< Previousing with us and doing ride-alongs with our technicians, we’ll either make a job offer or not,” Hearn continues. “After being hired, we send them to those mentioned above heavy immer- sion-based technical schools around the country to get them up to speed in a short amount of time.” HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC AT HEARNS Hearn says his technicians do static pressure testing, temperature testing, and consider the ductwork part of the overall system. He says, “On all of our maintenance calls, we use a 60-point checklist that requires the four points of static pres- sure testing, temperature rise, and so on. Our techs ask customers com- fort-based questions. “Most of our replacement projects include, at the bare minimum, some type of return air upgrade. An upgrade may involve increasing filter size and trying to get static pressure down as close as possible to the manufacturer rating plate, so we distribute air better throughout the home.” Hearn adds that they include com- bustion testing on every mainte- nance call and static pressure on every startup. “That means we test in and out,” Hearn explains. “We recently began using a seven-point service safety re- port. Now on every service call, we’re testing combustion as well as part of our evaluation fee.” The company has been selling air upgrades and duct renovations for the past four years, and Hearn says those sales have added nicely to their overall profits. “The air upgrade approach helps us to help take care of issues that can prolong system life and add comfort to the house,” he says. “Plus, air up- grades increase the average ticket for a project and our overall gross mar- gin on replacement. The best news is that it helps customers save on energy as well.” This is important because, in the Hearn market area, 50 to 60% of the homes are heated using natural gas, 10% use propane, and the rest use (40%) oil or electric. The latter often employs heat strips with a heat pump. So, saving energy and maintaining good comfort levels are important to consumers. These things added up to a growth spurt unlike any before in the compa- ny’s history. “I suppose you could say our growth began when we truly decided to start running a business effectively instead of just being a contractor offering a service. We saw results immediately,” Thursday is for plumbing. “For our installation department, I typically fit training in a morning that makes sense depending on what jobs our techs have. And then Dennielle meets with the call center: our CSR’s and the dispatcher. “So we provide a lot of in-house training. Plus, several of the groups we belong to conduct live webinars; live, in-person training; and we leverage our vendors for technical training locally,” Hearn says. RECRUITING GOOD PEOPLE “Our focus when recruiting for the company is to find good people,” Dennielle Hearn says. “We do not target techs from other companies.” “I knew to create something differ- ent; I’d have to look different,” Tom Hearn adds. “Slowly, we began look- ing for and recruiting individuals from other industries. To hire such individuals, you need a good training and onboarding program for them.” Tom adds, “We hire based on char- acter and having good technical apti- tude. This interview process provides a good gauge on a potential technician’s comfort in the material space and world. We look at their hobbies to see how they work with their hands with construction materials. Overall, our in- terview process takes about 40 to 44 hours for a field position. “We try to understand how they en- gage with their community and their families. We are looking for people who have a servant’s heart, first and foremost.” Hearn says that a candidate’s tech- nical aptitude shows him whether they can be trained in technical skills. “After those 40 to 44 hours of meet- CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT Hearn Plumbing and Heating techs Dustin (in truck) and Aaron on the job. 10 APRIL 2022 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAPRIL 2022 11HVACTODAY.COM CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT The organization is a great resource to help contractors further separate themselves from the masses.” For these and so many other rea- sons, High-Performance HVAC Today has chosen 76-year-strong Hearn Plumbing and Heating to shine our spotlight on. Congratula- tions to Tom and Dennielle and their entire team. must work on the business, not in it as owners and managers. “For any compa- ny looking to sep- arate themselves from their competi- tors, NCI is one great avenue to do that. Not only do they provide top- notch technical training, but they also offer communication training on how to talk to customers effectively,” Tom concludes. “NCI delivers the true value of what this stuff means to everybody regard- ing safety and assuring customers receive everything from the equip- ment they’re putting in their house. Hearn continues. “After learning how to price cor- rectly, to deliv- er value related to that price, and offering customers service membership programs, this led to us building