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Wheatley Group adopts innovative housing management system

Image for Wheatley Group adopts innovative housing management system
09-04-2018Housing

The largest housing provider in Scotland, Wheatley Group, is introducing changes to improve contact with older residents and the management of around 1,000 properties.  Central to these changes is the introduction of the Housing Proactive system, provided by Cumbrian based firm Alertacall.

The system, already in place at over 30 housing associations across the UK is the first significant deployment in Scotland and is delivered using specially designed equipment that uses the telephone network, clever back-end software and a highly trained contact centre team.  It is one of several changes Wheatley Group has introduced to deliver more focused services to residents.

Cathy Fallon of Wheatley Group said, “We use Housing Proactive to provide housing related contact to residents 365 days a year.  It helps us become aware of any concerns at properties more quickly, and it allows our housing officers to focus their time on activities that are the most valuable.“

Residents can use the system to report repairs or maintenance issues and notify the team if they are going to be away.  Wheatley Group are also able to use the service to disseminate important information to residents. As a by-product, the service also reduces social isolation.

Alertacall founder and CEO, James Batchelor said, “During the poor weather last winter the Housing Proactive system was able to issue multiple emergency messages notifying residents of power cuts, non-availability of services, and more general communications about health and safety.”

In conjunction with other initiatives it is hoped it will enable housing officers to move from providing a 5 day a week service to a 7 day a week service.  In the event the Housing Proactive daily contact identifies potentially serious concerns this is then escalated to housing officers.