y
t
Code
i
l
a
u
Q
Cracking the
s
goodnes
better n
tio
satisfac ork
good w
by John Tooley
O
ver the course of my 30-plus years in the home requirements and standards. That means for every job, as well as
performance industry, I’ve found that most contrac- for every part of the job.
tors have only the slightest notion of what constitutes
Below I offer some definitions of quality that home perquality work. This became clear to me when, dur- formance professionals can put to work immediately in their
ing my talks to contractor groups around the country, I started businesses. First, however, it’s important to understand that
handing out 3 x 5 cards asking the attendees to write down their agreed-upon requirements and standards must leave nothing
definitions of quality. If there were 50 people in the audience, I to the imagination. They cannot be open to interpretation, and
would usually get back 50 different definitions. In many cases, it they cannot be based on feelings or wishful thinking.
was the first time any of them
If I agree to make that bohad stopped to think about
nus room above the garage feel
the subject.
more comfortable, that promise
My aim in this article
Although most of these
is open to interpretation. If the
is to provide a crystal-clear
people really want to do good
homeowner and I have differwork, their lack of clarity
ent interpretations of what feels
definition of quality
concerning good processes
comfortable, the stage is set for
makes it hard for them to deconflicts and callbacks. If, on the
and guidance on
liver—and it’s costing them a
other hand, we agree that, after
lot of money.
I insulate and air seal the room
how to achieve it.
My aim in this article is to
and install new low-e replaceprovide a crystal-clear defiment windows, the temperature
nition of quality, and to give
in the middle of the room will
you guidance on how to achieve it. I will also demonstrate why not deviate more than 5°F from the thermostat set point, then
dedication to quality not only pays for itself but also adds to the our goal is clear and measurable.
bottom line.
If, after the work is complete, the homeowner decides that
a 5°F variation isn’t comfortable enough, we can set a new goal
using a different number. But no one can argue that we failed to
What Is Quality?
meet the original goal.
The definitions I’ve seen on those 3 x 5 cards include phrases like
“goodness,” “better products,” and “work that satisfies the cusQuality Control Vs. Quality Assurance
tomers”—little more than well-intentioned sentiments. Such sentiments have two major shortcomings: They’re open to interpreta- In the above example, note that there was a process (measuring
tion, and they’re not measurable.
the temperature in the middle of the room) in place for deterReal quality work starts with a definition that’s clear and mining whether the contractor met the agreed-upon goal. That’s
measurable. Here’s the one I use: Quality is doing agreed-upon what we mean by quality assurance (QA). It’s the act of measur-
26
Home Energy
|
N ove m b e r/D e c e m b e r 2014
business best practices
Home Performance Coalition
ing—monitoring the work to ensure that the contractor’s pro- tors to implement quality programs. We start by looking at their
cesses are working.
current work processes. In doing so, we have found that defecIf the contractor is working for a utility or government pro- tive work is costing most of them 25–40% of their operating
gram, as most home performance contractors are, then the pro- budget. Although some contractors count on the fact that the
gram usually does QA. However, if the program isn’t consistent program’s inspectors are only going to check 10% of their work,
with its QA process, or if the contractor is working for private even a small problem like forgetting to weather-strip the attic
clients, I’ll make the case that it’s in the contractor’s financial hatch can be a $200–300 expense once you add up the time it
interest to have an in-house QA program.
takes for a worker to go back and fix it. Avoiding just a few of
The above example also implies that the contractor has a those problems will cover the cost of good in-house QC and QA
set of processes in place to avoid deviating from requirements programs.
and standards that would meet the
agreed-upon goal. That’s quality
control (QC). Unlike quality assurance, QC is always the contractor’s
responsibility.
Remember our definition of
quality as meeting agreed-upon
requirements and standards. Our
standard of quality is zero defects. Not 1% or 2% defects, but
zero. There are no gray areas here:
Either you meet the standard or
you don’t. Either that bonus room
stays within 5°F of the set point
or it doesn’t. Period. In short, we
MUST refuse to tolerate defects.
