Pitfalls and Problem Points: HVAC

FM Insight Series

Tim Ballard | ConnexFM

The difference between a diligent worker and a diligent professional is that the former knows it's good practice to always pay attention to your processes, even when you feel you've become an expert at something. The latter, however, knows that diligence doesn't come without a cost. Whether that cost comes financially, mentally, emotionally, or at the expense of efficiency, something has to give to make room for diligence.

For those in facilities management, both on the operations side and the service side, this rings clear when the ball finally gets dropped. Despite a service provider's best intentions, and despite the safeguards put in place to ensure preventative maintenance is tracked, analyzed, and executed, eventually something gets overlooked. If you're lucky, it'll be small and serve as a warning for things that can sneak up on you. For others, it turns into a silent killer for one of your clients or locations, something they tell horror stories about a decade later around the water cooler. With that said, let's talk about what you can do to avoid these pitfalls and problem points.

Few systems punish complacency quite like HVAC.

We spoke with one of our members this week, Rich Wetchler, about the focus of preventative maintenance and the cost of due diligence when it comes to choosing and triaging immediate repair needs. This includes remedial issues that facilities teams may have to delay addressing or, worse, overlook altogether.

Rich is the Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Impact Service Group, a subsidiary of the Facility Management Group, Leo. While he had some technical advice and data management strategies for getting ahead of common pitfalls, he was also willing to share practical situations that show just how hard reality can slap.

Rich Wetchler, Founder & CGO, Impact Service Group

In discussing how his team approaches diligence during routine PM inspections and identifies potential damage threats that should be addressed sooner rather than later, he explained that routine PM tasks sometimes fall away from their inspection schedules over time. Air filter replacement intervals, drain line cleaning, belt replacement, and seasonal HVAC cycling and cleaning can all become inconsistent over time. The seasonal and environmental angle is especially important.

The U.S. and Canada are vast and diverse in both climate and geography. In Texas, systems quickly overheat in triple-digit temperatures and require more frequent coil cleaning due to heavy pollen and cottonwood debris buildup. Meanwhile, Michigan faces freezing temperatures that directly degrade analog, mechanical, and electrical components through contraction, lubrication failure, and moisture freezing.

What looks like harmless seasonal debris is actually one of the quickest ways to choke an HVAC intake. Once it begins trapping dirt and refuse, airflow can decline surprisingly fast, forcing the system to work harder, increasing energy costs, and accelerating wear on critical components.

These are just two examples among countless considerations that reinforce an important reality: a one-size-fits-all solution is impossible. Even within regions separated by only a few hundred square miles, facilities face an array of environmental and seasonal differences.

The day-to-day inspection and tracking of smaller wear-and-tear issues also has a compounding effect on the year-to-year buildup of larger maintenance concerns. A single loose screw can eventually create problems in one section of ductwork, placing additional stress on the rest of the system.

Rich discussed how, even though his team works from each client's PM requirements, awareness and documentation of gradual degradation and minor damage remain one of the biggest sustainable safety nets for maximizing HVAC system life. Making clients aware of potential maintenance risks, then following up with recommendations to repair or replace smaller issues, can save both the service provider and the FM team a great deal of heartache down the road.

Rich brought up another solid point that we think many of you will agree with:

"Not taking the time to account for secondary maintenance concerns during your planning will cost you significantly more in downtime than in preventative maintenance costs."

Stick to your guns when it comes to being consistent and thorough, and don't cut corners on maintenance coverage. In this day and age, it's best to use the modern tools available to increase not only your efficiency, but also reduce the headache of tracking an ever-growing list of PM activities. Use AI, data management software, and smart digital work order practices to stay ahead of systematic inspections in HVAC and beyond.

Before we reached the end of our conversation, Rich shared some of the nuanced realities he's encountered as a service provider working with a wide range of clients. He pointed out that even with good intentions and solid maintenance practices, you still have to adopt an adaptable mindset when facing day-to-day challenges, especially when coordinating schedules, gaining access to maintenance areas, and preparing for something to simply go wrong without warning.

Don't forget what Benjamin Franklin once said:

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

We can't think of a better industry where that advice still rings true than facilities management.