Lovell mobilises 10-year Maintenance

Partnership with the Accord Group

Client:
The Accord Group
Scope of works:
Responsive Maintenance,
Void Works, Major Works,
Repairs to Communal
Areas, Property Health
Checks & MOTs
Location:
Homes in Birmingham,
Coventry, Walsall,
Wolverhampton and
Sandwell
Value:
50 million over 10 years
(c5 million per annum)
Start/finish:
June 2012 - June 2022

Responsive maintenance & voids

service hits the ground running
Background
The Accord Group is one of the West
Midlands largest Housing Groups: a
not-for-profit group made up of seven
organisations which collectively provide
11,000 affordable homes and a wide
range of services to 50,000 people.
The Group comprises:
CaldmoreAccord
Ashram Housing Association
BCHS Community Regeneration
Agency
Fry Housing Trust
Moseley & District Churches Housing
Association
Redditch Co-operative Homes

The Objective
The Accord Group was looking for a
single provider to carry out responsive
repairs, empty property refurbishments,
communal repairs, property MOTs and
preventative maintenance to its housing
stock over a 10-year partnership.

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk

With a decade of property maintenance

for Accord Group customers at stake, it
was important for the chosen provider
to demonstrate a proven track record
in the successful delivery of similar
programmes of work, to partner
effectively with the Accord Group, and
to be able to offer tangible community
benefits over the life of the contract
Furthermore, the successful partner
would need to cultivate values and
methods of working that aligned closely
with Accords expectations, which
include:
A customer-focussed repairs service
First-contact customer appointments
High levels of customer satisfaction
Repairs completed Right First Time
Keeping customers informed
Use of mobile technology
IT Systems integration
Co-location with Accords dedicated
Contact Centre at their Head Office

The Challenge
As well as procuring a long-term
partnering arrangement to derive
maximum value for money and
community benefit over the 10 year
term, Accord also had another key
requirement.
To achieve a seamless transition
from Accords existing arrangements,
the new programme needed to be
mobilised quickly so as to ensure
continuity of essential services, and
to avoid disruption to Accord Group
customers.
This was particularly challenging given
the size and scale of the Groups area
of coverage, and the need to maintain
an emergency repairs service, including
out-of-hours response, to thousands of
homes.

The Solution
Contract Award
Through a competitive tendering
process, Lovell fought-off competition

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk

from 14 other bidders to win the 10year contract, proving along the way
its credentials as an established and
experienced provider of these services
within a partnering environment.
Accord had also worked closely with
residents throughout the procurement
process, and through the qualitative
submission, reference site visit and
discussions directly with residents
from an existing Lovell programme,
our customer-focussed maintenance
capabilities were considered the most
closely-aligned to the service Accord
and their residents were looking for.
Soft Mobilisation
To ensure essential services were
maintained, we jointly implemented
a soft mobilisation over the 6-week
period following contract award,
putting 28 engineers and 19 dualbranded vehicles on the ground, all fully
equipped with staff uniforms, Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs), vehicle
trackers, and supplier-managed van
stocks aligned to trade and property
specifications.

Excellent working
relationships, a problemsolving approach and can-do
culture have all contributed
to an excellent start to the
Accord/Lovell journey.

Mark England

Head of Corporate
Asset Management for
the Accord Group

Within this timescale, we also:

System, MIS, which will enable:

Completed due diligence, group and

1-2-1 consultations for the 35-strong
workforce transferring under TUPE

First-contact appointments for

Accord customers

Delivered a full 2-day Lovell and

Partnership-specific induction and
training sessions
Made our full, customer-focussed
services available to circa 65% of
Accords properties

Established a co-located Project

Delivery office with Accord at
Darlaston, and co-located our Project
Administrators with Accords teams in
West Bromwich

Attended Accords Customer Panel

to canvas residents views on the
development of the new service.
From this we received positive
feedback on our proposal for
implementing customer satisfaction
surveys on PDA, and agreed designs
for partnerships No Access and
Next Appointment calling cards.

