Two free scores for housing repairs leaders

Low Effort offers two free scores for social housing leaders. One tests the thinking behind your improvement plan, the other how your repairs service manages van stock. A few minutes each, and the result is yours either way.

Which score should I take?

Take the Plan Confidence Score if you are about to commit to a housing improvement plan and want to know whether its thinking will hold. Take the Stock Score if repairs are failing because the part is not on the van. Both are free, take a few minutes and show the result straight away.

Plan Confidence ScoreStock Score
What it testsWhether the logic of your improvement plan stands upHow your organisation manages materials on vans and in stores
Questions10, about 5 minutes8, about 2 minutes
AnswersYes, with evidence · Partly · No · Not sureHow things actually work today
ResultHow much of the plan is supported by evidence, and the assumptions to testA score out of 100, a reading per practice and the two to look at first
When you see itStraight away; a PDF by email if you want oneStraight away; the full result by email if you want it

What is the Plan Confidence Score?

The Plan Confidence Score is ten questions that test the thinking behind a housing improvement plan, even if the plan is only in your head. It does not test whether you are a good manager, or how your repairs service performs. It shows how much of the plan is supported by evidence, and where important assumptions remain untested.

The ten questions:

  1. Purpose. Are you clear about what your improvement plan is actually trying to improve?
  2. The work today. Have you studied what is actually happening today?
  3. Causes. Do you know what is causing the problems you’re trying to solve?
  4. What the system can deliver. Do you understand what your current system is capable of delivering?
  5. The logic of the plan. Can you explain why the actions in your plan will produce better results?
  6. How the work happens. Does your plan change how the work actually happens?
  7. Easier for residents and staff. Will your plan make life easier for residents and the people delivering the service?
  8. Management practices. Are you prepared to change the management practices that may be creating the problems?
  9. Testing first. Will you test your proposed changes before implementing them across the organisation?
  10. Measures. Will your measures tell you whether residents are genuinely better off?

Test your plan

What is the Stock Management Best Practice Score?

The Stock Management Best Practice Score is eight questions on how your organisation manages materials: visibility, replenishment, ordering and first-time fix. You get a score out of 100 and see where stock is costing you completed repairs. It was built with Stock Right Now, our partner for van stock.

1. VisibilityKnowing what is on each van right now.
2. ReplenishmentSetting van stock from actual usage.
3. OrderingOne route to order, not a pile of portals.
4. Merchant tripsEngineers not leaving jobs to fetch parts.
5. First-time fixLinking second visits to missing parts.
6. Stock lossMeasuring write-offs, shrinkage and dead stock.
7. Cost of stockKnowing the money tied up in vans and stores.
8. OwnershipOne accountable owner for materials, end to end.

Take the Stock Score

What happens after you take a score?

Both scores show your result straight away. You can ask for the Plan Confidence Score as a two-page PDF by email, and for the full Stock Score result: your score out of 100, a reading for each practice and the two to look at first. If you want to go further, request a Housing Improvement Options Briefing: one hour with Stuart Corrigan, no charge.

Descartes Research & Consulting Ltd.

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General information only, not legal, financial or other regulated advice. Results from case studies depend on their circumstances and are not guaranteed. See our Disclaimer.