A stitch in time saves 9 (for Kirana MC actually RM31,000)

The 350sf decorative slate wall adorning one side of the GF entrance drop off point of Kirana Residence has an ingenious lighting design feature. Strips of plastic embedded in the wall tiles contain LEDs. When the lights are switched on in the evening, the LEDs glow softly in the dark.

One day as I was passing by the lobby lounge, by pure chance my gaze fell on something that didn’t look right about that slate wall.

On a hunch, I asked the Building Manager to re-measure the exact area of the slate wall to see if it came up to 1900sf, the area billed by the contractor. A few days later I received a reply by email from the Building Manager. The slate wall actually measured around 350sf . At the cost of RM20 psf, the invoiced bill for the slate wall should have been around RM7,000 (RM20 psf x 350). In other words, there was a big discrepancy of RM31,000. (1900sf x RM20 psf =RM38,000 less actual sum payable RM7,000).
Payment for the last invoiced bill to the contractor was due just a few days later after the Building Manager’s fortuitous discovery. The Committee quickly drew the attention of the contractor to the very large discrepancy between the invoiced area for the slate wall and the in-situ measured area just in time to avert potentially expensive litigation had the bill been paid. Apparently, the billing department of the contractor had made an error. The design department original drawings were in millimetres squared. The area of the slate wall as calculated by the design department was correct (in sqm) But the billing department had converted it to sq ft. That was the apparent source for the discrepancy in the figures being billed and actually measured in-situ.

If my aging memory is correct, the total cost of the Phase 2 upgrades was around RM420,000. So the serendipitous discovery of a billing error by the Building Manager and quick follow up action by the committee resulted in a RM31,000 savings, amounting to about 7%.

So a stitch in time did not save Nine but actually RM31,000 for Kirana MC.

Post Script: Of course the MC reviewed our SOPs (standard operating procedures) after the above incident. Invoices from contractors are now checked, item by item and line by line so that mistakes like the above do not happen again in the future. You might want to ask your MC or JMB treasurer if there are similar SOPs in place at your condominium.

Source : Weekly Progress Report from Bldg Mg on renovations to Ground Floor entrance and car drop off point