Whether you’re a Strata Manager, Site/Project Supervisor, Facility or Operations Manager, the key issue for you as the person responsible for maintaining security on site is your contractor not arriving the same day to rectify an automatic gate issue.
This can drag onto the next day and sometimes days after that.
Ultimately, same day service is vital. If you don’t get an issue rectified in a timely manner, you will find yourself in the unenviable position of having to hire security to remain on site, just to keep the facility secure for the night.
In most cases, Strata Management are responsible for keeping the site secure, 24/7, and ongoing gate access issues will mean upset tenants who are paying rent with the expectation the site remains protected.
Another issue that annoys Strata Management is when a contractor comes to site, tries to repair the gate, fails to do the job properly and then leaves. When the breakdown arises again, management is stuck having to spend more money and time hunting around to find another contractor to come out and do the job properly.
It is crucial to employ competent tradesmen or contractors, who can rectify the issue there and then, or provide practical solutions on what is required to maintain essential security until the gate can be repaired. For instance, if the gate is impacted and steel contractors are required who may not be available that day, then the gate may need to be made safe and tied open.
Strata need to be informed immediately, to ensure they have time to procure security in the interim. Leaving the site and informing Strata Management a few hours later that, “By the way, the gate isn’t secure” is not good service.
Communication and promptness, quality contractors and responsiveness to site competency and reliability, will ensure peace of mind for Strata Management and tenants alike.
If the contractor is not answering the phone or not responding, or if the preferred contractor for that site is uncontactable, Strata Management will need to try and find someone else, who they don’t know, to trust with their site.
There is always a risk associated with being in this position as there is no guarantee that a newly found contractor will meet the standards of the strata company or be able to resolve the issue.
For this reason, it's vital that there be a 'reserve' electric gate company on your preferred supplier list so you've already vetted them and can have the confidence they will do a great job.
The next issue is lack of knowledge on what to do with a gate that has stopped working. Questions like, what do we do now that the gate has been impacted? Can it be fixed today? Do we need a quote, or repair or a temporary fix? Do we need to get security guys in? What do we need to do now to get this sorted? Then there are the questions regarding lead time, and so on.
What would it mean to the person responsible for the gate and security on site if they had a reliable contractor at their fingertips to provide solutions? If I were the Strata Manager, I would be stoked with a contractor who makes me look good, by helping me quickly resolve issues that arise. My boss would be confident in my ability to problem solve and do my job properly. I am in control and looking pretty good.
The strata will keep a good contractor on the books, and they would get a name for themselves as being competent and reliable – the go to for fixing gates. It means a lot for our company to have a good reputation for being dependable and professional.
The ultimate goal, or absolute outcome from a good contractor
The ultimate outcome from a good contractor would be to have them turn up when required and resolve the gate issue by the end of the working day, without having the site flow of work halted. Traffic management issues, such as getting trucks and other vehicles onto site, may require organising a different entry point. Business owners would then have to advise all their delivery people to go through a different entry point, which could create a lot of dramas. It would be so much more advantageous to have the issues discussed above resolved in a timely manner.
Being a responsive contractor prevents things becoming messy and expensive for the client, avoiding more issues arising when the original problem is resolved within a few hours of being identified, instead of days.
Feedback from clients who we have assisted
We have received some great feedback from satisfied clients. The below response was from a client with a high-rise building. The Business Development Manager called to inform us he couldn’t get his usual contractor out there anymore as he wouldn’t turn up. My sub-contractor (Mick) and I were onsite within an hour and fixed the gate - problem solved. We are now going to be the new guys looking after the building as the manager no longer trusts the original contractor to turn up when the gate requires fixing.
Thank you for your quick response and the great service. We would love to set you up as our contractor on site for any future issues and could you now please set us up to be invoiced for work completed. We look forward to working with you in the future.
We have had further comments such as:
I can’t believe you responded so quickly, thank you so much.
I just informed the manager what was required to fix the problem and it was fixed without any further issues, and in a timely manner.
Emergency Response List for clients
There are a number of checks we can run through if there are issues with the gate, to help the client solve the problem over the phone. This will help save the client money and assure them we are not in the business of ripping people off. We first ascertain whether the site is a big commercial site, or a residential site.
Some people are not confident with this process, in these instances, we are happy to come to site and check things out as soon as we can get there.
The majority of clients are happy to give this process a go, as they understand we are trying to save them money, by going the extra mile.
The checklist includes:
- Check power
- Check position of gate. If it is closed is there a manual release key?
- Let’s go down to the gate and I will help you get it open, so the site is accessible
- Gate is open and the site is working
- Head over to the 240 switch board to see if any of the switches have tripped
- If one has tripped turn it back on
- If it hasn’t tripped go back to the gate and take if off manual
- Close the gates, click and engage them, what happens when you click the remote?
- If the gate is working, that is the desired outcome
- We will show you how to put the gate on manual so the site can be accessed
- We check whether people can get in or out
If the checklist does not resolve the issue, we will come out to the site. We may need to check the power is getting to the gate. Sometimes it is as easy as flicking a switch back on and off you go.
If it is not an easy fix over the phone we will then come out and do assessment and report, to determine what the next steps are to remedy the situation
In conclusion, having a reliable contractor who can deliver a top service in a timely manner will give peace of mind that if anything happens to the gate, there is dependable and trustworthy help a phone call away.
If you're in a position of needing help with your properties, give AGM Automation a call today on (08) 9244 8899.
