Gateways in the Asset Management Process
Introduction
Dave Smith, Chair of the Working Group
With so much in the news in recent years about the new homes industry – the designated growth areas, the number of new homes required and the various new technologies for producing them, it is not surprising that the importance of regenerating and maintaining the existing stock of dwellings, as well as increasing its sustainability, often seems to be forgotten within the construction industry as a whole. No wonder those of us who work in this area feel as though we have chosen the ‘Cinderella’ service, especially when there is an existing stock of some 26million dwellings and only 160,000 new ones are built each year!
The Housing Forum has, however, focussed on this part of the industry throughout all of its seven years with a series of publications on encouraging improvements focussing on process – Partnering and Supply Chain Management, backed by research as well as the practical experience of almost 100 demonstration projects.
The government set out its strategy for achieving the Decent Homes target for social housing tenants in 2003. This, combined with the increasing use of PFI in housing, the creation of ALMOs, as well as the Gershon efficiency agenda, have led to several structural changes within this sector of the industry.
In mid 2005, the Housing Forum therefore decided to set up a new working group to look at the issues arising from these changes. Our remit has been to investigate the barriers which still exist to improved performance and increased quality outputs, as well as to examine the lessons that can be learned from recent exemplars.
The issues we are working on also link directly to the Housing Forum’s Customer Driven Strategy for all of housing development and construction, which will focus on the regeneration of communities through improvements to the existing housing stock – public, social and private, including the future sustainability of communities through the long term management and maintenance of the housing stock, as well as on the new build sector.
Dave Smith
Managing Director, London Region, Wates
Housing Forum Board Member
Chairman of the Existing Stock Working Group
Shelagh Grant, Chief Executive, The Housing Forum
The Housing Forum’s Existing Stock Working Group was established to identify and to assist in overcoming barriers to the improvement of the existing housing stock. The focus of our work has been primarily on the social housing sector programme for Decent Homes.
The Working Group commenced with a wide range of known barriers to improvement which were subjected to exploratory research. These barriers ranged from the impact of national factors such as the Audit Commission Key Lines of Enquiry, Housing Corporation guidance, procurement and contractual frameworks, collaborative procurement and community consultation, to more recent performance and value initiatives such as Gershon.
Our research and subsequent workshops, involving over 30 organisations in the Housing Forum network, identified that the greatest barriers to improvement of the existing stock were the lack of focus on, and expertise involved in, many client organisations’ Asset Management Strategies, Stock Condition Surveys and Options Appraisals as well as the more commonly referred to issue of the availability of funding.
In order to address this, core members of the Working Group subsequently developed the:
- Asset Management Process Model and
- Checklist of Tasks to be completed prior to the start of each step, or gateway, in the process which are set out in this toolkit.
We hope you find it useful, and we would welcome any comments you may have on it as, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we aim to ensure that it is regularly refreshed and updated.
Shelagh Grant
Chief Executive
The Housing Forum
020 7592 1100
shelagh.grant@constructingexcellence.org.uk
Working Group Members
- Jeffrey Adams, Group Chief Executive, United House
- Ann Bentley, Operations Director, Bucknall Austin
- Krystyna Blackburn, Project Director, The Housing Forum
- Andy Brewin, Partnering Business Manager, ICI Paints
- Colin Dawes, Asset Strategy Manager, Kensington and Chelsea TMO
- Mike Gaskell, Commercial Sales Director, Asset Manufacturing
- Paul Greenwood, Best Practice Director, United House
- Judith Harrison, Director, The Housing Forum
- John Kiely, Director, Savills
- Tim Keogh, Director of Property Services, Hounslow Homes
- John Magness, Strategic Development Manager, Inspace Partnerships
- Jim Martin, Senior Partner, Martin Associates
- Farooq Mohammed, Head of Property Services, Home Group
- Kevin Neville, Property Services Manager, Harlow District Council
- Lee Parkinson, Director of Supply Chain Management, Wates
- Paul Reader, Group Marketing and Business Director, EPS Projects
- Gordon Ronald, Director Operational Support, Harvest Housing Group
- Katie Saunders, Partner, Trowers and Hamlins