< Previous10 JULY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYlook like this: z$100.00 first tech z$50.00 second tech z $150 is now 33% for the labor on $450 of service revenue.THERE’S MORE . . . By expending two hours for the rescue technician to complete the fix, you forever lose the additional revenue that a capable tech could have generated on another job. Let’s say that two hours could gen-erate at least $300.00.Now we are looking at hard dollar costs that add up to $150.00 of raw labor, plus the lost revenue of at least $300.00. There is no quicker way to lose money in a service department than to overlook callbacks.THERE IS EVEN MORE . . . Every time this happens, you have a customer who may feel cheated and betrayed. Customers who are subjected to this kind of treatment are unlikely to subject themselves to what they see as incompe-tence again. This is the definition of a lost customer. Dissatisfied former customers are also likely to vocalize their frustration to a group of people we will call, “never-will-be-customers.” If this happens too often, your marketing campaigns may not be able to overcome their negative influence on poten-tial new customers.The damage to your local branding is difficult to quantify but could be incredibly expensive.BUT WAIT! THERE IS WAY MORE . . . When your technicians fail to perform in a cus-tomer’s home there is an additional price paid by others on staff. For instance:The Customer Service Representative – There are customers who express frustration and sometimes anger to innocent co-workers who an-While doing work for around 1,000 HVAC contractors over the last 20+ years, there has been a remark-able consistency in service labor as a percentage of service revenue. It is common for a company to operate with a labor rate of 27% to 35% of revenue for the department. Meaningful profit-ability is difficult for a company in this situation. The standard labor rate for a good service de-partment has traditionally been 22%. And the hap-piest, best-paid technicians and owners work in a department that may have it at 19% to 20%. Im-portant note: In these companies, it is not sell-ing spiffs that make them the best paid. It is using a compensation method that rewards people for being effective (details are avail-able on request).Often the first thing that needs to be fixed in a service department is the frequency of callbacks. To demon-strate the financial impact, let’s use an example of a failed fan motor. If you account for the tech-nician’s drive time to the cus-tomer’s home, the time to diagnose and repair the unit, a trip to a supply house to get a motor that may not be in the van invento-ry, paperwork preparation, as well as time communicating to the customer, typical man-hours for the job may involve as much as four hours. At $25.00 per hour, labor (based on this job’s revenue of $450) comes to a little over 22%.For each time there is a callback, we need to ac-count for a second technician’s travel, diagnostic, repair, paperwork, and communication time with the customer. This may add up to two more hours of raw labor invested in the rescue technician.The financial impact of this call back would Service Callbacks Are Expensive:And Now for the Rest of the Story . . .By Dennis MondulSERVICEEVERY TIME YOU HAVE A CALLBACK, YOU CREATE A FRUSTRATED CUSTOMER WHO IS UNLIKELY TO SUBJECT THEMSELVES TO YOUR SERVICES AGAIN.JULY 2019 11HVACTODAY.COMduring the High-Performance HVAC Summit in April 2019.He said, “When a unit leaves our factory, it’s only a struc-tured combination of aluminum, copper, and plastic com-ponents assembled together. It’s just a piece of a system, nothing else. It gets life and becomes a product only when professional contractors like you install it properly. More-over, you give it long life by maintaining it for customers.“We design, engineer, and assemble pieces and compo-nents, but you give them life. I thank all of you for giving life to our products.” It appears that we have come to a fork in the road as an in-dustry. We may be in a place today where quality contractors in any marketplace will be defined by their technicians being capable of doing whole system performance analyses (start-ing with airflow). This means: 1. Having technicians capable of making precise mea-surements2. Making sure technicians can make the situation under-standable by homeowners.swer the phone. For someone needing to sound happy and WOW customers on every inbound call, this can be a se-rious burden.The Manager – Angry customers tend to somehow reach the boss. Now the boss may need to respond and give time, attention, and sometimes money back to the customer be-cause of the failure. There is too little of all of those items to spend on unnecessary and avoidable call back issues.HOW DO YOU TURN IT AROUND?First, don’t blame the technicians for the problem, even subtly. This only makes becoming profitable more difficult.Holding termination over the heads of those who underper-form rarely generates better results. Besides that, it may be easier to find a leprechaun than it is to find an available and capable service technician. Here are some ideas that can help. zList the technical failures from the service tick-ets – After a quick assessment of the failed service ticket, you will likely have a very good picture of your technicians’ technical training needs. And they are likely to be catego-rized as electrical, mechanical, and issues in the refrigerant circuit. Those companies that have a weekly training sched-ule with “hands-on” time with copper, motors, wires, torch-es, etc. tend to develop very good and loyal technicians.However, the fact is that much of the training done in con-tractors’ labs or in schools, fail to require competence in cor-recting improper airflow. As a result, this training can of-ten generate inaccurate diagnoses or the diagnostic readings may be useless. zEarly in the training cycle, you want to build mas-tery in Performance-Based Contracting™ – It could be said that most meaningful diagnostics for furnace and air con-ditioner operation begin with precise airflow. Absent that, you won’t be able to determine the proper refrigerant charge, prop-er Delta T, capacity, amp draw, dehumidification, or even de-termine if ductwork leaks are impacting system performance. Furthermore, on the heating side, flame color does not nec-essarily indicate efficient fuel burning. The customer may have invested in a high-efficiency furnace, but if you don’t know the oxygen/fuel ratio, you may have never actually delivered a safely operating high-efficiency furnace to your customers.Recognition of this was born out in comments made by Sa-toru Akama, president of the Goodman/Amana business unit HAPPINESS IS . . .A CUSTOMER WHO HAS CHOICES BECAUSE YOU PROPERLY TESTED AND IDENTIFIED DEFICIENT DUCTWORK. NOW THE TECHNICIAN CAN SHOW THE CUSTOMER:1. WHAT THE PROBLEM IS 2. WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE3. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PROBLEMS ARE IGNORED.12 JULY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYSERVICEperformance so you can see how your training investments pay you backt Expect to celebrate with your team.If these issues seem too complex, time-consuming, or too expensive, please contact me with your ques-tions. Sometimes what appears to be a huge mountain is really just climbing an easy slope. Many contractors have kept this kind of project simple and affordable. You can too. t The problem, based on objective datat Options for solutions t Potential consequences of not resolving the issues.They can then let the customer decide on how to proceed.This can be done in a manner that is unlikely to generate any pressure or risk the sale of equipment. In fact, many contractors who have adopted this style of serving their customers claim that it has increased their likeli-hood of making the sale.If your company is one that needs to increase equipment sales ratios and cut service callbacks down dramatical-ly, here are some easy steps to begin “upping your game:”t Become a student of Performance- Based Contractingt Track and interpret technician Here is one example of why Perfor-mance-Based Contracting may be the dominant training needed in our in-dustry today:Recently, National Comfort Insti-tute (NCI)-trained technicians test-ed 856 existing systems nationwide. What they found may strike you as startling. Sixty percent of the systems tested showed deficient airflow. Much of that was due to ductwork deficien-cies. These caused customer com-plaints like poor comfort or high utili-ty bills, and both generated callbacks. This shows that the general rules of thumb used by much of the HVAC industry regarding ductwork are not working. With proper testing, defi-cient ductwork can be identified, and with proper training, the technician or Comfort Advisor can be trained to show the customer:Dennis Mondul from HVAC Contractor Solutions (HCS), has been doing consulting and training for HVAC contractors in North America since 1992. The HCS mission is to show contractors how other con-tractors increase the quality of life for their families, employees’ families, and delivered a better-quality service to their customers. He can be reached at dennism@hvaccsllc.com.HVACTODAY.COMThese influential people are not only mem-bers of the Performance-Based Contract-ing™ community, but they work to help others be more successful. In fact, by their actions, they contribute to the High-Performance HVAC Industry’s growth and acceptance through-out the greater HVAC industry and among consum-ers as well.How did they make our list? Over the years, mem-bers of the NCI team have traveled the country, vis-iting and working with many contracting firms, manufacturers, distributors, and utilities, as well as the various trade associations. They worked togeth-er on ways to evolve away from just selling equip-ment, to one that takes the time to understand that a system is much more than a set of boxes. They met people who believe in the tenets of testing duct systems, equipment, even the overall building itself. They measure airflow, temperature, and more, then calculate their impact on delivered comfort and energy efficiency.The following four top “influencers” of this indus-try are just the beginning. We plan on featuring in-fluencers twice each year. Time or era in which they served was not consid-ered — we looked at what they have done or are do-ing and the impact of those efforts on the industry.If there is someone you think should be added, let us know who they are and why they are influencers. Send me your “nomination” via email at mikew@ncihvac.com.So, without further