All right so this morning i want to talk about. It's kind of this is kind of a broad topic, but i think it's a good thing to focus our attention on, which is the idea of order of functions when you're doing any sort of a task, and it's something that gets in the way when you transition From being a a diagnostic technician and somebody who's good at performing a particular task and there's some trade-offs in between - and i just want to talk about it, a little bit so uh for me. Naturally, as i was coming up through the trade, i became a pretty good diagnostician, because i worked with good diagnosticians. I worked with people who were good at troubleshooting and when you troubleshoot a problem, you, okay, everything all right over there.

Okay, when you troubleshoot a problem, is it good to get focused in or is it good to look really broadly, when you're trying to troubleshoot a problem trick question both, but but you want to be able to be a lateral thinker and be able to look at Things broadly, when you're trying to troubleshoot a problem, if you get too narrowly focused that gets in the way - and this is why a lot of technicians who aren't necessarily diagnostic minds they get focused in on what they can see. So an example would be. This. Contactor is not pulling in well.

The reason why the unit's not running is because the contactor is not pulling in. So what do you do put in a new contactor right, but that doesn't of course work because that's almost never what caused the contact or not pulling, but that's the way people think right. So in terms of troubleshooting, that's a liability, a good troubleshooter says: okay. Well, let's look back let's back up and look at everything and figure out what's causing, let's understand everything to understand.

What's causing this contactor to not pull in but let's say you have to replace an evaporator coil and your job is to replace an evaporator coil. Is it better to be a broad thinker or a narrow thinker, go ahead, think about it. Do you think it's better to be a broad thinker or a narrow thinker? Well, you need to double check the diagnosis, so there you need to go ahead and be a broad thinker initially, but as soon as that moment is done, there's a couple people at kalos who have this. Have this really strong, trait um? Some of them? You don't know, but with one of our founders, my uncle keith is one of the best focused thinkers that there is, and so once he comes up with a system, there is no deviation from the system.

Les broadbent is always really good at this too, and i think i think britain's gotten really good at this over time, where, once you have a way of doing something, this is the way it's like the mandalorian. This is the way you you're, not thinking about all kind of other stuff, now you're not getting distracted by all the other little details, you're doing it. The process you're working the process. So if you're doing an evaporator coil and the job is to get this old, evaporative coil out as quickly as possible, get the new one in get the sucker braised get it pressurized, get it under vacuum, step by step by step, if anywhere in that process, you You do this, you stand back and you start hmm, let's see what do we do next, some version of that you're wasting time and then you get behind the eight ball time wise and then you start to panic and then you start to make mistakes so people Who are really good at, for example, getting out of a typical install by you know two three in the afternoon know that, in order to do that, when you hit that job site, you know what you're doing and you're doing it right.

Anybody here does install you get that right. You see that, but it does create a challenge, because you have to know when to turn that on and when to turn that off. You have to know when to go from the troubleshooting mind, which is okay something's going on here. I have to back up and look at the big picture versus that very focused linear mind.

But today i want to talk about the focused and linear mind and just to kind of give us some ideas about where people waste time, because this is an area where people who are slow generally, don't understand why they're slow, they don't see it. There are people who are slow because they just move slow. There are people who are slow because they just don't care, but i'm not talking to those two people, i'm talking to people who care and they stay working, but they still don't get much done compared to others. Have you ever worked with somebody and it's like how on earth did they get that much done like i don't even understand, that's how i feel when i work with dan riggs.

It's like i've always felt this way with him. It's like he gets so much done, but then, when you pay attention to how he does things he's not getting distracted, where me, i do one little thing and then i want to clean up, and i want to clean up that one little space and i want To you know think about oh well, and i lose my tools because i'm putting them all over the place and all that sort of thing where for him he's got his kit, he grabs it he's doing this thing and he's not thinking about the next thing. Until this thing is done or as much as he can do on this step, so let's talk through a typical changeout application and i'm gon na. Let you guys are the guy those of you who do this every day, and i just want to use this as an example to talk through sequencing, proper sequencing and also critical path, which there's different ways of thinking about this.

