When a Community Manager is visiting a property to complete an inspection, they bring along several items including, but not limited to; a legal pad, an inspection report, and a camera. Once the inspection is complete, they must then head back to the office, input all of the data that was just recorded, and begin generating violation letters. Doesn’t that seem a little inefficient?
New Era is constantly adapting and tweaking the services we provide to our homeowners so we can ensure the highest quality of customer service. With that said, we’re proud to be introducing a new form of violation and work order technology – Tracer Pro.
Tracer Pro provides our Community Managers with essential tools in the field to effectively process violations and work orders – wirelessly. With the help of a Windows Mobile powered smartphone, our managers can look up a homeowner’s address, search for the specific violation template, take a photo of the violation with GPS coordinates, and finally save, and sync the violation information back to the office. The steps I just outlined take about a minute to complete.
Below is a simple network map of how the system operates:
A simple outline of the Tracer Pro process.
Our Board of Directors love Tracer Pro for a few reasons:
1) Some Directors like to accompany the manager during the inspection process, Tracer Pro helps speed up the inspection while maintaining the accuracy of the violation. It provides a more efficient walk-through process for all parties involved.
2) When it’s time to review violations or work orders at a Board of Directors meeting, Tracer Pro delivers an easy-to-read, automatically generated report to simplify the discussion. Board Members can see how many letters have been sent to each homeowner and where each homeowner stands in accordance with the Association’s fine schedule.
3) Photos embedded within the letter clearly show the violation, and remove the possibility of homeowner’s claiming their home was NOT in violation of the CC&Rs.
Here’s a sample letter:
Notice the picture on the upper right side of the document.
As you can see, the letter is properly formatted, includes the correct information, includes a photo, and saves everyone valuable time.
This post will be the first of a few outlining Tracer Pro, next time I’ll preview the actual application on the phone, with screen shots – so you’re able to see through the eyes of a manager.
Join us as we move forward into a NEW ERA.
