Social Housing Emerging Disruptors (4) – Housing management & retrofit solutions

The framework encourages SME participation, offering suppliers such as Q-Bot, Rubixx, and Switchee access to housing projects of varying scale. By including multiple innovative suppliers, housing providers can source solutions from local or specialised businesses, ensuring a diverse supply chain, fostering innovation, and supporting economic growth while addressing specific tenant and operational needs.

Power Circle Projects, Autonomous IoT, and Switchee support smart energy and infrastructure initiatives. Power Circle Projects implements smart local energy systems, Autonomous IoT integrates lighting and renewable energy sensors, and Switchee monitors energy use across properties. Housing providers can leverage these technologies to optimise operational costs, enhance sustainability, and engage residents in energy efficiency initiatives.

Alator Data Services, Safehouse, and ODCGIS provide environmental monitoring and risk analysis solutions. Alator tracks indoor air quality and damp risks, Safehouse monitors building conditions for independent living, and ODCGIS supports mapping of flood, heat, and deprivation risks. Together, these services give housing providers actionable data to reduce risk, improve tenant safety, and comply with regulatory standards.

Rubixx, Chameleon Digitization, and Operance offer software platforms for managing housing operations and digital workflows. Rubixx provides multi-tenanted software for financial and operational management, Chameleon Digitization enables predictive analytics and asset optimisation, and Operance supports building data management. Housing providers can combine these solutions to streamline processes, enhance reporting, and make data-driven decisions.

Suppliers such as Crystal Clear Windows Works and Confurr Ltd deliver innovative safety and compliance solutions. Crystal Clear focuses on first-time repair of double-glazed windows, reducing environmental impact, while Confurr enhances customer service in emergency situations. Together, these solutions help housing providers maintain safe, compliant, and efficient housing environments.

Enevate Homes, Creagh Concrete Products, and Harcourt Technologies collectively provide modular, prefabricated, and 3D-printed building solutions. These approaches reduce construction timelines, offer adaptable designs, and minimise material waste. Housing providers can combine these solutions to deliver new homes quickly while meeting sustainability and quality requirements.

Suppliers including Switchee, Autonomous IoT, and Confurr Ltd provide smart home technologies. Switchee offers a dashboard for real-time energy and occupancy monitoring, Autonomous IoT integrates lighting and sensor systems using renewable energy, and Confurr augments customer service with video communication capabilities. These solutions support tenant engagement, optimise energy use, and enhance operational efficiency in social housing.

Digital solutions from suppliers like Operance, Chameleon Digitization, and ODCGIS support compliance and asset management. Operance simplifies building information management for safety case reporting. Chameleon Digitization integrates IoT and predictive analytics for asset optimisation, while ODCGIS provides GIS data services for risk assessment and planning. Collectively, these tools enable housing providers to track asset condition, plan maintenance efficiently, and ensure regulatory compliance across properties.

SHED 4 includes suppliers focusing on tenant health and environmental monitoring. Alator Data Services offers IoT sensors to track damp, mould, and indoor air quality. Safehouse provides independent living monitoring systems with IoT sensors for environmental conditions. Mackwell Health supports the safe reuse of medical devices in housing and care settings. Using these combined technologies, housing providers can proactively manage environmental risks, promote occupant wellbeing, and ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

Suppliers such as Q-Bot, Power Circle Projects, and Switchee offer solutions to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Q-Bot’s underfloor insulation improves thermal efficiency in older properties, Power Circle Projects develops smart local energy systems for buildings or communities, and Switchee provides data-driven insights to optimise energy consumption. Together, these solutions enable housing providers to meet net zero targets, reduce operating costs, and support tenant comfort and wellbeing, while maintaining compliance with UK energy and sustainability regulations.

SHED 4 features suppliers offering advanced construction solutions, including modular and 3D-printed buildings. Enevate Homes delivers volumetric modular construction for cost-effective, sustainable housing. Creagh Concrete Products, in partnership with Harcourt Technologies, provides large-scale 3D concrete printing for superstructures. These solutions enable housing providers to accelerate build programmes, improve energy efficiency, and address skills shortages while maintaining compliance and quality. By leveraging multiple suppliers, organisations can select solutions that best meet project timelines, budget constraints, and sustainability objectives.

SHED 4 encourages innovation by allowing suppliers to propose novel solutions to housing challenges before traditional specifications are set. By focusing on outcomes rather than rigid product requirements, the framework enables housing providers to access cutting-edge technology, improve operational efficiency, and enhance tenant wellbeing. The framework’s evaluation and PfH’s ongoing support ensure organisations can assess innovative solutions objectively while maintaining compliance with UK procurement regulations. This supplier-led approach helps address sector-wide challenges such as Net Zero targets, fire safety, and digital transformation, while fostering creativity and new service models.

SHED 4 includes a broad range of innovative solutions to support social housing, including smart home technology, energy efficiency tools, IoT-based monitoring systems, modular building solutions, compliance software, and tenant wellbeing platforms. Suppliers also provide digital tools for managing housing data, drone-based inspections, and AI-driven decision-making for operational efficiency. The framework offers nationwide coverage and SME-friendly access, enabling housing providers to select solutions that meet specific operational, sustainability, or compliance needs, all while staying aligned with government procurement guidance.

“Housing providers can access SHED 4 via the dedicated SHED portal: www.inprovaquantum.com/shed
. The portal allows users to search for solutions, shortlist suppliers, and assess products using pre-established evaluation criteria. Once a preferred supplier is identified, housing providers can contact PfH to discuss contract details. PfH supports the process by providing standard contract forms, supplier terms, and assistance with drafting contracts, ensuring compliance and efficiency. “

The Social Housing Emerging Disruptor (SHED) 4 framework is designed to help UK housing providers access innovative products, services, and solutions that address key sector challenges. Unlike traditional procurement, SHED focuses on enabling suppliers to bring forward creative solutions to problems housing organisations may not yet have fully defined. This approach encourages ingenuity in housing technology, energy efficiency, tenant wellbeing, and compliance, supporting better outcomes for residents while staying fully compliant with public sector procurement regulations. SHED 4 builds on previous frameworks to stimulate innovation across the social housing sector.