Intelligent housing repair software made simple.

The last new product from Omfax was KeyNamics, released in 2019. This year we are pleased to announce the release of KeyNect, the video solution with seamless integration with Keyfax. As well as video, it also takes photos and records audio too, but video is the key missing ingredient for diagnostics.

Video for Repairs Diagnostics – KeyNect and Keyfax

For a long time, we felt that adding video to repairs diagnostics would greatly improve levels of diagnosis, and it does. Not only does the advisor get to see the issue first-hand but they can record parts of the video session which they think will be most useful to the contractor (or DLO) for repairing the issue. In addition to that, they can take photos of particularly interesting or useful aspects of the call.

Furthermore, the results of the video (including any photos taken) can be passed back to the Housing Management System or CRM, as URLs.

The URLs can then be viewed by whoever needs to see them. If you use a document management system, the videos and photos stored at those URLs can even be downloaded and brought into your own storage.

Once KeyNect is combined with Keyfax, your Keyfax Admin diagnostic scripters can then bring video into any diagnosis. The Repairs applications are clear:

• Get the Priority right – is the leak just dripping or pouring.
• Help the tenant get it right – is this really an end panel of your fence?
• Properly estimate the amount of work – how large an area is affected?

And with the straightforward feedback feature in Keyfax, advisors can suggest if they think it would be useful to include video in any script.

With video, the advisor can pick up extra information that might not be passed on via the phone call. For example, that the radiator valve is broken or that the tenant is drying clothes in the room which is being reported as having damp and mould issues.

               

But KeyNect video can also help with more broader enquiries. Need to report some antisocial behaviour? You could capture video of it as it is happening. For reports of noise nuisance, the same also applies, or you could use an audio-only call to record the issue. The location that the photo or video is taken is also captured as part of the information.

With KeyNect, capturing video, audio and photos, becomes a seamless part of the diagnostic process. The advisor can talk the tenant through what they need to see as soon as the repair report is made. And the resulting URLs to videos and photos can be written back to the HMS or CRM results in the works order.

If that’s sufficient for the contractors, then great. But, if your subject matter experts / contractors still want a closer look, they can launch further video sessions directly via the KeyNect portal.

Does that mean it could help with Awaab’s Law?

Absolutely! It is ideal for the initial inspection of Damp or Mould for Awaab’s Law. The moment that the tenant calls in to report the problem, the advisor can quickly ask if they are happy to share some video through their mobile phone.

In addition, we have built example diagnostic scripts into the Keyfax ‘model’ that Repairs Diagnostics is delivered with. These are based on an amalgamation of Rosie Wills’ suggested diagnostic logic for damp and mould. Our diagnostic experts here have reinterpreted Rosie’s suggested process to include the capability to instantly view the issue via video.

Why develop our own video solution?

The reasons we built KeyNect mainly come from customer feedback:

• It is an Azure solution hosted on servers based in UK South and UK West data centres. All data is processed and stays within the UK – by UK-written software.
• It doesn’t rely on any third-party software to provide the underlying video recording, which could mean extra (multiple) sub-processors of data beyond Keyfax.
• We can apply customised text for the SMS or email invitations, as well as customer branded start-up screens for tenants’ mobiles once connected, reassuring tenants that the messages and the video connection screen come from you.
• The Azure architecture means it is fully scalable, up to thousands of videos per month, per customer.
• KeyNect can easily be used with Keyfax Enquiries too, for ASB or noise nuisance, and can be used to identify locations (e.g. abandoned vehicles or fly tipping).

The Customer Experience

For tenants or leaseholders, using video to show what’s going on in their home can often be a relief.

Video can enhance the conversation when English isn’t the tenant’s first language. Similarly, for anyone who struggles to find the words to describe the needed repair, being able to show the person they are talking to what is happening in their home, is likely to be a great comfort.

For many tenants it should be a reassurance that their issue has been taken seriously, and they don’t have to worry that they haven’t fully explained it.

Firstly, they get a personalised text (or email) from their landlord.

Then, when they connect, they will see a branded screen reassuring them that the call is from their landlord.

They must then accept the Terms and Conditions and allow access to their camera and microphone.

Once connected, they have the option to mute the call. And when the video and photos are captured, they can end the call from their mobile or tablet.

The Customer Advisor Experience

Customer Advisors can easily see and capture the necessary video and images and guide the tenant to take the necessary footage. This helps better assess priorities and accelerates repairs responses.

Having visual comms means that advisors are also happy that they are collecting better information for the repairs team, as well as providing a better service to the tenants.

Once connected, they can:

• guide the tenant to get their phone to capture the right place;
• start and stop the video recording to capture just the repair (or enquiry /report);
• mute their end of the video call;
• take individual photos of useful information (like serial numbers); or
• switch on the tenant’s mobile phone torch if the repair is in a dark fuse cupboard or the back of a boiler.

The Contractor Experience

Without having to jump in a van to investigate, the contractor can see the issue first-hand. If they feel that further video would be useful, they can ask to connect in again, rather than driving there. And, with a commitment to constantly improving the process, they can feedback to the Customer Advisors on how to get even better videos for certain issues.

KeyNect is an Azure Cloud hosted portal that can be used with Keyfax. It can also be used as a stand-alone solution. Therefore, contractors can use the same interface as above for the advisors but launched directly through the KeyNect portal.

They can also search back through previously recorded sessions to find videos and photos recorded by the Customer Service Centre. From there, they can view them and download them as needed:

Prerequisites to use KeyNect Video for Repairs Diagnostics

If you are a current Omfax customer, you need to be running version 4.4.7 of Keyfax. If that’s not the case, just contact us and we will arrange the upgrade.

There are a few prerequisites to successful recording: The first is that the tenant has a mobile (or device) that can support video connection, and that they are able to handle the simple controls. The other ‘variables’ out there that could impact successful video connection are the bandwidth available. For example, if their phone is only connected via Wi-Fi and the someone nearby is using a lot of it, then the phone could struggle to support video. But this is true for any method of video connection – until 5G networks are widely available.

We’ve done lots of KeyNect testing internally, including extensive load testing to check the scalability of KeyNect. We are happy to offer free trials of KeyNect for one month so that you can see how it works in your environment and with your customers.

If you think video could enhance your diagnosis of issues and reduce your reliance on sending people in vans to ‘inspect’ repairs, then why not see how KeyNect can help?

Contact us to secure your free trial period.