But the way i want to think about critical path is doing the things that have to be done in order before you do any of the other things that can be done at any time. Okay, so let's let's split it up that way need done in order versus can be done anytime. What has to be done first, when you're doing a changeout so demo broadly, but before you can demo, you have to recover so so that is number one number one is recovery in terms of recovery. How long does recovery usually take? Who said what 20 minutes 15 minutes so to do recovery properly? Are you needing to pull cores or anything like that on a typical residential system, you're? Not so you're getting you got a good enough machine and you're getting that refrigerant out in 20 minutes.

Would it be helpful if you could get it out in five minutes? Would that help? Yes? So you can use that time. So when it's done take everything off so you, but you what can't you do until you get recovered? You can't cut the copper now you have to figure in in order to do recovery faster. What would you have to do? You'd have to pull the course right. So how long will the core removal process take? Takes jake 20 minutes 20 seconds? Well, let's say, let's say two minutes for core removal: okay, so if, if it takes with with nyx cores and if we go to, it probably takes five to ten minutes if we pull cores, but the cores are two minutes.

So it's probably gon na we're gon na have to say that it takes about 12 minutes. That's going to be my guess. If you pull course, it's probably going to take more like 12 minutes, i mean again we're just totally guessing here. So is it worth it to pull cores well in order to know for sure you'd have to try it on a couple jobs to so that you got good enough at pulling cores um to you know for it to make sense, because the first time you pull Course is probably gon na.

Take you five minutes and then you're gon na fiddle around with it, and all that sort of thing so you'd have to you just have to decide. Here's the thing that i think sometimes people think about me. That is not true is that they think that i want you to do it just cuz. I don't care which one of these you do.

I just don't want you to waste time now. Imagine that you're doing this doing a job where you have to pull the charge on a i don't know: 15 ton split system that has you know i don't know 40 pounds of refrigerant in it. Now the pulling the core still takes the same amount of time and the amount of time you're going to save is significantly higher right so, depending on the circumstance, there's definitely a case for pulling course for a cover faster make sense. So it also just depends.

You know it was the system being replaced because it is low on charge if it's low on charge already, there's probably not much in it. You can probably nix pulling the cores, but the point is if, because this is in the critical path, if we can save five minutes out of the critical path, five minutes early in the process can result in a lot of time saved towards the end. Make sense because it's in order all right what else is in the critical path? What do you have to do after recovery, so we'll just say demo in general right, you can demo everything and once you get past recovery phase, you can demo completely asynchronously right. It doesn't matter as much what order you do it in or is there an order that you want to do it in so that's a question: what's the order, is there any particular order that demos should be breakers? First, oh shutting them off, yeah, okay, yeah.

Okay, all right so we're gon na go we're gon na go to 1a. Is safety. No, that's good! That's good! All right! First get dressed in the morning. Do you forget that sometimes because bert actually has forgotten to do that? Sometimes it is a bad creates problems.

All right so we'll just say demo in in general, i i don't see a compelling reason why one type of demo matters more than another type of demo. Go ahead, jake! Okay! What job are you doing today we're doing the opposite? That we've been doing? Okay, all right fair enough. Well in that case, yes, if you're not doing a change out, then yes, that that would matter more okay, all right, all right, so number three! What's after demo platform, oh wait! Are we pushing copper? Are we not okay? So so this is a good point. Either way we need to address copper right.

Copper needs to be addressed so if you're flushing, if you're uh, replacing copper when we flush, we use pipe wiper. Of course right. Yes, okay, yeah um, so you should address copper, but does that have to be addressed in that order? So if you are pushing copper, we'll just say you are because in florida we push copper rather than running it overhead or whatever. Okay, once they're done pushing copper and then i work on my platform once box is so these can be done simultaneously, but prepping copper is in the is more in the critical path in making boxes kind of simultaneous okay and then what then we actually run.

Copper run, copper or flush. What else drain that goes along with we'll just we'll just go here, we'll do that with drain all right and we'll say stat wire as well now, why does? Why is copper? This is the point i'm on any one of the points. I'm going to get at. Why is copper so critical to the process? Why does it need to be done early in the process? You can't do other steps until it's done right, and so, when you're doing a project like a change out or any any thing like replacing an evaporative coil, replacing a compressor anything that requires piping.

