Helena has helping hand from Documotive, 23.10.08

23 October 08: Social landlord Helena Partnerships, formerly Helena Housing, has installed new software from market leader, Documotive to ensure it is fully compliant with newly-introduced legislation requiring all rented housing to carry Energy Performance Certificates from October 1st 2008.

Documotive’s mobile EPC Surveys system enables an on-site surveyor to enter data into a handheld PDA which instantly generates an energy performance rating for each property, eradicating the need for paper forms and the subsequent transfer of information back at the office.

Helena Partnerships has enjoyed a productive working partnership with Birmingham-based Documotive (http://www.documotive.co.uk) for the past four years and currently uses various customer service and finance-driven applications which the company offers. When it was announced that the new legislation was to be introduced, Helena immediately turned to Documotive to provide a cost-effective solution.

As a social landlord responsible for over 13,000 homes in and around St Helens, Merseyside, Helena Partnerships is committed to ensuring that all of its properties meet current regulations and contribute to making neighbourhoods cleaner and greener wherever possible, as stated in the company’s mission statement. As a forward thinking, progressive organisation Helena ensured that it had the necessary software to enable regulatory compliance well ahead of the October 1st introduction.

Ian Robertson, IT Manager, at Helena Partnerships, explains the thinking behind the service acquisition:

‘Through previous collaborations Documotive has proved that it is capable of delivering cost-effective solutions for a variety of areas in our business. Helena Partnerships was confident that the new EPC Surveys system would provide a solution which would not only bring cost saving implications, but should also reduce the amount of surveyor’s time needed to generate an energy performance rating.’

In addition to the time and cost-saving benefits which Docuforms brings to the physical actions of generating an Energy Performance Certificate, the resulting performance assessment can be instantly ‘filed’ with all of the other relevant paperwork for that particular property depending on which other Documotive applications are being used.

Helena Partnerships currently operates Documotive’s Document Management System which fully integrates with IBS OPENSystems, OPENHousing System, allowing all inbound letters and documents from tenants, as well as supporting information, to be centrally housed and instantly accessed, removing the need to manually search through piles of paper to locate information.

Helena Partnerships has found the Docuforms system so effective that the company is now offering the EPC Surveys system to other social landlords who need to become compliant with the new legislation and would like to benefit from the reduced costs and time constraints which the Documotive technology brings.

Documotive offer a host of document management services aimed at improving customer services and employee experiences within the social housing sector. For further information on Documotive visit www.documotive.co.uk or call 0845 241 0220