Asking The Right Questions

What Standard Of Care Is Applicable?

At measureQuick, our mantra is simple: 9 probes on every system, every time. This commitment ensures that we always measure key system vitals before diving into a full assessment. But when is the right time to deploy these tools?

We receive push back all the time. The answer isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Before any advanced tools come into play, a basic visual assessment and even a simple temperature hand-test are often the best starting points.

Maintaining your HVAC system is like taking care of your own health. Medical care can be routine or emergent, planned or unplanned—HVAC servicing is no different. The parallels are striking and can help ensure a reasonable standard of care is provided in every scenario.

“The standard of care is a legal term, not a medical term. Basically, it refers to the degree of care a prudent and reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances.” (Source: National Institutes of Health)

Just as in medicine, there are times when deploying advanced technology makes perfect sense, and times when simpler methods are more appropriate. The expertise level of the technician plays a crucial role. In medical terms, are they a skilled practitioner who can operate a complex defibrillator, or a novice EMT needing step-by-step guidance? The same is true in HVAC: Is the technician an expert or a novice? What tools do they have at their disposal?

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

Starting At First Principles

First, you need to step back and reflect on your situation. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you responding to an emergency or performing routine maintenance?
2. For emergencies, is the system running at all?
3. Is the thermostat set to call for cooling or heating?
4. Are refrigerant line temperatures within expected ranges?
5. Do things sound normal?
6. Is the airflow from the registers cool/hot as expected?

These are the questions you should answer before deploying any probes. Information about the system—such as refrigerant type, metering device, system age, and potential issues like broken wires—should be gathered right away. Faults need documentation, and photos might need to be taken. Just like in medicine, the first steps in troubleshooting involve systematic data collection.

Drawing Parallels Between Medical Testing and HVAC Testing

In an HVAC emergency, your dispatch team functions like a 911 operator. They gather critical information to assess the situation and prioritize the service needed. They determine whether to send a service technician or a sales representative. Ideally, the project is already dispatched to measureQuick, reducing the need for duplicate data entry like customer details.

While awaiting the first responder (the service technician), your team may provide “first aid” advice through your website or dispatch service. These could include basic troubleshooting steps, like checking the filter, breaker, or recommending that the system be shut down if ice is visible.

The First Responder: The technician arrives and makes an initial assessment, like how a paramedic would assess a patient. They use their senses—sight, hearing, touch—to quickly determine the situation. Questions like, “Did it stop cooling suddenly, or was there a gradual decline?” are akin to asking a patient when they first noticed symptoms.

They then move into a triage role, determining what needs to be addressed first. Is there a refrigerant issue that can’t be accurately assessed until a clogged coil is cleaned? Are there burned connections that need repair before testing the system further? Like in medicine, you can’t test vitals on a patient who isn’t stable; you first need to “revive” the system to get meaningful data.

The Emergency Room Doctor: The technician then becomes the emergency room doctor, performing necessary repairs—cleaning coils, replacing filters, repairing leaks, or perhaps replacing a faulty ignitor. The goal is to stabilize the system. Just as in medicine, you’re now able to perform a deeper diagnostic once the immediate crisis is resolved.

Deploying measureQuick For HVAC Emergencies

At this stage, the full measureQuick process is deployed to assess the system’s overall health. Like a patient undergoing comprehensive testing (blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate), we deploy our 9 probes to measure key system vitals:

1. Low pressure
2. High pressure
3. Suction line temperature
4. Liquid line temperature
5. Outdoor air temperature
6. Supply air temperature and RH
7. Return air temperature and RH
8. Supply static pressure
9. Return static pressure or Total External Static Pressure (TESP)

Once the system stabilizes, the measureQuick platform uses algorithms to provide an overall assessment of the system’s health, offering a detailed diagnostic report. This is akin to receiving a patient’s medical results and determining the next course of action—whether it’s additional treatment or advising on long-term health (e.g., recommending system replacement).

From Crisis to Routine Care

As we move out of the emergency phase, the process transitions into more routine care. At this point, you can fully leverage measureQuick to gather a comprehensive picture of system performance. Just as regular health checkups track vitals like weight, blood pressure, and heart rate, we track HVAC vitals to determine the system’s overall condition. The diagnostics provide actionable insights and allow for informed decisions on further repairs or replacements.

measureQuick is another tool for the toolbox. What it does particularly well is to handle the calculations so you can focus on the results and relationships that a complex system presents. It will point you in the right direction and assure that you have approached the problem at a whole system level rather than a component level analysis. What it won’t do however is fix the system for you. For that we still need, well you! 

This process reflects a reasonable standard of care, ensuring that each HVAC system receives the attention it needs, just like a patient in a medical setting. By aligning HVAC testing with the principles of medical care, we set a high standard that reflects industry best practices and ensures top-notch service delivery

measureQuick Projects: A HVAC System’s Permanent Health Record

Starting a measureQuick project from the outset is still critical for documentation purposes. This is done through unlocking Premier Services for that system using 5 QBits ($5). Once unlocked, you’ll be adding valuable context to the permanent health record of the equipment you are servicing through the following features:

• Remote Streaming: Enhance field support and quality control by remotely viewing and controlling diagnostics. With real-time visibility from any device, ensure every system is assessed with precision, no matter where you are.
• PDF Reports: Deliver polished, comprehensive reports that showcase diagnostics, document issues, and support service recommendations. These reports not only boost professionalism but also help drive sales and build customer trust.
• Cloud Storage: Streamline your workflow with automatic data integration. Start projects from the cloud with pre-loaded system benchmarks, allowing measureQuick to focus on capturing new measurements and generating detailed reports.
• Unlimited Photos: Document every aspect of the job with unlimited photos, ensuring thorough records and enhancing sales presentations. Capture critical details without worrying about return trips, saving time and resources.
• CRM Integrations: Seamlessly connect measureQuick with your CRM tools like ServiceTitan or HouseCall Pro. Assign projects and automatically attach detailed reports, making project management smoother and more efficient.

Let’s Enhance Your Standard Of Care

Have you been struggling with your implementation of measureQuick? We’re here to help. Book some time with one of our expert onboarding team members at no charge using this link.