Supporting Holistic Health & Safety Across Complex Housing Partnerships

Teign Housing is a respected non-profit landlord managing more than 4,000 homes across South Devon. Guided by a strong social purpose, the organisation is dedicated to improving housing services through close collaboration with tenants and partners and building thriving, sustainable communities throughout the region. 

The organisation is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of its residents. It works proactively to maintain health and safety standards across all properties, identifying and addressing potential risks before they escalate. To effectively manage its large and diverse property portfolio, Teign Housing partners with third-party property maintenance firms and building services contractors. This wider network must be carefully managed to uphold best practice and ensure full regulatory compliance. 

Teign Housing's senior leadership team maintains a robust health and safety framework. However, they sought assurance that this framework was consistently applied across all operations, including those involving third parties. We were engaged to identify any gaps and provide recommendations to ensure full visibility across the organisation’s activities. The goal was to ensure that the health and safety performance was consistently excellent, regardless of who was delivering the work. 

At the start of the project, we quickly established a relationship based on a shared commitment to safety, integrity and continuous improvement. This synergy allowed us to work collaboratively and in a trusting environment so that we could interrogate systems and processes effectively to understand and address core requirements. The team liked our ethos and approach; being able to lean into our expertise gave them the assurance they wanted.  

We delivered a comprehensive health and safety review focused on oversight and leadership, risk management, worker support and supervision, and incident response. We began by conducting a desktop review followed by a two-day visit to Teign’s Devon office. During this time, we built relationships with the leadership team, reviewed asset management and contractor engagement processes, conducted interviews across departments, and observed real-world practices. We were able to identify health and safety management system improvements and make actionable recommendations to enhance process efficiency and oversight. 

We provided structured, evidence-based recommendations that enhanced what was already a strong compliance culture. We ensured the recommendations were practical, proportionate and tailored to the organisation's needs. Our report was well-received, with Alison North, Director of People, Change and Assurance, commenting: 

"iON's expertise and insight were apparent from the outset of the project, and we were confident the team would provide practical steps to strengthen our health and safety practices across our organisation and beyond. In addition to the depth of the review, we were particularly impressed by their collaborative approach. The team helped us identify clear, manageable steps for improvement. The impact has been incredibly positive, and we've already identified other projects that would benefit from iON's involvement." 

Our targeted review has evolved into a dynamic partnership between two socially conscious organisations. Teign Housing's proactive approach ensures both its operations and those of third parties are held to the highest expectations. This commitment safeguards residents and helps raise standards across the wider sector. We look forward to working together to ensure the health and safety of Teign Housing residents across the South Devon region. 

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