Capability Statement

Energ y Per formance Cer t i f icates

Our accreditations

ConstructionlineRegistered firm

Gas Safe Registered firm

NAPIT Approved contractor

Elmhurst Energy SystemsGreen deal approved

BAFE Provision of Fire Risk Assessments

Institute of Fire Engineers Affiliate organisation

Fire Protection Association Corporate member

ATACAsbestos testing and consultancy member

UKATAAsbestos training

RISQSRegistered firm

ISO 9001 Quality management

ISO 14001 Environmental management

ISO 45001Health and safety management

RICSCorporate member

CHASRegistered firm

Contents

Introduction 5

Company Overview 7

Our Service 9

Our Team 15

Our Experience 24

We live our Values everyday at Pennington Choices Ltd; they serve as a compass for our actions and describe our behaviours.

Mission, Vision and Values

VisionYour exceptional trusted expert.

MissionSupporting people. Driving compliance. Enhancing property.

ValuesWe have:Integrity

Fun

We are:AmbitiousResilient

ProfessionalResponsible

Collaborative

We: “Can do”

5

Matthew CorryHead of Survey Services

Head office:

Brookfield HouseGrimsditch Lane (off Tarporley Road)Norcott BrookCheshireWA4 4EA

T: 01928 568842E: Office@pennington.org.uk

Clan Works1a Howard RoadBromleyKentBR1 3QJ

T: 020 8290 5629

“We can rely on Pennington Choices to provide high standards of quality & service within tight deadlines.”

Chris Fellows, Solihull Community Housing.

It’s a legal requirement to have an EPC for a property before it can be sold or re-let. In most cases, landlords marketing their properties for rent must have an EPC available for prospective tenants to view. From the 1 April 2018 there began a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an energy performance certificate. The regulations came into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect since 1 April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1 April 2020.

We are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of energy performance certificates (EPCs) and have completed over 80,000 EPCs since early 2008. We currently hold national contracts with some of the UK’s largest housing associations, as well as providing EPCs to national contractors and private landlords throughout the UK (including Scotland and Wales).

We are expert users of the majority of major asset management systems, including your Orchard Promaster system and Keystone, PIMMS, Lifespan, Codeman and Northgate. We provide large-scale surveying services and help housing providers integrate their asset management and housing management software systems to major local authorities and housing associations throughout the UK. Our recent energy performance certificate clients include Aberla, London Borough of Hillingdon, The Guinness Partnership and the Scottish Government, to name a few.

Introduction

We have a wealth of experience delivering internal and external surveys of individual residential properties and low-rise blocks of flats and the work generally:

• Assesses whether properties are meeting the Decent Homes standard.

• Assesses against the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

• Estimates installation dates for all components.

• Estimates remaining lives for all components.

• Records aids and adaptations including assessment of age and remaining life.

• Collects information on construction type.

• Collects information on the level of component renewal works required over a 30-year period.

• Highlights the requirement for specialist or intrusive surveys (damp, structural and cavity wall).

• Collects digital photographs.

• Produces energy performance certification and provide recommendations.

From instruction, we can undertake the survey and provide a report within three working days. Clients can order single EPCs or large batches of 1,000+ and we offer a discount for bulk orders.

We are also an experienced energy consultant and have been a Green Deal Advisory Organisation for the past three years, meaning we are able to offer help and advice in relation to energy saving matters.

Our team are directly employed by us and surveys are only undertaken by approved and accredited assessors. In addition, all assessors hold a valid DBS certificate.

Matthew CorryHead of Survey Services

“Sanctuary Scotland enlisted the services of Pennington Choices to help us with compliance with EESSH. Not only have the quality of the surveys been excellent, but the turnaround from survey request to survey completion is always quick. Add in being able to access the property data and run detailed reports through their Portal, and I couldn’t recommend Pennington Choices highly enough.”

Marcus Sheldrick, Asset Surveyor - Sanctuary Group.

7

We are a multi-disciplinary provider of consultancy and support services for public and private sector clients. Our clients include local authorities, social landlords of all types, the NHS, schools, businesses with significant corporate property concerns, building and maintenance contractors.

The company commenced trading in January 2000, becoming incorporated in March 2000 and has expanded its range of services considerably over that time. Details of our journey are illustrated below.

Company Overview

We launch stock conditionWe deliver our first stock condition survey using Keystone for Colchester Borough Council.

Our gas business takes offPennington Choices buys WMP Services Ltd and W Musker & Partners to expand our service offer for gas.

Our stock condition client base growsOur regional office is established in Yorkshire, allowing us to provide a more responsive service to our clients in the midlands and north of England. Relocation to a new head office

Head office relocates to Warrington giving us a presence in London, Yorkshire and Warrington.

