introduction
The Housing 21 loft and cavity wall insulation programme is the
largest project management task undertaken by us to date.
Housing 21 appointed us to manage their insulation programme
in January 2008. Through a competitive tender the contractor Miller
Pattison was appointed as project contractor to carry out the
works.
This programme provided a unique challenge due to the size and
location of the programme, involving approximately 5500 properties
on three separate Housing 21 schemes. The programme required
coordinating with 11 separate Miller Pattison branches countrywide
to ensure that the programme was completed successfully, meeting
the criteria of time, quality and cost. It was also imperative that
upon completion Housing 21 could be satisfied that a large
contribution to their Decent Home programme had been achieved.
challenge
As project manager we initially carried out a tender exercise to three contractors to ensure best value for Housing 21 was achieved. The results of the tender were passed to Housing 21 and Miller Pattison was selected. We worked closely with all parties them to ensure all contracts and specifications for the works were met and all properties on the scheme were lettered giving information to tenants. Throughout the programme we closely monitored the progress of the programme ensuring that the client's deadlines were met in terms of completion. We ensured that all issues affecting the clients' tenants were dealt with quickly and effectively.
solution
Day-to-day we managed the works dealing with any problems as and when they arose through regular liaison between the contractor, Housing 21, court managers and individual tenants where appropriate. We managed all of the invoicing and payment to the contractor together with management of the property lists to closely monitor progress of the programme. A high percentage of the work was grant funded through CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) which we manage on behalf of Housing 21 through an agreement with a major utility. £242,000 of funding was accessed for the programme.
outcome
The completion rates for the Housing 21 loft insulation programme have exceeded normal expectations. The scheme was split into three categories, Sheltered, Family and Butcher. The Sheltered housing scheme achieved a 99% completion rate and the Family and Butcher scheme achieved 78% and 97% respectively.
Housing 21 were more than satisfied with the results achieved as
demonstrated by their Business Support Manager Daniel Mills: "After
partnering with Sustain on a successful boiler room insulation
project, Sustain ran Housing 21's last programme of cavity wall and
loft insulation installation and we were again impressed. As a
sheltered homes provider our priority when running improvement
programmes is always making sure of the minimum disruption to our
residents and Sustain really understood this.
Sustain were good communicators throughout every stage of the
programme, and managed the installation installers effectively. The
year-long programme involved surveying over 4,500 properties and
installing cavity wall and loft insulation where needed. These
measures will ensure Housing 21's compliance with the Decent Homes
Standards and will also save our residents money on their fuel
bills."
