CHIC CHAT

CHIC Conference 2024

CHIC CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION - WEDNESDAY 22ND MAY 2024
at Telford International Centre

Hosted by BBC Home Editor Mark Easton, conference sessions will share insights and best practice about current asset management, development and procurement issues. There will also be ample networking opportunities within a comprehensive exhibition.

This event is ideal for all affordable housing asset management and development representatives, to expand their professional network and stay updated on the latest sector developments.

OUR WORKSHOPS

This years workshops have been inspired by current sector trends and member feedback from our last conference.

People & Building SafetyCan we now be sure our homes are safe for tenants and leaseholders?

Newbuild HomesWill MMC become mainstream? Can CHIC’s Newbuild Framework help?

Retrofit ChallengesDecarbonisation lessons – what have we learned and what comes next?

Social ValueBuilding better communities and creating attractive career prospects – are we making a difference to get people into construction careers?

Healthy HomesHow we can ensure tenants can afford the costs of decarbonisation?

Hearing the Tenants VoiceWill Tenant Satisfaction Measures make a difference?

Digitising Asset RecordsMaking effective use of new technology and AI.

Repairs & MaintenanceHow do we get the basics right?

PLENARY PANEL DISCUSSIONEnsuring Mould, Damp and Disrepair issues aren’t forgotten.

KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSIONSeeing Asset Management Through the Residents Lens.

Are you a CHIC supply chain partner and want to exhibit this year? REGISTER HERE

Updates from CHIC

CHIC Away Day 2023

In October the CHIC team held our annual strategic awayday. We continued our progress on delivering the business strategy, as agreed by the Board on behalf of our members. We also reviewed how we currently market and promote CHIC to members and prospective members and how we should do so in the future.

As the CHIC Team has grown over the last year, this was a great opportunity for colleagues to learn more about each others roles and to cement our values as a member owned and governed consortium.

John Fisher, Chief Executive said “It was great to get the team together to review our business and marketing strategies. The day was both informative and positive and I am grateful to all CHIC colleagues for their input and investment in what we achieve.”

After a good days work, the team relaxed with a round of crazy golf. Our star players were Hannah Gould and Stephen Sharman – not that anyone was competitive!

Recruitment and Team Updates at CHIC

Due to recent growth in CHIC’s activities, the Board has agreed a new CHIC team structure. We have appointed new team members and acknowledged the achievements of some colleagues through well deserved promotions.

As we bid farewell to Biyageh Barry, who has started a new role in a different sector, we have appointed his successor for the role of Senior Procurement Manager to start in January.

The Member Services Team is undergoing significant change with the addition of three new Head of Member Services. A warm welcome to Sarah Degg, Chris Brockwell and Adrian Hussain, who will be leading Member Services for their respective regions. They will be introducing themselves to their members in the coming months, serving as your new key contacts.

Liam Gratty has moved from Head of Member Services having been appointed to the new role of Director of Strategic Services. In this capacity, Liam will play a pivotal role in steering the future of CHIC, guiding our strategic support functions that provide the back up to our members' procurement activities.

Our recruitment efforts continue, with opportunities available in our procurement and supply chain teams. For more details on current vacancies, feel free to reach out to us at enquiries@chicltd.co.uk.

The CHIC Community at HOMES UK

We are looking forward to welcoming our members, partners and other exhibitors to the CHIC Community at this year’s HOMES UK event. We have some great supply chain partners showcasing their services and products this year, all available through CHIC’s DPS and Framework solutions.

Be sure to come and meet with us all in our free café. Our exhibiting partners are:

Stand 1: Sero – Consultancy supporting housing providers to better understand their housing stock and develop simple and affordable solutions to improve their homes.

Stand 2: MSS Group - Specialist provider of facilities, industrial and environmental services with expertise in hazardous, highly regulated and complex environments.

Stand 3: COMS (CHIC) - An online, browser-based ordering solution that features programme and catalogue management for members.

Stand 4: Sovereign Group - Manufacturer & Installer of windows and doors for social and affordable housing.

Stand 5: Hispec - Suppliers of Lighting & Fire Detection Products.

Stand 6: IG Doors - Meets the needs of social new build and refurbishment housing schemes with door products and services - survey, supply, install.

Stand 7: JNP Group - Independent provider of construction consulting.

Stand 8: Novus - A leading property solutions specialising in property maintenance, building refurbishment, and new build.

Stand 9: ARK Consultancy - Consultancy experts in asset management, development and regeneration, people and organisational development.

