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AUGUST09
PROPERTYAND DEVELOPMENT THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUILDING
PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT AUGUST09
INSIDE: INDUSTRY FOCUS: 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS Building an olympic legacy GAZELEY Forward thinkers on developing modern warehouse and logistics space MONTAGU EVANS Stability and growth LAMBERT SMITH HAMPTON Proximity to property SOVEREIGN HOUSING ASSOCIATION A cleaner and greener look at one of the UKs largest housing associations
ISSUE 2-P
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66 PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT Housing: Sovereign South + West
SUSTAINABLE S HOUSING PROVIDER
overeign South + West (formerly known as Sovereign Housing Association) was established in 1989 taking the transfer of 7,109 homes from the
Berkshire District Council. Now operating as a general needs housing provider, the association offers affordable rented accommodation as well as lease hold and shared ownership properties. Sovereign South + West owns or manages something
in the order of 14,000 properties in the south and south west of England. With an annual turnover of ÂŁ56 million,
Sovereign South + West is a housing association committed to improving the eco-efficiency of its homes. In working towards its ISO 14001 accreditation it has introduced a raft of new environmental initiatives
it has assets of over ÂŁ700 million. The association operates under the umbrella of the Sovereign Housing Group Ltd, set up in 2005 along with Kingfisher HVHS Housing Association, Sovereign Twynham and Sovereign Vale, which collectively own and manage more than 30,000 homes in the south of England.
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67 PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT Housing: Sovereign South + West
Working with major developers as well as regional part-
All property staff are to be given the necessary train-
ners, homes are developed according to one of 22 standard
ing in order to advise residents in the most efficient ways
house types using an established supply chain. Sovereign
of heating and lighting their homes. Low energy light
South + West developed 378 new builds last year.
bulbs and 200 energy monitoring devices are available
All new homes are fitted with a range of fixtures
for distribution to residents.
and fittings aimed at reducing energy usage and waste
A programme of work has been initiated to replace
such as condensing boilers, low energy light bulbs and
old and inefficient heating systems, as well as upgrading
composting bins. In recognition of progress made in this
loft insulation to a minimum thickness of 250 mm, which
area Sovereign has been selected to build the UK’s
will be carried out over the next four years. This work, in
first major eco-village at Hanham Hall in South
combination with a scheme to replace all single glazing
Gloucestershire.
over the next five years, will have significant effect on the
In addition to its new homes Sovereign South + West
overall heating efficiency of homes.
recognises that it needs to minimise environmental impact in
By providing water butts to residents it is hoped that
the management and maintenance of its existing stock. To this
water consumption will be lowered, while ‘Hippo Bags’
end the association is working across a number of areas
have been introduced at change of tenancy in an effort
through its Property Services Directorate in order to achieve
to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and pro-
the environmental accreditation ISO 14001.
mote recycling.
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Service Excellence ServiceMaster Clean in Newbury has pioneered the kind of approach normally associated with maintenance partners, except it isn’t a construction firm – it’s a professional cleaning company
T
he model, the communal cleaning system, was developed by Nick Dee Shapland, managing director Deeland limited who own and operate the ServiceMaster Clean franchise for Newbury. This was after it won a tender with Sovereign Housing Association to provide a pilot communal cleaning programme back in 2004. Prior to this, the company’s clientele had featured offices and commercial premises, the retail sector and garages, so establishing a presence in the social housing sector required a reappraisal and redesign of its contract services to meet the clients needs. In essence, the redesign of service delivery effectively re-created the kind of partnering principles familiar in the delivery of maintenance programmes, complete with performance monitoring and management, consultation drives, and continuous improvement efforts, that have become the daily bread of planned maintenance contractors. The only difference is that ServiceMaster Clean is a professional commercial cleaning business. To carry out an excellent standard of work for Sovereign, the company introduced new technology, new machines and new principles. This was necessary because the feedback from the initial surveys revealed the need for greater levels of organisation and service, as no-one knew when the previous cleaners would turn up and standards were poor. Programmes vary depending on the situation; density of the area, the social habits of the people involved and the types of cleaning required – all of this needed to be factored into the planning process. Dirty communal areas reflect on and affect everyone concerned with
the building so not only is communal cleaning a demanding task for psychological, as well as hygiene reasons, it is also practically challenging given the volume of people that will pass through those areas and the types of floor used. In developing the new service programmes for Sovereign, ServiceMaster Clean had to build a ‘map of these factors into a database, as an integral part of preparing the groundwork to upgrade the cleaning services. The emphasis was on a professional service delivery; ensuring all the tenants were satisfied with a ‘job well done’, not just once but each and every
not to mention the ones directly receiving the service. “We introduced disciplines to the job; complete with image,” explained Nick. “The tenant can see who arrives, which offers transparency. The key is the communal cleaning operation. Rather like a postman, the tenants will see the commercial cleaning operative in attendance, underlining how much we value the importance of relationships. ServiceMaster Clean is all about people, working with housing associations and their tenants in delivering quality cleaning services for local communities.”
