One-hour response time to health concerns
Healthy living conditions in the company’s rental apartments and the well-being of residents are top priorities for SATO. Antti Asteljoki, EVP in charge of the rental housing business, tells us how SATO takes care of housing health by responding rapidly.
Residents do not have time to wait when it comes to health concerns related to their home. In 2018, SATO adopted a new rapid response approach which means that concerns related to housing health, such as suspected indoor air problems, are always answered within one hour.
Antti Asteljoki, EVP in charge of the rental housing business, tells us how SATO takes care of housing health.
What are the practical measures carried out by SATO to ensure healthy living conditions?
SATO keeps homes in good condition through regular maintenance and by anticipating problems. Maintenance aims to ensure that the indoor air quality in rental apartments is good and that the homes are healthy and safe to live in.
“We not only react to possible problems, we also prevent them in advance through continuous maintenance. Our maintenance partners regularly visit the homes to make sure everything is in order and to carry out daily maintenance work. In addition, we periodically inspect all apartments in terms of building services,” Asteljoki says.
The goal of being proactive is to make sure that problems and surprises constitute rare, exceptional occurrences.
How are residents’ housing health concerns responded to?
When a resident contacts SATO about a health-related matter, the response time must not be too long. In 2018, SATO adopted a new rapid response approach to housing health issues.
“We have a policy of responding within one hour if problems are detected in one of our rental apartments or if suspicions arise concerning the quality of indoor air. We immediately jump into action to find out the cause and initiate the necessary follow-up measures,” Asteljoki says.
In addition to responding immediately, it is important to keep the residents up to speed on how the matter progresses.
“We tell our residents transparently what will be done next, by whom and when,” Asteljoki adds.
What does SATO’s new home health manager do?
In addition to the new rapid response approach, a new home health manager position was established at SATO in 2018. The first home health manager, Aulikki Erälinna, supports SATO’s service managers in issues related to housing health, bringing her expertise to the table.
“The home health manager also sees to it that healthy and safe living conditions are created in our construction and renovation projects and in the maintenance of the apartments. In addition, we co-operate extensively with industry experts and research institutes.
This ensures that SATO has the best possible competence in and understanding of housing health, as well as the related risks and how to prevent them.”
Can residents influence housing health and indoor air quality themselves?
In addition to the technical maintenance of the building, living and housekeeping habits also have a great impact on the condition of one’s home.
“For example, if a resident finds his or her apartment cold and therefore obstructs the air valves, this can quickly have an impact on moisture build-up in the whole building. Or if radiators have been covered with heavy curtains, heat will be absorbed by the wall because it cannot pass through the fabric. A resident’s own actions, such as airing out spaces, have an impact, especially in older homes with gravitational ventilation,” Asteljoki explains.
If problems arise, the resident is well-advised to immediately contact maintenance or our customer service.
“We promise that we will react quickly,” Asteljoki says.