Stand 10: Pennington Choices – Consultancy providing surveying and project management services.

Stand 11: JELD-WEN – Manufacturer of a wide range of high quality timber doors for the construction and renovation market.

Stand 12: TwinnedIT - A unique process to create a complete, accessible ‘Digital Twin’ of physical buildings.

Stand 13: Niyaa People - a Housing Recruitment agency that specialise in placing people into the Public & Private sector.

Stand 14: DorSuite - a market-leading single-source supplier of Performance Doorsets & Architectural Ironmongery.

Stand 15: CWG - Expertise in roofing and insulation, covering all aspects of external refurbishment works.

Stand 16: PlugMeIn - Helping businesses and customers choose EV charging products and air source heat pumps that fit their needs.

Stand 17: ASAP (ARK Consultancy) - The ASAP model allows housing providers to visualise and identify the performance of their housing stock.

Stand 18: BAXI - a manufacturer and distributor of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems.

Stand 19: Hewer FM - Building Services, Installation and Maintenance providers.

Stand 20: EA-RS Group - Consists of specialist Fire, Life Safety and Security Companies.

Procurement Activity

In last months CHIC CHAT, we unveiled three forthcoming framework procurements and we now confirm their official launch will be later this month, so we invite tenders for all of these from prospective supply chain partners. We are also pleased to now release our new Healthy Homes Framework.

Kitchens & BathroomsThe Kitchens & Bathrooms Framework is for the installation of kitchens, bathrooms, and associated goods. This framework plays an important role in ensuring that residential properties can be equipped with modern, functional and aesthetically pleasing kitchens and bathrooms.

M&E (Mechanical and Electrical)The M&E Framework will cover a broad spectrum of heating and related systems. This includes services aimed at enabling clients to adequately maintain heating systems, electrical components and fulfill renewable energy obligations.

Passive Fire ProtectionThe Passive Fire Protection Framework is for the inspection, installation, repair and maintenance of passive fire stopping products. This includes critical services such as the creation of fire compartments, installation of fire doors, external wall systems/cladding and fire signage, ensuring that fire safety in residential and commercial properties is a top priority.

Healthy HomesDesigned to tackle energy inefficiency and improve overall living conditions, this framework is key for social housing landlords to ensure that their retrofitting and property safety works are sustainable, cost effective and socially responsible.

This encompasses a wide range of solutions aimed at enhancing residential properties and the lives of tenants. It will allow landlords to deliver retrofit energy efficiency solutions and property safety refurbishment works, providing access to a range of CHIC supply chain partners to deliver a variety of retrofit and building safety solutions such as Consultancy Services, Fabric First Measures, Ventilation Systems, Renewable Energy and Heat Systems, House Refurbishment, Damp and Mould Treatments and Digital Measuring Tools and Platforms.

Should you have any enquiries or require further information regarding these Frameworks or the tendering process, please do not hesitate to contact Ade Osunsanmi, Senior Procurement Manager, at tenders@chicltd.co.uk.

Procurement Bill Update

The Procurement Bill has successfully made its way through Parliament and we now have a new Procurement Act.

These wholesale reforms will update and improve the process for public procurement, so that every pound goes further for our public services.

The new Act will give procurement teams across the housing and communities sector greater commercial freedom and flexibility to design procurement processes that meet their organisations exact needs and to drive innovation.

It will help us open up public procurement further to smaller businesses and social enterprises so they can compete for more contracts and will embed transparency through the contract lifecycle - so everyone can access procurement data and see how public money is spent.

A new and stronger exclusions framework will make it easier to exclude any suppliers that present unacceptable risks to members.

Why do these changes matter?

These reforms should help to put procurement front and center, creating a real opportunity for us to innovate, open up the marketplace and drive greater value.

The Act creates simpler, more flexible and effective procurement procedures which will improve how your organisation delivers public services, so as a profession we need to make sure we make the most of the new regime and take advantage of the new flexibilities. It’s not just about the rule book changing – it’s how the rules are applied that will make the biggest difference. And this depends on cultural and behavioral change.

CHIC Procurement Team will be taking part in a funded training offer to support implementation of the reforms. For anyone whose work touches on procurement - and that will include CHIC suppliers, and to ensure that procurement and commercial practitioners, who will already be familiar with the current rules, understand what will be different under the new rules, the Procurement Team will be responsible for coordinating and championing the change and be able to provide ongoing support and guidance to both our members and our supply chain partners about the new regime.

