Last month, we examined one of the biggest challenges to completing an Air Upgrade™ – prescribing an accurate scope of work. This month, we’ll look at an area where many Air Upgrades fail – the handoff from sales to installation. Let’s look at why company standards are important to this transition and offer ideas you can implement when completing an Air Upgrade.
The Need for Internal Standards
As I mentioned last month, it’s easy to get excited about an Air Upgrade sale and forget the basics of internal communication and organization. Failing to address these standards often leads to frustration, unfulfilled promises, and disappearing profits.
It’s easy to assume these projects will go as intended. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Even if you estimate everything right, inconsistencies and inefficiencies will creep in unless you have standards for your sales and installation teams.
Many selling technicians, comfort advisors, and salespeople don’t capture the necessary details because they don’t have a standardized format and repeatable steps. They aren’t sure what they should and should not include. Your job is to help make their life easier and more predictable so they know what information to capture and how the rest of the company will use it.
Installation crews also suffer from similar problems. These crews unknowingly waste time trying to ensure they have everything they need. That’s because installers know project details change, or they’ve been burned so many times that they over-prepare. Your job is to get the installation team what they need before they need it and provide guidance on what to do before they arrive at the job site.
As you implement Air Upgrades, prepare for these problems before they happen so you don’t have to experience the aggravation later. You can also apply this level of prevention to other areas of your company for improved results.
Sales Team Standards to Handoff Air Upgrades
Consider a consistent format like your medical records to improve communication between the sales and installation teams. This setup could be digital or analog but should have identical information in a Project Folder. Everything should go in one location. All necessary job site information should be complete and consistently ordered so everyone on staff knows what to expect.
Here is a list of items you could include in your project folders in no specific order:
- Copy of the customer proposal
- NCI AirMaxx™ results from the measureQuick and TrueFlow apps.
- Air Upgrade kits that were sold
- Digital photos of problem areas
- Equipment connection drawings
- Equipment model and serial numbers (if applicable)
- Duct system drawings
- Floor plan with supply register and return grille locations and sizes.
With this format in place, the sales team can now capture the right information while at the job site. This format eliminates oversights and improves accountability. In some digital formats, contingencies can even prevent the close of a sale unless the predefined details have been gathered and uploaded.
Install Team Standards to Complete an Air Upgrade
One of the first issues many companies must address when performing Air Upgrades is too many supply house trips for missing materials. One way to combat this problem is to create predefined Air Upgrade Kits based on the equipment and installation conditions you see the most. These kits ensure each installation team has the materials necessary for each project.
Some common Air Upgrade kits many National Comfort Institute (NCI) trained companies use include:
- Return Drop Upgrade Kit
- Filter Upgrade Kit
- Supply Plenum Upgrade Kit
- Return Plenum Upgrade Kit
- Room Pressure Relief Kit (Small and Large Rooms)
- Basement Return Kit (Small and Large Room)
- Return Air Filter Grille Kit
- Supply Branch Upgrade Kit.
Implementing simple changes like creating and using such kits can eliminate supply house trips and ensure consistency between your projects.
Another way to improve consistency is to add Project Areas. Each area is a specified location in your shop that includes everything needed to complete an Air Upgrade project. As a project’s materials are pulled or delivered, they are placed in the designated project area. Each project area should be large enough to hold any HVAC equipment, accessories, and materials needed for that project.
Mount a dry-erase board near each area to keep these areas organized and easily recognizable. Label it with the customer’s name, project address, equipment model and serial numbers, and Air Upgrade kits used. Also, attach a physical project folder to the dry-erase board with any necessary paperwork inside.
The Installation Team Handoff
Now that everything is ready for the project, it’s time for the handoff to the installation team. This step is where you will walk through the project details and review the scope of work to ensure everything is ready to go out into the field.
Start the day in a suitable meeting location to preview the projects for the day. Everyone should arrive five minutes before the specified time. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the handoff and to review the project folder. Start with a review of the scope of work and discuss any photos that highlight areas of focus for the project. Then, discuss any equipment, accessories, materials, and Air Upgrade kits for the project that are included in the project folder.
Next, move from the meeting area to the appropriate project area in your shop. Review and identify any missing, incorrect, or overlooked materials. Ask the installers for questions and double-check to ensure everyone understands. Challenging projects may also need a job site meeting with the installation team to review major changes and their priority.
Once the installation team arrives on site, the project lead or salesperson should walk through the upcoming work with the customer. This is a great time to review work based on the proposal and highlight areas of importance to remember. It’s also wise to ask permission before going into certain rooms. Emphasize to your team the importance of cleaning up once the Air Upgrade project is complete.
At the end of the project, meet in the same location to review how the work went. This quick interview often reveals small ways to improve your processes even more.
Create Your Own Handoff Standards
Companies that have instituted similar air upgrade standards have seen big improvements in their results. Are these steps easy to implement? No. However, they are worth the reward once you put in the upfront effort. Starting is usually the hardest part. You will never be entirely ready for any new thing you begin, and I doubt anyone else has been.
To create your own handoff plan, look back at your most repeated failures and problems to identify needed areas of improvement. Determine how to correct them and then set deadlines for each step. Many of you may already have a system in place that works well. If so, I would love to hear what you’re doing.
It’s rewarding to show improvements and prove your craftsmanship. In next month’s article, we’ll wrap up the Air Upgrade series and discuss how to verify an Air Upgrade works as intended. We’ll also discuss handling situations if the results are not as planned.
David Richardson serves the HVAC industry as vice president of training for National Comfort Institute, Inc. (NCI). NCI specializes in training focusing on improving, measuring, and verifying HVAC and building performance.
If you’re an HVAC contractor or technician interested in learning more about Air Upgrades, contact David at ncilink.com/ContactMe. NCI’s website, www.nationalcomfortinstitute.com, is full of free information to help you improve your professionalism and strengthen your company.