Jim Ball from NCI joins the podcast to talk about high-performance maintenance contracts and agreements. A high-performance maintenance agreement requires you to take system measurements and present solutions to maximize performance accordingly and exceed customers' expectations, not just make assumptions about the performance parameters. Key measurements we should know include the charge levels, total external static pressure, filter & coil pressure drop, and CFM per ton. Many HVAC contractors and technicians don't really believe in maintenance procedures; some contractors merely want to keep customers or secure work during the shoulder months and don't aim to optimize the homeowners' systems. Maintenance procedures provide technicians and contractors the opportunity to improve the health and comfort of their customers. To perform a quality maintenance procedure, we need to establish company-wide processes that produce consistent results. When we standardize maintenance and installation procedures, we want to think about what an ideal system would look like and make our processes meet those expectations. Scheduling is an important aspect of maintenance agreements, and your ability to commit to a schedule can make or break your maintenance program. Pricing is also critical, and customers tend to be educated on their options; many of them understand that a higher price will often indicate higher standards. As we perfect our maintenance procedures and take advantage of technology, we can embrace monitoring in our maintenance programs. Jim and Bryan also discuss: Jim's history in the industry SEER ratings vs. real efficiency The value of historical measurements Craftsmanship and quality standards "Unteaching" poor practices Communication practices with customers Roleplay as a training tool Monitoring as the next step for high-performance maintenance programs Learn more about NCI and high-performance HVAC at https://nationalcomfortinstitute.com/. You can email Jim at jimb@ncihvac.com or call him at (440)-670-8783. Learn more about the HVACR Training Symposium or buy a virtual ticket today at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE. Check out our handy calculators HERE.