APHC

Samarind builds on its reputation with major software development

Samarind has developed software key to a revolution in the housing market. From June 1 anyone selling a house will have to provide prospective buyers with a Home Information Pack (HIP). The HIP will include proof that any essential work on the property has been carried out by an accredited professional. It has now been made law that for certain work affecting plumbing or heating, a homeowner must employ a plumber or heating contractor who is a member of a Competent Persons Scheme.

 The Association of Plumbers and Heating Contractors (APHC) is running this element of the Competent Persons Scheme on behalf of the Government. Samarind have created new systems for the APHC that will make complying with the new law a straightforward process for both the house seller and the tradesperson.

"We've created an online portal for the APHC, where plumbers and heating engineers can log in securely and notify the organisation of any work they have carried out," explained Samarind's Software Director Miranda Pothiawala.

"First of all, the software developed by Samarind checks that the tradesperson is qualified to do the work he's undertaken. Then the information on the work is gathered and automatically forwarded to a printer, who will send a certificate to the householder for inclusion in their HIP.  The information is also sent automatically to the relevant local authority, so that when a solicitor carries out a search on the property, he will see that the work has been done."

Thanks to Samarind's tailor-made software, this complicated process is carried out automatically.

Miranda added: "It was a major task to develop software capable of performing all those functions, whilst ensuring it integrated with local authorities' systems. We also overhauled all the APHC's IT systems, websites and their database."

CEO of the APHC, Clive Dickin, is delighted with Samarind's work. "This was a big investment for us and we're very satisfied with the result," he said. "The front end is user-friendly and secure and the processes are working very efficiently.

"In addition, Samarind got to work on our entire IT system. We had integration issues, with disjointed membership and account systems, and out-of-date servers and workstations.  Samarind brought together all of our systems, increasing efficiency and considerably reducing necessary man-hours and therefore our overheads.

"We expect to save about £60,000 a year thanks to Samarind's efforts."

Clive says he was impressed then with the company's competitive tender process and has continued to be impressed by the team's confidence and knowledge. He said: "APHC was making a considerable expenditure, £100,000 alone just for the database, rising to  quarter of a million-plus when you take into consideration all the hardware and so on. So the reassurance Samarind gave us was important.

"With Samarind there's a commonsense partnership approach. They don't nit-pick over money but charge a reasonable rate, and their attitude is one of "we'll get it sorted" rather than "how much more can we charge for this?"

In January, Clive Dickin and Samarind directors Miranda and Sadik Pothiawala celebrated the launch of the APHC Competent Persons Scheme at a glittering ceremony on board HMS Belfast in London.