Your goal needs to be to get that sucker tight, get that sucker. Sealed up as quickly as you possibly can, everything else needs to go back burner until that is done. So don't worry about wiring stuff. Don't worry about anything that can be done later until that is done, and this is so an example would be, if you're, if you're going to be replacing a compressor in order to get that job done, it's the same basic sequence: get the refrigerant out of the System you're going to need your nitrogen there, because, when you're ready to start burning, you need to have your nitrogen flowing, but you got to get those ready to go as quickly as possible.

So i would go ahead and drag the stuff you need out of the truck. You got your recovery tank. You got your scale, you've got your nitrogen. You've got your torches and everything that goes around your torches, your rods and all that those should all be around the same place in your truck, and you should be able to take those out and they should all just be sitting there.

You get the refrigerant out, you're, cutting that thing out, you're pulling it out. You're you're, you got the new one in you're, fitting you're burning. That's in you know, burning is uh, is refrigeration, pipe fitter talk, that's how they that's what they call brazing yeah. It's a slang, yeah, i'm not talking about the drug.

My mom taught me not to do the drug when i was just a boy all right, so you get the point here. This is what we're this is, what we're driving at and in this case, because running copper or flushing drain stat wire. All that stuff is together. You do it together.

You can't really do that out of order, otherwise it doesn't work. You can't run your copper and then try to run your drain line in the same chase, all right. What now what's step? Five! That's exactly what we do. What are you gon na? Do push it through the dirt? What did i say? What did i say? I said you can't do them separately.

Oh you mean you, do push the you push the drain separate from the copper. Oh really, is it okay? Okay? Well, we never used to do that. It is a um. The danger there i didn't realize you guys are doing that.

The danger there when you hammer the drain is that if your drain line gets up against your stat wire, it's going to skin the jeepers out of it with the stat wires. Okay, it's arma flex right. Just fill the entire chase with foam yeah remind me to talk later, but uh, but we're good. Okay, all right anyway.

This all happens at the same time whether or not it's not. It may not be an exact sequence but you're doing it at the same time. Okay, great now what all right platform top! Why platform top now? At this point, you're kind of breaking up you're you're, breaking up the two folks who are working on a job right so - and this is the state of branching correct, so somebody's going in and doing platform top. Somebody else is going out setting the condenser now right or did that happen before right after you push yourself well, and this is there are going to be some things, so let's go ahead and skip over what are some things that can be done.

Thermostat. That's a good one, and these don't have to have numbers, because these can be done anytime. What else duck check? That's not funny we're not laughing about that. What else you realize when you do this, i smile inside, but then but then everybody has to cry later.

You get that right, so, okay duck check what else. Somebody else just said something wiring and that is both. I don't know how to spell wiring yeah there we go yeah clean the drain. Stop it, you guys are hilarious, uh what else clean up load up old equipment, but you generally load up hold equipment towards the end right, because you don't want to pack your truck full vary.

All your tools that you might need: paperwork inspection date. You do that! All right set the inspection date with the customer all right, so i'm not going to keep going through the entire install process, because this, the second half takes quite a while, but pressurize pull a vacuum bubble test. Your joints bubble test your joints while pressurizing, not while you do the vacuum that doesn't work that way, but right charging the system we talked about weighing in based on line length by the way the new app should be up this week with the calculator built into It for the refrigerant charge weigh in and like we said, the easiest way to do that is going to be when it's under vacuum, going ahead and just weighing in that amount into the liquid line before you even open uh the refrigerant lines. And why do you weigh it into the liquid line, not the suction line, because you're putting into liquid form and if you put it in the suction line, you're going to have liquid sitting there right at the suction of the compressor? And it's going to pull it into the compressor and potentially flood it, which is not something you want call noah, noah flood it got it got it right right right.

The lord said to noah there's going to be a floody floodie yeah that sort of yeah. That's a right, it's a good song, all right, so the point being that, when you're learning these things intentionally think about before you show up on the job, what are the things that need to be done in order that need to be non-negotiable, meaning i get this Done before i do anything else and what are the things that can be used as filler when you're waiting in between, because you can always do those filler things towards the end. But things like getting that sucker under pressure as quickly as possible. So you can make sure that it sits long enough that you don't have any leaks because have leaving leaks non-negotiable right once you have a leak now you're chasing it the rest of the job.