a loyal cus- tomer base.” BE UNIQUE IN YOUR MARKETPLACE In the end, Hearn says he believes that the training and the ability to solve customer problems that other con- tractors don’t even know to look for is vital to standing out in your mar- ketplace. He says that contractors Mike Weil is the Director of Communications for National Comfort Insti- tute, Inc. (NCI). He also serves as editor-in-chief of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine, the only trade publi- cation that targets the High-Performance HVAC Contracting commu- nity. He can be reached via NCI’s contact page at ncilink.com/ContactMe.12 APRIL 2022 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY clunky software interface or more paperwork to educate those customers. CURRENT SENSITIVITIES Today’s residential equipment is more sensi- tive than ever to system deficiencies. Yes, vari- able-speed blowers can sometimes be forced to overcome high static pressure, but they do that with a high energy cost penalty. Many furnaces and air handlers are rated at just 0.5-in. of static, vs. the more common 0.8 or 1-in. models from the past. Modern refrigerants are more sensitive to charge and airflow deficiencies. The faster heat pump market penetration versus furnaces means more systems must contend with these issues in heating and cooling, and ducts from old furnaces are likely to be undersized in heating-dominated climates. Meanwhile, customers today are starting to realize that more than just equipment matters. Years of awareness campaigns by governments, utilities, and organizations like NCI combined with online services allow homeowners to com- pare contractors making them armed and dan- gerous to box swappers. All this means that high-performance contrac- tors have a landscape ripe for harvesting before them. It’s time to dust off the tools! GIVING PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT NEW LIFE NCI has steadily improved our software options for measuring and calculating installed system performance. In 2015 we launched a new cloud- H igh-performance contractors have known for a long time that when it comes to getting the most comfort, capacity, and efficiency from HVAC equipment, it’s the system that matters. You need to measure to find those improvement opportu- nities. Sometimes, it can be challenging to trans- late those measurements to customers so they understand how much you’ve helped them. National Comfort Institute (NCI) has trained contractors for decades to measure, not guess when it comes to installed HVAC system perfor- mance. About 10 years ago, we briefly piloted the concept of offering third-party certification of those measurement results. The pilot was met with great enthusiasm. Roughly 50 contractors signed on to offer certi- fied systems to their customers. Unfortunately, software technology at the time wasn’t quite “there.” Plus, there was a lack of awareness of field system performance measure- ment. Customers didn’t know that better com- fort and lower bills were within reach. Most con- tractors didn’t want the hassle of dealing with a NCI Certified System Performance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come By Ben Lipscomb, P.E. and Dominick Guarino MANAGEMENT Pictured to the left is a screenshot of the ComfortMaxx Verify™ Software interface.APRIL 2022 13HVACTODAY.COM and field-testing, measured perfor- mance is evolving to the next level. We created a certification process where you can not only promise mea- sured performance, but you can also prove it! And it’s backed up by Nation- al Comfort Institute, a decades-old, advanced HVAC training and certifi- cation organization. NCI has built the system certifica- tion process into our ComfortMaxx Verify™ cloud software. Once you’ve improved your customer’s system, you can “Test Out” using ComfortMaxx™, and if it qualifies, you can certify the system with the push of a button. You then sticker the entire system as NCI Certified. Once certified, your customer can access their certificate showing either a silver or gold level along with a report that shows exactly how their system performed at the time of the test. The Verify test, by the way, is com- pliant with ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 221 Testing Protocol. This provides even more credibility to your compa- ny’s work. NCI provides you with certification packets in advance to ensure a system can be immediately certified upon test-out. You can buy these pack- ets in quantities of five or more. These sealed packets have the certifi- cation number label on the outside so they can remain sealed until a system is ready to be certified. Upon achieving certification through the ComfortMaxx cloud software, you enter the certification number from the packet into ComfortMaxx, so it becomes that system’s official certifi- cation ID. Your technician then opens the packet containing indoor and out- door labels, which they then apply to the equipment. The packet also in- cludes literature for the customer about their newly certified system. You should apply the service re- cord label in a prominent place