Comment by Tony Eccott, Supply Chain Advisor, at Energy Systems Catapult.

Warm Home Prescription® (WHP) is an innovative new service pioneered by Energy Systems Catapult that helps achieve a warm home for vulnerable people that have health issues made worse by the cold.

In the Catapult’s 2023-2024 trial, this was achieved by prescribing home energy improvements. Not only do the improvements help make people comfortable, but they also help to cut costs and carbon (the three Cs – carbon, cost, and comfort.)

It should not be underestimated how important having the right supply chain is to achieve the objectives of WHP. Timely introduction, careful engagement of vulnerable residents, and the clear explanations of the required home improvements all contributed towards the success of WHP. The suppliers required for this role were installation management teams (IMT), home improvement installers, and quality assessors.

How did we innovate and deliver a retrofit service that works for people with health conditions? Following due diligence to ensure capacity and capability of the suppliers to fulfil the project scope, the Catapult selected suitable IMTs from the retrofit sector. These had a wealth of experience delivering existing home retrofit services for those on the lowest incomes (e.g. ECO and SHDF) and local knowledge in the trial areas, Aberdeen and Teeside.

Key roles of the IMTs were to:

• Contact selected residents and conduct brief telephone questionnaires
• Conduct an onsite home survey and share advice on interim measures
• Advise and discuss with residents the potential interventions suitable and offer an agreed plan as a WHP package
• Implement agreed warm home interventions managing the appropriate installers followed by quality assessment
• Follow up with an aftercare approach to ensure resident is warm, comfortable and in control

Throughout this project, engagement, communication and monitoring were the essential ways of working employed by the Catapult to ensure success.

Based on our experience of delivering WHP, we would recommend:

• Using a supply chain from the local area. They’ll understand more about the communities they’re working in which can result in the rapid and efficient resolution of any issues.
• Personal engagement leading to informed customer relationships
• Strong teamwork between the supply chain and the Catapult.
• Weekly meetings were held with the IMTs which allowed for open discussions and mapping the journey. Feedback was that this gave the IMTs a strong feeling of being part of the team and contributed towards WHP success.
• Independent quality assurance assessment ensured correct procedure. This was welcomed by the installers as it supports continuous improvement.

Customer feedback was essential. If it was negative, it allowed for lessons learnt and to put things right. For example, there is an important need to minimise dust during installations, especially when working with vulnerable people with lung conditions. And if feedback was positive, it gave the team a morale boost, often just a simple thank you for helping to keep a vulnerable person warm.

These important learnings that came from the trial might seem obvious but can have an important impact and often get overlooked.

Job satisfaction cannot get much better than the quote received below from one of the people receiving Warm Home Prescription when asked what difference it has had on them:

“[WHP made a] massive difference, the house is a lot warmer and it’s the first winter my wife didn’t have to go to hospital. She’s very, very, happy.”

In summary, spend your time on due diligence at the start of the project. Then, focus on supply chain management ensuring thorough communication and engagement. This will put you on the journey to the right results. We’d like to thank Changeworks, Agility Eco, and GTEC Training for their involvement with WHP.