Full Service and Steady State

Full go-live is scheduled for the start
of August 2012, through which we will
extend our leading maintenance service
to Accords remaining properties.
Key to this phase is the implementation
of dynamic integration between
our impactRESPONSE system and
Accords Housing Management

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk

Electronic workforce deployment

via PDA
Automated SMS/email appointment
reminders
Mobile working leading to faster
response times
Real-time progress updates
Vehicle tracking and reduced carbon
outputs
On-demand performance reporting
Customer profile information
captured to personalise the service
Right first time repairs
We have also made arrangements to:
Deliver the Lovell servicefirst
Programme: partnership-specific
workshops which encourage
teamwork, integration and service
excellence
Attend the Accord Group Annual
Conference, promoting and
developing the Accord/Lovell
relationship
Attend the National TPAS Awards
collaboratively with our client

This significant win for

the business recognises
our ability to deliver
comprehensive, highquality maintenance and
repair services across a
wide geographical area.
It also demonstrates our
continued commitment to
expanding our repairs and
maintenance offer.
We are delighted to be
working with the Accord
Group, its partners and
residents. The company
is committed to creating
wide-ranging and lasting
benefits for local people
through the new contract,
including job and training
opportunities and
support for community
organisations.

Simon Medler

Managing Director for Lovell

Repairs and Maintenance

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk

Outcomes
The focussed and seamless start to the
working relationship between Accord
and Lovell has derived a multitude of
benefits, including:

Added Value
The partnerships community focus
will see 10 local apprenticeships
created over the life of the contract,
bringing learning and employment
opportunities to young people in the
area and fostering skills for the future.

Value for Money

The partnership is set to save
Accord an estimated 624,000 per
annum, equating to approximately
6.2 million over the next 10 years

Prior to mobilisation, we provided

a man in a van to support Accords
Estate Week, clearing rubbish
from properties and local community
projects

We successfully retained the

services of two of Accords existing
local subcontract teams, who have
been valued as service partners and
members of the local community.
We supported them through our
robust Vendor Registration Process,
and also jointly appointed a further
three specialists, whose expertise
and locality represents excellent
value for money on the partnership.

We also attended a Getting

Involved exhibition, hosting a stand
to showcase the new partnership
and answer any questions from the
local community

We also reviewed the logistics for

merchant support, establishing six
geographical hubs in association
with the national Lovell Supply Chain
(including Jewson, Travis Perkins,
Newey & Eyre etc). Three of the hubs
provide us with core materials and
co-located waste facilities via Kenny
Waste, ensuring value for money
through our national deals, whilst
minimising travel requirements and
increasing our ability to first time fix
and replenish van stocks easily.

We held a collaborative Meet the

Buyer Breakfast Club at the
Sandwell Council Chambers in
Birmingham, meeting with
prospective supplier and subcontract
partners from the local area. From
this a number of viable local partners
have been identified, with whom
further discussions could now lead
to Approved Vendor status and work
under the partnership

We attended the Mosley and District

Annual Garden Party, introducing the
new maintenance service, providing
gift bags and donating raffle prizes

True Partnering
The spirit of partnering is very
much alive in the early days of this
new relationship, and both parties
commitment to create something
special has resulted in an excellent start
to the partnership:

Accord and Lovell had agreed a 1st

August start date for the new 10 year
contract based around Price per
Property and Average Void Cost.
It was also agreed to soft mobilise
an interim contract from June 13th
based on average job cost with
reconciliation to be carried out at the
end of July.
Lovell and Accord staff have worked
in partnership through working
groups, consultation events and
informal meetings to deliver go live
on time with newly branded vans
hitting the road on June 13th to
maintain a repairs and maintenance
service to Accord Group residents.
At the same time work has
progressed significantly to ensure
the main contract is also delivered
on target. Excellent working
relationships, a problem-solving
approach and can-do culture have
all contributed to an excellent start
to the Accord/Lovell journey.
Mark England
Head of Corporate Asset Management
for the Accord Group

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk

accordgroup.org.uk
lovell.co.uk