Our culture must be one of prevention. When we make a mistake
that causes a defect, we set in motion a process that will prevent the
mistake from happening again.
It’s a standard of zero defects.
John Tooley talks about the effectiveness of process during a session at ACI’s 2013 National Home Performance
The sad truth is that we are Conference.
fighting the same fires year after
A good measurement of quality is the cumulative cost of such
year in that most contractors still lack the processes to make
sure the work gets done right consistently, or to confirm that it problems. Although perfect conformance to standards is the
ideal, no one is perfect. Good companies continually work tohas been done right.
One of the services offered by Advanced Energy Corporation, ward that ideal. However, if the cost of nonconformance reaches
the company I work for, is helping home performance contrac- 3–5% of the company’s operating budget, it’s time to double
down on that work.
In fact, a few common but costly errors can take a company
to
that
3–5% threshold quite rapidly. Say, for instance, that a
Dedication to quality
work order requires you to blow insulation into every bay in the
exterior walls of a home, and that the crew misses just one bay. If
not only pays for itself
that uninsulated bay shows up on an infrared (IR) camera scan,
but also adds to
coming back to fill it will usually mean pulling a truck and crew
from another job for at least a half day. That’s $4,000–6,000 in
the bottom line.
lost income.
Even the $5,000 cost of a conventional IR camera would pay
for itself in one such avoided callback, but a recent innovation
has made the economics even more attractive. At least one
w w w.h o m e e n e rg y.o rg 27
company, FLIR is promising an accurate IR camera that will
plug into an iPhone 5. It is now available.
Setting Standards
The kind of QC that makes sure the above tasks get done every
time requires clear, written standards for completing every task.
Quality work is not possible without them.
While contractors can certainly write their own
standards, there’s a plug-and-play solution—and it’s free.
Advanced Energy, with funding from DOE, has helped develop a set of standardized work specifications (SWS) for
residential energy retrofits.
The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) website includes
written SWS for single-family, multifamily, and manufactured
28
Home Energy
|
N ove m b e r/D e c e m b e r 2014
Advanced Energy
Figure 1. Checklists minimize the number of customer
callbacks by ensuring that the job is done right the first time.
homes. They’re very detailed, varying in length from just over
100 to just under 300 pages.
The SWS define the minimum requirements for every
task that a home performance pro is likely to perform. To
create them, we recruited the top experts in each phase of
the retrofit process—attic air sealing, insulation, heating
and cooling, ventilation, etc.—to help us. Using the SWS will
ensure that tasks get done right every time, no matter who is
doing them.
The SWS are specific enough that crew leaders and inspectors can make sure that work gets done correctly, but broad
enough that contractors have choices in how they complete the
work. For instance, one standard requires that chases be capped
with a material that doesn’t bend, sag, or move when installed,
Advanced Energy
The Standard Work Specifications offer pictorial guides for contractors to use in the field. Here’s an example for air sealing around windows and doors.
Feasible. The outcome must also be something that properly
but doesn’t specify a material. The contractor can use plywood,
drywall, oriented strand board, or anything else that meets trained workers can achieve on any job with standard materials. If a particular material, tool, or trade is essential, the stanthe requirement.
Whether you use NREL’s standards or write your own, an dard must include it. Examples are the requirement that furnace
effective standard must address a specific need, must define tune-ups be done by a licensed HVAC contractor, and that a
the tasks that have to be completed to meet that need, and caulk meet the requirements of ASTM C834-10.
Effective. All solutions must be capable of producing an inmust include a measurable performance outcome. Examples
include the requirement that insulation be in contact with tended result. For instance, the only way to ensure that the attic
the air barrier, that a vapor retarder cover 100% of a crawl is properly air sealed is to require that the air sealing be done
space floor, or that a bath fan exhaust a minimum of 50 CFM before blowing in the insulation.
to the outside.
Making It Work
We actually have a qualCreating a quality program is
ity standard for quality stanone thing. Getting employees on
dards: the acronym SAFE.
All
standards
must
be
board is a steeper slope to climb.