And to the future...We have a solid business with a plan for growth into the future.

We further develop our servicesWe start to offer EPCs to our clients and this later develops through the Green Deal Initiative into our ECO service offer.

Asbestos services provides us with nationwide coverageThe purchase of Invicta Analytical Services, an asbestos services company, gives us a client base covering the entire UK. It comes with one of the largest in-house laboratories in the country.

2005

2019

2010

2014

2008

2000

2012

1987Our story begins...Invicta Analytical Services becomes one of the first companies to receive UKAS accreditation for air monitoring and analysis.

We operate on a UK wide basis, with staff based across the country and four office locations. Our head office is based in Warrington. We have three regional offices in Bromley, Glasgow and Birmingham.

We provide a range of services to clients, which take the form of consultancy, provision of support services, interim management and training, as follows:

• Asset Management & Maintenance

• Asbestos Services

• Building and Quantity Surveying

• Electrical Management Services

• Energy Efficiency

• Gas Management Services

• Human Resources

• Professional Training

• Project Management

• Regeneration and Development

• Strategic Social Housing Support

We have provided EPCs to a number of local authorities and public and private sector housing clients for nine years.

Our recent clients include: Sanctuary Housing Group, Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust, Orbit Living, Places for People, Solihull Community Housing and the Guinness Partnership.

Some of our recent clients include:

9

Pennington Choices is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of energy performance certificates (EPCs), having completed over 80,000 EPCs since early 2008. We provide EPCs to major housing providers throughout the UK. Our clients include: Places for People, Sanctuary, Guinness and Wates Housing Maintenance.

We are accredited to:

• GDAO – Green Deal Advisory Organisation

• Elmhurst – Corporate Accreditation

Our EPC service includes:

• Nationwide coverage: including Scotland and Wales.

• Turnaround within 3 working days.

• Live job tracking: view completed EPCs, on hold EPCs and KPI score online.

• Approved accredited assessors.

• Hassle free ordering and reporting: our service is fast, affordable, transparent, and easy to use.

• Discount for bulk orders: order single EPCs or large batches of 1,000+.

It’s a legal requirement to have an EPC for a property before it can be sold or re-let. In most cases, landlords marketing their properties for rent must have an EPC available for prospective tenants to view.

As from the 1 April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an energy performance certificate. The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1 April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1 April 2020.We support our clients throughout England, Scotland and Wales by securing a maximum of three day turnaround time to complete an EPC.

The EPC inspection will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes and will involve a qualified energy assessor visiting the property to gather information relating to the energy performance of the building.

Our Service

Our process is demonstrated in the flow diagram overleaf.

Only qualified and accredited energy assessors are permitted to produce the EPC. Pennington Choices ensure all inspectors are trained to the highest possible level and run continuous ‘on the job’ training to ensure their training is constantly kept up to date.

As part of Pennington Choices enrolment procedures, all assessors must supply a valid DBS certificate, along with evidence of their qualifications.

“Pennington Choices provided us with 240 EPCs within the required timescales and to a high standard. Due to the successful programme, we contracted them to provide further EPCs and stock condition surveys. We highly recommend them.”

Jatinder Dhillon, Planning & Asset Assurance Manager - Derwent Living.

11

Request received and entered into ordering system

Assessor contacts tenant to arrange suitable appointment

Property visited three times

Client notified that access cannot be obtained. account manager contacts client

to discuss solutions

Monthly summary and KPI report sent to client

EPC cancelled by client request only

Client receives automated email with certificate PRN number and a link to our

EPC portal

Assessor requested to attend property within timeframe and automated email sent containing

information provided by the client

EPC Request

Request received and entered into ordering system

Online Portal

Accessgained?

No

No

Yes

Automated:

• Confirmation of receipt sent to client via email• Validation check carried out against address • SMS sent to tenant• Search against address to select most suitable

assessor

Confirmation of completion sent to Pennington Choices’ accounts dept who

issue an invoice to the client

EPC survey complete?

Our EPC ordering process

Our Planning, Scheduling and Dispatch TeamTo ensure good customer service and an efficient service by our field-based staff, we have a dedicated planning, scheduling and dispatch (PSD) team.

Our PSD team is led by Kerry Kelly and her role is to maximise the productivity of field-base operatives by ensuring they are attending and completing as many work orders as is practical, both in respect of compliance (client/contract response times being met) and also quality (sufficient time is allowed for works order completion).

Kerry works collaboratively with our heads of services and service teams across the business to ensure we have an integrated approach to service delivery. She has a key role at mobilisation of any project to ensure she understands contracts response times and service level agreements for each new project.

