pulling the overall score card down. This score is based on customer feedback rather than the ‘right first visit data’ from the HMS system, highlighting that in many cases, customers were receiving multiple visits for recurring issues. This was causing frustration, leading to more customer complaints and disrepair claims. As a result, we were looking at how the organisation could use advanced technology to improve the quality of repairs over time, and ultimately boost customer satisfaction. By working with Mobysoft, we implemented RepairSense across our 4 main trades areas – plumbing, heating, joinery, and electrical – to drive efficiencies and reduce the overall number of repeat repairs jobs by circa 4,000 cases.
Mobysoft:
Can you elaborate on how the utilisation of RepairSense resulted in increased operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and improved service delivery for Karbon?
Jonathan Fletcher:
Previously, we measured responsive repairs and maintenance through traditional speed-based KPIs. However, RepairSense helped us better understand the impact of focusing on quality. Data showed that concentrating on quality doesn’t necessarily cost more or take longer. We began with a trial focusing on plumbing repairs, which reduced the four-week repeater rate – a ‘repeater’ being a repairs job that requires two or more visits to address the same issue – from 5.5% to 3.5%, a 36% improvement over 12 months. Following this success, we incrementally rolled out the tool across other trades such as heating engineers, electricians, and joiners. Since go-live, our 12-month repeater rate has reduced from 16% to 10.8%, equating to approximately 3,200 avoided repairs and financial savings of over £530,000. Significant improvements were seen in our heating service, where the repeater rate dropped from 29.32% to 20.26%, saving £193,000.
Mobysoft:
Other than reducing repeat repairs, has RepairSense helped improve service delivery and operational effectiveness in any other aspect?
Jonathan Fletcher:
The responsive repairs and maintenance sector faces relentless pressure, risking colleague engagement and retention. RepairSense has empowered our colleagues by providing valuable data for improving service delivery, boosting job satisfaction, and incorporating repeater rates into our performance management framework. By understanding data presented to them, our colleagues can identify areas for improvement and make better-informed decisions. Monthly feedback sessions between trade colleagues and managers help identify repeat repairs due to part failure, leading to changes in materials used. This proactive approach has saved money and avoided repeat repairs, improving service levels and customer satisfaction.
Mobysoft:
Damp and mould is a big challenge facing the sector currently – can you expand upon how the RepairSense platform has helped Karbon address this?
Jonathan Fletcher:
At the beginning of this year, through RepairSense we created a Damp and Mould (D&M) dashboard which provides clear visibility of our D&M cases, their timelines, and a case severity rag rating. This dashboard is clearly highlighting where we need to prioritise repairs and inspections, by bringing existing data in the system to the surface, presenting it in a clear, easy to navigate format and helping the team to proactively use that data to drive down cases. The insights from this dashboard are already helping us to reduce the number of D&M repairs and inspections and they’re also inform our future investment programmes, focusing on areas that will benefit customers most. Additionally, the data has improved our approach to disrepair claim management, allowing us to predict and prevent potential claims.