on the indoor equipment. Your techni- cians can use it to record baseline in- formation that can be compared year after year on maintenance visits. This encourages customers to purchase long-term maintenance agreements to based version of ComfortMaxx™ that allows you to perform three levels of diagnostic and verification testing in the field without any paper forms, hand calculations, or downloads necessary. This software was rigorously tested and proven in a major utility program in California and now has users spread throughout the United States. Meanwhile, NCI has been hard at work to bring our message and field system performance measurement methods to the masses. In 2016 we began the development what became ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 221, a process in which we voluntarily edu- cated engineers, equipment manufac- turers, utilities, and others on the value of measuring the performance of sys- tems as they are installed in the field, not just in the lab. We did this so that the hard work of high-performance contractors would finally be broadly recognized in the in- dustry, not just by those in the know. In 2020 that hard work paid off with the publishing of ANSI/ASHRAE 221 for the first time. But we didn’t stop there. ANNOUNCING NCI CERTIFIED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE We are excited to announce that after two years of research, development, 14 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY MANAGEMENT designed to help educate your cus- tomers about the benefits of Certified System Performance. Just point your browser to NCICertified.com. To learn more about NCI Cer- tified System Performance, go to NCICertified.net or contact us at 800-633-7058. A customer care rep- resentative can walk you through the process. requirements are spelled out there. Once your application is approved, you will be able to purchase access to ComfortMaxx Verify in the cloud, and you can also acquire your first certifica- tion packets. NCI provides online training to par- ticipants and their employees includ- ed in the program at no additional cost. We also have a consumer website help keep their systems operating at peak performance. HOW TO GET STARTED The first step is to be sure you have trained and certified technicians and installers who can perform the required testing. To qualify, they must hold an NCI Residential System Perfor- mance Specialist certification. We also strongly recommend that your test-out technicians have an NCI Residential Air Balancing certi- fication, so they know how to balance HVAC systems properly using NCI protocols. To learn more and enroll in the program, go to NCICertified.net or go directly to our Online Appli- cation. All of the qualifications and Ben Lipscomb, P.E. has more than 16 years of experience in the HVAC industry, including laboratory and field research, Design/Build contracting, and utility energy efficiency program design. He is National Comfort Institute’s director of engineering and utility programs and may be contacted at ncilink.com/ContactMe. Dominick Guarino is the chairman and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. (NCI) – a national training and certification organiza- tion he co-founded with Rob Falke in 1994. NCI has also grown into a premier membership organization focused on every aspect of helping HVAC contractors. He can be reached at ncilink.com/ContactMe. APRIL 2022 15HVACTODAY.COM opportunities for contractors and can set them apart from everyone else in their marketplace. WHAT HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONTRACTORS ARE SAYING Last month High-Performance HVAC Today magazine surveyed its 15,000 readers to find out how this service and installation delivery method impacts their business. Here are some things they told us. First, of the respondents, 86% are HVAC contractors, and 70% say they spend the time and money training their installation and service technicians in how to test, measure, and diagnose HVAC system issues. In fact, over the past two years, 47% of the re- spondents say they have sent from half to all of their field technicians to High-Performance HVAC training taught by National Comfort Insti- tute (NCI). Based on that training, many have im- plemented testing and measuring into everything they do. This implementation means performing static pressure measurements and tests (63% of them) and temperature measurements and tests (53.3%) on every call. From a safety standpoint, 43.3 % of the respon- dents say they also conduct carbon monoxide testing on every call. They capture the results of their test measure- ments in various ways, with 76.6% of them using paper forms. But the digital age is upon us, and a growing number of contractors are using mobile apps to not only record the data but use it to help educate customers so they can make the right buying decisions. Among the app tools they use: z 13.3% use NCI’s AirMaxx™ or AirMaxx Lite™ mobile app z 36.7% use other digital means. Among the apps most often mentioned by I n the 1820s and 30s, Englishman Charles Babbage invented the forerunner to the