The operator of dormitories at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus 138 Student Living Jamaica (138SL) has commissioned the first phase of the new Manager Plus software.
Manager Plus is an online inventory, asset management and maintenance software aimed at achieving greater operational efficiency.
The company currently operates just under 1,500 rooms in nine towers.
CEO of 138SL, Cranston Ewan, said the new system will enable the occupants of the rooms, using a dedicated QR code, to log their maintenance, housekeeping and other issues into a central system, thereby allowing the company to schedule the tasks to be undertaken and to track each activity to completion.
“This will result in a faster and more efficient response to customer-related issues while maintaining adequate control and management of inventory, assets and associated costs. It will also assist in preventative maintenance scheduling,” said Ewan.
Among the features of the Manager Plus software include a real-time customer interface to report maintenance and housekeeping issues; general maintenance scheduling; preventative maintenance scheduling, inventory management and asset management.
The maintenance and housekeeping customer response feature is already operational, while the inventory and asset management component will be implemented by March 31.
According to Ewan, the Manager Plus software will complement the company’s current “resident at the centre programme”, and is in keeping with 138SL’s vision to further embrace digitalisation as a key driver of the company’s operations.
“One of the most important components of our business is the service we offer to our residents. We are always exploring ways to improve our service delivery and the living experience. Reducing the time it takes to resolve issues is a key component of this strategy and is in keeping with our core values,” he said.
He explained that 138SL found that the four existing channels of communication used by residents to report maintenance and other issues were too fragmented and inefficient to manage.
“The result was that sometimes issues would take longer than our standard commitment of fewer than 24 hours to resolve or would sometimes go unresolved. Manager Plus will consolidate these channels into one electronic system for ease of management and control. When fully rolled out, we expect to improve our response time to within an average of eight hours from the time the issue was logged,” Ewan noted.
The implementation of the Manager Plus software, he said, was a key milestone in enhancing the operational efficiency of 138SL.
“In 2020, we implemented “proxy click”, a visitor management system which facilitates the registration of visitors, contractors and other service providers entering our premises as part of our security and safety measures.”
He added: “The introduction of Manager Plus signifies the company’s commitment to a continuous process of improvement through the digitalization of our operations. This is a vital component in the future growth of 138SL”.
