We teach students to remember that manifolds are not called ‘checking gauges’; they are called ‘charging gauges.’ By examining only the manifold readings, students become aware that its information alone doesn’t reveal what is happening with the entire system. Manifolds are NOT silver bullets. They are tools to examine part of the problem.
A common after-class discussion theme is about them realizing they have been charging systems wrong. Many ask me why our industry doesn’t follow the tests and procedures taught in the class.
My response is that our industry — especially in the residential realm — has been chasing shortcuts and silver bullets for decades in a quest to be competitive and more profitable.
Many contractors assume this is the goal. However, cutting corners and following shortcuts only increase customer complaints, callbacks, and greatly reduce customer referrals. Even worse, they lead to very negative social media posts about your company that are nearly impossible to reverse.
What You Don’t Know, You Can Learn
After contractors implement what they learn in class, the feedback we receive is incredible. It varies by contractor, but the resounding result is that they can more easily pinpoint what is going on in the system and correct it.
Compare that to not measuring and just following previous methods that don’t make them aware of any issues.
Students come to understand that chasing industry rules-of-thumb, silver bullets, and shortcuts often ends up focusing on symptoms rather than the root causes of the problems they see in the field.
Over the past 42 years, as an air conditioning technician who began in the commercial and industrial refrigeration sector, I too felt the influence of these shortcuts. Only through a painful learning curve did I steer myself back to the standards and what I learned in trade school.
Company Culture IS the Driver
Contractors drive technicians to take shortcuts due to the management culture within the company. In my days as a service manager, I also made this mistake. Our culture was to “get out there, solve the problem that got the phone to ring, invoice it, then go to the next job and repeat.”
I learned that if you don’t allow technicians to apply what they learn in training classes, there will be no benefit or development for that technician. This situation arises when companies have cultures that make change too difficult, preventing them from implementing procedures that foster new skills.
I find that this often leads to the deflation of the technician who has just learned new diagnostic tests that can help him and the company.
Because it’s never implemented or supported, the tech reverts to a status quo outlook, which sometimes leaves them seeking other employment opportunities. I think this also leads to a lack of confidence and a return to old habits.
Ah Ha Moments!
For NCI students in Southern California, one of the most critical components of training is what we refer to as “Field Coaching.” This coaching approach enables NCI trainers to work with students in the field, at customers’ homes, and in their businesses.
Field coaching is where we get to see the big ‘aha’ moments as service managers and technicians learn to perform the tests taught in the classroom and develop the confidence necessary to uncover issues they couldn’t pinpoint in the past.
A few months ago, I met a contractor on a job site. During a maintenance call, the tech noticed that the system was not maintaining a correct entering compressor superheat. The technician prescribed replacing the thermal expansion valve (TXV).
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