“Why not reward the people who are giving their all to make our industry the best it can be?”
– Dave Chatmon
Lenox District Manager
As the industry celebrates National HVAC Tech Day, it’s important to highlight how the industry is evolving to make life easier for those who battle harsh elements and tight corridors every day so others can stay comfortable.
So this HVAC Technician Day, we’re focusing on three aspects that help improve the lives of technicians: quality education, tools that make their jobs easier, and well-deserved recognition.
The future starts with education
As a significant portion of the HVAC workforce begins to retire, recruiting the next generation of technicians is paramount to the industry’s survival.
This fact is understood by the folks at Midea Collective, who are putting increased focus and resources into supporting trade schools and universities, advanced training programs and other partnerships aimed at promoting sustainability and innovation.
Recently, Midea donated some of its advanced heat pump technology to organizations in need, and it also strives to put itself in direct contact with young, aspiring technicians who will one day be responsible for maintaining and installing this technology.
Educational institutions including Prosser Career Academy, Chicago Build, Remington College and Laredo College welcomed Midea to the 2024 AHR Expo, where the HVAC company participated in a workforce development panel and spoke to more than 100 students about career opportunities for technicians and the evolution of the professional HVAC industry.
This initiative led to further collaboration between Midea and these institutions. Recognizing that these training facilities needed the latest in heat pump technology, Midea donated its products at no cost. The donated Midea systems are now being used in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes for installation training, digital multimeter training, and video on multiple units.
Midea has strengthened its commitment by becoming even more involved, also opening a flagship showroom, training and distribution center in Fresh Meadows, Queens for educational purposes.
Here, contractors and consumers can experience, understand and purchase Midea's complete range of heat pump products. The showroom not only supports sales and installation services, but also serves as an education center most weekends, offering heat pump training, technical communication, consumer tours and collaboration with utility companies such as Con Edison and PSEG. Additionally, it serves as a meeting place for architects, interior designers and Con Edison consultants to provide comprehensive consulting solutions to homeowners.
Midea was grateful for the help it extended to its young engineers, and that gratitude is now being reciprocated.
“Midea was recently honored to be invited as the designated brand for instruction at the Electrical and HVAC/R Training Center, New York's largest professional training school,” the press release stated. “On May 29th, the school spent a day training students at Midea's showroom in Queens. The course taught students about the application and installation of high-efficiency heat pump technology, as well as local residential energy incentives. This training marked the beginning of a series of educational initiatives aimed at helping prepare students for success in the HVAC industry.”
Design in Mind
When it comes to the physical tools of the profession, well-designed equipment that takes into account a technician’s daily tasks can be a game changer.
Making things more intuitive for technicians and easier to service is the aim of people like Chris Magee.
Magee is a seasoned product manager at Friedrich Air Conditioning with more than 20 years of expertise in the HVAC industry and knows firsthand what it's like to have technicians complain about the design of the equipment they're trying to repair.
During busy periods, technicians may have to field numerous calls, even on days when they're in muggy, cramped spaces or cold enough to diminish their dexterity, so designing products with technicians in mind is one way to make work in the industry a little easier for everyone.
“[These days]it’s easy to get in and out, and you don’t want to spend a lot of time looking for something or taking something apart,” McGee says. “So you really have to think about their time.”
Modularity is also important – seeing where the screws go, where the sheet metal is located, how parts open and close, etc., so as not to add to the burden on your already hard-working technicians.
“All of these things are key to making their lives easier,” McGee said.
Another important aspect is making sure new products are easy to use and understand, something Maggie jokes can be difficult for those working in the design field.
“Frankly, engineers have a tendency to over-engineer. That's their job,” McGee joked. “They design a part, and their goal is to make it the best possible. But there has to be maintainability built into it.”
To avoid running into such problems, McGee said Friedrich employs a technical team made up of former contractors who can provide valuable feedback and act as advocates for on-site engineers.