mod- ern computer. He called it The Difference Engine – a mechanical system for doing complex calculations that, had it been completed, could have put the British Empire permanently ahead of all its national competitors in science, technology, military, and power. Unfortunately, it was so far ahead of its time that very few supported it. As a result, it was only partially built, never implemented, and left the doors wide open for Britain’s competitors to move in and take power. There are many difference engines in the HVAC universe today. One of them is the high-perfor- mance approach to HVAC contracting, which calls for including ventilation as part of the over- all system. As such, this science-based method is very dif- ferent from how most of the HVAC Industry ap- proaches business. Most contractors today focus only on the equipment. But comfort, energy effi- ciency, and safety involve much more than that. This difference engine opens the door to many The High-Performance HVAC “Difference Engine” By Mike Weil MANAGEMENT16 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY “We have long-time customers of 30+ years who witnessed our evolu- tion over time,” Trujillo adds. Another typical comment respon- dents said they get from customers is about professionalism. In that light, contractor Roy White of Fixed Right and Guaranteed in Owings, MD, says, “I’ve only had one or two customers who’ve told me they’d experienced a contractor doing static pressure test- ing before us. “More often, they say that no oth- er contractor does testing and mea- suring. I feel this definitely helps with our reputation and all the social media love we get.” Other respondents tell us that cus- tomers consider their technicians highly professional and courteous. Interestingly, comments like these seem to contribute to increased mo- rale among respondents’ technicians. More than half of them say their field teams take more pride in their work because of their NCI training and the results they bring to customers. SPREADING AND TRACKING THE GOOD WORD As I mentioned before, in the case of the Babbage Difference Engine, very few in the business world at that time supported the idea of this new, before-its- time technology and approach to calculations, and so it died on the vine. High-Performance HVAC Contracting, though not new by any means, is still considered by most to be ahead of its time. So how do contractors who provide this service keep it from dying on the vine? In a word – promotion. Our survey shows that 43% of respondents use Google to promote and track their company and service reputations. With the advent of digital marketing, many have taken to using social me- dia to inform and educate their cus- tomers and other homeowners in their market area. respondents are Fieldpiece Job Link ® and iManifold®, as well as spread- sheets, in-house proprietary software, Aptora ® Mobile and Measure Quick apps, and others. Though most of our respondents tell us they have yet to incorporate mea- surements and testing into their ser- vice agreements, 43% of them do, which helps to set them apart from local competitors. WHAT CONTRACTORS SAY THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING We asked High-Performance HVAC contractor survey par- ticipants what their customers say about the services they pro- vide, and the overwhelming re- sponse was, “no one ever does what you do.” Chris Trujillo, manager at HASCO Air Conditioning in Riv- erside, CA, says, “this has been a shock- er to some of our customers. I usually must explain how and why we measure and test. “Customers are often surprised with the equipment (tools) they see me us- ing to test their system and gather data. More importantly, they are re- lieved and thankful when we confirm their system is safe after checking for carbon monoxide. APRIL 2022 17HVACTODAY.COM MANAGEMENT knowledgeable than competitors.” Training is one of the most valuable things contractors can do for their people. Some comments from respon- dents were pessimistic about the cost to train techs who will leave to go to a competitor at the drop of a hat. But most believe that even if that happens, those well-trained techni- cians go into the industry knowing how to do things right. Isn’t that great for the entire industry? Respondent Mike Greany of Aire Rite Heating and Air Conditioning, Corona, CA, sums it up nicely: “As the saying goes,” he says. “If you don’t test, you’re guessing. Customers want to be more educated than ever before. They seem to appreciate the added value performance provides. From a company standpoint, performance pays!” In the end, it would be safe to say that in the 21st century, High-Perfor- mance HVAC contracting is the Dif- ference Engine of modern times. It goes far beyond the traditional up- selling and servicing of higher-effi- ciency equipment. By addressing air- flow through testing and measuring, and understanding how ductwork conditions impact comfort and ef- ficiency, contractors can genuinely bring value to their customers and get paid handsomely for it. would be doing it. Getting technicians trained in the