To carry out an excellent standard of work for Sovereign, the company introduced new technology, new machines and new principles. time. The database also contained information as to the type of flooring to achieve effective cleaning. ServiceMaster Clean also invested in new technology, including commercial truck mounts, PDAs, tracking systems and so forth, to take into account the average travel time to each site, monitoring the programme and allowing continual improvements, as well as other aspects that allow KPI’s to be measured and value for money achieved to drive the service forward. Consulting the tenants was a key part of establishing the new programmes, not only allowing ServiceMasters Clean to introduce itself and its staff, but also ascertain tenants expectations and requirements of service. After all, Sovereign might be the direct client, but it is the tenants who are important because they are the ones paying the bills,
As a whole the company offers a comprehensive range of cleaning services, some of it highly specialised, such as carpet and hard floor restoration, fire and flood restoration, window cleaning, toilet deep cleaning and steam cleaning to name but a few. The company also offers a 24-hour call out service for cleaning up spillages in communal areas. Steve Faulkner, who was estates manager for Sovereign when the contract was set up, commented:” ServiceMaster has provided a high quality business-wide cleaning service to all our communal areas since they were appointed in 2004. Such is our confidence that we have signed a formal partnering contract with ServiceMaster Clean until 2011.” Text supplied by Southern Housing Magazine
Tel: 0845 6018252 Fax: 01635 30419 Email: customerservices@servicemasternewbury.co.uk Web: www.servicemasternewbury.co.uk
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Over 50 years of service
Communal Cleaning Carpet Cleaning Upholstery Cleaning Hard Floor Cleaning & Restoration Pressure Washing Steam Cleaning Window Cleaning
“ServiceMaster Clean is all about people, improving cleaning standards for Local Communities� ServiceMaster Clean by Deeland Ltd The Cleaning Centre, 101 Mill Land Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5RE
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71 PROPERTY AND DEVELOPMENT Housing: Sovereign South + West LEFT: Quay Point, Harbourside, Bristol
BELOW LEFT: Twynham Housing Association recently decided to take on the new Sovereign Response service to deliver a more efficient and effective property maintenance service for Twynham residents
SOVEREIGN SOUTH + WEST DEVELOPED 378 NEW BUILDS LAST YEAR
Sovereign is looking into a variety of renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind turbines, photo-voltaics, ground and air source heat pumps, and biomass heating systems with a view to reducing the carbon footprint of its housing stock in the long term. The association also recognises that its own internal operations impact on the environment and is taking steps to minimise this with a raft of in-house measures including: • Promoting car sharing amongst staff in order to reduce fuel emissions. • Looking into non carbon dioxide emitting fuels such as bio-diesel and liquid petroleum gas. • Reducing paper usage and encouraging recycling through double sided printing. • Promoting energy saving practices within offices such as switching off equipment including computers, lights and battery chargers when not in use. Sovereign’s forward thinking approach to sustainable housing provision is underlined by the establishment of an environmental action team, which will monitor progress and help guide the association as it continues to reduce its carbon footprint. Tel: 0845 712 5530 Web: www.sovereign.org.uk