All standards must be Specific,
We have found that SWS—
Assessable, Feasible, a nd
Specific,
or any quality program—will
Effective.
only get implemented when the
Specific. The outcome
Assessable,
contractor provides employspecified in a standard must
ees with written instructions.
leave nothing to the imaginaFeasible, and
These include (1) notes to use
tion. Requiring “substantially
Effective.
when training employees on
airtight” ducts is too vague.
SWS, and (2) pictorial guides
Requiring that they “not leak
covering critical details that are
more than 99 CFM25” is specific.
Assessable. The outcome
stored in a binder in the truck
has to be verifiable using standardized equipment. This is what or on a handheld device for use in the field. The contractor can
makes QA possible. Verification equipment includes tools like create these references or can hire a consultant to do so. (My
IR cameras, blower doors, and Duct Blasters.
company offers this service.)
30
Home Energy
|
N ove m b e r/D e c e m b e r 2014
business best practices
Home Performance Coalition
We also suggest using Mistake Proofing
Verification forms (see Figure 1) that guide the
crew chief in performing quality checks in the
idends
v
i
d
field. This ensures that the job was done right
g
i
b
ize
and minimizes the chance of a callback later.
can real
s
r
o
t
c
a
s,
Contr
But getting workers to follow the specs
tandard
s
r
a
e
l
c
g
requires more than paperwork. It requires a
by settin
oyees,
l
p
change in attitude—not that of the workers but
m
e
h
it
that of management.
gether w
o
t
g
n
i
k
wor
n place
It’s common for managers to look reflexively
i
s
e
s
s
e
r oc
for someone to blame whenever something goes
having p
d
n
a
r work.
i
e
wrong. But my experience working with contrach
t
f
o
lity
tors—along with several years researching qualthe qua
k
c
e
h
c
to
ity efforts in other industries—has taught me that
the quality of their
quality problems are usually the result of failed
output. One of the most important
processes. If a duct wasn’t properly sealed, it’s
was “drive out fear.” His point was that workers who fear
probably not an intentional oversight on the part
their bosses will duck under the radar whenever there’s a probof the workers. (Most people actually want to do good work.)
lem, and will even lie to shield themselves from consequences.
It’s likely that the company lacks good QC and QA processes
That kind of culture makes quality improvement impossible. If,
to ensure that the job gets done right.
on the other hand, workers know they won’t be blamed, they
If we believe that process fails more than people, then when
will be more willing to work with management to improve prothere’s a problem we will look first at the process. Take the excesses and raise quality.
ample of the chase again. Say that a worker caps the chase but
I know this works because we’ve done it on the 20-person
leaves a 1-inch gap at the edge. Rather than yelling at the worker,
team I work with at Advanced Energy. We made a commitment
you will get a better result by examining your processes to dethat whenever problems arise, we get together, examine the
process, and work to correct it. Our productivity has improved
substantially, as has the quality of our results. And the company
has become a much more enjoyable place to work. It took us a
couple of years to fully realize these benefits, but we are a relatively large organization. A small contractor can make that cultural change a lot more quickly.
The point is that contractors can realize big dividends by setting clear standards, working together with employees to make
sure the company meets those standards, and having processes in
place to check the quality of their work. That’s why, when we help
contractors with their quality management plans, we include all
of the above. And the savings always more than pay for the effort.
After all, no one loses money doing work right the first time.
John Tooley tells attendees of the ACI National Home Performance Conference
in Denver, Colo., to “think of information as data that makes a difference.”
termine what would make that kind of error possible. You may
find that your training is inadequate. Fix the training and the
problem will probably not happen again.
This is what I call the blame-free workplace, and it’s a
very powerful motivator. W. Edwards Deming, a founding
father of the quality movement, outlined 14 points he considered essential practices for companies that want to increase
John Tooley is a senior building science consultant with
Advanced Energy Corporation in Raleigh, North Carolina.
>> learn more
To download the SWS from the NREL website, go to https://
sws.nrel.gov.
w w w.h o m e e n e rg y.o rg 31