星空传媒

Global positioning

The kit: Hull council uses Global Positioning System technology to trace council officers鈥� vehicles. Installation began eight months ago and now runs to 38 vehicles. It will soon be upgraded from GSM (the network that mobile phones use to send texts) to GPRS, which allows larger amounts of information to be sent faster.

The cost: will total 拢209,000 when rolled out to 50 vehicle location units at 拢750 each and 50 PDAs or cradles at 拢800 each, plus a server, software and GPRS.

Estimated saving: Each of the council鈥檚 200 rapid response operators is expected to complete an extra 235 jobs a year because of the time saved on travelling between jobs.

High above the earth, satellites scan the atmosphere for messages coming their way. Suddenly one detects something: down below in Hull, a van has just turned a corner. The satellite relays the information back to the van, which in turn passes details of its location via the GSM network to the final recipient, Brad Smith sitting in his office at Hull council.

Minutes later, when a council tenant鈥檚 electricity short circuits, Smith knows just which operative to call. As electrical contracts manager at Hull, Smith used to struggle to keep track of the tradesmen in his emergency repairs team. But with 38 vehicles of Hull鈥檚 repairs fleet now fitted out with GPS, he can instantly find who is closest to a job.

He only has to type the address into his PC and it presents him with a detailed map of the street and the position of every council electrician in the vicinity. 鈥淭his is different to most GPS systems because their maps aren鈥檛 very detailed, and may only show main roads,鈥� he explains. 鈥淏ut we matched our GPS system with our GIS [Geographical Information Systems] digital map of Hull, which has details of things like every house number, light fitting, potholes and trees.鈥�

The data is updated each minute, and workers can be located to within two metres. 鈥淯nder the old system we鈥檇 have situations where we鈥檇 sent one electrician to number 10 and another to number 12 on a street,鈥� Smith admits. 鈥淣ow I can see who鈥檚 closest to a specific house and call them straightaway.鈥�

Bar code scanning

The kit: Thames Valley is one of a number of estates trialling bar code scanners that record contractor visits to estates and instantly update the association鈥檚 central IT system on what stage maintenance jobs are at.

The cost: 拢16,000 for software plus 拢300 annual licence fee. Three hand-held scanners at 拢800 each; 拢30 for a scanner to be attached to a PDA when the pilot is extended to all 12 association inspectors.

Estimated savings: Thames Valley鈥檚 team of 12 inspectors expects to save about half of one person鈥檚 time.

To the untrained eye, the corridors and entrance halls of Thames Valley鈥檚 blocks of flats look like any other estate. But look more closely and you鈥檒l see something different: hidden in corners or above doors are hundreds of individual bar codes.

Back in his control room, contracts compliance officer Alan Boyce depends on these codes to keep him updated on the progress of every job done by contractors, including cleaners, gardeners and caretakers.

Last October, Thames Valley began the job of fitting its estates with 450 bar codes and arming its contractors and officers with scanners. Every time a contractor goes on site, they scan the nearest bar code that indicates which areas need cleaning, specific gardening jobs or urgent repairs. When they鈥檝e finished, they scan again to record their finishing time and any problems they鈥檝e had. When an association inspector checks on their work later, they send their report back in the same way.

This is a big contrast with the old system, when Boyce was forced to wait until an inspector filed a report to know how well a job had been done. 鈥淣ow I have a spreadsheet of incident reports and anything that鈥檚 not right will flash up in a different colour. I can then follow it up with the contractor,鈥� he says.

鈥淚f we get a complaint that the cleaning or gardening staff have not been out, we have proof that they have.鈥� Contractors鈥� comments so far have been positive 鈥� they too prefer to have proof of their visits.

Digital voting

The kit: Teign Housing used gameshow-style 鈥渄igivoting鈥� equipment, to gauge views at a tenant conference.

The cost: Just under 拢3000 for hire of all equipment and two engineers for one day.

Estimated savings: Two-thirds the cost of Teign鈥檚 annual survey.

Each member of the audience has a handset in front of them and there is a great deal of chatter at the novelty of the occasion.

Then the room falls silent and 100 pairs of eyes focus on the screen above. A question and four potential answers appear on the screen and the compere springs to life. 鈥淲hat approach should Teign take to antisocial behaviour,鈥� he begins. 鈥淶ero tolerance, three strikes and you鈥檙e out, mediation or preventive measures?鈥� Suzanne Brown watches as tenants鈥� views appear on screen.

