The lasting benefits of smart tech

Today, damp and mould is treated by the housing sector as a critical health and safety issue rather than a routine maintenance concern.

Following high-profile cases such as the death of Awaab Ishak – and the resulting regulatory and legislative changes, including Awaab’s Law, which comes into force for the social housing sector in October this year – landlords have shifted from a reactive, complaint-led model to a proactive, prevention-first approach.

Advances in technology have helped to facilitate this early intervention approach. Housing providers are using Internet of Things sensors to collect real-time data on humidity and temperature, data analytics to spot risk patterns across housing stock, and digital platforms to track and prioritise repairs.

This tech-enabled strategy allows landlords to intervene early, address the root causes of problems such as damp and mould, and keep residents safe and healthy.

Aico’s HomeLINK Connected Home Solution enables data from fire alarms and environmental sensors to be viewed through an online portal. Features such as Damp and Mould Insight help to identify underlying causes, guiding landlords towards more effective maintenance.

“Without proper training, even the most advanced technology can be misapplied”

The HomeLINK portal also streamlines processes, supports case management and improves asset oversight. By providing remote access to this data, it reduces the costs and challenges of arranging physical visits, while giving housing teams greater visibility across their stock.

However, installing this technology is only the first step. Getting the most value from these tools requires effective post-installation training and support. Staff must understand how to interpret the data, respond to alerts and engage with residents when risks are identified.

Without proper training, even the most advanced technology can be underused or misapplied, leaving problems unresolved.

Ongoing training ensures that housing teams can act quickly, make informed decisions, and embed a truly proactive approach to damp and mould management.

Tony Boyle, regional director, Aico

Case study: Aico

Ever since the first battery-powered domestic smoke alarms began to appear in the 1970s, households have become used to sensors monitoring their living environment. The technology has moved on hugely since then, however. Today’s sensors are complex, precise and multifunctional devices – which is why making the most of them means taking a longer-term approach.

“It’s not a case of fit and forget, as it might be with smoke alarms,” says Rory Fraser, relationship manager – Scotland East at Aico. “It’s more a case of install and then continually hold the client’s hand as they get used to a new way of working, and learn how to both interpret the data and use it correctly.”

Last year, Aico worked with long-term client Melville Housing Association, a Midlothian-based landlord that manages around 2,000 homes, to expand an existing trial of home environmental sensors to 50 properties as part of its efforts to tackle damp and mould proactively. Post-installation support was vital to the success of the project, says Mr Fraser – for Melville’s staff and residents.

“The sensors take a reading every 15 minutes and send those out so that landlords can see all the raw information,” he says. “But the raw information sometimes isn’t that useful because it’s millions of data points over a whole housing stock.”

“It’s a case of install and then continually hold the client’s hand as they get used to a new way of working”

To ensure Melville’s staff really got to grips with this information and understood how to make the most of it, Aico conducted regular data-review meetings with its client.

“We start by looking at the data they’re starting to collect. This helps in terms of training them on how to use the software – so we’ll explain how the software works and how to analyse it – and then in answering their queries as we start looking at the properties they’ve got installed,” Mr Fraser says. “It’s about supporting them the whole way through.

“Machine learning will do a lot of the analysis and point in the right direction,” he adds. “But there’s no doubt that landlords need to make sure they have the right skills and expertise in place as well. Because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, or don’t understand some of the background to damp and mould, then you could very easily look in the wrong areas or misinterpret what you’re being told.”

Support for residents

To ensure those skills and expertise are in place, Aico provides in-house training to the landlords it works with. This covers everything from how to identify and treat damp and mould, to best practice, to the regulatory and legislative landscape.