Programme will identify potential hazards using photographs and streamline repairs and maintenance planning into one system
Stonewater will trial the use of an AI tool designed to increase the speed and regularity of risk assessment across its 40,000 homes using uploaded and open source images.
Developed in partnership with AI specialist SPOTR, the programme will assess photographs from in and around properties to identify potential risks, including damp, mould and cracks.
It will then recommend appropriate action and collate the results into one system to support repair and maintenance planning, aiming to removing reliance on multiple databases.
Given the landlord’s expansive housing stock, “keeping in touch on full assessments can be a huge challenge,” according to , Robert Panou, director of asset strategy, homes at Stonewater.
He added: “The reality of the process means that – like most other housing providers – we don’t carry-out stock condition surveys to every home every year.
“This means that, while annual safety checks are happening much more regularly, it can sometimes be several years between full property assessments for each home. While this is the industry standard, we knew we could do better.
“The wider Stonewater team, contractors and partners visit customer’s homes on a regular basis, so we wanted to capitalise on this time. While it’s unfeasible to train everyone on identifying risks, they can snap a photo.”
Stonewater began to test SPOTR’s AI technology following a knowledge exchange with Dutch housing associations.
Dirk Huibers, chief executive and cofounder of SPOTR, said: “Most providers are heavily reliant on spreadsheets to manage their homes. With plans, schedules and records spread across multiple documents, it is a time consuming challenge to manage.
“Our software provides a single asset management system that uses AI to add an extra layer of support to operational capacity. While our AI image assessment tool will never replace the need for human eyes and knowledge, it does create the opportunity to do more without increasing the time investment.”
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