Case Study: Incommunities

Project outline:

Incommunities is a not-for-profit housing association based in Shipley. Since 2003, they’ve managed over 22,000 affordable homes across West Yorkshire, including Bradford, Kirklees, Wakefield and Sheffield. Their goal is to provide safe, warm homes that are affordable to run. That includes upgrading older housing, building new homes and improving energy efficiency.

We began working with them in September 2024 after we won a three-year water hygiene contract through a competitive tender process. The contract can be extended by another two years, taking it up to a possible five in total.

Project description

Our job is to deliver a full range of water hygiene services to help Incommunities stay compliant and keep their residents safe. That includes regular temperature monitoring, sampling, inspections and maintaining thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs). We’re also on hand to support with things like remedial work, updated risk assessments and advice on longer-term compliance planning.

Learn more about our complete water hygiene services

Getting started

From the start, we wanted to get everything up and running fast without getting in the way of day-to-day compliance work. Speed was key, and we made sure all the systems and processes were in place right from the beginning. By the end of the first month, we had Incommunities fully set up on our monitoring system, which meant we could start collecting and reporting data straight away.

Thanks to a clear plan and close communication with the client, everything was put in place quickly and we've been delivering consistent results from the start.

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Aquatrust-Office-In-Leeds-Area

The main challenge

The biggest challenge early on was getting to grips with access across such a large and varied property portfolio. In some cases, we needed to coordinate with third-party contacts or other responsible people to arrange visits, which made scheduling more complex.

To make things easier, we assigned a dedicated engineer to the contract. They’ve since built strong relationships with key contacts and have a good handle on the ins and outs of the sites. That consistency has made a big difference – it’s helped us work more efficiently and avoid any delays.

How we approach projects

The outcomes

We believe Incommunities chose us because we’re straightforward, reliable and offer excellent value. We’ve got strong experience working with housing associations and a solid reputation in the sector. But more than that, we take the time to understand what each client needs and tailor our approach accordingly. That flexibility and attention to detail is something our clients really value.

We’re working closely with Incommunities to make sure any issues are picked up and sorted quickly. Our shared goal is 100% compliance and by tackling things proactively together, we’re on the right track. The contract is running well, and we’ve built a solid working relationship with their team.

While the current contract covers the core water hygiene services, we’re able to step in with additional help, whether that’s for planned works, one-off jobs or more specialist advice. Our aim is to be a trusted partner they can count on, now and into the future.

 

 

 

Incommunities Ltd Photo

“I’ve been really impressed with Aquatrust from the off. Due to unforeseen delays in the final stages of the procurement process, Incommunities would have been left without a supplier in place to complete the monthly compliance checks.

Rather than wait until the beginning of the following month, Aquatrust pulled out all the stops to mobilise the contract, a couple of weeks earlier than the proposed contract start date, to ensure that Incommunities remained compliant. We set the contract up with a focus on “partnership working” and Aquatrust have really embraced this approach. They’re our eyes and ears out on site, and they’ve shown that they carry out their work with honesty and integrity.”

Dan Sword

Water Compliance Contract Manager