You should also consider the procurement and contract management capability across your organisation and consider benchmarking your organisation against relevant commercial and procurement operating standards and other comparable organisations, in line with the National Procurement Policy Statement.

We expect the new regime to go live in October 2024, with at least six months’ implementation period before launch.

The Procurement Act has the potential to make a huge difference, and your engagement is essential to the outcomes we all want to see. Make sure you and your organisation is ready to grasp the opportunities.

If you would like to know more information or have any questions, do let us know at tenders@chicltd.co.uk

ORP Roundtable

This week, CHIC looks forward to welcoming both returning participants and new members and supply chain partners in Wales to the second roundtable discussing progress of the Wales optimised retrofit programme.

We will host discussions with over 40 of our key stakeholders on further progress and how this aligns with Welsh Government expectations. We will hear from sector expert Darren Phelan from the MSS Group, Andrew Partington from Netret Group, Daniel Dunning from the Welsh Government and Dusi Thomas from Bron Afon, sharing their experience of the Optimised Retrofit Programme.

Feedback has been carefully considered and has influenced the agenda. Key discussion points will encompass the following:

Optimised Retrofit, Repairs and Building SafetyHow can we ensure all these demands work together effectively, to provide high quality, warm homes for Wales?

WHQS 2023What is the impact of WHQS on future investment capacity and on ORP3?

ORP 3 Year 2How has the ORP journey been so far? What works well and what could be improved to achieve the best possible outputs (financial, qualitative, and social) from ORP as a whole?

Skills & Resources – how can we deliver for the long term?How can we ensure we have the right skills and resources to deliver retrofit investment in Wales?

Supporting the Supply ChainHow can we integrate our Supply Chain demand, if we all want the same materials?

Following the discussions, we will be publishing a findings paper so be sure to keep an eye out on our website at www.chicltd.co.uk. There is still (just) time register your place. To do so, please send an email to Head of Member Services (Wales) Jackie Leonard at jleonard@chicltd.co.uk

To read the findings paper from the first roundtable discussion, please CLICK HERE.

News from our Supply Chain

Reducing energy usage and water waste across the UK with Bristan

As one of the UK’s market leaders for taps and showers, Bristan has strong commitments to sustainability and innovation.

The group recently detailed its commitments in its new Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) report, which shines a spotlight on its water-saving products — including its new Eco Start technology. The report highlights a key area of focus as the innovation of energy and water-saving products, such as the Gild Eco Start Basin Mixer.

New energy-saving technology

Recently, Bristan has introduced innovative Eco Start technology on bathroom taps, which saves energy by having cold water as the default central start position of the tap handle. This means that hot water is only activated when the tap lever is moved from the central position, so the boiler is not unnecessarily fired up.

One of Bristan’s recent product releases, the Gild Eco Start Basin Mixer, embodies the organisation’s sustainability ambitions as it has been engineered to feature this energy-saving technology, whilst adding that perfect finishing touch to any bathroom.

Developing a water-efficient product portfolio

Also featured in its comprehensive water-efficient portfolio are pre-fitted flow limiters, infrared taps that automatically turn off when not in use, and BREEAM-certified self-closing ‘push button’ taps.

As with all Bristan products, its water-efficient range is rigorously tested to comply with key regulations and industry requirements, so that specifiers can have complete confidence when working on a project. Plus, Bristan’s UKAS-accredited lab recycles 90% of the water used to carry out endurance testing of our products, further demonstrating its commitment to sustainability.

Craig Rendall, Specification Director at Bristan Group, comments: “Whether working in the housebuilding or commercial sector, we understand that sustainability targets are a key consideration when specifying for a project. That’s why we’re proud to offer our range of water-saving products, to make it a trouble-free decision for specifiers every time.”

Sustainable taps and beyond

Further to Bristan’s commitments to its energy-saving product portfolio, is its ambition to drastically reduce the organisation’s carbon emissions as part of the wider Bristan Group.

As a zero-to-landfill company, it has extensive measures in place to ensure that the 295 tonnes of waste produced each year are recycled, reused or repurposed.

What’s more, Bristan Group’s Tamworth-based head office is soon to have solar panels installed, which is expected to generate 600kw/hour of electricity to support business operations and will equate to a CO2 saving of 111,292 kgs per annum.

With a clear roadmap of sustainability initiatives behind them, Bristan’s products can be bought with confidence and trusted to help reduce the UK’s overall carbon footprint — one tap at a time.

