Resource maintenance overview

A resource is defined as any asset, non-organisational asset or service that is managed directly or indirectly by the housing organisation and which can be allocated to an applicant. These three resource types define the different strands of resources available, within which any number of resource subtypes might be linked. For instance, an end user might create a Services subtype entitled ‘Professional Training’ to combine all resources that focus on delivering high quality, cost effective and relevant courses to tenants. Each course title – the tangible resource – can then be linked therein. ‘Basic Home Maintenance’, ‘Saving Energy to Reduce Bills’, ‘Feeding a Family on a Budget’ may all form part of a housing partner's training portfolio, aimed specifically at tenants, and for which they can register their interest.

Resource maintenance focuses on the steps required to bring each resource to a point where it can be allocated. For each resource type, the end user would define a series of actions that should be taken to achieve the desired outcome. Some actions will be deemed as mandatory; others will be added simply as memorandum items, perhaps to prompt update communications to all interested parties. These discrete actions would then form a consolidated action plan, with chronological and dependent actions defining the action path – the key actions necessary to make ready the resource. For a training course, these might be focused on the training venue, the allocated trainer, access to the training materials, booking refreshments, submitting delegate joining instructions, etc. For an asset, these would likely focus on repairs and reconnection of utilities that would transform a void property into one that could be shortlisted and ultimately let. When a resource is first created and linked to a resource subtype, all the actions within the default action path are automatically transferred. The end user is then free to add any additional actions, not already contained in the critical path, that are relevant to the current status of the individual resource. The action path can also be displayed in graphical form in order to more easily identify any potential clashes of dependent actions or insufficient lag time allowed between related jobs.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of resource maintenance, including:

• To create a new action for a resource type
• To create a new action plan for a resource type
• To add an organisation asset resource type to an action plan
• To add an action to a resource plan
• To define the action path for a resource plan
• To display a resource action plan as a chart
• To add an action plan to a resource subtype