100-people strong, and completing around 32,000 jobs every year, our repairs section is probably one of the busiest teams in Tai Tarian.

Made up of skilled trades men and women, planners, inspectors, team leaders and supervisors, the team are the ones out and about in all weathers making sure your homes are kept in tip-top shape.

We met up with some of the team to find out more about their role:

John: Senior Operations Supervisor 

John is one of the most experienced members of the team, starting out as an apprentice bricklayer 33 years ago, before rising through the ranks to become one of two senior supervisors in the team.

“It’s a very rewarding, but challenging job. My ultimate responsibility is to ensure that the team operates as smoothly as possible. With 9,000 homes to look after that can be quite a task.

“To help with this, we’ve divided the borough into four areas, each with two team leaders, an inspector, several trades people and a planner. The size of the area varies. For example, you have Sandfields, which has a large number of properties in quite a small area, but up in the Amman Valley, the area is much bigger, with our properties being more spread out.

“The repairs we deal with can vary greatly, and whilst we will happily fix anything that is a result of fair wear and tear, we do make a charge for any damage that is caused deliberately or recklessly. We’re not a free service - our tenants pay for it through their rent, so it’s not fair to use their money to repair wilful damage.

“As a team, we deal with around 520 jobs a week and we categorise them into 24-hour, seven day, or 28-day jobs, depending on their urgency.

“We have around 1,200 jobs in our system at the moment. We’ll fix around 99% of our emergency calls within a day and, overall, we complete around 90% of all our jobs within the appropriate timeframe. That’s all down to the hard work and dedication of a great team.

“Whilst those numbers are impressive, we’re not resting on our laurels, and we are constantly looking at the way we do things to see how we can improve and offer an even better service to our tenants.”

 

Leigh: Roofer

“I’m one of four roofers on the team and the work is pretty non-stop.

“In the winter, I deal a lot with weather-related damage. During particularly stormy periods, we can be doing around 30 roofing jobs a week. This means we’re climbing up on roofs during some challenging conditions, so it can be tricky. If it’s too dangerous for us to go up on roofs, then we’ll try and fix the problem from inside the loft.

“I also deal a lot with leaking chimneys. We don’t use them as much these days, as coal fires have all but disappeared. As a result, the bricks become saturated and don’t dry out, which then leads to leakages. In most cases this means having to remove the chimney completely.”

Tom: Team Leader

“As team leader, I’m in ultimate charge of a job, including the safety of the workers.

“For instance, if Leigh needs to order scaffolding to complete one of his roofing jobs, then it’s down to me to meet with our provider once they’ve installed it and inspect their work. If I’m happy then I’ll sign the paperwork and allow Leigh on to the scaffolding. I’ll also re-inspect it every seven days or after any bad weather.

“As well as overseeing safety, I’m also responsible for liaising with the residents. This is particularly important if we’re dealing with complex jobs such as removing a chimney that is shared by two houses, especially if one of them is privately owned.

“In these cases, we need to get an independent surveyor involved to assess what work needs to be done and then negotiate with the private owner over our plans. This can all take time, so what can seem like a straightforward job can take weeks to resolve.”

Josh and Mike: Inspectors

Trainee inspector, Mike has just joined the inspection team after previously working as a plasterer.

“We have to deal with all sorts of jobs – baths and showers leaking on to the downstairs ceiling, issues with internal doors or making repairs to the windows.”

Newly qualified inspector, Josh says it’s a busy job:
“When a tenant calls in to request a repair, my job is to pay them a visit to assess exactly what work is required.

"I’ll work out what materials are required, how many workers will be needed and estimate how long the job will take. I’ll also check for any potential hazards or obstacles that will impact on the work. I’ll pass this information on to our planner, Michelle, who’ll book the job into our system.

Michelle: Planner

Organising so many varied repairs is quite a logistical challenge, and that’s where Michelle and her fellow planners come in, working tirelessly to make sure everything goes as seamlessly as possible.

“My role is like playing a giant game of chess, there are so many moving parts to planning a job – arranging a date with the tenant, ordering materials, making sure things like scaffolding or skips are delivered in time, reserving time in our trades’ schedule, arranging pre-work safety inspections. If there’s an issue with just one element it can have a knock-on effect on the entire job.

“I have to keep on top of everything whilst being flexible to move things and re-assign our trades to other jobs if there are delays which prevent them starting their original job on the scheduled date.

“In a typical week, I’m personally organising 15 jobs, so making sure they all go as seamlessly as possible can be quite a challenge.”

Whether battling the elements, solving complex logistical challenges, or working closely with you, the repairs team plays a crucial role in ensuring your home remains safe, comfortable and well-maintained all-year round.

Reporting repairs

If you find an issue in your home, and you believe we are responsible for repairing it, please report it as soon as you can. It’s easy to report non-urgent repairs via our website. Just add the details of the repair, tell us when you are available and one of our customer service team will assess if it’s our responsibility and get back to you to book in to carry out the job. 

If your repair is an emergency, such as an immediate danger or health hazard, please call us to report this as soon as possible. When you get in touch, our team will ask several questions to allocate your repair into one of the following categories:

• Emergency repair - endeavour to complete within 24 working hours
• Urgent repair - to be attended to within seven working days
• Non-emergency - timescale dependant on the nature of the work and we will then book an appointment for the job to be carried out.

We may advise you to carry out simple repairs to your property yourself such as replacing sink/basin plugs or changing light bulbs and can assist over the phone with this. 

Our contact centre is open from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and our out-of-hours service is available if you need to report an emergency repair outside of these hours by calling the same number - 0300 777 3000.

If you are unable to call us or use our website, you can email repairs@taitarian.co.uk but this should only be used for non-urgent repairs only.