The State of Mechanical Service
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Our Industry has had a wild ride these past few years.
Covid-driven building upgrades and a cash-flush economy have been a boon to the bottom line for many. However, significant economic headwinds are beginning to have their effects on sustainable growth. Contractors are being challenged by an acute labor shortage of both new and skilled technicians, as well as evolving customer demands for more data and proof of impact.
ACUTE LABOR SHORTAGE
For every one tradesman joining the workforce, five retire.+ This has put contractors under immense pressure to recruit and retain skilled technicians.
And yet, our industry often resorts to old methods instead of addressing the core problem: Making the role of an HVAC tech appealing to both younger recruits and skilled technicians approaching retirement.
nClarity Industry Poll
The average cost of losing a 5 year technician.+
The average time needed to regain productivity after losing a 5 year technician.+
“...One of the top two reasons we've lost technicians (of all levels) in the past five years has been a result of them leaving the industry. When asked why, the common theme is that they don't see enough opportunities for a path off of the tools or routes for growth. This doesn't only come from those approaching retirement, I've seen it with mid and early career level techs with great talent.”
Garret Travers, General Manager at Superior Mechanical
DEMANDING CUSTOMERS
Facility Managers have an unprecedented appetite for more service visibility, ROI, & cost reductions. Gone are the days of simply telling customers that you’re going to deliver comfort, reduce building costs, or increase uptime.
And yet - our industry is ill-equipped technologically to meet these emerging demands.
“To this day, most [HVAC] techs don't have advanced tools to work with. When recruiting a new technician, most people are only talking about vans, power tools, and a cellphone. Some of the more ambitious may talk about education, but few are talking about smart technology yet.”
David Vogel, nClarity Field Engineer, Former HVAC College Instructor & Former HVAC Tech at Mazza Mechanical
PREVENTABLE FAILURES
With skilled labor becoming increasingly scarce, delivering thorough PMs and precisely diagnosing aging equipment malfunctions is a growing challenge that threatens Service Income Growth.
Increasing amounts of guesswork up on the roof results in skilled labor hours wasted on machines that don’t need service, while machines with developing issues get skipped. When this evolves into a serious problem and a catastrophic failure happens, that’s when a contract that’s up for renewal is often lost to a competitor.
And yet, our industry continues to perform PMs on a calendar basis, regardless of maintenance need, with no actual machine performance visibility.
1. ISHN. Baby Boomers retiring, leaving many open trades positions. https://www.ishn.com/articles/110888-baby-boomers-retiring-leaving-many-open-trades-positions
2. nClarity Industry Poll. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jim-crowder_nclarity-skilledtrades-hvacr-activity-7016161075322634240-xBWl
3. nClarity Insights. https://www.nclarity.com/blog/cutting-costs-like-a-boss-partnering-with-clients-to-reduce-energy-bills
4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index. https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category.htm#
5. National Renewal Energy Laboratory. Long and Winding Road to Higher Efficiency—The RTU Story. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77092.pdf
6. Center for Energy and Environment. Market and Performance Characterization of Commercial Rooftop Units. https://www.mncee.org/market-and-performance-characterization-commercial-rooftop-units