technology and com- munications aspects of testing and measuring and then sharing results with customers is key to closing more sales. David Thompson of Thompson’s Heating and Cooling, Fort Worth, TX, says, “NCI courses have great- ly increased our duct job replace- ment sales after we explain and show the homeowner how their system is starving for air. We use the analo- gy of walking down the street trying to breathe through a straw. This is a great word picture sales tool.” Others say the high-performance approach sets them apart in their mar- ketplace. For example, one respon- dent, Beau Prince of On Time Service in Birmingham, AL, says, “I believe this training creates higher standards of work and accountability.” Prince, a service technician at On Time Service adds, “Testing and mea- suring as taught by NCI is a more professional way of doing work. I feel like it makes our team more Other respondents (23.7%) men- tioned using Facebook groups, Yelp, Review Buzz, and Nearby Now for pro- moting their services and tracking their reputations. Though this is excellent, the survey also shows there is plenty of room for contractors to get better at spreading the word about their brand, services, and professionalism. The impor- tance of marketing – both in the tra- ditional sense and the digital sense, is still a practice most HVAC contractors need to learn about and practice. It is easy for consumers to judge contractors who bring all these tools and instruments to the job as trying to jump up their price. Survey respondents certainly told us that many of their competitors tell homeowners this. So, the need to tell your own story and get the word out to your marketplace is even more critical today than ever before. THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING High-Performance HVAC contract- ing is not easy. If it were, everyone Mike Weil is the Director of Communications for National Comfort Insti- tute, Inc. (NCI). He also serves as editor-in-chief of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine, the only trade publi- cation that targets the High-Performance HVAC Contracting commu- nity. He can be reached via NCI’s contact page at ncilink.com/ContactMe.18 APRIL 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAPRIL 2022 19HVACTODAY.COM agement, employees, customers, families, and friends happy and taken care of well. The phrase “Servant Leadership” is somewhat of an oxymoron. A true servant would never per- form their acts of service with the end motiva- tion of leading others. Servant Leadership is not about hoping to become a better leader whose reward is meeting all their financial needs. There are no magic wands here. To demonstrate what I am talking about, let me explain how I failed be- cause I placed my needs or wants ahead of my co-workers. In one case, Ball Heat- ing had a technician who quit work late on a Fri- day evening at the start of his on-call week. I knew this tech wasn’t pull- ing his weight for several weeks, but I did noth- ing about it. I failed to place his and the team’s needs above my desire to hold the peace. So he left us, which made it hard for the rest of our co-workers and our customers. In another example, I put my desires above those of a partner -- a job superintendent who kept calling my office to ask questions about a job I designed and that my guys were installing. I didn’t like his questions. Therefore, I neglected to serve him. The result was that he made sure I never had the opportunity to work with his com- pany again. These failures gave me pause. They left per- manent imprints on me. Combined with oth- er issues that cropped up, I realized these were failures. I wanted to fix them. T he days of running daily business opera- tions from the top down are numbered. This is where the owner or manager leads by creating processes that cover everything from office procedures, sales, and hir- ing to how technicians operate in the field. The objective is usually geared toward improving a company’s profits, repu- tation, or even the leader’s self-image. When you look at what are considered the great companies worldwide – Apple, Ford, F.W. Wool- worths, and so many oth- ers – is it accurate to say they are considered great because they prioritize serving others? In my experience, when I look closely at the organizations I admire and respect, I often find their performance is the re- sult of their management teams and employees putting the wants and needs of others ahead of their own. In the business world, this is a Ser- vant Leadership philosophy. SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN HVAC CONTRACTING The servant approach not only works in big businesses and organizations like the ones I men- tioned above, but it works in ALL businesses – including those operating in the HVAC Industry. My family business, Ball Heating and Air of Biloxi, MS, operated following a Servant Leadership approach. It didn’t always run this way, but we learned that service goes a long way to keeping all of our stakeholders – man- How Servant Leadership Made My Company Better By Jim Ball MANAGEMENTNext >