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News Release from: LHC Network | Subject: Refurbishment project
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 05 October 2006
Residents open early thanks to LHC
Shoreline Housing Partnership are opening early, thanks to the completion of a refurbishment project, undertaken by LHC appointed company, Radway Door and Windows .
More than 6,000 residents of North East Lincolnshire based RSL, Shoreline Housing Partnership are opening new doors, thanks to the completion of a £5.5 million refurbishment project, undertaken by LHC appointed company, Radway Door and Windows The 14 month project to replace more than 8,000 doors across Shoreline's 8,450 homes began in March 2005, when leading fenestration contractor, Radway won the contract to install the new doors through LHC, the UK's largest public sector building product procurement consortium
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 30 Jul 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Using doors supplied by LHC appointed companies Lindman and Therma Tru Doors , Radway was responsible for the complete management of the whole door refurbishment project, from the initial house by house door condition surveys, to the removal and installation of front and back doors, including resident consultation, programme scheduling and waste management.
Commenting on the purpose of the project and the use of LHC, Shoreline Project Manager, Chris Tasker said: "The whole door replacement scheme was based around improving the security for our residents.
Since Shoreline Housing Partnership was set up as a non-profit-making organisation, taking on the housing stock formerly run by North East Lincolnshire Council that was transferred on 21st March 2005, we recognised that from resident feedback, the first major investment that needed to take place was based around property security.
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"The £5.5 million investment is part of our £156 million fund for improvement programmes that will be rolled out over the next nine years.
All of our investment will be geared towards improving the housing stock, by making positive changes to homes and the surrounding environment".
With work required to commence on the project just weeks after funding had been released, balancing the tendering process and requirements to follow the European Procurement Directive procedures, with the need for resident choice, was virtually an impossible process.
As a member of the Northern Housing Consortium, Chris sought advice from their procurement specialists who identified LHC as the best solution.
Chris contacted Keith Richardson, LHC Business Development Manager.
Keith comments: "When Chris explained his situation and the importance of giving residents a choice when it came to the selection of the new doors for their property, we were able to call upon a number of our suppliers who form part of our 14 pre-tendered framework arrangements to pull together a proposal that could meet the very tight deadlines required.
"With so many doors needed over a relatively short period and resident choice meaning the number of combinations available was more than 15, covering different designs and colours, the need to have access to experienced installers, who in turn had the back up of a sustainable supply chain of technically evaluated doors, was extremely important.
"By combining the unrivalled experience of Radway with the proven quality of Lindman and Therma Tru GRP doors, we were able to meet the demands of Shoreline.
Shoreline were also comforted by the knowledge that products and services supplied through LHC would meet our stringent technical specification and installation quality, because work carried out throughout the project would be evaluated by LHC experts on an ongoing basis, ensuring the highest levels of resident satisfaction were achieved.
"For Shoreline, the benefits of using our framework arrangements became very clear early on into the initial tendering stage, as work was able to start 6 months before it would have been possible if they had gone through the OJEU tender process.
Chris was also comfortable in the knowledge that we would be completely independent, ensuring the whole project ran as smoothly as possible." An additional requirement of Shoreline was to ensure the inclusion of local labour in the contract.
LHC and Radway suggested that a minimum level of local labour be set as a target.
Shoreline stipulated a 50% local labour target as a Key Performance Indicator, which was achieved from the first few months of the contract.
Due to be completed in August 2006 with the contract to replace doors in other properties continuing after this in a piece meal fashion, Radway Sales and Marketing Director, John Park-Davies commented on the work carried out, saying: "The project itself represented a substantial investment for Shoreline.
Being part of a number of LHC framework arrangements, enabled us to tender for the work.
Part of the reason why we were awarded the project was down to the sheer scale of work that had to be carried out and Radway had the personnel needed to do it.
"With a requirement for experienced staff to perform the installation work, in addition to individuals that could carry out the important job of liaison with residents, recently formed Shoreline recognised the need to have access to this expertise without having to invest in the time and money hiring the individuals.
This in turn allowed them to concentrate on running the new organisation.
Carrying out the surveys and recommendations for the work, obtaining the requirements of residents and gaining access for work to be carried out, were the most important factors that determined the success of the project.
"Initially both Shoreline and Radway expected the work required would take just over two years to complete.
Following the survey and feedback from the residents, we were able to reduce this by more than 40% to just 14 months.
The key to this dramatic reduction in the programme time was the Partnership approach taken by Shoreline, with their decision to appoint Radway to undertake the management of the whole project from tenant liaison to installation and completion, resulting in very few hold-ups.
Commenting on the work carried out, Shoreline Project Manager, Chris said: "Now coming to a close, the project has been a great success, with just a handful of minor issues raised over what has been a huge operation involving both the communication with residents and the physical installation of products.".
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