Now your vacuum's not pulling down. Now you got to start over, and it's just really big deal. Making sure that you have a completely tight system is critical, get doing your recovery as quickly as possible, pulling your vacuum as quickly as possible. Why do some people feel like vacuum doesn't need to be pulled quickly? No, the biggest excuse i get for people not using large hoses pulling cores.

That kind of stuff on changeouts is that if you let it sit for an hour hour and a half it'll probably pull down fine anyway. But why is that? But the point is: is that and that's what i would say, but why does it matter because to them if vacuum goes over here in the non-critical side, where it can be done at any time? Why do i want it moved over here to where we make it a time thing? It's so that you just know. If there's a problem sooner, you don't want to wait until the end of the job where now you're waiting on it, because so this whole thing where folks are right at the end, everything's all cleaned up and now they're going to release the charge. I don't like that process, because what that does is, if there's a problem with a leak or moisture or whatever you're, not going to know that until you're ready to leave and then what happens when it's 4 pm and you're ready to leave.

And now the thing's. Not pulling down quite as low or it's not holding its vacuum quite as well, or your condenser's flat right, which definitely never happens. Um you just end up guys just end up sending it. They just end up.

Okay, i'm just gon na pretend, like that, didn't happen and i'm gon na send it. That's what happens because the process was done in a way that didn't optimize time and then you get stuck it's 4 pm. You want to get home. You end up doing stupid things.

The stupidest things i've ever done in my entire career. I've done at 7, 8 9 pm at the end of a change out when i'm trying to get the customer air, because i can't leave it overnight and i've still got clean up to do and there's problems at the end. Electrical problems, problems getting the the four piece done properly, whatever it's it's, because i didn't optimize the critical path early, so i was doing a lot of standing around looking thinking that kind of thing i didn't have my set process, so the goal is to have a Really good set process know where you can squeeze minutes out of this side and then once you're really ahead of the game on this side, then you don't have to be so panicked on this side. You don't have to be so panicked when it comes to testing airflow to setting up the uh the control board that all goes on on this side too right.

It's not that it can be done at any time, but it's not super critical, exactly which stage in the game it's done in obviously setting airflow setting the charge. All that has to be done really low on this list. But if you do this part fast, you can do the other part more deliberate, which prevents mistakes which prevents even more problems. Make sense - and this is true of almost all of the core tasks we do replacing a motor replay, even something as simple as replacing a contactor as silly as that is there's a specific sequence that if you do it the same way, every time you're going to Be much less prone to make mistakes, putting things into that process like checking the new capacitor before you install it right.

Just take the meter out, you already got it out check the new capacitor make sure that it measures properly. Things like before you measure on a capacitor making sure that it's discharged and then taking your meter, putting it on the ohm scale and touching the two leads together to make sure that your leads are in good contact right. Did you guys just understand what i just said there put your meter on ohm scale touch your leads together, make sure it rings out, and that ensures that your leads are properly connected. Then turn it on the right scale and then measure right.

There's little things like that in your process that if you start to shortcut those things, then you're going to have to go back at the end and it's going to cause you wasted time. What's that 240 to the chest, why do you get it to the chest? You just just like that. Yeah, okay, you shouldn't do that anymore, it's better than coffee! It's not it's, not healthy! That is not healthy! That is not healthy. My um, my ac instructor at west side, used to tell me that when, whenever anybody would get shocked, including me, he would tell us that it improves your sex life for 24 hours.

I don't know apparently eli's the only one here who knows i never. I was never able to test it that was that was pre pre-my active days. Um! That's fine! That's it's the truth! It is what ron carrey rests his soul, that's what he used to say all the time, all right! So any questions about any of this. So those of you who are lead installers, i want to close with you, so anybody who's a lead installer right now.

I want you to give one thing that you think for somebody: who's new is very important to get right in the process and that maybe sometimes you see them taking too long or not staying focused on that task. The way they should we'll start with britain. That's not even on the list, though. Okay.

Well, that's fine! We're not! This is an incomplete list. I was just giving an example here, so if you grab something from the truck put it back, where you got it, you grab something from the truck put it back. Where you got it, you do want to save time a little bit of prep time to make cleanup easier, we'll save you hours on the back end of it by having trash bags drop boss, everything yeah prepping, so that you don't make a mess. That has to be cleaned up later, and this is that then, that's actually huge, because i am a i'm actually an impulsive cleaner.

