Archives: February 20, 2023

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.