Key responsibilities for our PSD team include:

• Handling and resolving telephone and email enquiries from clients, tenants and our own field-based staff.

• Liaising with, and directing, field-based operatives.

• Sharing ideas and insight in order to continually improve the PSD function including increasing appointments made, appointments kept and properties accessed.

• Identifying and escalating early warnings for risk to response times/SLAs, productivity outputs and process.

• Understanding the difference between planned and responsive works and the differing approach to each in order to manage demand and minimise cost.

Kerry and the team are constantly reviewing current processes to improve efficiency and productivity of the delivery of surveys. Kerry will also liaise with our client’s team to take a collaborative approach to improving our service and implementing new ways of working. Our planning,

scheduling and dispatch team will liaise with building managers and customers to arrange appointments and availability of keys, fobs and other methods of access.

13

Kerry’s role includes: • Forecasting client demands

• Reporting of turnaround times vs. client KPIs.

• Grouping appointments geographically not by client to cut our carbon footprint.

• Report on a weekly basis the progress of individual projects per client to give full visibility and ensure we are meeting the required client deadlines.

• Call reporting and monitoring the amount of incoming and out bound calls, how quickly we pick up calls etc to give our clients optimum customer service.

Innovation and Added Value

We are a dynamic multi-disciplinary organisation providing a wide range of property-related, technical and professional services to the public and private sectors. We specialise in all areas of statutory compliance, asset management and organisational management. In addition to EPCs, we also provide:

• Fire risk assessments.

• Stock condition surveys.

• Domestic and commercial gas auditing and consultancy.

• Electrical condition reports, electrical auditing and consultancy.

• Asbestos surveys, sample analysis, air monitoring, awareness training and consultancy.

• HHSRS surveys and advice.

• Water hygiene; risk assessments and inspections.

Compliance Health CheckOur senior team has operated at director level for social landlords of all types. This experience has enabled them to develop a new support service for our social housing clients. Our compliance health check provides a structured assessment to determine the extent of compliance risks and any gaps in compliance. We check against statutory requirements and best practice, drawing on HSE guidance, codes of practice and industry guidelines.

We can tailor the service areas covered in the health check to meet client’s specific needs.

The compliance health check was an excellent way to see how we were performing across all areas of compliance. The quality of the report clearly demonstrated the level of knowledge and expertise available within Pennington Choices and has been invaluable in raising the profile of health and safety across the organisation.

Matthew Roberts -Wigan and Leigh Homes

Typically, our compliance health check includes an in-depth detailed audit of one or more specific compliance area that our client may have concerns about, for example, fire safety. Our consultant will undertake technical auditing, including on-site inspections and testing of records and the auditing may include specialist areas such as lifts, playgrounds, lightening conductors and fire alarms.

Compliance MasterclassWe want to remain at the very forefront of industry best practice to enable us to provide an innovative service to our clients. In order for us to do this, we work in collaboration with others within our industry to deliver statutory compliance masterclasses.

Our statutory compliance masterlass is a free event which is open to anyone who is interested in, and wants to learn about, statutory compliance best practice particularly chief executives, chairs, housing, property and asset directors, heads of service and managers as well as policy managers.

Our last event was in collaboration with Paradigm Housing Group. Matthew Bailes, Paradigm Housing Group’s chief executive joined Lee Woods our operations director to discuss recent compliance challenges, what have we learned and what to do to safeguard against downgrades and intervention.

Dates for future events are published on our website and further information can be obtained by emailing:

events@penningtonchoices.org.uk

“A detailed piece of work carried out by Pennington Choices that reviewed high level risks and linked to practical solutions and a simple to follow action plan. We are pleased with the work carried out would recommend that others carry out this more in depth review of their compliance delivery and responsibilities.”

Gareth Rigby – South Liverpool Housing,

15

The organisation structure below describes our typical resource for an EPC. All members of our team are directly employed, permanent members of staff.

Our Team

Ben ParkinsonAccount Manager

Matthew CorryQuality Manager

Client

Domestic Energy Assessors Planning, Scheduling and Dispatch Team

Kerry Kelly Head of Operational

Delivery

Ben DavidsonSenior Surveyor

(Energy)

Key staff overviewMatthew Corry – Quality ManagerMember of The Chartered Institute of Building; BSc Hons (Building Surveying), DipDEA – Domestic Energy Assessor; DipGDA – Domestic Green Deal Assessor; Construction Skills Certification (CSCS); NEBOSH

Matthew will be quality manager for all EPC contracts. He will be responsible for successful project delivery and his principle objective is to ensure customer satisfaction, efficiency savings and value for money. He will ensure this contract is run in accordance with ISO9001 accreditation and to your exact requirements. Matthew will agree KPIs and be available to you as an alternate contact.