ado, here are the first four By Mike WeilLEADERSHIPHigh-Performance HVAC Industry InfluencersEvery industry has people who have had a great impact on it — whether it is from the invention of technology or processes, or from sales and/or marketing techniques. These are people who, because of their experience, knowledge, position in that industry, and relationship to others impact its development. They make a difference in the industry’s direction, and ultimately it’s future. The Performance-Based segment of the HVAC Industry is no different.JULY 2019 13influencers who have had a direct impact on the High-Performance HVAC Industry.DAVID DEBIEN, CENTRAL CITY AIR CONDITIONING, HOUSTON, TXBorn in Port Clinton, OH, Debien’s entire life was that of a “tinkerer.” He founded Central City Air Conditioning in 1986 and quickly made a name for himself as a problem solver, eventually landing a radio show where he was dubbed Houston’s “air conditioning guru.” This is the plat-form on which he began his life’s work of trying to solve indoor humidi-ty problems throughout greater Houston. As a tinkerer, Debien loved to measure everything. He was a strong proponent of accuracy and of not guessing. At every oppor-tunity, he discussed his ideas about customized installations and the amaz-ing results achieved from his proprietary de-signed evaporator coil with an adjustable expan-sion valve. Over the years he manufactured his own coils, used stainless steel drain pans custom-built for his systems, and continued looking for and adding many unique features to his designs and installations. He was a true visionary in the air conditioning industry.David took his knowledge and passion to home-owners, building inspectors, and industry peers by teaching classes at local colleges and other venues. 14 JULY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYLEADERSHIPes. It’s more important than ever to em-brace innovation and methodology.”ROB FALKE, NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTE, SHEFFIELD LAKE, OHRob Falke is one of the two found-ers of the National Comfort Institute in the early 1990s. Rob leads the tech-nical training and curriculum develop-ment teams of the company, which is driven by his and CEO Dominick Gua-rino’s vision that HVAC system perfor-mance can and should be measured, tested, and diagnosed under live oper-ating conditions in the field. He has always found himself look-ing at the world through technical lens-es and sees the vital importance of ser-vice and installation technicians – when properly trained – to consumer safety, comfort, and efficient energy use. In fact, he helped to not only found NCI, but also a division of NCI now known as the National Balancing Coun-cil (NBC). NBC established and maintains stringent standards that must be met by those seeking to qualify for certifi-cation in testing, adjusting, and bal-ancing commercial air and hydronic HVAC systems on projects of all sizes and scopes.Rob always felt that the duct system was the key to overall comfort and en-ergy savings and over the years he gath-ered enough data – proof if you will – that he was right. His passion is to use that knowledge to help contractors actually deliver what they promise to their customers. That is why he is most noted for his under-standing of the importance of proper airflow distribution for delivering com-fort in any building.In his early days, he was often called them in their efforts to train the HVAC contractors in their service area, to test, measure, and diagnose both me-chanical equipment and duct systems. As the Environmental Program Co-ordinator for Field Services for Austin Energy, Tom Turner was key to help-ing the utility to understand the im-portance of this approach so it could achieve the energy efficiency goals it was tasked with. He was part of a lead-ership team that brought about the creation of a “Duct Diagnostics” pro-gram which taught contractors blower door and duct blower testing.In a profile story interview with this magazine (ncilink.com/0318Austi-nEnergy), Turner said, “More than diagnosing leaky ducts and homes, the program established the fact that old homes needed duct improvements to address comfort, performance, and to prolong HVAC equipment life.” This was unheard of for most other utilities at the time.From teaching and requiring their contractor participants to “test in and test out” on every job, the utility can tru-ly validate energy sav-ings – a huge benefit for consumers as well as the utility itself. Turner’s contribu-tions helped to set a gold standard for utili-ties and contractors alike when it comes to testing, mea-suring, diagnosing, resolving comfort issues, and delivering results that con-sumers want and need. He says, “whether they are in the Austin market or elsewhere, “HVAC contractors need to keep up with ad-vances in technology and best practic-He presented at conventions and sem-inars nationwide. He authored articles on humidity control in several industry trade publications and even taught in local community colleges. He championed humidity control using the entire HVAC system in-stead of just a humidifier/dehumidifi-er product and was always looking for better ways to accomplish that.David Debien lost his lifelong battle with diabetes in 2006.To honor his dedication to perfor-mance and his memory, National