NAT: Flammable cladding, StrataVault offers a timely solution
This article about solutions to flammable cladding has been supplied by Julie Grove, StrataVault.
Our nation grapples to comprehend how we are to rectify, thousands of homes, offices, hospital, schools and factories being covered in combustible cladding; especially with the recent chaos on hundreds of lives, when the Neo 200 apartment complex caught fire in Melbourne in February.(1)
The cladding issue is becoming more prevalent nationwide and as more incidences occur, more owners are being left out of pocket by thousands of dollars and either homeless or with gutted apartments that need to be rebuilt. The managers are also left to deal with the repercussions of the fire which can be costly and time-consuming.
The glaring example of flammable cladding demonstrates the urgent need for an accessible, organised and efficient solution. The Victorian Building Authority has thus far audited 2,000 buildings for flammable cladding risk and identified that 360 have been found to be high risk, 280 of moderate risk, and 140 of low risk. (2) Interestingly, the Neo apartment complex was assessed as moderate risk, not high risk. Many people in Victoria purchase apartments without inspecting the books and records and have no idea what they are buying into, which is very concerning.
How do you identify which buildings fall into the high-risk categories? How do you manage requests for information from owners? How can owners get access to their building information? It should be available to them 24/7 at their fingertips.
That solution is StrataVault, a cloud-based platform developed to manage communication and documentation for strata managers, owners and developers to coordinate documentation in one place, providing relevant information to stakeholders in just a few clicks.
“The insured asset value of all strata and community schemes in Australia is a whopping $995 billion. But outdated technology, lack of security and multiple forms of data storage (on and offline) are creating massive inefficiencies and the inability to access information and data” said Julianne Grove, founder of StrataVault.
StrataVault provides transparency, accountability and security for stakeholders in a building’s value chain. The platform connects relevant participants to their information at the right time in the right place, with searchable tags, drag-and-drop uploading and permissible access points tailored to the differing needs of strata managers, owners/occupiers, developers and other relevant service providers.
StrataVault allows users to collect information in one location – no more boxes of documents and multiple email addresses to sift through. StrataVault offers an efficient way to communicate that relevant information to owners, tradespeople, service providers and others.
“Benefits such as virtual filing instead of paper filing has made our daily strata management seamless” from strata manager who is the early adopter. “Owners and committees now have 24/7 access to their information.”
As the owner or strata manager, you don’t know what you can’t find, but you are responsible for the impacts. The recent fire at Neo200 in Melbourne’s CBD is only one example of the problems that can lie buried under piles of disorganised documentation.
StrataVault will help you know your building better, communicate better with owners, give important information to tradespeople, and be better prepared with increasing demands for documentation from banks, insurance companies, and regulators.