So when i start to get frustrated with how the job is going i'll just start cleaning right, but if i don't make a mess in the first place, because i'm taking everything and putting it straight in the garbage bag couldn't putting it straight in the box. It's less likely i'm going to get distracted by the necessity to clean right. It won't trip as much yep yep. They call that good housekeeping.

It's also a great magazine. Anyone else. I wouldn't wait. No, i shouldn't say anyone else.

Other lead scholars, jake uh, never like go to the truck or come back to your condenser with your hands empty because there's always something you need or something you can. You don't need yeah you could be taking and putting it away. Yeah! That's my biggest issue is i work for tools and forget why they go to the trunk. That's how i waste time yep so wasting time by not always having your hands full when you come to and from that's big, but also, i would suggest think about kidding your trucks, meaning think about setting up kits of things in right places so that when you Go and it's time for a particular stage, it's right there.

This is something that i just wish all of you had had the benefit of working with my uncle when he was still active, because when we did lighting jobs the way he would load his truck was all about first, in first out kind of thing, like making Sure that everything that you pulled off would come off at the right stage when you needed it for the job and where you could pull everything off at once and take it all on a card into the grocery store. You would do that, so you would set everything up so that you would even the way you loaded back the cart when you would put it in the truck. You would think about where things were positioned to make it go back in the truck. The point being that that level of discipline requires first of all, you have to think about it and, second of all, you have to iterate on it, meaning that you have to decide i'm going to do it this way and then continue to make small changes in Order to make it faster and faster - and this is the beauty of doing a fairly repetitive job.

If you do a job and it's not completely repetitive but fairly repetitive, install and replacing parts is more repetitive than running service right, but even running service. If you're doing maintenances, if you're cleaning drains, if you're changing capacitors those three are the three most common things we do. They probably make up 80 75 80 percent of what we do right. So those three things as a service technician.

You should have your process down. Your system down and your system isn't just down for speed. It's also down to prevent mistakes, because mistakes result in moving slower. That's the old military saying, um slow, smooth, smooth as fast right, right, zoom i'll, go ahead and say it and say it so: smooth right, slow, smooth, smooth as fast so do things slow in the sense of deliberate, so your process is really optimal.

Your process is really efficient, but your motions are smooth. Your emotions are not health or skelter. Your brain isn't experiencing confusion while you're in the process of doing something, and for somebody like me, if i was gon na go to doing an install. If i was gon na be a good installer, i would have redone the way that i did it, because when i started the company i was just all over the place.

I was thinking a million things trying to always always, rather than making small changes in my process, i was always trying to wildly change everything. You know new tools, new systems, whatever the reason i'm talking about. This is because, when a couple things one is we're trying to increase our efficiency in a couple of our divisions. I think you guys actually do really well with this.

So that's one reason i'm thinking about it, but the other is craig. Miggy lachio was down ac service tech and he focuses all on processes. It's not so much about being the smartest person in the room. It's much more about using your tools and doing things in the same way every time so that you get better and better and better at it, and when we change things too much when we use different tools too much when we try out different processes too much Where we become addicted to that rather than saying yes, a new tool could be good if it helps me be more efficient if it helps me get ahead of the game here.

So that way, i've got more time to do these better. Then it's worth it, but the idea of being able to get done with a job at 1. 30. Instead of two, that's not really the point right.

We don't need to get done at 1, 30 instead of 2 or 2 30 instead of three. That's not the point. The point is to finish your day at three having had an hour and a half more time to be really thorough on cleaning your drain, how you wired up the unit and how you set it up and how you commissioned it, making sure that everything is just Dialed, your final conversations with the customer are really clean, really really straightforward. They understand everything.

You've showed them how to use the thermostat. You've checked the ductwork and sealed it and strapped it properly stuff, like that, that's the goal, and if we do this better, then it also doesn't have to be so panicky. It doesn't have to be so exhausting. It doesn't have to feel so stressful right, and we know that can happen because you've all been on jobs where they just go smooth and it doesn't feel like you're working that hard, but it just it just goes well and that's the goal for all of us.