Comfort Institute created the David Debien Technical Excellence Award. It is given every year to an individual who demonstrates having strong tech-nical skills, especially in airside and combustion testing.Like Debien himself, this person reg-ularly performs diagnostic testing on service/installation projects. The recip-ient is a constant learner – always seek-ing to improve their knowledge – and participates in sharing that knowledge by teaching others in his company.TOM TURNER, AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN, TXIn the High-Perfor-mance HVAC universe, getting the word out about the importance of measuring and prov-ing system performance is something that requires traction from more than just HVAC contractors. Manufacturers, distributors, and utility companies also have roles to play. One such entity, municipal utility Austin Energy of Austin, TX literally took the Performance-Based Contract-ing™ methods to heart, embracing JULY 2019 15HVACTODAY.COMwill save them energy dollars and im-prove productivity and comfort at the same time. He says, “energy costs are more con-trollable today than ever before.” Among the customer group confer-ences he speaks at are the Building Owners and Managers Association, the Restaurant Facilities Managers Association and more.In addition, Don Langston has been heavily involved working on emerging technology projects with funding from DOE, the State of California, and state utilities. It is on such projects that he became more acquainted with Domi-nick and Rob and the NCI team.This enabled him to see tremendous sums of money being squandered, es-pecially on the energy efficiency side. In California, he found himself working against the concept of “deemed” energy savings because it is based on calculations where, as he says, “the math just didn’t add up.” “The biggest opportuni-ty for improving energy effi-ciency in any existing building is fixing the ductwork. Most return ducts are undersized. Most supply ducts are jacked up – especially in older build-ings that have been remodeled.” Which is why he has been very in-volved in the development of ASHRAE Standard 221, and why he supports training that teaches contractors how to do this kind of work.For these reasons and more, High-Performance HVAC Today magazine recognizes Don Langston as a key contractor influencer in the Performance-Based Contracting Industry. light and understand the value of the services provided.”Aire Rite is a $23 million com-mercial HVAC firm that focuses on the HVAC, restaurant, and food ser-vice industries. Langston says, “A performance- based approach teaches customers about their HVAC systems in sim-ple terms, identifies real performance issues, and differentiates contrac-tors from competitors. This approach proves to be a great lead generator and profit center for our HVAC business.”But that was never enough. He takes his successes and works to translate them to the rest of the HVAC Industry through his trade association and in-dustry activities. Don is widely known within the trades and has been very in-volved in shaping policy and govern-ment regulations in California. From a Perfor-mance-Based Con-tracting™ industry standpoint, Don has put his money where his mouth is. Besides keeping his team trained and certified in the high-performance method, he founded a non-profit ed-ucational foundation called, “Human Works,” to help train others in his area as well as helping the California Public Utility Commission develop their own performance-based training programs. He is a speaker and has spent a lot of time educating his commercial customers through their trade associ-ations on the importance of knowing the numbers when it comes to HVAC system and building performance. He shows them how this approach the “Air Doctor” by his friends. Today many just know him as “Doc” Falke. His contributions to Performance-Based Contracting™ are many, including the focus on air delivery, air balancing, and diagnostic testing. To date, the curriculum and classes he oversees and teaches have reached more than 25,000 HVAC professionals over the years. This small army reno-vates, balances, and improves live per-formance of hundreds of thousands of HVAC systems a year and is revolution-izing the way HVAC systems are tested and rated for performance. He has published hundreds of arti-cles, technical procedures, and reports during his career serving the air condi-tioning and heating industry. Further-more, Rob has been instrumental in the development of ASHRAE Standard 221P, a “Test Method to Field-Measure and Score the Cooling and Heating Performance of an Installed Unitary HVAC System.”In essence, this standard will raise the bar for the entire HVAC Industry by holding it accountable at the field level. This is a first, and Rob “Doc” Falke is at the heart of it.DON LANGSTON, AIRE RITE AIR CONDITIONING When it comes to customer satisfac-tion, Don Langston says that perfor-mance matters more than promises. Langston, President and CEO of Aire Rite Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Huntington Beach, CA, explains that “through total system diagnostics, customers see their system in a new 16 JULY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYWHAT MOST CUSTOMERS BELIEVETypically, customers believe comfort/air is-sues are an equipment