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Intercom answers and a timed walk to the flat

Many residents still answer the gate on the intercom. The guard records what the flat said on the same visit, with their own name, so the record is complete. When the flat asks for security to bring the visitor up, the guard starts and ends the escort on the card. Both times are kept.

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Why it matters

In most societies some residents never use the app: they answer the intercom, or the guard calls their mobile. Their yes or no is usually written nowhere, or as a tick in a register. SmartMy Society lets the guard tap the answer on the same visit the app would have answered. The record then says who answered, how and when, whichever way the flat replied. When a resident wants a visitor brought up by security, the guard starts and ends the escort on the card. The society can show that a guard went along, and for how long. A resident who is coming down keeps the visitor at the gate until the guard marks that they met.

The problem it solves

An elderly resident answers the intercom, not the app, and the gate has no record that she said yes.
A dispute a month later: the flat says it never let the plumber in, and the register only says "OK".
A resident asks security to bring a visitor up, and nobody knows whether a guard went with them or how long it took.
A resident says "I'm coming down", the visitor waits on the bench, and the next guard on shift lets them in anyway.

How it works

A walk-in waits for the flat. The guard's card shows the flat, its intercom extension and the primary contact's mobile, with a Call flat button.
The guard calls the intercom or the phone and taps what the resident said: Let In, Leave at Gate, Coming Down, Escort or Not Allowed. The visit records that it was said on the intercom, with the guard's name and the time.
For Coming Down, the visitor stays in the Waiting list with the line "The resident is coming down to meet them". When the resident arrives the guard taps Resident Came.
For Escort, or when a resident chose Send with security in the app, the card says Escort to the flat. The guard taps Start Escort: the visitor is checked in, with the guard as escort and the start time.
At the flat the guard taps Escort Done. The end time is recorded, and the card no longer says Being escorted.
The visitor leaves through the gate as usual, and the flat is told of the entry and the exit like any other visit.

Everything it does

Answers the guard records

Let In, Leave at Gate, Coming Down, Escort and Not Allowed: what the flat said on the intercom or phone
Recorded as answered via Intercom (Guard), with the guard as who answered and the time
"Said on the intercom" is written in the decision note, with anything the guard adds
Leave at Gate logs a parcel for the flat with a pickup code, as when the flat answers in the app
The flat is not sent a second message for an answer it gave itself; it hears when the visitor comes in and leaves

Who can record an answer

Guards and the society office, never a resident on someone else's behalf
Only while the visitor waits for the flat; the first answer, from the app or the intercom, decides
When the visit waits at a later approval level (the office after the flat, for example), the intercom answer no longer decides it
When nobody answers at all, the guard uses the No Answer buttons instead; those are told to the flat

Coming down

The visit is Handled at the Gate with the answer Resident Coming Down
It stays in the gate's Waiting list for 6 hours, or until the guard taps Resident Came
Resident Came records the time the resident met the visitor
Only the flat can say it is coming down: the guard or office deciding without an answer cannot

The escort

Comes from the flat's Send with security in the app or portal, or from Escort recorded on the intercom
Start Escort checks the visitor in and records Escorted By and Escort Started
Escort Done records Escort Done and a line in the visit's history
The gate card shows Escort to the flat before the start and Being escorted until it is done
The visit's flat, answer and escort guard are shown in the Resident app's recent visits

The card the guard sees

Flat, family name (from Name on the Kiosk, else the primary contact's surname), intercom extension and flat contact
Call flat button with the primary contact's mobile
Waiting time since arrival, and the flat's answer as a badge once there is one
Directions to the flat on the approved card where your society wrote them

Who uses it

GuardCalls the flat, records the answer, waits with the visitor for the resident, or walks them up and marks the escort done.

ResidentAnswers on the intercom or in the app, and can ask for a guard to bring the visitor up.

Society officeLooks back at who answered, how and when, and how escorts were handled.

Where you use it

Web: the gate screen (Visitors > Gate > Gate Screen) and the guard page at /guard
The SmartMy Society Guard app (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
Web (office): each visit's Approvals tab and history under Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits
Not built: a report of escort times; the times are on each visit's record
Not built: calling the intercom from the system; the guard uses the society's intercom or a phone

What you control

Settings

Intercom on each flat: the extension shown to the guard
Name on the Kiosk on each flat: the family name on the guard's card
Approves Visitors on each resident: who may answer for the flat

Approvals

Visitor at the gate: the answer the guard records decides the flat's level, as if the flat answered in the app. It is kept on the visit's Approvals tab with the guard's name

Notifications

Flat: Visitor In / Out: to the residents with gate alerts on when the visitor comes in and leaves. By app notification and the first of WhatsApp, SMS or email that reaches them, and in-app
No separate message for an answer the flat gave on the intercom

Questions

Our older residents only use the intercom. Is that a problem?

No. The guard calls them and taps their answer. The visit then shows that the answer came on the intercom, which guard recorded it and when.

Can the guard record an answer the flat never gave?

Every recorded answer carries the guard's name and the time, so it can be checked. If the flat did not answer at all, the guard must use the No Answer buttons. The flat is then told who let the visitor in or turned them away.

How does a resident ask for an escort?

Press Send with security when the visitor is at the gate, in the app or on the portal, or say so on the intercom. The guard's card then says Escort to the flat.

Can we see how long escorts took last month?

Each visit keeps who escorted the visitor and when the escort started and ended. A report across visits is not built yet; the office looks at the visits themselves.

Does the system call the intercom for the guard?

No. The guard calls on your society's intercom or a phone; the card shows the extension and the flat's mobile, with a Call flat button.

Related features

VISITORS AT THE GATEWalk-in visitors approved by the flatThe guard registers a visitor without a pass for a flat. Every resident of that flat who approves visitors is asked on their phone. The first answer wins, with five answers to choose from. If nobody answers, the guard or the office decides and the flat is told who did.GATE, GUARDS AND KIOSKGuard app and guard web pageOne screen shows the guard who is expected, waiting for a flat's answer, inside or pre-approved, and which children wait for a parent. It runs in any browser at /guard and as the SmartMy Society Guard app.VISITORS AT THE GATEEntry and exit alerts and visitor history for the flatThe flat is told when its visitor comes in and when they leave, with the time and the gate. Each resident can look back over 30 days of their visitors, filter by kind and outcome, and download the list as a spreadsheet file.GUESTS AND PRE-APPROVALDirections to each tower and flat, and where to parkThe office writes once how to reach each tower, where to park, and the way inside the tower to each flat. Guests read it in their invitation and on the pass page. The kiosk shows it with a pin on the site map, and the guard sees it on the visitor's card.FLATS AND RESIDENTSTowers, flats and resident loginsSet up your towers and flats once, add the owners, tenants and family of each flat, and give every resident a login of their own. Each resident sees only their own flat.

See it set up for your own society.

Tell us how many towers, flats and gates you have. We will show you and your committee the resident app, the guard app and the office screens, set up that way.

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