We’ve all seen it before: We send one of our employees to an offsite training event and they return all fired up with new ideas. The first week performance is up. Then, a few weeks pass and the excitement begins to fade. Old habits begin snuffing out the newly learned behaviors.

A common complaint throughout the HVACR industry is that when new technicians enter the industry, they don’t have the skills and knowledge that employers expect. One area where this is evident is in the field of compressor service. 

Danfoss hosted its 21st annual press briefing Jan. 26 during the 2016 AHR Expo in Orlando, Florida. Titled “Engineering Tomorrow,” this year’s briefing explored four major challenges facing the HVACR industry — climate change, energy productivity, connectivity, and a growing skills gap.

One of the things I often hear from managers as they grow their departments is that they don’t have time to do ride-alongs as frequently as needed. An excellent solution exists: Hire a dedicated person to perform ride-alongs and training for your technicians.

Training means consistency, and consistency means predictable results for you and your customers. But where to begin? A good training plan consists of three things: schedule, content, and facilitation.

The next time — and every time — you’re picking up a replacement part, make sure to take the time to verify that the part you need is the part you received. Always trust, but verify.

A business coach once told me to “always make the system the heavy” when coaching my technicians. What she meant by that was focusing on evaluating how well the tech was adhering to a sales system or process. In doing so, the discussion would remain based on facts and not my subjective opinions.

One person cannot be an expert in every type and design of refrigeration equipment in the industry, and even the most experienced technicians have questions they need answered. 

Although it’s commonly acknowledged that there is no one-size-fits-all answer, natural refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide (R-744), ammonia (R-717), and the hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants propane (R-290) and isobutane (R-600), have been garnering attention.

Danfoss has been recognized by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) for making the most visits to technical schools across the country during 2015. Throughout the year, Danfoss made 83 visits to schools across the United States — more than any other AHRI member company.