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.