WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 It's cited by a doctor, so I'm not smart enough 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:03.779 to figure something like that out. It's got more 00:00:03.779 --> 00:00:06.299 brains than we've got. And it was on the internet, 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:08.939 so it's got to be true. Yeah, that internet thing. 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:12.240 It's such a fun place. ESCO Learning is now on 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:16.160 the go with the HVACR Learning Network app. Access 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:18.719 your courses, learn on the go, chat with the 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:23.940 community, get updates, and more. Keep your HVACR 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:28.350 Learning journey moving. Visit hvacr .elearn 00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:56.560 .network or scan the QR codes below. we've had 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:58.159 some great time getting to know each other in 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:01.560 a short time you know it's just some of the topics 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.439 that we come across it's just like we have we 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.239 have fun in our industry well yes and you have 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.980 to yeah yeah if if uh what was it a study here 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:17.159 recently that i came across that says if it takes 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:21.200 it takes 4 000 repetitions of something to develop 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:26.900 a new neural pathway wow but If it's fun or you 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:31.780 enjoy it, it's only 20. Wow. And I forget the 00:01:31.780 --> 00:01:34.420 difference. Yes. I forget the doctor that did 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:36.760 it, but it's cited by a doctor. So I'm not smart 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:38.280 enough to figure something like that out. It's 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.620 got more, more brains than we've got. And it 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:42.099 was on the internet. So it's got to be true. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:45.540 Yeah. that internet thing. It's such a fun place. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:49.879 All right. So you're bringing up a very interesting 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:53.079 topic. I actually had a couple contractors bring 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.799 up to me earlier, right? So we've got a lot of 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:57.900 contractors here that we don't normally get. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:01:59.640 These last couple of years, we've had a significant 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:01.780 growth in contractors that are looking at their 00:02:01.780 --> 00:02:03.579 own training programs. And then they come to 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:05.459 ESCO, they're like, okay, we're going to do our 00:02:05.459 --> 00:02:07.159 own training program, or we're at least going 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:09.199 to do supplemental training for our apprenticeship 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:15.259 programs. But What content do we give them and 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:18.819 when? Right. Because if we get things out of 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:21.900 sequence, it might not even pertain to what we're 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:23.919 trying to teach them. Like if I try to teach 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:27.400 somebody a heat pump on semester one and semester 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:29.500 two, I give them basic refrigeration. They're 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:32.900 going to go, what? Yeah. Well, I don't know. 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:36.120 Maybe the basic refrigeration might have an application 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:40.460 to it. But. If you're trying to, yeah, no, that 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:43.759 doesn't function correctly. And that was kind 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:48.319 of the genesis of a thought I've had all conference 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.740 long is that, you know, you come to a conference 00:02:51.740 --> 00:02:55.199 like this and there are so many tracks and there 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:59.560 are so many great vendors and sponsors and such 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:03.120 fantastic information available. It's like trying 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:07.340 to drink from a fire hose as a hummingbird. It's 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:11.819 just, Literally, it's mind -blowing, the amount 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:16.180 of information that is coming at you. And I've 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.639 been really trying to figure out how does one 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:22.479 prioritize the amount of knowledge that's coming 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:26.280 in? I mean, yesterday morning, one of the big 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:31.050 things that came out was in my... news feed that 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:34.430 I read every day. It talked about an update to 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:37.969 the AIM Act and the AIM Act is going away. It's 00:03:37.969 --> 00:03:40.469 there and there have been a lot of sessions that 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:45.129 go on and listeners, just so you know, no, not 00:03:45.129 --> 00:03:48.610 for the majority of industries, at least that 00:03:48.610 --> 00:03:51.129 I work with. Yes, there's a couple of pieces 00:03:51.129 --> 00:03:52.990 that are under review, but it doesn't affect 00:03:52.990 --> 00:03:57.789 anything in multifamily. And my guess is most 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:02.789 Residential and commercial air conditioning professionals. 