Rolling Knurl out at a mall
Malls have a unique profile: a smaller core engineering team coordinating a much larger set of contractors and tenant requests. Knurl's unlimited-user pricing means the cleaning crew, the AC subcon, the security team, and tenant operations managers can all be in the same system without a procurement fight.
Day 1 — Set up
- Owner signs up: typically the chief engineer or the technical services manager.
- Pick the plan: Operations is the sweet spot for most malls. Portfolio if you operate multiple properties.
- Add the engineering team — admins and managers.
Day 2 — Assets
Start with the shared building infrastructure:
- HVAC: chiller plant, AHUs by zone, FCUs in common areas.
- Vertical transport: every escalator, every lift.
- Electrical: main panels, sub-panels by zone.
- Plumbing: pumps, water tanks, hot water plant.
- Fire safety: panels, alarm zones, sprinkler valves, extinguishers.
- Loading docks, generator, BMS.
Tenant assets stay outside Knurl — those are the tenant's responsibility. But the routing for tenant requests (lights out in the common corridor, leak in the bathroom) is exactly what Knurl handles.
Day 3 — Sticker
Default QR template works for most. For escalators / lifts, consider a tougher label material (vinyl rated for vibration and humidity). On Portfolio plan, design a custom template with the mall's branding.
Week 1 — Team & tenant routing
- Engineering technicians — technician role.
- AC contractor lead, elevator contractor lead, fire-safety contractor lead — technician role, scoped to their specialty assets via custom roles (Enterprise) or just trust + audit (every plan).
- Tenant relations / operations manager — manager.
- Cleaning crew lead — manager (so they can report and assign cleaning-related work).
Set up the public QR sticker for tenant reporting in service corridors and management offices. Tenants scan, fill name + brief description, the report goes into triage. No tenant account needed.
Week 2 — PM & contractor coordination
- HVAC: monthly filter clean, quarterly coil clean, annual chiller overhaul.
- Escalators / lifts: monthly statutory inspection. Assign to the contractor; they complete with photo proof; you have evidence for the regulator.
- Fire-safety: monthly + annual cycles per local code.
- Generator: weekly start, monthly load test.
Critical move: assign PM work orders directly to the contractor, not to your in-house staff. The contractor closes the WO with photo proof, satisfying both their service contract and your audit trail in one motion.
Month 1 — Reports & vendors
- Vendor management: every contractor in Knurl. Tie them to the assets they service.
- Purchase orders: spare AC filters, lift parts, fire extinguisher refills.
- Reports: tenant request response time, contractor SLA adherence, backlog by area.
What mall teams ask us most
Can contractors see only their own assigned work?
Yes — they sign in as technicians; technicians only see assigned work + the asset registry. They can't see other contractors' WOs. Custom roles (Enterprise) let you further restrict if needed.
How do tenants report without accounts?
Public QR reporting. Print a "Report a maintenance issue" sticker, place in tenant-accessible areas. Scan, fill name + description, report lands in triage. No account, no friction.
Can we have multiple malls in one account?
Yes — Portfolio (≤5 sites) or Enterprise. Each mall is a separate facility; cross-mall rollup for the operations director; per-mall isolation for site engineers.
Statutory inspection compliance?
Every PM cycle is a Knurl work order with photo proof and a permanent event-log entry. Export per-asset history for statutory inspectors.