With efforts underway to enhance 230,000 social homes, meeting the ambitious Welsh Housing Quality Standard and Optimised Retrofit Programme (ORP) goals will require determination and gusto.
Stemming from the 2019 “Better Homes, Better Wales, Better World” report, the ORP has been a key driver for better living standards over the past five years, yet pressure has been mounting. It’s now crucial that, alongside improving the quality of social homes by remedying issues such as dampness and mould, action must be taken to decarbonise – and quickly.
This can be seen by burgeoning regulation, as the Welsh government is now leaning on Housing Associations (HAs) to achieve an EPC Band C rating in as many social properties as possible by 2030. Given these are ambitious targets, they will require improved efficiency, slick processes and precise record-keeping to ensure success.
A multifaceted challenge
Part of the challenge lies in the retrofit process. Landlords are required to follow a slew of regulations and managing the ‘who, what, where, how and when’ of individual properties can be dizzying; that is, without the right tools or support.
For instance, HAs must abide by PAS 2035 specifications for energy retrofits, which require various reporting metrics, including the number of premises involved, types of interventions and detailed action plans for product and service suppliers.
Each home must also have a ‘Target Energy Pathway’, outlining the steps to achieve the targeted levels of affordable warmth and decarbonisation. In short, it requires meticulous attention to detail alongside high levels of organisation. Importantly, there’s little room for human error, which can significantly delay timelines.
Enhancing efficiency with tech
I believe this can only be executed successfully by leveraging today’s digital software, which has the power and capability to assist HAs, contractors and everyone else involved in this mammoth undertaking.
For example, the use of geo-tagged images can pinpoint exactly where installation is needed and provide proof that work has been carried out successfully, tracking build elements every step of the way. This a vital area to achieve the all-important ‘golden thread’, which requires HAs to create a demonstrable digital blueprint of step-by-step decision making.
One area that causes administrative headaches is managing the vast amount of documentation and information sharing, which can significantly slow work down. However, those willing to adopt digital platforms can remedy this through specialised documentation management functions. This allows users to centralise files, track updates and maintain clear revision histories.
What’s more, premium software is built to work in tandem with existing programs, allowing them to integrate seamlessly into existing tech stacks. Not only does this ensure data integrity, but it keeps everyone ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’.
Cloud-based photographic evidence can also speed up site audits and help accelerate sign-off procedures. Crucially, it also streamlines stakeholder and team communication through document sharing, with the ability to direct messages and assign tasks.
Finally, digital platforms aid in creating detailed handover documents, ensuring a smooth transition after retrofit – a notoriously overlooked area.
Staying on track
Should Wales miss the mark on improving social homes, it will be a squandered opportunity to slash carbon emissions – an area the country is trying to ‘own’. More than that, it fails to bring people out of fuel poverty and improve living standards, many of whom need desperate help.
Staying on track, getting organised and having effective processes in place will be key – areas which digital tools are built for. The wider UK will be watching, so Wales should see this as an opportunity to set the bar and show the rest how it’s done. But it starts with having the right digital foundations in place to make it a reality.
Rob Norton, UK Director, PlanRadar