The Communicator October 2012 - Swan Housing Association

Your homeThe repairsonline portalThe Repairs Online Portal is overa year old. It is a quick way toreport a repair.The portal allows you to book anappointment slot so the repairsoperative turns up when you wantthem to. You can even track,change or cancel your repaironline. You can also change thelanguage and size of text if youneed to.How do I report repairs online?Just go to our website,www.swan.org.uk and click on‘Order a Repair’. Register if youneed to, so it’s unique to you,then book your repair. You caneven access other services suchas seeing your rent statementsand pay your rent through thesecured website.I’ve logged in - now what?There’s an easy to use diagnostictool to help you identify andchoose the correct type of repairyou need, through labelledimages. All emergency repairswill still need to be reported viathe Axis Call Centre on0800 783 2768.Once you have found your repair,you can log this and then agree atime and date for the repairsoperative to turn up.You will receive an order numberto allow you to track the repairand if we have your mobilenumber, Axis will text you nearerthe time to remind you of theappointment.We are proud that we can giveyou a better service through newtechnology. Try it for your nextrepair.Planned works updateSwan is committed to providing allresidents with a home that meets theDecent Homes Plus Standard. This isabove the minimum standard set bythe Government. To achieve thisStandard we continuously assess thecondition of our homes both internallyand externally. We use stockcondition surveys and informationabout the last time improvementswere made. We also makeassessments on an individual basiswhen repair requirements arereported to our repairs partner Axis.When improvements are urgent theyare booked in for immediatecompletion. If they are not urgentthey are added to existing PlannedWorks Programmes.The good news is that the majority ofSwan homes already meet theStandard. This means that morefunds are available for day-to-daymaintenance.We will soon be cominginto Autumn and Winterwhich is typically whenwe receive a largenumber of calls becauseheating systems are notworking.To ensure your system isworking efficiently wesuggest that during thenext few weeks you testyour heating system foran hour or so.The type of work included as partof Planned Works Programmesincludes: New kitchens New bathrooms Electrical upgrades Fitting new windows New boilers or the fitting of fullcentral heating New or upgraded roofsSatisfaction Surveys have shown that94% of residents were satisfied withcompleted upgrade work. Axis hasalso carried out external redecorationto 220 homes and internal andexternal redecoration to an estateand 17 Supported Housing Schemesunder the Cyclical PaintingProgramme. The paint used isguaranteed for seven years, thisprovides value for money and reducesthe disruption to residents caused bymore frequent painting works.You can check to see if any works are planned for your home byvisiting Swan’s website www.swan.org.uk Details of theModernisation Programme are provided in the repairs section.Winter heating and hotwater checksHowever, before running the system it isessential that you undertake a few simplechecks yourself: Is there sufficient gas/electric on the meter? Has the boiler been turned on? Has the room thermostat been turned up? Has the thermostatic radiator valves beenturned on? Is the timer clock set correctly?Undertaking this very simple check now will assistSwan and Axis in maintaining the highest level ofservice possible.If after checking these items and turning the system on it still doesnot work you should contact Axis on the Freephone telephonenumber 0800 783 2768 and ask for a visit from a gas engineer.18