I have been generating and using standardized HVAC checklists since I entered the building industry. I have not only added new checklists to my library as I advanced from draftsperson to designer, to engineer, and to project manager, but I have also continuously improved the majority of these quality control and time management tools.
When responsible for the management of others in one’s group—whether it is designing a project, managing the construction of the installation, or closing out the job—routine requirements can be overlooked if the individual is keeping all this information in their head. It is impossible to continuously retain all the related tasks and apply them to each project without trying to memorize all of it.
Over time, as my responsibilities grew and I joined forces with others on projects, I was able to draw upon their expertise and experience to continue to create a wealth of business tool checklists. Today, I have amassed a wealth of information, and this data has expanded to cover facility assessments, building surveys, estimating, and operation and maintenance (O&M).
These time management and quality control documents can contribute to a consulting firm’s or mechanical contractor’s success by educating others within the company as a matter of standard operating procedures to ensure consistency in how work is done. These technical tools assist existing and future employees in learning the company’s approach and process, providing a roadmap for the task at hand. They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and so is the application of a checklist, noting the following:
Benefit #1: The specific checklist sets the guidelines by which a task is going to be performed. With little instruction needed, the person can go about their job, inventorying the work they complete as they go. A good example of this is the use of a drawing checklist to check off “title block completed,” then “room names completed,” and “duct sizes shown,” etc. A trick of the trade that I have used has been to have a checklist of “non-think” work.
What I mean by this is that I would have an inventory of tasks that an employee, not at the designer level, could complete with little instruction. This would free up the designer to focus on the more technical tasks of engineering and allow a draftsperson to complete this work instead.
Benefit #2: Quality control is an integral part of checklist application! When managing others, I frequently tell people that with each of them using the same checklist to complete similar tasks or assignments, I know they are all proceeding in the same direction. I ask that people who may have issues with this method offer suggestions as to how we can improve it. My checklists were continuously being enhanced and, with the help of those using them, these business tools took on a consensus of many rather than the opinion of just one person.
Benefit #3: Checklists inevitably spawn new checklists as the tasks become standardized. One example was the original HVAC drawing checklist that gave birth to electrical drawing and plumbing drawing checklists. When using these documents, the project manager could take comfort in project completion and job satisfaction, knowing that many mundane tasks were appropriately addressed with the same sense of urgency as the system design, sequence of operation, and trade coordination.
There is an almost endless list of benefits to support checklist application, no matter what building industry trade is involved, and the use of checklists goes beyond engineering, construction, and O&M. For example, “The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right” by Atul Gawande. Checklists should be an integral part of any company’s standard operating procedures in HVAC, with their time-tested approach and proven success in this interesting and challenging business. They are simultaneously a quality control process and a training tool. Equally important, checklists are a simple and easy means of communicating your findings, results, and/or recommendations.
So why make work complicated when one can maximize the results of their work through the benefits of checklists?