It is always great to see our words in print! Have a read of our latest article by our very own Matthew Stephenson as he discusses “A Step Further than Compliance…”
Everyone talks about #compliance but what about #assurance? This article should give you something to think about.
A step further than compliance…
Compliance is a word I hear a lot, in various forms and different iterations, everyone has a different view of what compliance is. It’s become a word that is almost too easy to state – Everyone talks compliance but not everyone talks about assurance – why? Compliance and assurance go hand in hand, what’s the point of being compliant if you cannot evidence it or prove that it is more than assumption or guesswork?
I’m often asked the question: “Can I integrate with other systems because this is easier to manage compliance?”
The question that I’m never asked is: What route can I take to ensure I have complete assurance across my asset database?
Compliance can still be very confusing if you cannot capture accurate and relevant data, to begin with. Can you tell good data from the bad? The Assurance route is where we have the control to help you to achieve this.
I have recently attended a couple of events on assurance with Asset Management Providers, to discuss with clients what they want from their asset management system. Yes everyone would love that ‘unicorn’ one-system-fits-all approach, but that’s exactly what it is – a ‘Unicorn’.
Having taken some of these points on board, I thought it would be a good idea to see if we can help clients out with an integration piece to make the day-to-day easier, evidence audit trails with 100% accuracy and provide some critical safety points across an asset portfolio using TCW technology to extract data, recognise and prevent dangerous issues or potential depreciation of assets. We are all great at reacting to issues, are we as good at the moment with prevention? If we can make a difference in helping the experts in their field and avoiding some serious issues in the sector (I’ll come back to this) then why not do this based on feedback?
Aareon UK and MIS Active H have recently been part of this forward-thinking approach with TCW which is why we’ve now started integrating with these asset management systems for some of our joint clients, providing them with access to 100% of their data across many compliance disciplines to add that assurance layer of safety. Adding value for anyone currently using these brands, with the key word being assurance. Just to be clear, the brands mentioned above will have access to a mass of information generated by TCW, over the coming months we aim to build on their understanding alongside our vision, to assist those brands in providing more insight, more detail and undoubtedly accountability in data integrity.
The next time you’re being sold a software solution, you need to be aware of the difference between a compliance module that is ready to work with from day one or something you will have to supply a vast amount of information to build yourself, which could take years. How would you know in advance? One easy step – ask any company to see what data they capture on a live demo or to ingest one of your documents there and then to show you a real-time view. I’d be surprised if many or any take you up on that offer.
The key word is once again “Assurance” because ultimately that’s where you can make a difference to show that all reasonable steps have been taken, and I’d like to provide a couple of examples:
In August 2022 – Gas Safe issued a safety warning notice on certain appliances; a Product Safety Report was issued for Glen Dimplex Home Appliance Ltd, manufactured Belling, Stoves and New World Gas Range Cookers with Gas Grill (110, 100 and 90 models) presenting a risk if the grill is used with the door closed. Residents were closing the grill when cooking and upon opening it again, released an influx of CO2 where 17 people were hospitalised.
TCW ran a report across all of our client data and found 16,000 of these appliances across multiple landlords within 2 minutes. Working closely with our strategic partner CORGI Technical Services, we issued the details of these appliances and addresses to each Housing Association and Local Authority within the space of a few days so this could be passed on to the residents. – Did doing that have an impact on preventing an issue? I’d like to think so, we’ll truly never know but the insight into this level of data is exactly what I’m talking about.
In 2022 we were doing a live demonstration over Microsoft Teams. The client in question asked: “Can we send you a document right now on this call to see if TCW will pick up on any issues?” We happily obliged and the software recognised an issue instantly with a loose connection in the shower of that particular property. The director on the call said: “If we’d have had this in place three weeks ago we would have prevented a house fire”.
Can your current system / module give you that level of assurance? Can it check to the latest regulations and legislation, latest amendments and more importantly evidence it?
Hopefully, that leaves you with something to think about.
Take a look at the full Housing Executive Magazine here.
#astepfurtherthancompliance #compliance #assurance #data