Ben Parkinson - Operations ManagerBSc (Hons) Building Surveying; BTEC National Diploma in Construction; P402 - Buildings Surveys and Bulk Sampling in Asbestos; ABBE Level 3 Certificate in Domestic Energy Assessment (QCF).

Ben will be account manager and will be your first point of contact. Ben will work closely with you to ensure we mobilise effectively and that a close, open and transparent working relationship is developed and maintained. He will ensure we meet all requirements and make sure lessons are learned and improvements implemented.

Ben has extensive knowledge within the housing sector and experience in leading teams to deliver EPC contracts. Most recently, Ben has successfully delivered stock condition and energy inspection programmes for the The Guinness Partnership, Newydd Housing Association and Stroud District Council.

Ben Davidson – Senior Surveyor (Energy)BSc (Hons) Building Surveying; NEBOSH

Ben is an experienced and versatile senior surveyor with 6 years’ experience within the social housing sector. Ben is responsible for overseeing all energy related inspection services and delivering surveys across a diverse range of surveying disciplines. He is a qualified domestic energy assessor and is responsible for all EPC projects taken on by Pennington Choices. Ben is successfully overseeing a number of large scale EPC contracts, notably the nationwide Sanctuary Housing Group EPC programme and the Scottish Government EESH EPC project.

17

Kerry Kelly - Head of Operational DeliveryCSCS; NVQ Business Administration;

Kerry is our head of operational delivery. She oversees our customer services team and is responsible for arranging appointments, contacting residents and dealing with customer queries and complaints swiftly and sympathetically. She has extensive experience in customer services within the housing sector. Kerry will hold regular meetings with her team to ensure they are familiar with your requirements and are aware of specific measures we must take with residents. Kerry will work closely with Ben Parkinson to deliver regular refresher training.

18

Matthew Corry - Quality ManagerMember of The Chartered Institute of Building; BSc Hons (Building Surveying), DipDEA – Domestic Energy Assessor; DipGDA – Domestic Green Deal Assessor; Construction Skills Certification (CSCS) – Professionally Qualified Person.

ExperienceMatthew is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Building and, as head of survey services, takes responsibility for the quality of services delivered across the business, inlcuding our energy efficiency team.

He has worked with both registered social landlords such as: Six Town Housing, Stoke City Council, Knowsley Housing Trust and Plus Dane Group to provide stock condition surveys, EPCs and fire risk assessments as well as national contractors such as: Wates Living Space, Lovell Partnerships and Wilmott Dixon.

Matthew is our appointed quality manager for EPC contracts and will ensure our services are delivered according to our ISO9001 accreditation and to the standards required by the client.

Matthew provides an alternative means of contact for our clients and our team to ensure open communication and the smooth delivery of our contracts.

Through his work with similar clients, he has experience of managing KPIs to ensure we not only monitor levels of performance but any poor performance is challenged and addressed. Matthew uses KPI information to feed into our continual improvement programme.

Key skills

• Experience of leading large inspection projects nationally.

• Building and leading successful survey and audit teams.

• Mobilistation, resource planning and co-ordination of multiple concurrent projects.

• Managing KPIs for clients.

Key experience

Qaulity manager energy programme, phase two.Scottish Government

Quality manager for EPC programme Sanctuary Housing Group

Quality manager for stock condition surveys and EPCsKnowsley Housing Trust

Lead energy consultant for an ECO schemeWates Living Space

Ben Parkinson - Account ManagerBSc (Hons) Building Surveying; BTEC National Diploma in Construction; P402 - Buildings Surveys and Bulk Sampling in Asbestos; ABBE Level 3 Certificate in Domestic Energy Assessment (QCF)

Key skills

• Seven years’ building surveyor experience.

• Proven track record of managing stock condition surveys.

• Knowledge and experience operating in all domestic properties.

• Experienced user of asset management software, including Keystone and Promaster.

ExperienceBen has over eight years’ experience working within the property sector. Ben is well versed in numerous disciplines including stock condition surveys, energy performance assessments, fire risk assessments and asbestos management.

Ben has worked for a number of clients including local authorities, housing trusts and registered social landlords across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ben has successfully performed EPC surveys on a range of properties, including: houses, bungalows, flats, maisonettes, sheltered schemes and commercial buildings.

Ben has worked in both vacant and fully occupied properties with vulnerable tenants - giving him a wealth of experience working in dwellings with close attention to tenant care.

Ben is our appointed account manager for EPC contracts and is the point of contact for client teams throughout the life of a project. He will ensure the smooth delivery of the project from mobilisation to its full completion. He will be the client’s first point of contact.

