Eastlight Community Homes, a resident-led housing association in the East of England, faced significant challenges in managing access to their 550 blocks and 14,000 homes. 

The challenges

Eastlight grappled with persistent access and communal compliance issues caused by unknown key safe codes and missing keys, which disrupted operations and posed compliance risks. Non-compliance due to no-access incidents occurred 25% of the time, leading to logistical challenges and some security concerns. On average, resolving these access issues took 4.5 days. Factoring in the physical costs of keys, fobs, and copies, access management was consuming an estimated 14,000 hours and £545,000 annually.

Objectives

Eastlight Community Homes had two primary objectives: 1) streamline their access process to reduce time spent on access-related issues, and 2) enhance compliance and building safety. The goal was to eliminate no-access incidents, improve overall compliance, and reduce the associated costs. These objectives were driven by the need to address a 25% non-compliance rate and mitigate the security risks linked to the use of keys, fobs and key safe boxes.

The solution

To tackle the access and compliance issues, Eastlight partnered with Unloc, a hardware-agnostic software provider of digital access. This collaboration aimed to implement digital locks across their communal spaces.

The project began with a pilot on 60 blocks, which involved retrofitting an invisible Bluetooth module into communal entrance doors and installing an electronic key turner (also invisible externally) on some of their empty properties doors for ease of works access. This technology enabled doors to be opened via a mobile phone. Additionally, Eastlight’s Estate Safety Team gained access to Unloc’s administration platform, allowing them to centrally manage and control access, ensuring that the right individuals had access to the right doors at the right times.

Benefits

Before partnering with Unloc, resolving access issues took an average of 4.5 days, costing Eastlight an estimated 14,000 hours and £545,000 annually. With Unloc's solution, access is now granted in seconds for over 150 contractors and staff.

• 0% no-access issues and 100% compliance on blocks where Unloc was installed.

• 34% annual OPEX savings from reduced hardware costs (locks, keys, fobs), fewer contractor invoices from no-access incidents, and decreased petrol usage.

• £312,000 in annual labour cost savings by reducing travel time and logistics-related challenges, freeing up five days per month for three full-time employees.

• 500 miles less driven per month by one team, translating to a reduction of 1.6 tCO2e annually.

• Increased staff satisfaction due to the elimination of worries about lost keys and the hassle associated with obtaining replacement keys. 

• Resource reallocation: Eastlight has shifted its focus from resolving operational challenges to pursuing more strategic and impactful tasks, significantly enhancing the housing association’s overall efficiency.

Future outlook

Encouraged by the success of the initial implementation, Eastlight Community Homes is ready for a keyless future. The housing association plans to roll out Unloc's mobile keys solution across 100% of their portfolio within the next 12 months.

“Unloc as a product and as an app - it’s safe, it’s secure and it’s effortless. It really is that easy to install and use.” — Taryn Paton, Head of Compliance & Estates. Eastlight Community Homes.