How to be everywhere at once without going anywhere – The LUNA Way

Right now, there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty and stress for a lot of people living in strata because of the situation with the Delta outbreak. We get it – suddenly, our homes have to be everything. They have to be a school, a workplace, a place to relax, even maybe a holiday destination because you can't go anywhere, so the kids are staycationing in a tent in the lounge room.

The rules also affect who can and cannot come to your building. Subsequently, there has been some concern about what this means for building management and general upkeep of the common property.

Under the rules, common property cleaners (AKA Commercial Cleaning), waste collection and essential repairs can still be done. Under these restrictions, LUNA continues to track who is coming and going within a building by offering all managed precincts: -

1. Contractor QR codes for the WHS sign-in register. LUNA also have options such as QR-coded lockboxes and online induction and orientation pages for our pre-vetted and contractors, so they come to the site fully aware of what the specific guidelines and do's and don'ts are for that site.
2. QR codes from NSW Health for visitor contact tracing. So strata communities can put those posters up in entry lobbies, lifts and common amenities like gyms - for all visitors to the building. While it can't be made mandatory for people coming to your building to check-in, it can be requested people do so in the interests of public health.
3. LUNA is also using an internal QR code system to track whether the team is onsite or offsite and working from home. It's actually part of a bigger picture of digital and virtual technology tools we had already put in place, now proving worth its weight in gold!

With so much data and experience, LUNA worked out that around half the Building Manager's work is administration and office type work. So, during the 2020 national lockdown, instead of making our Building Managers (BM's) spend half their week doing all that paperwork onsite, we recruited and trained Assistant Building Managers (ABM). The latter now do the majority of that office-type work. This leaves our Building Managers free to concentrate on what they love most, ensuring your building is beautiful, clean, safe, and impeccably maintained.

It worked so well; LUNA decided to roll this approach out across all their portfolio. It is efficient and allows for a higher level of service to the Strata Committees while also saving them money by having the Building Manager concentrate on the critical stuff - which is a significant win for all. Also, LUNA has a crew of dedicated ABM's who are passionate about their jobs and love making sure every nitty-gritty detail is taken care of.

So, when Delta hit – LUNA didn't skip a beat. All the office and admin work are done remotely already, and our Building Managers have access to technology that helps them keep an eye on the building without having to be onsite all the time.

Our BM's have access to the security CCTV systems in each building that has that capacity to see whether there are any problems such as unwanted guests, rubbish, damage, or other issues. For fully comprehensive CCTV systems it helps make inspections a more systematic process. If there is a way to automate things and make them more efficient, reliable and safe, LUNA will and do.

The importance of upgrading a building CCTV also means that if someone who tests positive for Covid has visited the building, NSW Health can see if any residents were in the common spaces around the same time. So that helps keep everyone safe.

This is particularly important right now because everyone in Greater Sydney is relying on getting all kinds of supplies and shopping delivered, so more non-residents are coming and going from many buildings.

As well as the CCTV, QR codes and remote ABMs; LUNA also have a remote call centre – so if there is any problem or issue, people can get in touch straight away and speak to an actual human being who can help direct them to the right resource, person or information.

LUNA believe that between the intelligent use of technology and being innovative, they will better preserve and protect your assets and be more cost-effective without compromising on the level of service.

Right now, the protective measures LUNA are taking are also all about supporting the intent of the NSW Health orders and supporting the health and wellbeing of our strata communities and the wider community.

To close, as Building Managers, deep down, we love putting on our metaphorical superhero capes and coming to the rescue in person whenever possible. But health orders during a pandemic are a bit like a law of nature – they override everything. So, it is comforting to us, and hopefully to you, that we have systems in place that mean you will still get the services your building needs to stay safe and comfortable, even if you don't see your BM on site quite as often for the next few weeks.