Another potential challenge was after Dean took combustion and air classes, he needed to introduce the concept of doing static pressure testing into the company. To avoid complications and resistance, Ken Dean says he began that introduction by simply showing them how static pressure testing benefits them while they are in the field.

‘I want them to know why it’s good for them to use these processes and tools. The advantages it gives them. They really got on board with it, especially when I could demonstrate it to them in the field.

‘The service guys took to it quickly, but I really want to impart more of this knowledge to our installers, so they see what their efforts at installing have yielded in terms of airflow.’

Ken goes out after most installs to commission the systems. He says he does about 80% of them.

The Ultimate Impact

Ken emphatically says the performance approach directly impacts his company’s success and growth.

‘Our reputation is what drives our business and growth,’ he says. ‘Not every customer wants us to spend time for testing, at least not upfront, so I try to give them what they want with options that can make things much better for them.

‘People like that. Few others of my competitors do that. Then, when we solve the ‘unsolvable’ problems, customers do talk about it. Other trades talk about it.

‘We couldn’t do any of that if we weren’t testing and diagnosing comfort delivery performance.’

‘Air diagnostics and combustion analysis are the base of our success and that base depends on training from NCI, the training we do in-house, and training provided by our vendor partners.

‘The biggest internal impact is satisfaction. We are not just mechanics or just part swappers. We can actually go out and make a real difference in our customers’ lives. Knowing how to do all this helps us feel really good about the work we do and inspires us to be the best,’ concludes Ken Dean.

For this and so many more reasons, High-Performance HVAC Today magazine has selected Dean Heating and Air as this month’s Contractor Spotlight.