Archives: February 20, 2023

Preparing for summer

Summer Holidays are Here. Here are Some Changes MCs should Start Preparing for

As the mercury rises, it’s the summer holiday season for children across India. With their schools shut for the season, this is the time for children to relax and have fun. Management Committees (MCs) and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) should be prepared for children to stay at home and use common areas for recreational activities. 

Summer can also mean other challenges, such as a shortage of water. By preparing for the coming challenges, MCs and RWAs can ensure that residents are not faced with any hardships. It also reduces any dissatisfaction among residents and ensures that people have an easy summer. ApnaComplex offers tools like communication modules that MCs and RWAs leverage to meet these challenges. 

What’s in store during summer holidays?

Summers also bring some unique challenges. Other than children using recreational facilities, the heat also leads to resource crunch. Here are some of the challenges that MCs typically face in the season:

  • Water and power shortages
  • Increased usage of facilities like swimming pools and sports areas
  • Summer classes by residents or specialists 

How to plan for these challenges?

Preparing for the summer holiday season starts with understanding your current situation and planning for every eventuality. This includes:

Taking stock

Increased pressure on electric supply due to myriad factors means that cities across India face power cuts during summer. Similarly, the water supply also starts drying up. These two are often the biggest problems faced by MCs and RWAs. Before you start planning for any contingencies, take stock of current availability and expected consumption. This will help you predict shortages and plan accordingly.

The other change during the season is the increased use of facilities. With children at home, the society clubhouse usually sees traffic throughout the day. Sports facilities like the swimming pool and tennis courts are among the busiest. Hence, it’s a good idea to oversee the state of existing assets and undertake repairs where needed. 

Facility usage is also governed by existing rules and regulations. So, it’s important to check the existing bye-laws and conditions for the usage of facilities. These can then be upgraded after taking the consent of all members.

Arrange alternatives

Once you have an estimate of the lag between demand and supply, you can start looking for alternatives to bridge the gap. You can look at different vendors, including tanker operators and generator suppliers. With time in hand, you can do some comparative shopping to find the most suitable supplier. Similarly, you also have time to arrange for repairs or maintenance of facilities.   

Build sustainable solutions

This is also a good time to start looking at sustainable solutions. For instance, a pattern in water shortages shows a persistent problem where a tanker water supply is just a temporary solution with a recurring expense. Consequently, members should look at more sustainable solutions like rainwater harvesting. Similarly, installing solar panels can help in lowering the pressure on energy demand. 

Communicate rules & regulations   

Some of the changes during the summer holiday season can require modification of rules. For instance, the MC may decide to monetise the use of some facilities like the swimming pool. Similarly, there could be conditions attached to the use of common areas for holding classes. In such cases, the residents must be informed of these conditions and charges well in time. 

ApnaComplex to the rescue

As a community management solution, ApnaComplex offers multiple tools to facilitate MCs and RWAs in planning for the summer. These include:

  • Check consumption by tracking billing for utilities like electricity and water. 
  • Expense tracker can show previous vendor billings including tanker suppliers.
  • Reach out to sustainable vendors like RWH and solar panel suppliers through ApnaComplex.
  • Make sure all bye-laws are updated in the ApnaComplex Community Wiki.
  • Get consensus on new rules through discussion forums, polls and surveys. 
  • Avoid overcrowding at facilities through booking slots.
  • Add charges for facilities where applicable. 
  • Communicate rules on holding classes in common areas through the ApnaComplex Notice Board.  
  • Collect payments through the app.
  • Check service history through QR-based asset management tracker. 
  • Check existing vendors to schedule service and repairs.

To understand its overall efficiency, read our article on the efficacy of centralised communication and centralised facility management. For a practical guide in using these modules for the summer holiday season, read our article on communication tools and how you can resolve challenges in facility management.

To know more about ApnaComplex communication, facility management, billing and expense tracking modules, reach out to us at support@apnacomplex.com or +91 80886 11229 for any other concerns.


