Data Integrity

In haste and in frustration we did not make clear why screenshots are so detrimental to our core business. While not using the platform as designed results in lost revenue for both us and your company, we had failed to highlight an important factor: compromised data integrity. 

Why measureQuick Exists

measureQuick is at its core a data aggregation, collection, and computing platform that does diagnostics, reporting and certifications for compliance testing. We make every effort to assure that the data that comes from the measureQuick tool is of high integrity. 

We are working with homeowners, utility clients, property managers, ACCA®, ENERGY STAR®, and even the Department of Energy to provide a solution for commissioning systems that will result in better service, installations, and soon successful electrifications of homes across the nation (as opposed to the current path the industry is going down). These types of clients are spending real dollars and expecting real results. When it comes to electrification those real dollars are our tax dollars at work. And most of our users are unaware that utilities were our first clients. We have been engineering solutions for data integrity since the beginning. It’s an ongoing and evolving process that likely will never end.

As measureQuick is the tool used to collect that data, there is an expectation at the consumer level and higher that the data has a high level of integrity. The data integrity is undermined when screenshots are taken instead of reporting and used as representation to the consumer or employer that the job was done properly with measureQuick. 

Screenshots Obscure The Bigger Picture

The data is or could be compromised and undermined in several ways.

• Data may not have come from the system that is being tested.  
• Screenshots get recycled (used again) sometimes inadvertently and sometimes not. 
• Screenshots do not contain the whole picture – such as the metadata to compare the location of the screenshot to that of the job. 
• Diagnostics may have been cleared. 
• Screenshots usually only represent one side of the system 
• From a screenshot, we do not know if the data was hand input or from probes. 

At the end of the day, screenshots cause the measureQuick brand (and your own brand) to represent proper operation of a system that may not be properly operating, and we have no way after the fact to determine if the data is even from that system. Technicians and companies using screenshots are using our brand to represent something that may or may not be true without a way for us to vet the data as quality data. 

Screenshots simply do not allow us to protect ourselves – or you, or your customers.

The Importance of Data Integrity

When it comes to data integrity, we are not trying to prove something as false, we are unequivocally and explicitly trying to assure the interested party that the data is true. So, when we look at the system, we look for ways that the data could be compromised. Screenshots are detrimental to our quality control system outside of a project.  In a project, we get the geolocation of the equipment and can compare that location to the photo metadata to assure that any photos or screenshots taken and used in the report are from that site. 

Screenshots also do not contain the benchmark information such as design temperature differences, charge information and airflow information. This undermines a primary use case for measureQuick which is the ability to compare the operation of equipment as it stands to that of when it was started normalized for current conditions. 

Personally, I review 1000’s of tests a year to better understand how technicians are using measureQuick. By far, I can tell you that most technicians are honest and ethical. Regardless of that we are on a mission and have a responsibility to the parties listed above to make data collection faster, easier, and more secure. We are also working hard to make it harder to “game” the application and the process of data collection so the measureQuick tool is not used nefariously by unscrupulous individuals. We can build this system ourselves or let the government do it for us through regulation. 

measureQuick’s Pricing Structure

We know that our pricing structure is a bit different from what some of you may be used to, but we’ve designed it to match the needs of HVAC companies. Our fees are pass-through, only debited when Premier Services is unlocked on a system. We have heard from hundreds of companies that Premier Services results in massive increases in profits, and allows them to outcompete their competition while doing the job right every time.

We know that some of you use measureQuick as individuals, educators, or in other non-traditional manners. If you need help convincing your company to adopt measureQuick, we’re here for you – you can always reach out to us ([email protected]) and we’ll work with your team. Otherwise, we want to hear from you about how you use measureQuick, and how we might be able to meet your needs. 

Please fill out this survey to share your thoughts on how measureQuick can better serve your needs.