This fourth generation of the SHED framework, which is worth up to £100 million over three years, offers a wide range of innovative services, from 3D concrete printing, thermal inspection drones and eco-friendly subsidence solutions, to renewable energy smart mobile towers, video repairs reporting for tenants, robotic underfloor insulation and real time data to improve damp and mould.

Social housing procurement services provider PfH Scotland has worked again with the Disruptive Innovators Network to discover the most innovative firms working in property technology today.

PfH Scotland set up the first SHED framework four years ago, in response to feedback from housing associations and councils about how difficult it was to procure emerging services from innovative start-ups.

Many fledgling firms with fresh ways to tackle old issues such as damp and mould, net zero and building safety couldn’t break into the market because of tender bureaucracy. They didn’t have the resources to commit to the lengthy public procurement application process.

Even when SMEs were able to bid, procurement managers didn’t have the specialist knowledge to specify niche services. Although the market should lead the way, companies couldn’t scale their solutions because landlords were unable to procure them compliantly.

PfH Scotland said it has addressed these issues by ensuring the SHED is flexible and light-touch in terms of bidding paperwork. A portal then allows social landlords to do a quick desk-based selection process, identifying the supplier that best meets their needs, and PfH Scotland’s team provides pricing information and supports the contracting process. 

Suppliers appointed to SHED4 include Harcourt Technologies, a 3D concrete printing firm; Vantage UAV which delivers drone-based property inspections; Geobear Residential, offering eco-friendly subsidence solutions; Autonomous IoT, providing renewable energy security and lighting towers; Confurr, a real-time video platform that helps tenants report repairs; robotic underfloor insulation firm Q-Bot and Switchee, which delivers real-time data through a thermostat, helping social landlords to proactively manage homes.

The full list is as follows:

1. Alator Data Services
2. Autonomous IoT
3. Bimsense (Operance)
4. Chameleon Digitization
5. Confurr
6. Crystal Clear Windows Works
7. Enevate Homes
8. Geobear Residential
9. Harcourt Technologies / Creogh Concrete
10. Mackwell Health
11. ODCGIS
12. Power Circle Projects
13. Q-Bot
14. Rubixx
15. Secure Sensor Innovation Design
16. Switchee
17. Vantage UAV

Neil Butters, head of procurement at PfH Scotland, said: “We had a range of firms bidding for the SHED this year and the 17 winners offer a wide variety of services. That’s a sign of where the social housing sector in Scotland is right now and the myriad of problems and competing priorities it faces. The market is responding to those challenges and our job with the SHED is to nurture both the SME supply chain and innovative procurement in the sector – both key goals of the Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland.”

Annemarie Roberts, property lead at the Disruptive Innovators Network, said: “Housing directors are inundated with the problems and risks of today, and often they don’t have time to explore how technology and AI can support them. The sector is operating in a massively challenging environment, and one of the ways to meet increasing expectations and standards is to deploy innovative solutions. The SHED framework can help housing providers break this cycle, spot the best tech for their business and adopt it at scale.”

Tom Robins, CEO of Switchee, added: “We’re thrilled to have been appointed to PfH Scotland’s SHED4 framework. It’s an exciting opportunity for Switchee, as a leading property analytics company focused on social housing, to continue our mission of using data to drive positive change. We’re committed to enhancing the quality of life for those living in rented homes, and this appointment allows us to extend that impact even further.”