Resolving Challenges in Facility Management

Facility Management: Challenges & Solutions

The modern gated community is often designed as a self-contained space that takes care of all the residents’ needs within the premises. This includes rest and recreation facilities like a gym, swimming pool, clubhouse, spa, and play areas. Hence, one of the key functions of the Management Committee and facility managers is to ensure top-notch facilities. 

Well-maintained facilities are not just important for ensuring a high standard of living, their presence can also raise the capital value of the property. Simply put, these facilities attract more buyers and tenants, adding to the value of the property. But managing these facilities is not without its challenges.

Challenges of Managing Facilities in Gated Communities

As areas with high footfall, usage, and expectations, facilities management can involve a wide array of expertise. This can range from dispute resolution to crowd control, billing, and asset management. Facility managers often find themselves juggling between these different skills and challenges. 

ApnaComplex Facility Management module was designed in collaboration with MCs, admins and residents to address these unique challenges. Here are some common problems and how you can resolve these with ease: 

Ensuring compliance

The biggest challenge for facility managers is ensuring the right usage. Members often do not know the appropriate rules and regulations or choose not to follow them. Improper usage can result in damage to the equipment. Moreover, it can impact the health and safety of other users.

Solution: Rules and regulations should be added to the Facility Management module on ApnaComplex. It can include rules like mandatory non-marking shoes in badminton / squash courts. Relevant rules are displayed whenever a resident books a facility. To further ensure compliance, the MC can also impose fines which are also clearly communicated via ApnaComplex. 

Overcrowding at peak times

Peak times like evenings and weekends often see increased traffic with most residents queuing up for a spot of R&R. Overcrowding at these times can cause irritation, short tempers, and disputes. 

Solution: Ensure regulated access through a facility reservation system where the resident has to book access for a particular time. Bookings can be further segregated by time, automatically ensuring that there are no double bookings. Read our article, Facility Management: How Digitalisation Improves Access and Efficiency to learn more about facility reservation. 

Restricting access 

There are times when the MCs may need to completely block facility access. This can be due to maintenance / repair work or special circumstances like COVID-related curbs. However, it can be difficult to let people know in time.

Solution: Remove the relevant time slots from the facility booking module to automatically restrict access. Residents can be informed in advance through the ApnaComplex community Notice Board and Discussion Forums. Notices can also be pinned on the home screen under ‘Community Updates’. This ensures wide visibility. 

Timely invoicing

It is not uncommon for many societies to charge for certain facilities like a creche or playhouse. Even free-to-use facilities may have additional charges for guests. The problem occurs when these charges are not intimated in advance, leading to irate users. Payments can also get delayed. 

Solution: Residents should be informed of charges at the time of the booking with the payment collected in advance. The ApnaComplex Facility Management module in ApnaComplex ensures both by adding the payment option at the time of booking the facility. 

Inventory tracking

Managing inventory is the key task for any facility manager. From light bulbs to gym equipment, keeping track of ever-moving inventory is both difficult and tedious. Managers must also ensure that there are no misappropriations or shortages. 

Solution: The ApnaComplex Facility Management module includes an inventory tracker where you can categorise and organise all inventory items like chairs or sports equipment. You can track stock levels, consumption, and purchases. This helps in understanding consumption patterns which are critical in optimising inventory. 

Asset management 

Some of the biggest expenses in gated communities revolve around asset management. Depreciation is inevitable and assets like fire extinguishers, sofas, gym and sports equipment break down all the time. The challenge for managers lies in reducing asset downtime.

Solution: The most effective way of reducing asset downtime is regular maintenance. The asset tracker in the Facility Management module provides a single view for all assets and service history including AMC details. Managers can also input future maintenance schedules and set up reminders before the due dates. 

To know the full extent of cost optimisation you can accrue from the facility management module, read our article, Facility Management: How Centralisation is Changing the Game.

To know more about the ApnaComplex Facility Management module and how you can leverage it to meet any challenge, write to us at support@apnacomeplex.