“We want that input early on in product design,” McGee says. “We want to know, 'How hard is this for you? If I put this part here because I have the space, how hard is it going to be to get in there seven years from now and replace a part, or clean a coil, or clean this blower?'”
It's all about ensuring accessibility and reducing the day-to-day burden on technicians.
After all, simplifying technicians’ tasks will also help solve some of the talent retention issues facing the industry.
Thinking about this next generation, McGee said there are so many opportunities out there for them, so anything they can do to make working with HVAC just a little more convenient will help make a difference.
“When they're in an attic that's 140 degrees or a damp basement, we need to make sure that the tools they bring in are capable of reaching far enough to get to where they're working,” Magee says. “Designing our products really helps maintain that retention.”
The HVAC industry offers many rewarding opportunities and, as we've all seen during COVID-19 and past recessions, it's a resilient job because it's always in demand, Magee said.
“It can be a very rewarding career if you can follow through,” McGee said. “I now have the opportunity to develop and realize my products and ideals to the same level that I once did, which is very rewarding for me.”
He also enjoys spending time with contractors and vocational school students, being able to sit down with them, take apart equipment and explain the process.
“They're all so happy when they go home at the end of the day, and hopefully that happiness will continue,” McGee said, “And that's what (National HVAC Tech Day) is about. We need to continue to honor our industry, promote it and build this excitement.”
At Lenox, we give credit where credit is due.
Though the pay is good and the work is important, the job of an HVAC technician is often a thankless one, but in places like Lenox, that's starting to change.
Dave Chatmon, Lenox district manager for Wisconsin, UP, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, and his wife were in Annapolis, Maryland, at an event honoring young international explorers who are cruising around the world on their ships and were amazed by what they saw.
“We had the opportunity to go to an awards ceremony,” Chatmon recalls, “and we were sitting in the front row, and we were just blown away by the reaction of people to our award. I looked at my wife and said, 'Hey, this is what we need to revitalize our industry.'”
It's no secret that there are tough days on the job as an HVAC technician, but Chatmon hoped that giving these technicians the opportunity to be recognized for their hard work would inspire them to better themselves.
After several brainstorming sessions, Lennox put together its first-ever “Best Of” awards, which were announced at the annual Lennox VisionTech conference.
Looking a little more closely at Lennox's process, companies first nominate themselves for a particular category, and then those nominations are reviewed by a panel of judges made up of people from outside the district.
Once narrowed down to three finalists, the candidates had to film a one-minute acceptance speech, which ultimately proved to be the deciding factor as it demonstrated which candidates had taken the award process seriously.
In addition to providing an avenue for recognition, the awards have encouraged friendly competition among various disciplines. The initial aim of the new awards was to encourage engineers to start researching what it takes to be nominated and win, and that is exactly what has happened.
“We've also heard from a few owners saying, 'My team is fired up and ready to be drafted,'” Chatmon said.
Chatmon said another very important thing was to make sure office staff were recognised as well.
“They're very important and not very well recognized,” he said.
As with any inaugural event, some people were hesitant to attend, but after learning what the prize entails, Chatmon said even those who were hesitant are now planning to attend next year.
“There are some key areas we want to improve on, but I think we'll get better and better every year,” Chatmon said.
Lennox also plans to encourage the next generation to get involved by recognizing outstanding students, instructors and programs, and by expanding the nomination process to universities.
With the HVAC industry facing problems with retention, Chatmon said he hopes this additional recognition will help keep technicians motivated and show those who give their best in the field that their efforts are being recognized.
“Why not reward the people who are doing everything in their power to make our industry the best it can be?” Chatmon said.
Chatmon hopes others in the industry take notice, as initiatives like this can only make the industry better overall.
Lennox's first ever “Best Of” winners were: Installer: Mark Dubois of Marsh Htg and Clg, Service Technician: Barry O'Brien of Gopher Htg and Clg, Office Staff: HJ Faust of Terra Leasure, Comfort Advisor: Tom Schwartz of Sure Fire Inc., Company: Marsh Htg and Clg.
