3 key challenges in construction warranty management and how to overcome them

Warranty management - homeowners point of view:

1. You don’t know how far along are your submitted problems. You have delayed responses, lack of transparency, or unresponsiveness from builders and that can cause frustration and prolong resolution times for warranty claims.
2. It’s difficult to understand, which problems are warranty problems, and which are not.
3. How often do devices in my home need maintenance and am I supposed to this myself? 

Developer/builder’s point of view:  

1. Information overflow and forgotten deadlines 

Many buildings need tracking at the same time and that means there is an information overflow. We all know what an information overflow means – things can get forgotten or messed up without proper system. Forgotten deadlines and promises = unhappy clients.  

Solution:

Start using one system to manage all your information. For example, implement a task management software, where all your employees, contractors and clients can be in touch. There you can easily:

• Monitor warranty expiration dates,
• Analyse incoming data,
• Communicate with homeowners and contractors.

Even if things are running late, there is nothing more a homeowner appreciates, than good communication. In Hausing, you can use chat function right under the task, that needs solving. This helps to keep the information focused in one place.  

Monitoring incoming data helps you to determine if you should change something in your upcoming projects. For example, you notice that all faucets have problem with dripping, then maybe it’s good idea to change the supplier to avoid these problems in your next projects.  

In Hausing, you can categorise all your problems according to clients, houses, your determined categories etc. So it’s easy to filter things and analyse the data, because it’s all in one place.

"Hausing is a very useful software for managing work orders. Especially if you have a lot of different tasks, it helps you remember and keep track of them," said Siiri from Ledzep Group. 

2. No easy access to important documents

Homeowners don’t have proper access to all the important documentation. Sometimes it can be confusing. Especially, for first-time homeowners. What are the defects that constructor needs to handle, and what are the things that are homeowner’s problem?

Access to documents means, that also devices user manuals, should be easily available. This way homeowners have better information, how to take care of their devices themselves. We all know that well maintained devices can last much longer, than these, that are not so well taken care of.  

Solution:

• Make proper instructions, what falls under warranty and what are the conditions.
• Give clear instructions where and how to report warranty problems. 
• Make sure, that every client gets the instruction and manuals in an easily accessible space. It can be a shared folder on the internet, some online warranty management tool or on paper (which is not the best idea, since things on paper tend to get lost). 

To make sure no maintenance date is forgotten, you can make a checklist of all the things homeowner needs to do themselves during the warranty period. Plus, add contacts who provides which service. For example, in Hausing you can send out mass notifications to your clients with a reminder, that they have upcoming maintenances, that need their attention.

3. No progress reports about on-going tasks

Can’t get operative information from contractors about on-going tasks and therefore clients are left in the dark.  

It’s an option to send out emails and ask for a progress report, but it’s rather time consuming and inefficient. It often results in delays and miscommunications, further complicating the warranty management process. Lack of communication can lead to frustration and a loss of trust. 

Solution:

This falls pretty much under the first solution, that implementing one system, where all parties are connected would be a good idea. Also, lay down some ground rules, how often do you expect updates? Choose a property portfolio management software, that sends out notifications about unfinished tasks automatically, so you can get one responsibility off your back.

Conclusion

To sum up, digital resources are very helpful in managing warranty tasks. It’s important to get all parties into using the same system, so the data is in one place, which makes it accessible to everyone. 

Good communication is the key to keeping your customers happy and business thriving. With Hausing warranty management software, you can combat all these challenges. If you want to learn more how Hausing can help you, then book a call with us here.