Ben takes responsibility for ensuring our team has the necessary skills, experience and equipment to undertake the surveys. He is also responsible for induction training of our team and providing site specific training where necessary (for example lone working, manual handling or working at height training).

Key experience

Account Manager.St Vincent’s Housing Association

Account Manager.Six Town Housing

Account Manager.London Borough of Hackney

Account Manager.YourMK

Ben Davidson - Senior Surveyor (Energy)BSc (Hons): Building Surveyor; NEBOSH: Fire Safety & Risk Management; Elmhurst: On Construction Domestic Energy Assessor (OCDEA)

ExperienceBen is an experienced and versatile senior surveyor with 6 years’ experience within the social housing sector. Ben is responsible for project managing all energy related inspection services on site and delivering surveys across a diverse range of surveying disciplines.

Acting in a strategic capacity, Ben is responsible for the day-to-day management of EPC projects. He ensures domestic energy assessors are suitably skilled and qualified to undertake inspections across domestic and commercial environments.

Working in collaboration with EPC schedulers, Ben ensures short turnaround times are adhered to. He liaises with client account managers to agree requirements and provide regular formal updates, including the production of formal reports.

Ben is successfully overseeing a number of large scale EPC contracts, notably the nationwide Sanctuary Housing Group EPC programme and the Scottish Government EESH EPC project. All works (EPC modelling, borescope surveys and scheduling works) for phase two of the government’s energy programme were delivered accurately, on-time and achieved EESH requirements. With the EPC phase completed, Ben is now working alongside Sanctuary Housing Group as a leading consultant in improving failing stock.

Ben is currently project managing a number of nationwide energy inspection projects, including for Forrest, Sanctuary Housing Group and Wates / Orbit. Acting as account manager, Ben is responsible for the supervision of thousands of technical inspections on an annual basis. He ensures surveys are completed to specification and in accordance with our ISO9001 quality accreditation.

Ben oversees various energy inspection projects throughout the UK, including; Wates / Orbit Living loft inspection EPC programme; Wates / WHG Housing Group external wall insulation EPC programme; One Vision north west EPC programme; and New Charter northern England EPC programme.

Key skills

• Responsibility for overseeing nationwide energy inspection projects.

• Versatile senior surveyor.

• NEBOSH qualified fire risk assessor.

Key experience

Project manager for external wall insulation EPC programme.WHG Housing Group

Project manager for nationwide EPC programme. Sanctuary Housing Group

Project manager energy programme, phase two. The Scottish Government

21

Will Ward - Domestic Energy AssessorDiploma: Domestic Energy Assessor; P402; NEBOSH.

ExperienceWill has 12 years’ experience acting in the capacity of domestic energy assessor. Will has provided energy inspections and EPCs since the 2007 legislation came in to effect. His extensive experience providing large scale surveying service has provided him with a wealth of knowledge to work across domestic and commercial properties.

Will is a P402 qualified surveyor and is regularly required to provide an array of asbestos consultancy services including, asbestos management surveys and refurbishment and demolition surveys.

Will delivered technical surveys and provided EPCs for Forrest Construction Ltd as part of Highways England noise insulation project. In addition to providing a fully lodged NES EPCs, Will completed technical surveys to collect an array of property information; including age, archetype, construction type, condition and other structural information that would affect noise insulation measures.

Will provides Places for People with large volumes of energy performance and stock condition data. Will inspects the housing provider’s property portfolio (including houses, bungalows, blocks of flats and sheltered schemes) within 48 hours to ensure void and occupied properties are provided with an up to date EPC certificate.

Will previously undertook asbestos surveys for The Regenda Group. Surveying occupied and void domestic properties throughout the north west, Will provides management, refurbishment and demolition, and hybrid surveys.

Will has worked on a number of notable energy-related projects, including; borescope inspections across cavity walls for NM Energy; photovoltaic and EPC surveys for Forrest; and recommendations for noise-reducing installations.

Key skills for this project

• 12 years’ surveying experience.

• Highly experienced domestic energy assessor.

• P402 qualified asbestos surveyor.

Key experience

Domestic energy assessor. New Charter

Domestic energy assessor. Places for People

External wall insulation inspections.Fortem

Asbestos surveyor.The Regenda Group

Peter Graham - Domestic Energy AssessorDiploma: Domestic Energy Assessor; BOHS P402; NEBOSH

ExperiencePeter is a highly experienced domestic energy assessor with over nine years’ experience providing assessments within the social housing sector. Peter holds P402 qualification, enabling him to undertake an array of asbestos surveys across domestic environments.

Peter acts as Pennington Choices Ltd’s health and safety manager; responsible for advising on all areas of health and safety across the organisation. His rounded experience within the construction sector has developed his sound understanding of on-site health and safety measures and industry best practice.