Regardless of what segment of the business you're in because if you're a service tech you're going to do things like evaporators, compressors, maintenances clean drains, all that sort of thing and those are all process oriented things as well. Now you get into troubleshooting scrap that mindset. You get into troubleshooting now you got to go wide, take your time being really wide in your troubleshooting, assessing everything and then go narrow to the problem, focus on it fix it, diagnose it whatever and then go wide again to make sure you didn't miss anything and Test everything really well so troubleshooting is all about wide narrow wide projects are all about narrow, narrow, narrow, narrow, a little bit of white. At the end, a little bit of just making sure you picked everything up making sure you communicated well with the customer, but it's mostly about focus being really clear and really focused about what you're doing cool any questions.

Anything you want to add sam. No, oh, did i miss any. I missed some other installs aaron, so top tip for new people top tip for new people. What really helped me was as soon as i got my next like call when first calls went out looking at that call and finding my process for that day and how i was gon na do things, that's the quickest way of doing it of okay.

I can finish at this time i can be brazed in and then i can do the four piece - and i can do this and i can do that, but me already going in with the set of mine like that's how i do it now, whenever i'm doing An air like an air handler or a cassette cutting my hole. I'm doing my drain, i'm doing my all thread, i'm pulling copper, it's going up right and that that saves a bunch of time, because then it becomes more of a. I don't want to say, like you, don't have to think through it, but no, but you don't want to be you don't want your brain engaged in thinking about how to do this. That should already be figured out.

You already know how you're doing it and you already have the steps ready. So you just follow the plan you make for your head right and it may. It saves a lot of time, also keeping a little trash pant little trash thing. Next to you pull your wires and it saves you from sweeping later saves you from doing a lot of little things that save a lot of time in the end and and uh two things, one is i've seen you grow a lot in the thinking ahead, because That was something you struggled with a little bit when it came to materials early on was, you know, getting out of the shop and then forgetting a bunch of stuff, but that thinking ahead the night before about the project.

So that way, you make sure you have what you need, regardless of what that is not counting on the salesperson or whoever's managing the job to make sure instead engaging and saying look, it's going to save me a lot of time. It's going to help me a lot if i thought about it before not just when it's the moment ready for me to leave, but before that point, so that's a really good point. The next thing i want to point out is is that this type of thinking that you're talking about is a very valuable commodity. So a lot of times in our trade, we glorify troubleshooting as this really important skill.

It is no more valuable than an optimized project's mind, in fact, in terms of path, because i always like to sort of give you a vision here in terms of a valuable career path, somebody who knows how to run a project well, that is a management position, Meaning that that, taken to its logical end, the ability to organize things, optimize processes make things happen really efficiently is a management skill. The people who run those divisions of our company are those types of minds, you're, actually more limited. If you're a troubleshooting mind who isn't efficient and isn't organized, you can become a really good technician. Maybe you can become a trainer or a service manager, but you're really limited and i that's actually always been a struggle for me.

I'm always more that side and i really have to shake up my brain to get that really efficiency linear mind: how to do things. My dad is an excellent contractor, and that's because he has that mind. My uncle runs that division with winn-dixie, because he has that kind of mind. All all project managers have that kind of mind.

So what those of you who are doing installs are those of you who are coming up doing installs the skill, your core skill. You need to develop sure it's people skills shirts, how to use the tools sure sound air conditioner works, but actually, i think the biggest thing is the ability to be really really efficient and if you master that and then learn how to communicate that to other people And that's just as simple as next person up be really good at showing them be really good at demonstrating and explaining that to them. So we got. You know two new guys here when they're in the truck with you, make sure that you're doing a really good job of communicating that, because that is a management skill not just being good and efficient yourself, but being able to communicate it to the next person.

So just remember that not just in terms of calos but in terms of your own personal development, if you want that you'll do really well rah-rah have a great week thanks for watching our video, if you enjoyed it and got something out of it. If you wouldn't mind hitting the thumbs up button to like the video subscribe to the channel and click, the notifications bell to be notified, when new videos come out, hvac school is far more than a youtube channel. You can find out more by going to hvacrschool.com, which is our website and hub for all of our content, including tech tips, videos, podcasts and so much more. You can also subscribe to the podcast on any podcast app of your choosing.

You can also join our facebook group if you want to weigh in on the conversation yourself thanks again for watching you.