Barnet Homes has awarded contracts worth more than £200 million to seven firms to maintain its council homes, blocks and estates over a ten year period.

The Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO), which manages 15,000 homes on behalf of Barnet Council, advertised lots covering a wide range of repairs and specialist maintenance jobs, such as asbestos removal and lift maintenance.

Companies were invited to tender to provide these services from April 2012. Tenders were weighted at 60 per cent quality and 40 per cent price.

The firms which have been awarded the contracts are:

  • Mears won both repairs and voids contracts
  • Lovell won both planned and major works contracts and the electrical servicing and rewiring contract
  • Woods Environmental won the asbestos removal contract
  • Armstrong York won the asbestos testing and monitoring contract
  • AJS won fire servicing and installations
  • Hertel won the Legionella testing and remedial works contract
  • Lift Specialists won lift maintenance and upgrades

A further contract covering gas servicing and breakdown is expected to be awarded shortly.

Dozens of residents were involved in the different stages of the procurement process alongside staff from Barnet Homes.

Barnet Homes Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “It’s been excellent to see so many residents involved and playing a vital role in what’s been a major piece of work for us. I’d like to thank all of them for giving up so much of their time.

“We’ve put a huge amount of effort into selecting contractors who can deliver at both quality and price. We very much look forward to working with the new contractors on meeting our commitment to deliver great service at great value for our residents.

“By awarding separate maintenance contracts for different types of work, we believe these will be easier to monitor and manage on behalf of our customers.”

At the final stage of the process, seven resident volunteers accompanied staff on visits to every firm that made the shortlist of companies. They interviewed staff at each company and spoke to customers to assess their service, as well as calling everyone given as a referee.

Resident Abisola Okusanya from Mill Hill said:”As a resident it was fantastic to have a say in assessing the bids and then interviewing firms up and down the country. All of them were working hard to convince us they could do a good job when we visited them to see the proof for ourselves.

“Seeing how much care goes into choosing the right company for the job was amazing. It’s not just down to price alone for Barnet Homes – customer service plays a big part in the decision. We watched work being carried out and then spoke to the customers to see what they felt about the quality and service provided. I definitely want to be involved again in the future.”

Some of the main differences residents can expect to see as part of the new repairs service include:

  • New shorter two hour appointment slots between 8am – 6pm on week days and 8am to 12pm on Saturdays.
  • Text and email confirmation for appointments and reminders 24 hours beforehand and when the operative is en route to the property.
  • A phone call within 30 minutes of the operative leaving to ask about satisfaction with the repair
  • A guarantee that a new appointment for any additional work will be arranged with the resident before the operative leaves.