Its been a while since we last published an overview post and with so much happening so quickly over 2020, we thought it was time to update you on what has been, and will be going on within the Property Care Association.

A small recap…

There is no denying that 2020 has been quite the year! If we look back to the end of last year, we were somewhat happy to see the back of 2019 following political uncertainty over Brexit – who knew what would have been ahead and the unprecedented times we would be facing?

But face it we did. You may not see every single Friday email, so here is a round-up of projects we are all working on and what’s on the horizon.

Government initiatives, podcasts & more

Your CEO Steve Hodgson is a man in demand and whilst he will not thank us for saying that, he does work tirelessly to ensure the Association remains a ‘go-to’ advisory on many consultations, standards reviews, and initiatives – both government and industry-led. These have included BS 8102, BS 5250, supporting the flood sector and many letters to members of parliament as we lobby on behalf of members, as well as:

• Green Homes Grant Scheme: We launched an ‘information hub’ to ensure members and homeowners have access to the very latest information regarding the Green Homes Grant Scheme
• Ground Gas Protection: Produced and launched a Code of Practice for the new Ground Gas Protection sector
• BEIS Training & Development Initiative: Proposal submitted into BEIS’ grant application process to claim funding for Insulation, Ventilation and Condensation courses

The Training Team – Covid safety & online training

As soon as the green light was given and our safety protocols were in place, our Training Team responded swiftly and professionally to get our training back up and running. Ensuring the safety of candidates and the trainers/examiners is paramount and the team worked tirelessly to ensure everyone:

• maintains social distancing
• is provided with a mask and hand sanitizer
• has an individually packed lunch/snacks/hot drink sachets
• adheres to the hand washing protocols in place and uses antibacterial wipes

Looking ahead we will be releasing the 2021 Training & Development Prospectus. We have also recognised that online training will be invaluable moving forward and again, the team are working to get our first course ready for January 2021 – our Surveying Timber & Dampness in Buildings course. Watch this space as we share news on other PCA courses to move online!

Our Technical Team

Aside from webinars and the regular writing of blogs, our Technical Managers are also handling all the audits for this year too. These have taken place remotely and whilst this is not without its faults (we all know that face-to-face contact is better), this ultimately ensures compliance is maintained and assurance is passed on to the consumer. They are also working on:

• Guidance Notes – Re-vegetation strategies, Guidance for Valuation Surveyors, Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019, the Law Society’s TA6 form and the Party Wall Act
• Technical Documents – Work continues on the upgrading/amending of our Technical Documents to ensure they are relevant and easily accessed by members, which has included:
  • TWO NEW technical documents for the ventilation sector: Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) and De-centralised Mechanical Extract Ventilation (dMEV).
• PCA Meetings – The Autumn round of regional meetings, together with sector specific meetings have had to take place remotely and at this point, it follows that early 2021 ones will be too. But we will of course update you as the guidance changes.
• Press Articles and Conferences – All members of the technical team have had articles published in the last few months and are also due to speak at surveyor conferences in the coming months.

Research & Development really takes off!

PCA’s research and development has now reached ground-breaking level as we launched our Building Moisture Index (BMI) Reporting Tool. This an innovative diagnostic & reporting tool like no other in the market. It can independently and reliably interpret environmental data while also autonomously creating reports on the moisture risk to a building. We are delighted to see a number of members already signed up to start using it too. If this is of interest to you, get in touch with Paula.

Membership at the PCA

The number of applications for PCA membership in 2020 is up by 77%, and when comparing this with 2019 it is a pretty staggering increase particularly given the impact of Covid19! Even more surprising is that 76% of new members to the PCA joined after March and we have only seen 3 members resigning from membership in that time too. To be moving in such a positive direction is very encouraging. We continue to focus on streamlining the processes within our CRM system in order to continue a better service for communicating with our members.

What’s happening with the marketing team

It has been an unpredictable year. However, our monthly webinars are still continuing, news and blogs are still being regularly published, social media activity is still as active and we have restarted our investment in PR. There have been a few changes to our website too and a couple of extra features added, such as our Green Homes Grant ‘information hub’ and a refreshed technical docs area. It’s busy as always for the team but we remain dedicated to make things even better! Watch this space for more to come…

PCA Events

Whilst we are incredibly disappointed to have not been able to hold any of our conferences or Best Practice Awards this year, we will be able to recognise the PCA Contractor of the Year and Student of the Year Awards. These will be announced in the next few weeks.

That’s all for now…

Whilst this is not an exhaustive list for 2020 and 2021, it goes some way to provide an insight into what is happening here at the PCA since our return to work after the initial lockdown. Our members remain at the forefront of everything we do and whilst we still feel the challenges of this pandemic, we are optimistic about the future and the opportunities available.

Remember to keep in the loop…

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