In the evolving landscape of property management, health and safety is the foundation of a resilient management strategy. With legislative requirements shifting rapidly, the gap between getting by and industry-leading has never been wider.
At Fixflo, we’ve seen how technology transforms compliance. Now, we’re highlighting how residential block management specialist Watson uses a risk-averse, tech-forward approach to lead the industry in building safety.
Protecting people and investments
Watson’s core philosophy is built on future-proofing. By staying ahead of upcoming legislative changes, they ensure that clients aren’t caught off guard by new safety mandates.
“If I can evidence a building is safe, then residents are as safe as they can possibly be, our clients are protected from prosecution, and leaseholders have their investments secured.” — Ian Omant, Managing Director at Watson
This commitment to safety is backed by data. Watson is independently assessed, consistently gaining high scores that outperform even their largest competitors. Their model is simple: a safe building protects the resident, the client, and the agent simultaneously.
The changing legislative landscape
For property managers, the volume of new legislation can be daunting and it’s no longer enough to have a general idea of the rules. Property agents now require professional support and robust systems to ensure every action that is taken is legally sound.
This is where the partnership between Watson and Fixflo becomes vital. Watson utilises Fixflo to provide their property managers with a clear view of outstanding actions to ensure remediation happens in a timely manner. It also marries professional expertise with a system that tracks every move.
How technology drives compliance
Watson has made the Fixflo system integral to their health and safety process. By monitoring data, they have moved away from manual tracking toward a streamlined, automated ecosystem.
Watson uses Fixflo’s real-time dashboards to monitor the safety status of their entire portfolio at a glance. Plus, Fixflo allows them to vet contractor accreditations rigorously. This ensures that every person entering a resident’s block is fully insured, qualified, and competent.
One of the most significant advantages is the ability to auto-instruct contractors based on preset timescales. This guarantees that safety inspections and tests happen exactly when they should, without human error. As well as this, through API reporting, Watson can assimilate data for clients, providing accurate reports on the speed of risk management and issue resolution.
Top tips for best practice
Ian shares his top tips for maintaining a gold standard in building safety:
- Always ensure you understand the life safety equipment on any site. An Asset Register is a good way of doing this as it creates a detailed, central database of all assets.
- Follow a procedure that allows you to determine the risk and the actions required to mediate these.
- Use gap analysis to ensure that these are closed as quickly as possible.
- Use Fixflo to manage the process effectively.
- Take your clients and customers through the process you are completing to ensure you have their support.
Final thoughts
In the modern era of property management, the speed of updates and the management of risk are determined by the accurate use of data. By combining Watson’s expert management model with Fixflo’s powerful compliance tools, property owners and residents can breathe easier knowing their safety is in expert hands.
