4 Ways Technology Streamlines Building Management

Businesses can’t afford to ignore the digital disruption that is re-shaping every industry, from taxis to takeaway to drycleaning and laundromats – and building management. Research shows, if they do, they’re likely to lose customers simply from failing to innovate. Leading digital performers posted a 55% gross margin for the past three years, compared to slower digital adopters who posted just 37%. Streamlining building management operations using the latest technological tools can differentiate your business from your competitors. Customers will want to do business with you because it is so easy. Digitising workflows can also save time and money, protects assets and allow you to divert revenue into profit generating areas. The benefits of digital transformation are vast and range from cost savings and efficiency to agility and customer satisfaction.

1. Digitise your workflow

For example, what happens when a tenant or owner in a strata managed apartment discovers a water leak in their bathroom ceiling? Here are the usual steps:

1. The tenant calls their Strata Manager’s Assistant to report the leak and request an urgent repair.
2. The Strata Assistant logs the maintenance call manually in a database and verifies the caller and their apartment address.
3. The Strata Assistant decides whether the repair is worth investigating. If so, they check their database of tradesmen to find someone in the area.
4. The Strata Assistant then calls around for a tradesman and checks if they’re available and in the area in the next few days.
5. If they are, the Strata Assistant passes the tenant’s phone number to the tradesman.
6. The tradesman then calls the tenant to arrange a suitable time.

This process involves, emails, phone calls, checking calendars and maintaining multiple databases. Strata management teams manage hundreds of properties. The volume of administrative work in relation to maintenance and repairs is high. It’s possible now to reduce the time and cost of this everyday transaction dramatically by automating the process.

2. Facilitate communication

Once the job is booked, the list of administrative tasks continue:

1. The Strata Assistant then contacts the apartment that is leaking water and advises their bathroom is leaking into the apartment below.
2. The Strata Assistant provides the tradesman’s contact details to the tenant upstairs.
3. The tradesman then calls the tenant upstairs to arrange a suitable time for an inspection and repair.

It then continues.

1. The tradesman then needs to find out if there is parking on-site and where it is.
2. They may ask the original tenant that contacted the Strata Assistant if there is parking on-site.
3. The tenant may need to notify other tenants in the building that the tradesman will need the only visitor parking spot for two hours on Wednesday.
4. The tenant will need to write a note to each apartment in the building. The reason is, the Strata Assistant cannot share email contacts to other tenants due to privacy regulations.

3. The power of automation

What if Strata Managers could provide all tenants and owners in their strata apartments with access to a complimentary mobile application? The app would allow them to report incidences, maintenance, accidents and book tradesmen digitally.

The business rules in the app would verify the tenant and their apartment, determine whether the maintenance call is urgent, look up a suitable tradesman, notify them, and then facilitate a booking between the tenant and the tradesman. No emails, phonecalls and conversations.

The app can then:

1. Notify the relevant apartment and facilitate a booking.
2. Share car parking details with the tradesman.
3. Notify the other tenants that a tradesman will be on-site.
4. Let everyone in the building know the tradesmen will be using the visitor car park.

Once the job is complete, the tenant can close the job in the app and even rate the quality of the tradesman’s work. This last step supplies Strata Assistants with valuable insight about which tradesmen to book next time.

4. Control costs

The number of repairs that are booked and paid for, but not completed are high in strata managed buildings because there is often no one on-site to verify the work has been done. With a digital solution, a tenant on-site can verify the work is complete by checking a box and even uploading a photograph into the app. Tradesmen can also upload a photograph of difficult to see work such as gutters, flashing and roof repairs. The tradesman is then paid, avoiding the need for repeat call outs.

Digitising business operations in building management can increase your response rate to incidences dramatically. Responding quickly to repairs and maintenance reports can stop further damage to your customers’ assets. It can also allow your building management business to focus on more profit generating activities. Technology can reduce the cost, time and burden of repetitive business tasks. Increasing the effectiveness of your business operations will increase customer satisfaction. These dimensions all increase the value of your brand in the marketplace, ensuring your building management business stays well ahead of the competition.

About Mobiddiction
Mobiddiction is Australia’s award-winning team of talented iOS and android developers, UX and UI designers, strategists and project managers. We build and support large scale Government and Enterprise digital and mobile programs of work. We partner with building management businesses to build digital engines that innovate services and power agility. Our Mobiconnect platform can link your data and partners and automate repetitive administrative tasks. Work with us and we will reduce the administrative burden on your back office staff.

Contact us for a complimentary consultation. Email contactus@mobiddiction.com.au or call 02 9262 1363.

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