September 2019
Artificial intelligence technology may soon be ready to improve on management of condo buildings.
Travtus, a Singapore-based start-up, has spent more than two years collecting data on hundreds of thousands of work orders prepared by New York City property managers covering everything from leaking pipes to elevator failures. The company is now working with Columbia University to develop technology that will help condominium managers and boards make complex decisions about maintaining and repairing their buildings.
The technology is based on data analysis. By knowing how many water leaks occur and where they occur in a building, the technology will be able to advise condominium managers and directors when it is more economical to repair individual pinhole leaks or consider more extensive measures. It should also be able to identify the source of problems from symptoms that frequently misdirect. By referring to a body of data from many buildings, this technology should be more accurate than what may occur in a single isolated building.
Condominium managers of large and small buildings should all benefit from this shared pool of knowledge. Less experienced condominium managers and directors will be able to tap into the combined wisdom of thousands of condominium managers, millions of documented problems and the knowledge generated from these experiences.
As time passes, the system will continue to get smarter about how to best tackle problems. Newly identified problems in one building will be diagnosable sooner in other buildings than would otherwise be possible by waiting for more data.
This should allow condominium managers to focus less on menial tasks and more on servicing residents.
