When a building manager is on-site, he or she often establishes relationships with strata committees faster than strata managers can, and when there’s an issue, a picture is worth a thousand words. When it comes to defect coordination and facilitation, this is more prevalent than ever. We are in the middle of a turbulent time […]
If you think building evacuation is never going to happen to your strata scheme, take a good look at what is happening in NSW currently with a number of buildings in the media and owners displaced in what is considered unprecedented. Many kinds of emergencies can lead to a need for evacuation. In some cases, […]
Often we see a strata committee made up of the scheme’s most capable residents. From business owners to “can do” residents, the more capable the committee, the more that the committee can achieve without outside influences. In most circumstances, it is a dream scenario. During a defect period where a developer is introduced into the […]
While facilitating defects, I am astounded how often fire compliance is continually mis- managed. Having a parent who spent his career investigating fires, the words “the fire won’t get you, the smoke will get you well before the flames do” are always front of mind for me. Reviewing fire doors this week in a building, […]
The mental health damage and the sensation of being short changed on people living in apartments is an ongoing topic within the defects industry. From the apartment owners, the legal experts and the specialist engineers, everyone is talking about the moral injury to strata owners. Over the past 2 years, while working alongside Mascot Towers, there were countless examples of mentally frustrated apartment owners who were constantly and continuously being agitated while the end of their second year was looming. While this example may seem a little exaggerated or extreme, the case is similar for all sorts of apartment owners facing defects in their residences. There’s a much-shared opinion that the remediation industry only cares about the profit, while the customers are left to take care of the staggering costs. Our experience is far from this myth. The reality is quite different from this rumor. What is faced by the residents compels the industry […]
Report writing can be a colourful art form sometimes. As a non-expert working within the investigative and more focused on the forensic side of building management, the validity of my investigations requires careful processes and steps taken to ensure what I produce is reliable and not just a narrative. Accurate justifiable reporting; we at Grays […]
Over the past 20 years, my experience of the definition and value of site safety and risk management has been varied. However, the message of safety and risk management has gotten through to the masses, we want our contractors to go home safe to their families everyday. So my loaded question for this week is […]
To be an extraordinary defect facilitator, you need to understand the fundamentals of the events to come and how defects become struck off during a legal battle. The measures you take in dilapidation, reporting, and monitoring of the progression of defects should always be undertaken with a developed flawless process. Failure to instil these processes, you will […]
Although Grays Rescue is a young company, we are privileged to work with the most extraordinary engineering experts and strata and construction legal minds. So far in our two years of existence and operation, to be collaborating and trusted to facilitate major defects and their remediation keeps us more focused. This has in turn provided […]
As a motorhome enthusiast, I know that most insurers balk at insuring motorhomes with lithium batteries and solar systems. This is for the reason that the current technology is just too young and also because of the fact that lithium batteries catch fire regularly. There are many articles published about this matter. Meanwhile, in our strata industry, the insurers don’t seem to have the same concerns. So why […]
At its best, a well-oiled machine has every piece in its place, performing to an optimal level for which it was designed and installed. The same can be said for individual companies coming together as a team to take on the unthinkable. This is my take on the strata industry at the moment. The industry […]
A less than reasonable scope of works (SoW) is not a new term; lawyers representing owners corporations very clearly understand that yes, a developer will likely agree to rectify the defects, but are owner’s corporation’s compromising with the rectifications. Being a building management company dedicated to defect management and on the ground litigation support, less […]
Management of contractor documentation is an essential part of building management. From work permits, insurances, SoW to keeping minutes of discussions and toolbox meetings, detailed documentation is a priority. Following the new regime of contractor documentation management being delivered as part of the DBPR, Grays Rescue Building Management’s commitment to personal and company development finds […]
A building management company can boast all of our processes and expertise, but in the end actions count. When a Building Manager skips through an induction without instilling the respect an induction deserves, expectations change. If a contractor doesn’t respect the process’s or feels the building management is not proactive regarding safe-work practises, many contractors […]
Defect rectifications are never straight forward and when control joint issues are thrown into the mix, what is usually simple waterproofing, delamination and facade rectifications become delayed as rectifying these prior to a control joint rectification is likely going to result in a second failure. As factual and simple as this is, try telling that […]
I could say that I have come full circle during my career from a plumbing trade to a handyman and now a flourishing building management company. My first experience in building management was in a building with little to no hot water, year-round, that brought out the plumber in me. From that moment, I was […]