People can be sceptical about survey results. But with digivoting, they see there鈥檚 no manipulation of answers

This was the scene as Brown, Teign鈥檚 policy and performance manager, witnessed a new method of tenant consultation in action at the association鈥檚 first tenant conference, last October. Instead of paper surveys, attendees were given 100 handheld pads similar to remote controls, rented from a local technology company, Warwick Corporate Events. Brown鈥檚 team came up with 30 multiple-choice questions and persuaded a couple of housing officers to act as compere. The company鈥檚 engineers designed the quiz and stood by to help on the day.

The experiment went down well 鈥� all 100 handsets were used in each of the four sessions, and Brown was pleased with the immediacy of the results. 鈥淲ith traditional surveys you don鈥檛 see the results instantly and people can be sceptical about how they are presented. But with digivoting, people could see there was no manipulation of answers.鈥�

The system demonstrates to tenants the range of views association officers have to please: for the antisocial behaviour question, 40% are for zero tolerance and 40% for preventive measures. Brown warns that using multiple choice rather than open-ended questions means you must frame possible answers carefully: 鈥淥therwise you fall into the trap of not capturing the audience鈥檚 true reactions.鈥�

Video conferencing

The kit: Orbit Housing Group has video conferencing equipment installed in six offices.

The cost: Set-up costs of 拢27,000, plus 拢5200 running costs a year.

Estimated savings: 拢18,000 a year, including staff time and the petrol costs of travelling to meetings.

鈥淎re we all here?鈥� Rona Nicholson asks the assembled group as she prepares to start an internal management meeting. At nods from those around her, she picks up the remote control and presses a button. In an instant, another group of colleagues, hundreds of miles away, materialise in front of her.

It鈥檚 not quite Star Trek, but video conferencing has revolutionised the way Orbit employees work. Before the first two screens were installed two years ago, Nicholson, managing director of Orbit Bexley Housing Association and Thanet Community Housing Association, frequently found herself on 12-hour round trips for two-hour meetings with her own staff in other offices.

The technology, which consists of a large television screen and camera in the boardrooms of each of the association鈥檚 six main offices, has saved her up to five trips a month. 鈥淚t鈥檚 connected by ISDN and it鈥檚 really quick and easy to use: you just pick up the remote control and you鈥檙e off,鈥� says Nicholson. The kit is used both by senior and middle managers or by groups that work across dispersed offices. There are some limitations though. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I鈥檇 like to do it with external people,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or example, if you鈥檙e watching a presentation with Powerpoint slides, it鈥檚 difficult because you can鈥檛 see the person speaking at the same time.鈥�

And it can be a bit impersonal, she admits. 鈥淲e use it for staff training but if it was a team-building event, it would be much harder to build relationships.鈥�

Personal digital assistants

The kit: Vale Housing Association first introduced PDAs for sheltered housing wardens in 2001. It has recently updated them with Bluetooth wireless technology that allows them to link to a mobile phone to transfer data.

The cost: Initial set-up costs of about 拢7000. Also 19 handhelds in total, including 15 which were 拢399 each, and most recently one with Bluetooth at 拢320.

Estimated savings: 25 hours a week saved from scheme managers鈥� time and office time updating records, equating to about 拢10,000 a year.

Graham Wells grips the telephone. It is the middle of the night and an older tenant has had a fall and needs an ambulance. The 999 operator fires questions at him: Who is the tenant鈥檚 doctor? Who is their next of kin?

How old are they? He has no idea 鈥� but doesn鈥檛 panic. He knows that in moments the answers will be shining up at him from the palm of his hand.

Wells, a mobile scheme manager used to have to carry files for 200 residents in his car boot each time he left the house. 鈥淚f you were called out to a block in the night you would have to search through the files outside in the dark just to find the door code. Once inside you鈥檇 have to search through the files again for the right bits of information.鈥�

But thanks to a 5脳3 inch PDA, he鈥檚 got rid of all these files. The technology was easy to get used to, he says. 鈥淚t gives you options for each visit, like 鈥榯enant OK鈥�, but you can also type in extra information if you need to.鈥�

Security is another big benefit. 鈥淏efore, you could never leave paper files in your car in case it was broken into. If I got a night call, I鈥檇 have to load all the files into my car before setting out. With the pocket PC, there are two security codes so it鈥檚 very secure.鈥� Most of the Vale鈥檚 handhelds are not yet Bluetooth, though. 鈥淭he problem with this is you still have to return to an office to upload the latest information. But with my Bluetooth handheld I just link it up to my mobile.鈥