Achieving Digital Transformation in Housing Association (Without the Hassle)

Since the start of the pandemic housing associations have been left with little choice but to adapt to new ways of delivering support. That’s without considering financial limitations and supplying Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers across locations.

Despite the uncertainty created by COVID, local authorities and social housing associations must continue to persevere to cut unnecessary costs, preserve budgets and move with the times. 

So, could augmented reality (AR) technology be the solution housing authorities need to fully embrace an inevitably digital future? Continue reading to find out.

Digital transformation challenges in housing associations

In the UK, housing associations are responsible for making sure the structure of a property is kept in good condition. They’re responsible for maintaining the walls, ceiling, roof and windows, as well as ensuring gas and electricity appliances work safely, and any shared parts of a building are in good working order. In short, they have a lot of bases to cover to properly support the residents they serve.

A sizable challenge facing housing association representatives and call centres is the need for up-to-date (sometimes up-to-the-minute) property information. 

Representatives and admin assistants need to be able to provide precise, current information for both the people they serve and the people they work with. Out-of-date, inaccurate details can be the difference between dispatching trades-people unnecessarily and allocating the right people at the right time. Naturally, this is a waste of time, budget and resources.

Much like commercial enterprises and businesses, local government bodies and housing associations are under pressure to digitalise their services and their infrastructure. 

But research captured by EY found that only 53% of citizens around the globe think governments and public services have effectively used digital technology to respond to the pandemic. It’s impossible to deny that governments clearly have some way to go on their digital transformation journey to meet the expectations of the people they serve.

According to McKinsey, digital transformation is the key to improving trust. The firm found that residents who are satisfied with a public service are 9x more likely to trust the government (including local authorities and associations) over those who are not. 

The study concluded that transparency of service was vital for satisfaction, and further, that the use of digital channels and technology is a fundamental component when it comes to achieving transparency. Digital transformation may appear to be a significant obstacle to overcome, but the reality is more easily actioned.

Digital transformation can be achieved in carefully staggered phases — part of a continuous evolution. In other words, full digital transformation doesn’t need to be achieved on day one. The solution for housing associations is to partner with AR technology specialists, like Fixzy, to onboard their teams successfully and immediately begin completing property maintenance and repairs.

How housing associations can use and deploy AR tech

Social housing associations rely heavily on affordability and efficiency of service — especially when it comes to dispatching support for property maintenance and repairs. At a rapidly increasing rate, AR is becoming the cutting-edge innovation in property maintenance. 

Real-time, visual data captured by AR technology equips associations with the ability to create documentation, forward plan and even identify problems quickly — before they become larger ones.

AR provides a means for professionals to enhance their field of view without the need to be physically present at a tenant’s property. As a result, AR helps to reduce human errors, slash the number of callouts, heighten responsiveness and improve the number of first time fix rates.

With just a few clicks using any smart device, a tenant can use an AR tool, like Fixzy Assist, to scan any room and intuitively capture the entire 360 degree interior in no time. Once completed, Fixzy Assist creates a full 3D model of the interior instantly, ready to mark up and assist in the completion of any jobs, for example: assessing water damage to a property.

Benefits of AR tech for UK housing associations

UK housing associations benefit from the use of AR tech by:

• Ensuring the effectiveness of remote customer interactions and engagements

• Bridging the visual gap between customers and contact centres

• Dramatically improving call centre productivity

• Diagnosing complex problems quickly and resolving property-related issues seamlessly

• Having maintenance teams directly aid in repairs and carry out remote maintenance using an AR and Computer Vision-enabled smartphone app

• Having the digital tools to support the most vulnerable members of society

• Reducing fuel consumption and vehicle usage with fewer unnecessary maintenance worker callouts

• Delivering a continued high-quality standard of service that tenants expect and trust from their housing association

• Harnessing existing AR data from past engagements and customer problems

• Innovating and improving on existing services with other integrated emerging technologies like AI and Deep Learning capabilities.

Revolutionising how housing associations embrace the digital world

We’re already seeing how the pandemic has sped up digital transformation across sectors and forced a rethink in approach for housing associations. Digital projects that were on the backburner or labelled as ‘unrealistic’ have been reprioritised and executed at remarkable speeds.

Housing associations and other local authorities must embrace digitalisation now to meet the on-demand resolutions that customers expect. Technology has the power to improve transparency, heighten convenience, automate tasks and put remote support into practice.

Industry leading AR tools, like Fixzy Assist, have the capacity to generate highly detailed visualisations of a tenant’s home to identify the maintenance or repair required — all in a matter of seconds. 

Without a need for a representative or trades-person to visit the property, Fixzy is revolutionising how housing associations are accessing help and delivering remote support in a post-COVID world. In fact, Fixzy’s Remote Assistance tools improve first-time fix rates by more than 20% while reducing vehicle dispatch by 25%.

Choose prevention over reactivity with Fixzy Assist

Fixzy Assist is a remote video guidance solution powered by computer vision AI, AR and deep learning. We provide the powerful tools needed to support housing associations and housing associations up and down the UK.

Fixzy’s easy-to-use, web-based app helps by proactively assessing damages and home repairs. Keep everyone calm and capture essential data with just a couple of clicks.

Interested in finding out more? 

Get in touch to arrange a free demo today.