Peter has responsibility for driving the continual improvement of health and safety systems. Through the use of practical measures, regular supervision and a proactive approach to setting training, assessments and targets, Peter has developed an innovative approach to health and safety. His measures are essential to securing staff safety and to maintaining our OHSAS18001 accreditation.

Peter has held his level three domestic energy assessor qualification for 10 years. During this time, he has provided large scale surveying services for nationwide housing providers. Peter is currently delivering domestic energy assessments for Liverpool Mutual Homes. He is responsible for providing clear and accurate assessments within short timescales for occupied and void properties.

Peter undertakes RdSAP surveys to produce energy assessments and SAP ratings for Sanctuary Housing Group. His robust skillset means he is regularly required to undertake an array of building surveying services during one assessment. Peter is capable of undertaking a number of surveys including: asbestos related consultancy, energy assessments, floor plans, photovoltaic and fire risk assessments.

Peter has recently working on notable energy-related projects, including; photovoltaic and EPC inspections for Forrest; pre-works external wall insulation building surveyors and ECO2t deemed scores for Fortem; and photovoltaic surveys for Styles & Wood / Npower.

Key skills

• energy assessor.

• BOHS P402 qualified and competent asbestos surveyor.

• NEBOSH qualified health and safety manager.

• Highly qualified first aider.

Key experience

Photovoltaic and EPC inspections Forrest

Domestic energy assessor across domestic housing stock.Liverpool Mutual Homes

Domestic energy assessor.Merthyr Valleys Homes

23

Phil Jones - Domestic Energy AssessorDiploma: Domestic Energy Assessor.

ExperiencePhil has nine years of experience as a domestic energy assessor. He is capable of providing accurate energy information within short timescales and has a wealth of experience working in various domestic environments.

Phil is currently delivering technical surveys and providing EPCs for Forrest Construction Ltd as part of the Highways England noise insulation project. In addition to providing a fully lodged NES EPC, Phil completes technical surveys to collect an array of property information; including age, archetype, construction type, condition and other structural information that would affect noise insulation measures.

Phil provides The Guinness Partnership with large volumes of energy performance and stock condition data. Phil inspects the housing provider’s property portfolio (including houses, bungalows, blocks of flats and sheltered schemes) within 48 hours to ensure void and occupied properties are provided with an up to date EPC certificate.

He also provides Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust with EPC data. In the capacity of domestic energy assessor, he is responsible for providing energy inspections across the UK in domestic dwellings ranging from blocks of flats to bungalows.

Phil is regularly required to inspect various property archetypes. Phil’s experience has provided him with the knowledge to inspect varied structures accurately and consistently. His work on the Forrest Highways England project (providing EPCs and offering recommendations on noise reducing installations) has seen him survey a number of privately owned properties ranging from mid-terraced properties to converted barns and old farmhouses.

Key skills

• Highly experienced domestic energy assessor.

• Experienced technical surveyor, cognisant of various property archetypes and conditions.

Key experience

Domestic energy assessor.North Tyneside Council

Domestic energy assessor. The Guinness Partnership

Domestic energy assessor.Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust

Our Experience

Orbit Housing Group

25

Project overviewOrbit Housing Association appointed our team of domestic energy assessors Orbit to provide EPC data extractions, plus an array of our other multi-disciplinary services, to 2,500 properties and obtain planning consent for approximately 1,000 EWI installations.

Orbit has an extensive portfolio of properties across athe UK. Due to their nationwide spread, the project required direct management to ensure quality within the required timeframe. To achieve this, we set up a national network of surveyors capable of providing EPC and stock condition data.

We developed a system to manage the high quantity of data. Data analysis software was produced to extract the required information from the XML documents, enabling Orbit to simultaneously input data direct into their asset management system. Additionally, we produce chartered surveyor reports so Orbit meet their ECO obligations; reducing lead in times and streamlining their current process.

During the EPC process, our complete the EPC alongside the accompanying relevant photographs and XML file. The XML file is an extended file produced alongside the EPC, the XML file allows us to run an ECO score report. Using the Elmhurst ECO Zone, our management team import the XML file from a particular EPC to generate an ECO score report. This document details important information such as potential carbon savings that certain measures can create on the particular property.

Dependent on what measures are implemented to the properties, ECO Zone enables us add measures using its unique software and allowing us to generate the findings of the score report in PDF format. The ECO score report details which measures apply to the property and outlines the potential carbon tonnage and cost savings. Our ECO reports also detail the building information as described in the EPC, which is contained within the XML File.