To learn more about the group’s sustainability commitments, visit:

https://www.thebristangroup.com/governance/environmental-social-and-governance

To find out more about Bristan’s Eco-Start Technology, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzu_PON5KPw

CHIC Framework Procurement

As part of our commitment to facilitating efficient procurement for our members, CHIC is embarking on a competitive tendering process to establish some replacement 4-year Frameworks where existing framework are due to expire. These Frameworks will allow CHIC members to award contracts for specific categories. Here's a breakdown of the three main areas these Frameworks will cover:

1. Kitchens & Bathrooms

The Kitchens & Bathrooms Framework will encompass the installation of kitchens, bathrooms, and associated goods. This framework plays an important role in ensuring that residential properties are equipped with modern, functional and aesthetically pleasing kitchens and bathrooms.

2. M&E (Mechanical and Electrical)

The M&E Framework will cover a broad spectrum of heating related systems. This includes services aimed at enabling clients to adequately maintain heating systems, electrical components and fulfill renewable energy obligations.

3. Passive Fire Protection

The Passive Fire Protection Framework will revolve around the inspection, installation, repair and maintenance of passive fire stopping products. This includes critical services such as the creation of fire compartments, installation of fire doors, external wall systems/cladding and fire signage, ensuring that fire safety in residential and commercial properties is a top priority.

CHIC will release more detailed information about these three Frameworks in the coming weeks. Our stakeholders, including CHIC members and potential contractors are encouraged to stay informed on our Linkedin Page and website to access the latest updates.

Should you have any enquiries or require further information regarding these Frameworks or the tendering process, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ade Osunsanmi, Head of Procurement, at tenders@chicltd.co.uk.

News from our Supply Chain

An invitation to

Fit for the Future housing seminar

// Wednesday 8^th November
// Jaguar Experience, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, B24 0RD
// 12.30pm – 16.30pm

In the past few years, the sector has faced a perfect storm of challenges – from dealing with damp, mould and condensation problems, to retrofit challenges and how it can ensure the future energy efficiency of their housing stock.

We very much hope you will be able to join us.

Event speakers

Professor Mike Parrett published author & broadcaster is an expert in the field of building pathology and will present his sometimes controversial views on what the sector needs to learn from the mistakes of the past and do differently in the future.

Andy Merrin (United Living and Paul Norman (Clarion) will share some of their experiences on SHDF-funded retrofit works and the learnings from that work, including how we build contributing to future damp, mould and condensation problems through the installation of adequate ventilation.

Jim Blanchard (United Living Infrastructure Services) will talk about the ‘Future of Heat’ and share our experience on the Hynet project that will provide infrastructure to produce, transport and store low-carbon hydrogen as well as capturing, transporting and locking away carbon dioxide.

Please RSVP by return to francesca.redican-clarke@unitedliving.co.uk

CHIP Roundtable

Communities and Housing Investment in People (CHIP) was registered as a new charity with the Charity commission in May 2022, to support CHIC’s Social Value programme. CHIP was formally launched in September 2023, at a Roundtable Discussion attended by CHIC’s members and supply chain partners.

The discussions and the conclusions reached endorsed CHIP’s key objectives and helped to shape how those should be delivered. CHIP objectives include:

- Partnering with Local Employment Groups (LEGs), to support those distant from the workplace into sustained employment.

- Providing funding to local community groups and projects, where we can make a real difference to people's lives.

- Celebrating the success of the individuals and organisations through annual awards

- CHIP’s work is delivered by a Social Value Manager, funded by CHIC but overseen by a small committee of five trustees. These are independent, including the chair and two are nominated by the Board of CHIC.

CHIC‘s own social value activities include requirements for social value outcomes from all CHIC procured contracts, funding CHIP and the Social Value Manager and the appointment of a graduate apprentice.

September 2023 Roundtable

CHIC and CHIP published their first Social Value Annual Report, which was launched at this September event. CHIP was keen to ask stakeholders to look back over the last year to see if the agreed objectives had been achieved, but primarily to look forward to ensure that the outcomes of CHIP’s activities will achieve the maximum positive impact possible.

CHIC’s supply chain partner AICO kindly agreed to host the event at their depot in Oswestry. CHIP’s trustees and CHIC’s team were joined by a range of stakeholders drawn from our members and supply chain partners.

To set the scene for later discussions, delegates initially had presentations from:

John Fisher, Chief Executive - CHICLuke Hurd, Chief Operating Officer - CHICBarrie Hodge - St BasilsKirsty Docherty - Bell GroupPaul Cartwright - AICO

READ THE FULL FEEDBACK PAPER

To find out more about CHIP, please visit their website at www.chipcharity.org.uk