Blue Flame will provide round-the-clock heating breakdown cover to Coastline Housing

(30/05/2007)

A Cornish heating contractor, started by two former British Gas engineers, has formed a 10-year partnership with social landlord Coastline Housing. The new arrangement, worth an estimated £3 million, is believed to be the first of its kind in the South West region and means Blue Flame (Cornwall) Ltd has now become the first point of contact for all gas and solid fuel heating enquiries for more than 2,500 of Coastline’s households.

Under the terms of the partnership, branded Coastline HeatCare, Blue Flame will provide round-the-clock breakdown cover, as well as performing annual servicing and ensuring the landlord’s CP12 safety checks are kept up-to-date.

Instead of reporting problems to a multi-purpose call centre, Coastline customers can now talk directly to a heating specialist, on a freephone number; increasing their chances of booking a convenient appointment, and improving the engineer’s chances of diagnosing and rectifying the problem, first time.

This direct line also eliminates several stages of wasteful paperwork between the two companies, producing significant cost savings that can be ploughed back into further improving Coastline’s homes and services.

Coastline Services Engineer Derek Chapman said: “By eliminating individual works orders and giving direct access to the contractor, we hope to give our customers a better level of service and reduce waste, while maintaining high quality standards through a number of key performance indicators.”

Paul Smith, who co-founded Blue Flame with Mark Bolitho in 1989, is also delighted with the innovative deal. “Coastline are a very forward thinking company”, he said. “We are pleased to be involved, and proud to wear their logo. Between us we can create a market-leading partnership that others look up to and learn from.”

Blue Flame has worked for Coastline Housing since 2002 but the selection process was by no means a foregone conclusion. The multi-million-pound opportunity was opened for tender throughout the European Union, and several major corporations took a keen interest.

Coastline officials were joined by customer representatives for the four-stage selection process, under the guidance of echelon consultancy, and the final stages pitted Blue Flame against a well-known national plc. One powerful element in Blue Flame’s favour was the company’s strong local insight: all 30 employees were recruited in Coastline’s Cornish heartland, and around a third started as apprentices.

Paul Smith explains: “We receive a steady stream of applications from within our existing customer base, and accept at least two or three local apprentices each year onto the five-year training programme. It works, too – our Installation Manager, Duncan Impey, started as an apprentice and has worked his way up.”

Coastline HeatCare also included suppliers Glow-worm and City Plumbing in the partnership’s management setup. Preferred boiler supplier Glow-worm will establish a dedicated training centre in Blue Flame’s Penryn premises, and use the partnership as a focus group for field trials of new, upgraded components and user-friendly controls. City Plumbing will maintain healthy stock levels of common installation materials used on Coastline properties, to ensure instant access.

Derek Chapman said: “It’s a true partnership: the housing association, suppliers, contractors and customers working together – and we’re confident that this kind of joined-up thinking will mean better results for everyone.”

Related categories:  Boilers - Domestic   Hot water generation and supply   Residential applications   Services 

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