Additionally, we produce RdSAP data alongside the EPC using Elmhurst. We detail the information gathered with regards to the particular property and breakdown of how the EPC has been calculated based on the information the surveyor has gathered. Information such as the heat loss perimeters is calculated based on the floor areas and room heights. We detail the wall construction and heating system present at the property, which ultimately supports the final SAP scoring of the property.

We have been producing EPCs for Orbit Housing Group since 2013. Due to our excellent performance and high KPI rates, we have been issued with additional phases of the project and, subsequently, have been appointed to CDM advisor and consultancy support for loft compartmentation projects.

“The staff at Pennington Choices are friendly and approachable. They are easy to get hold of and always call you back if you leave a message. They respond to general queries quickly with an agreeable outcome.”

James Baker, MRICS.

Sanctuary Housing Group

27

Project overviewSanctuary Housing own and manage over 70,000 properties across England, Wales and Scotland. The not-for-profit organisation has within its colossal stock the full range of domestic property types: houses, bungalows, blocks of flats and sheltered schemes. Sanctuary Housing also owns commercial buildings, in addition to properties for residents. Sanctuary Housing needed to appoint a supplier of energy services to ensure their domestic and commercial stock was compliant with the legal standards and to make sure existing and future residents and building users were occupying a decent environment.

Our nationwide energy efficiency team was appointed to provide Sanctuary Housing with energy performance certificates (EPCs) for properties throughout the UK. Our client had outlined that void properties and their quick turnaround time would be of the utmost importance to the success of this contract. To meet our client’s short turnaround time (within 72 hours at most – commonly within 24 hours) from request to lodgement of report, we divided this contract into more manageable regions.

Using our offices in Scotland and England to manage the contract, our energy efficiency team was able to set up a local resource of qualified and experienced domestic energy assessors for each region. Our surveyors from each region carried out the physical surveys and we produced the EPC and recommendation reports.

All collected data and produced EPCs were lodged reports through Elmhurst Energy Systems. Given the significant scale of this contract, we produced quarterly reports summarising our performance against the service level agreements and key performance indicators to make sure we were delivering services to the required standard. Likewise, we attended review meetings and facilitated training to rectify non-conformance or to further develop our service.

Sanctuary Housing at all times could track our individual and overall progress against target timelines by using our online EPC portal. Our online portal tracks EPC lodgements and then permanently stores the data for our client to run reports on all EPCs completed with a specific timeframe.

This contract requested the production of 2,000 EPCs. Following the cojmpletion of ther project, over 900 properties had failed to meet the requirements of the energy efficiency standard for social housing (EESSH).

As a result of this, we are now providing Sanctuary Housing Group with energy consultancy in order to bring the 900 properties up to the required standard.

“Sanctuary Scotland enlisted the services of Pennington Choices to help us with compliance with EESSH. Not only have the quality of the surveys been excellent, but the turnaround from survey request to survey completion is always quick. Add in being able to access the property data and run detailed reports through their Portal, and I couldn’t recommend Pennington Choices highly enough.”

Marcus Sheldrick, Asset Surveyor - Sanctuary Group.

Places for People Group

29

Project overviewPlaces for People are one the largest property management, development and regeneration companies in the UK. They own and manage 140,000 properties, ranging from houses, bungalows, blocks of flats and sheltered schemes to cater for the needs of their residents. To ensure their stock complied with energy efficiency standards, Places for People needed to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced property consultancy to provide energy performance certificates and related data to a significant volume of their housing stock across the UK.

Our sustainability team was appointed to deliver Places for People’s energy performance data. Upon appointment we met with our client to discuss the requirements of this project to effectively prepare for delivering the contract. To meet the wide geographical spread of the housing association’s stock we began recruiting experienced and local domestic energy assessors to support the delivery of this contract.

Turnaround times were of the utmost importance to our client. Despite the nationwide coverage, our client still required the data to be returned within 48 hours of initial instruction. Our multiple office approach has allowed our team to successfully support the housing association with this request without a compromise in quality or time. Since the commencement of this contract we are proud to confirm we have achieved a satisfaction rate of 98% on this key project requirement.

To achieve the bulk quantities of data and to remain in communication with our client and our domestic energy assessors we use our dedicated EPC web portal. Our portal allows Places for People to upload a request. Once it has been received an automated SMS and email is sent to the nearest domestic energy assessor who confirms or otherwise if they can complete the request.

This process is monitored by our customer services team and our senior sustainability officers to immediately rectify issues should they arise. Our experienced sustainability team review the uploaded information to make sure it complies with NES standards and our own internal quality policies. However, we are committed to working openly with our clients in a transparent approach.

We enjoy a positive working relationship with our client and we continue to improve on the short turnaround time they have requested; oftentimes EPCs are completed within 1.2 days of the request, with 48% of requests being allocated, surveyed and submitted to the client within one working day.

