Each and every apartment community are in possession of common assets. Depending on size, the number of assets can vary between 5-50 or even more. Maintenance of these assets is no mean feat. In many ways, an apartment maintenance app resolves the issue of tracking and maintaining common community assets.
What Are The Typical Assets?
Almost every apartment community, big, medium or small, have certain basic assets :
Elevators : The minimum number of elevators in the smallest apartment communities is one. However, the more the number of towers, the more the elevators. Large luxury apartment communities can easily have four elevators per tower.
Water Tanks & Pumps : An obvious community asset to ensure water needs are fulfilled.
Common Area Electrical Fittings : Nobody likes a dark, dull apartment community.
However, in today’s times as apartment communities seek to be increasingly sustainable living units, a lot more assets get added to the list.
Sewage Treatment Plant : With an aim to reduce water demand and water wastage, STPs have become common installations in communities of all sizes. STPs can come in all sizes starting from 80kL capacity for the smallest communities. The treated water is commonly reused for flushing and gardening.
Composters : Did you know you could end up spending an average of INR 45000 per month to have waste collected from your community? To save cost and to reduce the amount of waste ending in landfills, apartment communities across the country are investing in large sized composters to tackle their wet waste, leaf waste in-situ.
Rainwater Harvesting System : Keeping in mind the water crisis, we are heading into, apartment communities are taking proactive measures to harvest rainwater in the monsoons to be used throughout the year.
Gym Equipment & Swimming Pool : These have become common facility assets these days. Builders are now ensuring communities are equipped with the basic exercise equipment necessary to offer a holistic lifestyle to residents.
Solar Panels : Not a hot asset yet, however, market trends show an increasing demand for community level solar plants to reduce electricity bills as well as carbon footprint.
This is not an exhaustive list. It only talks about the major assets found in an average sized luxury apartment community. There are, of course, plenty of other assets like chairs for party hall, banquet tables, sporting equipment (cricket bats, squash rackets, et al.), common area bathroom fittings, etc.
Assets As Part Of Apartment Maintenance – Why & How?
Maintenance of assets is not exclusive to fixing repairs. It also implies the regular check up of the assets. Common area assets are used heavily thereby prone to faster wear and tear. Regular check up of the assets can help a community save lakhs of rupees.
Elevators : Community elevators should be checked annually to ensure they are in perfect working condition. An AMC is recommended to bring down apartment maintenance costs. For a detailed outlook on elevator maintenance, click here.
Water Tanks & Pumps : The common water reservoir demands regular cleaning to arrest the development of moss/algae or other organisms on the tank walls. Pumps have to be checked to ensure they are functioning at full capacity. Pipes also must be checked at regular intervals for leaks. Water leakage, unchecked, can cost a community a few lakh gallons of water annually.
Common Area Electrical Fittings : A check for this is must since any damage to electrical wiring or electrical fittings can be potentially hazardous. This can get risky, especially for children.
Sewage Treatment Plant : With the help of trained professionals, community STPs have to undergo thorough maintenance. Motors must be checked, water reservoir cleaned and sludge filters cleared to list a few. To know more in detail about the correct methods of STP maintenance, click here.
Composters : Unless the community has shredders and leaf composters as part of its waste management programme, this does not require a lot of work, except for periodical cleaning of accumulated moisture on lids, stirring the waste and emptying out the compost, once ready.
Rainwater Harvesting : An annual maintenance right before the rainy season is a must to prepare the system to harvest the maximum amount of water possible. The rainwater collection reservoir is also subject to cleaning to prevent development of microorganisms and insects.
Gym Equipment & Swimming Pool : Considering these are used a lot, regular oiling of the machines, AMC for heavy duty machines is recommended. The pool must be drained at periodic intervals for thorough cleaning and disinfection.
Solar Panels : The most important part of their maintenance is keeping the panels dust free.
Apartment Maintenance App and Asset Maintenance
A research showed us that the difference of cost between regular maintenance of only 5 assets in a 300+ unit community as opposed to repairing/replacing them is INR 32,00,000. Communities can save lakhs by following a proper asset maintenance schedule.
Apartment maintenance apps come inbuilt with asset trackers. Admins can list each and every single asset on the basis of priority in the app – available not only to the present Managing Committee but also the next ones. It gives users the provision to maintain a calendar of asset maintenance against each asset. It also helps to set up reminders when AMCs are due for particular assets. Regular asset maintenance can go a long way to increase the longevity of each asset at less than 4 times the cost of repairing/replacing them. This allows the Managing Committee to save more funds and concentrate on investing on more necessary assets based on community demands.
Another major advantage of asset management systems in an apartment maintenance app, is the benefit of having an exhaustive up to date digital record. The outgoing MC can update the incoming MC of all assets listed, their maintenance type and maintenance schedule just by transferring Admin rights. That way, there is a continuity in the maintenance without the scope of errors due to miscommunication.
Would you like to know more about the importance of asset maintenance in the scope of a community’s financial sustainability? Talk to us and we will be happy to help.