The HVAC Success Equation: P+P=P

I am an organized guy, for the most part.  I look at a majority of tasks that I find myself faced with as a set of processes.  Take my workout regimen for example, at the beginning of each week I plan my workouts down to the exercise and route, develop a loose structure for my meals, and update with current information each day.  Throughout the course of the week, I am able to measure how I am performing with relation to my goals (that I have written out and try to read every day).  If I find myself veering off course I can implement the appropriate actions (or discipline....I like food) to steer the ship back in the right direction.  The point with this example being I find the key to reaching a goal is planning and measuring performance.

I take that same approach when working with my customers on developing a program for maintaining their HVAC systems. It is not effective for me to "propose" a program without having an understanding of what they need.  I would not reach my personal fitness goals if someone who had never met me emailed me a workout plan for a world strongman contender (they don't perform well in triathlons or marathons).  On that same hand, my customers will not benefit from this approach and frankly I would not enjoy my job if I went about it that way (where is the fun in that approach?).  I take pride in my approach, because I know that at the end of the day the customer has all of the information necessary to make the best decision for their company. 

That leads us to the "equation":

Plan+Put into Practice=Progress

The term equation may not be the most appropriate, as this is a continuous cycle not a set formula.  In this post, I will outline how I go about each one and the factors that I feel are important for companies and organizations to address with respect to their HVAC maintenance program.  I will harp on this in every single post:

The HVAC system of a business is more than just hot and cold-it is tied to financial performance, production, employee productivity, reputation, tenant satisfaction. Let's work together to maintain it, prepare for the future, and build on the success of Richmond business. -stepping down from soapbox-

The very foundation to the process is PLAN.  This is where the roadmap is formally drawn, so that when the rubber meets the road we head in the right direction.  In this stage, the following factors are addressed:

• Budget
• General Business Goals (Where do we want to be, how does that look for us)
• Facility Goals (Improvements to be made to the property in the near future, moving, expanding, etc.)
• Establish benchmarks for measuring performance (How we will keep ourselves on track, and so that we know if we need to alter our course)
• Reporting and analysis tools/resources
• What type of equipment do we have? (How does it need to be serviced, are there any changes coming in the future that will affect this equipment?---more on this later)
• Life Cycle Cost of the Equipment (Understanding the capital expense of future equipment replacement)

Simply put this stage addresses where we are and where we want to be. Through doing this, everyone is on the same page with what needs to be done and the ability to be ahead of the curve is established.  Speaking of being ahead of the curve, it is important to stay up to date on laws and regulations surrounding HVAC equipment (i.e: refrigerant restrictions and changeover-this will be a whole blog post in itself at some point). 

Once a plan is in place, it is time to PUT INTO PRACTICE.  We have the roadmap, and it is time to accelerate forward.  This is where the plan that was created is played out, the systems are maintained, serviced, replaced, and the program is constantly analyzed for execution.  When I say constantly analyzed or monitored, I do not mean there is someone designated to do nothing except stand and watch the systems.  If done correctly, this is a limited-effort task.  Resources such as tasking reports from the contractor display the maintenance performed on specific visits, and electronic service tickets detail work done on a service call (the e-mailed tickets allow for more convenient, and "green", filing).  Both exceptionally simple tasks that make an extraordinary difference when it comes to staying on course.

If a plan is not created at the start and followed throughout the day to day operations, everything is in a reactive state.  From my perspective, reactive operations are not efficient and effective operations and more importantly-are not performing at their financial peak.  With the benchmarks we can plan out equipment replacement so that it falls within the budget period we designated, we monitor equipment to ensure it is operating efficiently, and we keep track of energy usage, repair costs, which units are requiring more service calls, which zones are experiencing more issues than others, etc.  Yes, the plans I work with organizations to create are centered around maintenance and the mechanical operation of the equipment.  However, I focus on how that impacts the business on a macro level. 

To this point we have the Plan and we have Put into Practice.  This will lead to Progress, the summation of the first two P's.  With the first two done correctly, progress is inevitable-it has to lead to this.  It is simple, we defined our goals and our operations were guided by those goals-leading us closer to those goals.  At this point, typically at the end of the contract year, we will review the past year taking a look at the whole picture.  Having resources that can put that review on paper are priceless, allowing for everyone to understand where we are on the roadmap (think YOU ARE HERE).  This gives the chance to revise goals if needed, adjust the direction, and continue with a plan that addresses the needs of the organization at that point in time.

I emphatically believe that this process works, and in my mind is quite logical.  Logical is the way I prefer to work, and I have seen success in every aspect of my life when implemented-not just HVAC maintenance.