Clever new technology is making the Executive Committee and the strata tenant experience more convenient and efficient than ever.
Online portals, the cloud and the rise of smart buildings are all improving the efficiency of Executive Committees as well as strata tenant experience.
Connectivity and digital platforms make it easier to manage tenant expectations, retrieve data, set benchmarks, measure performance and stay in the black financially.
Take a look at some recent and up-and-coming innovations to support your Executive Committee, Owners Corporation and tenants.
Online portals
If your strata building isn’t cleverly managed through an online portal, ask your Strata Manager why not.
This software is accessed by all stakeholders to manage and track things like repair requests, special notifications, outstanding payments, safety inspections and much more. You should be able to log in from any device to see what requests are due for attention, check which lot owners are behind on their strata fees or manage documents.
Having this software makes life easier for Strata Managers, tenants, Owners Corporation members and Executive Committees. The most popular platforms are designed to save money, make things easier to track and allocate tasks, all with a few clicks. They are designed to be accessed from any device which has an internet connection.
Smart Parcel Lockers
Is your building concierge tired of signing for packages all day then being the holding agent for every tenant who has ordered a new pair of shoes or spare part for their motorbike?
Standard letterboxes aren’t big enough to hold most packages but residents fear losing parcels if the postman leaves them outside.
Introduced recently, Smart Parcel Lockers provide a centralised delivery point for medium-sized packages. These lockers can be installed in strata buildings to provide safe, secure storage of larger parcels for the short term.
How they work: When the postman arrives to find nobody at home, they place the package in a locker. The locker’s electronic digital system sends an instant notification to the recipient, telling them their package has arrived. When they get home, they open the locker with the help of a barcode within a smartphone app. The locker is then available to be used by the next courier delivering the next package.
Smart Parcel Lockers can now include refrigerated options for meal box deliveries. They can be ‘courier agnostic’ meaning any delivery service can use them.
This technology isn’t only for residential blocks. Weather-proof outdoor models can also be very handy for mixed-use premises or commercial facilities.
Digital concierge
Speaking of concierges, digital concierges can keep track of the number of visitors to your building.
This technology allows visitors, tradespeople, insurance company representatives and potential buyers to sign in via an app. Your premises can then have a record of who has been on the property and when. This can help if your committee is putting forward a case for improved parking or building access.
Busy building managers can be notified when someone arrives with the help of this app. While very small strata complexes won’t need this technology so much, larger or mixed-use buildings can definitely benefit.
Smart buildings
Smart buildings are the future of living. Already, clever design reduces energy use and allows for automated functions like temperature control.
The technology already exists for smart buildings to send notifications when a light or other fixture is broken. Sensors can also detect when nobody is in a room, triggering the air conditioning to be switched off. This technology is ideal for complexes with gyms and other communal areas.
In smart buildings, water meters, pumps, fire alarms, power and lighting are all connected and ‘talking’ to each other. Footfall counters may be integrated into the building to provide information on where people are at certain times of the day (within reason in terms of privacy).
As information is gathered, it is stored. This results in so-called ‘big data’, which can be used to identify ways to improve cost efficiency and deliver a better experience for the building’s occupants.
Apart from online property management software, which is an absolute must, some of the above technology may not be suitable for your building right now. However, as the world becomes more connected, these innovations will become part of life, making things more cost-effective, convenient and sustainable.
