Kontax.io Launches New Service - Meet The BOSS

In the last quarter of 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York City, we launched a new service under the kontax.io brand. Kontaxio [kon - tak - sho]  doorcam is a managed video door camera service with access control function. Its primary objective is to make it easier for apartment building owners in New York City to  add video support to their existing door intercom systems to help reduce the incidents of trespassing and theft. By easier, we mean, these:

1. No need to rewire the whole building 
2. No need to install dedicated video terminals in each apartment unit; Access is through the tenant's smartphone via Internet connection.
3. Affordable monthly payments 
4. User friendly management interface. The building admin has full control as to who can have access to the service via a smartphone, tablet or computer.
5. Kontakme maintains the hardware and assists in customer support operations. 

In 2020, the kontaxio service roll-out was limited due to the restrictions brought about by the pandemic. Nonetheless, we continued developing new services based on real life experiences during the pandemic. After months of research and development, today we are happy to announce the launch of our second product under the Kontaxio brand, a smart locker solution. Meet the BOSS (Box Of SurpriseS). BOSS was developed to solve a problem that seems to be common in most New York City apartments. If you google 'package theft in New York City', the search results would likely mention that there are 90,000 packages being stolen everyday!  I cannot confirm the statistics, but being a victim myself and personally seeing thieves stealing packages, and seeing more of it in security camera footages convinced me that I need to do something about it. To give you a perspective on why packages are easily stolen, take a look at the pictures I took showing where the packages are delivered and why they're stored this way.

They're out in the open, ready to be snatched away by trespassers in the building. Why are they left in the open, you might ask? This open table solution generally works because of the high level of trust between the tenants. At least that's what I feel in our apartment building.  However, after investigating the theft incidents using the footages from the security cameras, we learned that the culprits are outsiders and trespassers. These culprits use simple ways of entering the building like waiting outside for a tenant to enter or come out or simply annoy tenants by ringing their door bells randomly until someone let them in. There are some who pretend to be a delivery person, or even someone from the police department. I've personally reviewed a security footage of a delivery person stealing a package. Our conclusion is simple. Leaving the packages out in the open increases the probability that it will be stolen especially during desperate times. Unfortunately, for some folks, everyday seems to be a desperate time.

If we can remove the stimulus to steal, technically speaking, we can reduce the probability of theft from happening. But here's where the challenge starts, most of the apartment buildings do not have a mail room or mailbox big enough to accommodate the delivered packages. There is simply no space in the building. Tenants are also not available to receive the packages during the day, so the packages end up at the common area, relatively safe, but still prone to being stolen by outsiders.

BOSS aims to solve the theft issue through prevention. Our solution is to keep the packages out of sight and provide a system that would make it easier for the building admin to manage who gets to access the shared locker. Instead of a dedicated locker for each apartment unit in the building which will require a huge space, we simply provide enough lockers that can be shared by the tenants. Lockers that are large enough to accommodate the volume of delivered packages in a day and only the tenants with packages stored in the locker can open it. The manner on who gets to open it is where we applied a lot of 'smarts'.

BOSS can be deployed with one locker or as many lockers as the building space would allow.  The BOSS can also be used to transform virtually any room into a managed package holding area. Optional features include the following:

• Ultra Violet Type - C (UV-C) sterilization per locker
• BOSS handlers (hired by us to handle the packages being delivered daily in each building)
• temperature sensors
• motion sensors for light controls
• courtesy lights
• audible alarms via the portal
• customized portal pages per property
• on-call concierge support

Its modular design allows for easy capacity expansion and launching of additional features. 

We are currently testing a new capability that will allow 3rd party delivery providers the likes of USPS, UPS, FEDEX, Amazon and Lazership to manage the access of their delivery personnel so that they can enter the building and open the lockers to deposit the deliveries using their company issued smartphones. This capability will be offered as soon as we have the installed based. This can mean no more missed deliveries and an improvement in the company's bottomline.

So how much does it cost to roll-out the service?

For property owners, our basic BOSS starts at $150.00 a month for a 2 door locker that can be deployed in a space measuring 19.5" depth x 18" width x  5 feet high. The largest box that can be accommodated by our standard locker is a 16.6" x 14.5" x 26" box. The basic 2 locker model is ideal for a 20 unit apartment building. Power, Internet connection and space are to be provided by the building owner. The basic Kontaxio package starts at $250.00 a month. This includes the door cam, door access control and a BOSS 2 door locker. Details about the offer can change without prior notice.

Give us a call if you're interested in rolling out the service in your property. We'll soon have a Kontaxio certified building to showcase so stay tuned. If you are a tenant of an apartment building in New York City, and you want to roll out the service in your apartment building , let us know, we can make that happen. 

Please visit kontax.io for more information or contact us at info@kontax.io for details on how to deploy our service in your apartment building.

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About Kontaxio

Kontax.io is Kontakme's cloud service dedicated for building management automation and telematics. It is a spin-off service of Kontakme LLC.

Kontaxio Doorcam and Box Of SurpriseS are service trademarks of Kontakme LLC.

Tags :apartments, BOSS, locker solutions for apartment buildings., preventing theft, security lockers, smart lockers