Supernova Award Category

Internet of Things

The Problem

In order to provide lighting maintenance services, we previously had to dispatch a truck and technician to each property throughout our service area, encompassing 17,528 square miles, so that the technician could physically walk the property after dark and look at each light within the entire community to verify operation. The repair of burnt lamps required the technician to have the correct make/model/wattage/color temperature product on his truck or else a return trip would be needed, creating an increasingly difficult operational challenge as our client base grew and the LED revolution progressed. In addition, fuel prices were continually rising and responsible stewardship required attention to carbon emissions.

At the same time, a few other challenges plagued our industry:

• California faced a historic drought.
• Energy prices were soaring.
• New CA Title 22 regulations forced HOAs to test and record the swimming pool water quality every day, meaning that most of the 44,900 communities in California would have to dispatch a pool serviceman to the site daily, taxing already tight budgets and putting more service vehicles on the road.

The Solution

The results

Our solution, branded Common Sense, is a tool that provides new efficiencies and changes the way common areas are managed. The platform initially includes:

• Lighting: monitors operation and power consumption; provides automatic control including on/off/dim
• Pool: monitors and tracks water chemistry and equipment function
• Irrigation: monitors water consumption and shuts off the valve in the event of a leak
• Resident App: Allows residents to report an issue and see repair status; gives real time facility information; provides automated communication from management and drives resident participation.

Common Sense creates a new level of transparency that is changing the industry dynamic. Community mangers, board members, and residents can all see the status of the community facilities anywhere, any time – past or present. Management skill and maintenance team service are showcased. Communications are automated instead of manual, eliminating multiple tasks. Lighting and pool maintenance vendors no longer need to roll trucks to sites to check equipment. Management is changing from reactive to proactive due to the availability of information, such as current utility consumption compared with past, equipment status, etc.

With our plan to expand Common Sense nationwide, the disruptive potential is great considering the magnitude of the $88 billion HOA industry, $5.5 trillion worth of HOA real estate and 5,000 new HOAs built each year.

Metrics

The Common Sense pilot community has experienced noteworthy improvements:

• Transparency: CA Title 22 pool regulations require that the PPM level of chlorine remain between 2 and 9. Common Sense revealed that the pool maintenance vendor (whose contract included chlorine) routinely maintained the PPM at 2. When the morning lap swimmers or afternoon swim team came in to swim, the PPM level continually fell well below 1 and the system sent an alert. We believe that it is the community’s right to know the details.
• Energy Savings: Our pilot has provided energy savings of 20% at the community’s parking area, which is dimmed late at night, and 10% energy savings on lighting over the entire site due to precise lighting control.
• Information/Communication: When a light pole was hit by a car, management and maintenance received an alert with a GPS map location, allowing the emergency repairs to begin before any resident saw the problem.
• Resident App: Residents have used the app to report a broken step on the play equipment, broken latch on the pool gate and a leaky faucet. The community manager was able to communicate to the entire community that each issue was resolved, by a single click on the dashboard.
• Water leak: The water company called the community manager one Saturday morning to report water running out of the park, down the street. Using the Common Sense data, we determined that the leak was not at the pilot park but at a neighboring park.

The Technology

Disruptive Factor

Common Sense will cause widespread and deep industry changes. Our platform has been intentionally designed to NOT eliminate any service provider, but rather to emphasize expertise. Still, many have a preconception that their job may be at risk. In our tight-knit industry, this is bound to be challenge, but we believe that it will be overcome with education and by spotlighting successful companies.

In addition, some, who may be quite skilled at their trade, are intimidated and frustrated by forced technology. For example, the pool maintenance man at our pilot community has been using pool water test strips for 20 years and was initally willing, but not anxious, to try our new system. When his practices of maintaining a low PPM level were exposed, he became downright irate and even threatening.

Some community managers have expressed concerns over resident participation, some of which caused us to alter the features of the resident app. However, most now realize that this is the way of the future and that their options are to adapt or become extinct.

Shining Moment