Although we were required to provide a turnaround of 48 hours from instruction, we delivered over 48% of EPCS within one working day.

Solihull Community Housing

31

Project overviewSolihull Community Housing (SCH) is an arm’s length management organisation that was established on April 2004 to takeover the management of housing services on behalf of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. SCH is responsible for the management and maintenance of the council’s 10,000 property portfolio; comprised of bungalows, flats, maisonettes, multi-storey and low-rise flats.

Our team of domestic energy assessors was appointed to deliver energy performance certificates (EPCs) across the ALMO’s housing stock. The majority of the portfolio is spread in estates in the north of the borough in Chelmsley Wood, Smithswood and Kingshurst. However, the ALMO also owns a substantial number of properties in the rural south of the borough.

We receive all requests for EPCs to be produced through our dedicated EPC portal and lodge all EPCs onto the ALMO’s register, operated by Landmark on behalf of the government. Following the completion of our EPC, we provide key project leaders at SCH with the RNN and link to the EPC on the Landmark website.

Prior to delivering assessments within occupied properties, dedicated staff members from our planning, scheduling and dispatch team arrange appointments with residents to ensure access is available. Similarly, we collaborate with building managers to obtain keys for access to other areas ahead of commencement on site.

A large proportion of void properties which only require minimal works ahead of re-letting to the market require turnaround times of five days. Our proactive approach to gain access combined with our strong resource of local domestic energy assessors, enables our team to comfortably achieve five-day turnarounds. Certificates for right to buy properties are required within 10 working days of instruction.

In July 2017, the National Grid announced a £150 million warm homes fund, providing capital for the installation of heating solutions in households suffering from fuel poverty. These solutions include the installation of:

• Central heating systems.

• New gas/LPG/oil boiler.

• Electric storage heaters.

• Cavity or external wall insulation.

• Air source heat pumps.

We have been appointed to produce pre and post EPCs following the installation of energy efficient boilers in Solihull properties.

We provide pre and post EPCs following the installation of energy efficient boilers following the National Grid Warm Homes fund.

The Guinness Partnership

33

Project overviewThe Guinness Partnership own and manages nearly 65,000 homes across England. Their housing stock includes houses, bungalows, blocks of flats and sheltered schemes to provide care and support services to more than 10,000 people.

They needed to appoint an experienced and suitability qualified property consultancy to provide energy performance certificates across the UK within a 48 hour turnaround time. Alongside providing a significant volume of energy related data, the housing association required data extraction to populate their existing asset management database.

Our sustainability team was appointed by The Guinness Partnership to provide a significant volume of EPC and stock condition data. To send our client data within short timeframes, we worked with the housing association to build a purpose fit database which allowed our asset managers to integrate the energy data into our client’s existing asset management database. Today, we still use our EPC portal with The Guinness Partnership and other nationwide housing providers to transfer bulk EPCs directly into in-house asset management databases.

Our team has supported a number of local authorities and housing associations to migrate bulk data; we therefore assure The Guinness Partnership that they would not lose data during or after this process. Before the energy data is sent on to our client it is reviewed for completeness and accuracy by our sustainability and validation team. This process helps to remove errors and duplication of efforts.

We have successfully delivered in the region of 25,000 EPCs in our long partnership with The Guinness Partnership since 2008. We have developed a sound understanding of the culture of their organisation and we continue to meet our key performance indicators; both of which have allowed us to enjoy a positive working relationship with our client. As a result of our proven competency we are now the housing association’s sole provide of EPC data. Our contract continues to secure extension as a result of the accurate data, high levels of customer care and our ability to support The Guinness Partnership throughout various locations of the UK.

We have been able to create significant levels of added value with The Guinness Partnership. We provided P402 qualification training for in-house staff at our internal training facilities across Bromley and Warrington. We also provided HHSRS training to 12 delegates to further their understanding of the rating system. As a result of our excellent KPI results, we have since been commissioned to produce commercial EPCs nationwide for The Guinness Partnership, including offices and retail units.

We have successfully delivered over 25,000 EPCs on behalf of The Guinness Partnership

Head office:

Brookfield HouseGrimsditch Lane (off Tarporley Road)Norcott BrookCheshireWA4 4EA

T: 01928 568842E: Office@pennington.org.uk

London office:

Clan Works1a Howard RoadBromleyKentBR1 3QJ

T: 020 8290 5629

Contact:

Welwyn Garden City office:

1st Floor Venture House5&6 Silver CourtWatchmeadWelwyn Garden CityAL7 1TS

T: 01707 290 466E: Office@pennington.org.uk