problem. The customer calls a contractor and tells the customer service representative, “I’m thinking about replacing my HVAC system, when can you come over?” A com-fort advisor shows up promptly and the home-owner says,” I was talking to my neighbor and they had a bigger unit installed. I think I need a bigger unit!” The truth is, until the system is examined and tested, no one has any idea what the problem might be. Performance-Based Contractors™ are trained to verify equipment is sized correctly for the home and conduct static pressure tests to show customers that oftentimes the equipment isn’t the culprit. In fact, it is often the duct system attached to the equipment that is causing the problem.POOR AIRFLOW IS COMMONUnfortunately, we as contractors have trained customers over the years to accept poor airflow. Rooms over garages and bonus rooms are usual-ly the worst, but the upstairs in a two-story house is typically five to 10˚F higher than the first floor. Installing contractors usually lack knowledge about airflow, don’t have a room-by-room Man-ual J and/or D, or they use too many rules-of-thumb in duct design. They also most likely nev-Sometimes our industry spends more time focused on equipment than on how to deliver comfort into living spaces efficient-ly. This article details a common rule-of-thumb based on the physics of air movement in a duct system that has all but been forgotten.“WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY”Most HVAC contractors, depending on their geographical location, have a standard duct sys-tem-type they use when installing equipment -- usually during the initial new construction phase. Currently, local jurisdictions may require a Man-ual J, Building Heat Loss/Heat Gain calculation, Many contractors assume --for decades. Then, when a contractor is confront-ed with an airflow issue by the customer, he takes out his trusty Handometer, holds it over the reg-ister in question and agrees with the customer. Then he says something like, “All we have to do is add another outlet in this room or maybe a re-turn. If that doesn’t do it, we’ll increase the fan speed if possible.” Don’t laugh, a lot of us are guilty of having done this - even me.Improve System Performance Using the Two-Foot RuleBy John PuryearTECHNICALTwo common ductwork installationsJULY 2019 17HVACTODAY.COMruns, this rule may not work. NCI sug-gests that the installer use NCI’s Duct Design Tables, NCI’s Guide to En-hanced Duct Installation Practices, and your company’s duct installation procedure to fix the problem. The goal of this article is to raise your awareness of turbulence in the ductwork and how it affects air deliv-ery through restrictive duct fittings. It’s also to show how spacing takeoffs for branch runs using the Two-Foot Rule will relieve unnecessary pressure on the fan. Customers want to be comfortable and do not understand our technical terminology and testing processes. Our job is to give them options based on testing and reviewing the system. Using the "Two-foot rule" on your next project will lead to greater cus-tomer satisfaction and a sense of pride of a job well done. the turbulent flow stops and smooths out. Technically this means it los-es some pressure. The air now has to re-pressurize to regain its turbulent flow so it can continue to push its way down the duct. It requires about 24” or two feet to do this. This is the “Two-Foot Rule”.When asked, “which is better, to put take-offs directly across from each other or to stagger them,” most students say to stagger them. This is correct if the stagger is 18 to 24” on center from each other. Look at the di-agram. If you place take-offs too close to-gether, less than 24” on center, or too close to an air change (elbow or tran-sition), the air doesn’t have time to re-pressurize and create the appropri-ate turbulent flow.WHERE DO YOU PUT THE LAST TAKE-OFF IN THE TRUNK DUCT?It is safe to say that most installers know to never put an outlet in the end cap of a duct system. So where do you put it? Two feet from the end. There are two ways to address this issue in duct renovation. You can move the take-off upstream by 24" which is la-bor intensive. The second way is to remove the end cap and add 2 feet of duct and re-attach the endcap. This is usually simpler. You have to decide which is more cost effective.MAKING IT HAPPENThe type of installation common to your area may not accommodate this rule. If you have a system with remote plenums, or an extended plenum that is 6 foot or less with multiple branch er used any airflow testing protocols like NCI’s AirMaxx app, Air Upgrade Worksheet, or ComfortMaxx Verify™ software. This leads to what happens next.WHAT CAUSES THE AIRFLOW ISSUE? A common airflow problem comes from high static pressure in the ductwork which causes “turbulence.” Turbulence is the physics of airflow that shows how air rolls and tumbles through the duct, almost like a “cork-screw.”The combination of air rubbing against the wall of the duct (resistance) and turbulence in the air stream itself creates friction loss. This friction loss shows up in poorly designed duct fit-tings because transitions are too short or because of square-throated elbows. HOW DO WE FIX THIS? THE TWO-FOOT RULEThe air from the supply side con-verts from velocity pressure to stat-ic pressure so it can disperse