Case Study

Waking Watch Guarding Solutions for Your Housing Group

Your Housing Group is a registered social housing landlord providing safe, affordable homes to people at every stage of life. YHG own and manage more than 29,000 properties across the North, and offer homes for social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership, outright sale, and private rent.

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Meeting our customers’ needs

We provided YHG with a full 24-hour security service across five Your Housing Group (YHG) schemes for elderly residents – combining waking watch, static guarding, and front desk support to maintain safety, assist residents, and ensure peace of mind.

When an alarm is activated on the fire panel, our team takes the following steps:

  • Attend the panel and identify the location of the alarm.
  • Gain access to the apartment with a master key, alongside housing staff, to establish the cause of the alarm.
  • Depending on the situation, either cancel the alarm or safely evacuate the building.
  • In certain cases, extinguish small fires, ensure the resident’s safety, and reset the fire panel.

This 24/7 service is in place while remediation works are carried out, improving building safety in line with Fire Service recommendations.

Our Challenges

  • Rapid mobilisation: The service had to be deployed overnight to support the safety of residents.
  • Scale of deployment: Initially covering four schemes, the service quickly expanded to nine, requiring around 100 staff to cover all shifts. Coordinating this at short notice was a significant logistical challenge.
  • Operational readiness: Fire evacuation procedures had to be written for each scheme, guards trained in the use of evac chairs and site-specific evacuation protocols, and regular fire drills conducted – all within a tight timeframe.

Despite these challenges, we successfully mobilised the full service within 72 hours, ensuring resident safety and compliance.

Providing real solutions

We proactively deliver a robust framework of regular reviews, training, and inspections to ensure ongoing safety and compliance.

  • Fire drills and staff training are conducted consistently, inspected, and signed off with client approval.
  • We work closely together to meet their specific requirements, regularly reviewing and updating evacuation procedures as needed.
  • Monthly review meetings are held to discuss the performance and safety of each scheme.
  • Our team conducts monthly inspections and produces detailed reports, which are uploaded to a SharePoint site for YHG staff to review.

Monthly site visits are also carried out to meet with scheme managers, discuss any concerns or updates, review training records, and liaise directly with guards to maintain high standards across all schemes.

Results that matter

Through this partnership, YHG now have significantly safer schemes, maintaining full operational evacuation plans while essential safety works are carried out. Orbis guards have become an integral part of each community, delivering not only professional security but also a range of practical support services, including external gritting of car parks and cleaning of communal areas. Their presence has helped foster a safer, more supportive environment for residents.

This collaborative approach has improved compliance with safety regulations, enhanced resident confidence, and strengthened the overall operational support within each scheme, ensuring that both safety and day-to-day management are consistently maintained to the highest standard.

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