CHP has transformed its contractor management with a new online tool from VerseOne that gives the housing provider better visibility of the status of assigned maintenance and repair jobs. The new Incident Process Manager system went live in May 2011 after a three-month development process, with around half of CHP’s contractors now already using the service.
CHP’s previous system for administering and managing maintenance jobs relied on fax or email to raise jobs, with knowledge of a job’s status limited due to delays in the contractor completing the ticket and invoicing for the work. CHP therefore wanted a means of publishing job tickets to contractors and suppliers online so that the status of jobs could be updated easily by both parties, resulting in more accurate knowledge of all jobs allocated to specific contractors.
Chris Mounsey, product manager, VerseOne, said, “A lack of information regarding assigned maintenance jobs is a common problem in the housing sector – housing providers are often left in the dark from the moment of issuing a job until the receipt of the invoice.”
Contractor visibility
IPM was developed by VerseOne to automate the process of allocating, tracking and reporting on maintenance outsourced to contractors. In addition, the versatility of IPM means that it can be used to create, track and manage tickets for just about anything, from tasks such as complaints and repair management to support issues, all through a secure online portal.
James Dickman, service development manager, CHP, said, “We can already see that the contractors’ portal works well. Information is being loaded into our housing management system regularly, and we can tell which jobs are completed and which are outstanding. This is a great improvement and will allow us to manage contractor relations more efficiently.”
Five of CHP’s largest contractors are now using the service, accounting for around half of CHP’s maintenance and repairs invoices. Sandra Hattley, director, Drainage & Hygiene Services, said, “The system allows us to easily see which jobs are outstanding and the date they were received. We can also easily update jobs and submit comments to explain why a job may have been completed after the target date.
“The contractor portal’s strengths are definitely its ease of use, its uncluttered layout and the fact that the search function and relevant filters let you to find the information you want quickly and easily.”