into the branch runs. This turbulent flow pushes against the sides of the duct and creates static pressure. Whenev-er there is a directional change in air-flow, from either an elbow, transition, take-off, etc., it takes 18 to 24 inches from that airflow change to “re-pres-surize” the duct and resume the turbu-lent air movement. This pressurized air then comes upon a take-off for a branch runout. The air escapes down the branch and These two elbows shown above have the same restrictive throat even though one has a radius heel.Ideally you should allow at least 24” between takeoffs and at the end of any duct run.John Puryear has a background in duct design, sheet metal fabrication and installation in both commercial and residential HVAC. He currently serves the industry as an instructor for the National Comfort Institute (NCI). If you’re a contractor or technician wanting to learn more about duct airflow, design, or renovation, contact John at johnp@ncihvac.com or call 800-633-7058.18 JULY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYGrab the July PowerPack by logging in at ncilink.com/PwrPak and get started today! By the way, any user you add to the National Comfort Institute (ncilink.com/NCIHome) website under your company will be able to access all the great tools from the NCI PowerPack.If you have any questions, or if you are unable to access any of the tools in the PowerPack, please contact us at 800-633-7058. Save Big Bucks with NCI Online Training NCI’s virtual university has become more affordable than ever before. NCI has reduced pricing across the board for its online training offerings – and members like you save even more. Did you know that as a member, you have access to a fantastic online training program that is available 24/7/365? On-line training is optimal because you can use it to continue educating your team without the costs associated with travel and housing. Team members can train during lunch, in evenings, on the weekends –all at their own pace. You can keep track of how well they are doing and what they’ve completed. You can incentivize this training and make it part of your Performance-Based Contracting™ culture.To encourage more use of this amaz-ing member benefit, NCI has greatly low-ered pricing enabling you to save hun-dreds of dollars! You still earn NCI Bucks when you buy these online sessions, and you can even pay for them with Bucks you already earned and have saved in your account.Furthermore, if you’ve added the Learning Excellence Premium, Live, or Online subscription, and/or are a High-Performance HVAC Alliance mem-ber, the online training is included in your membership.So exactly what training is available? Go to ncilink.com/OnlineU to our vir-tual Performance-Based training facility and scan through all the advanced tech-nical, business management, and cus-tomer service modules available to you.Our Customer Care representatives are available online and by phone to help you. Call 800-633-7058, ask for a representative, and ask them about NCI’s low-cost, high-impact online training. Take full advantage of your member-ship and save hundreds of dollars on your online training today. Brand New Member Benefit: The PowerPack This special member benefit was cre-ated to help you become more familiar with all your National Comfort Institute membership has to offer. Each month you will receive access to a new Power-Pack with tools you can use right away in your High-Performance Contracting™ business. The July PowerPack focuses on inte-grating testing and diagnostics into your company culture. It includes: Top 10 HVAC Performance-Based Sales Obstacles – an article An Air Side Diagnostics Lesson – an article CO Levels and Risks Chart HVAC For Rookies – Online Training Modules – Online University Mastering HVAC Pressure Diagnos-tics with NCI Static Pressure Budgets – Webinar.You also can still access the first record-ed session of the Trailblazer Coaching program which is an introduction to what the Trailblazer Coaching program has to offer. It’s still not too late to get signed up for the coaching if you decide you want to take advantage of this great benefit. Sessions take place once a month, for the next 10 months. Click here – ncilink.com/TrailBlazeCoaching – for more in-formation about Trailblazer Coaching or to enroll!NCI MEMBER UPDATEJULY 2019 19HVACTODAY.COMPHOTO OF THE MONTH“Talk About Support!” — Kurt Walborn, Gary & Sons, Inc., Falls Creek, PA Kurt Walborn discovered this beauty on a recent job. Apparently, the previous technician used a crutch to hold up the water line. Walborn said, “I guess this works if the customer only needs one crutch!”Kurt Walborn of Gary and Sons, Inc., Falls Creek, PA is the July 2019 winner of our Photo-of-the-Month contest, in the What the Heck! category. Winners are voted for by both the subscribers to High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and visitors to the website. Kurt will receive a $50 gift card.You can win too – submissions are always welcome. If you’d like to submit a photo for consideration in our Photo-of-the-Month contest, go to ncilink.com/POMSubmit and fill out the information as requested.THE AUGUST CONTEST OPENS ON JULY 12, 2019. That gives you plenty of time to submit something in any of our three categories: The Good, The Bad, and WTH (What the heck).Next >