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:07.449 The only thing under review is small pieces. 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:11.110 Supermarket. Yeah. That's it. That's all. Yeah. 00:04:11.569 --> 00:04:15.050 But it's things like that that unless you're 00:04:15.050 --> 00:04:19.209 paying attention to everything, it's hard to 00:04:19.209 --> 00:04:22.490 keep track on what is relevant to you. Yeah, 00:04:22.490 --> 00:04:24.970 exactly. But if you pay too much attention to 00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:30.029 everything, then you lose. You lose what's happening 00:04:30.029 --> 00:04:33.209 right now. I agree completely. So what do you 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:36.870 think? Where do we begin? What is a good beginning 00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:41.310 place for an education program? I won't even 00:04:41.310 --> 00:04:45.910 say for a beginning student of air conditioning. 00:04:46.089 --> 00:04:49.149 Yeah. But for an education program, where do 00:04:49.149 --> 00:04:51.189 you start at point one? I mean, do you go all 00:04:51.189 --> 00:04:53.829 the way back to this is a screwdriver and this 00:04:53.829 --> 00:04:58.470 is a pair of channel locks? Yes. So the reason 00:04:58.470 --> 00:04:59.970 that I say that and the reason I believe that 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:05.050 is we're getting a lot of comments from schools 00:05:05.050 --> 00:05:09.310 of students that cannot read a tape measure. 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:13.269 Oh, yeah. They've never been taught how to open 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:16.410 a tape measure. And I kept hearing that and I 00:05:16.410 --> 00:05:18.750 kept hearing that and I thought, man, really? 00:05:18.930 --> 00:05:21.889 Is it that bad? Okay, so get this. I'm going 00:05:21.889 --> 00:05:24.439 to admit to something that I am. I'm ashamed 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.379 of. This is a safe space. It's just you and me. 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:35.379 It is. That's true. Okay. So my son buys his 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:37.949 first house last year. And we're over there this 00:05:37.949 --> 00:05:40.069 winter and he's finishing the garage. Right. 00:05:40.189 --> 00:05:42.790 And so I'm into woodworking and I've tried to 00:05:42.790 --> 00:05:44.470 teach him woodworking over the years. He's picked 00:05:44.470 --> 00:05:46.490 up some of it. Most of it he didn't because dad 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:48.569 was teaching him. Right. If it was, you know, 00:05:48.569 --> 00:05:51.629 Uncle Bob, you know, he'd probably been a master 00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:53.769 woodworker by now, but dad's teaching him. So 00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:55.750 he's going to learn a few of the basics. That's 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:59.110 right. And same way with HVAC. Right. You know, 00:05:59.110 --> 00:06:00.410 and so there's certain things I tried teaching 00:06:00.410 --> 00:06:03.129 him and picked up on. quite a few things. So 00:06:03.129 --> 00:06:04.730 we're doing woodworking, right? So I'm like, 00:06:04.769 --> 00:06:06.949 okay, son, so what are you going to do? We're 00:06:06.949 --> 00:06:08.569 going to put some metal on and then I want to 00:06:08.569 --> 00:06:11.209 cut some wood to use for the trim on things. 00:06:11.310 --> 00:06:13.209 I'm like, oh yeah, that's great. And he picked 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:14.689 up a whole bunch of cedar, really good looking 00:06:14.689 --> 00:06:16.170 lumber that we're going to put for trim on the 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:19.629 very top between the metal walls and the ceiling. 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:27.339 And so we're getting all the cedar out and We're 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:29.720 in this place in the corner and around the window 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:30.740 and we're measuring. I'm like, all right, go 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:33.620 get me a measurement on that. And he says, it's 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:36.759 a little over 27. And I'm like, how much over? 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:42.560 He's like, one, two, three, four, five, six, 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:48.800 seven bars over. And I'm like, is that in eighths 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:51.500 or is that in sixteenths? Is that in 32nds? Is 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:54.860 that in 64ths? And he's like, I don't know. I'm 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:58.449 like, what? I'm like, let me see that. And it's 00:06:58.449 --> 00:07:05.149 in eighths. And I'm going, did I fail you? Did 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:07.750 I never teach you how to read a tape measure? 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:12.389 And he's like, you probably did. I don't honestly 00:07:12.389 --> 00:07:14.589 remember if you taught me how to use a tape measure. 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:17.589 And I'm like, and you've never used a ruler or 00:07:17.589 --> 00:07:21.629 tape measure in school this entire time all the 00:07:21.629 --> 00:07:27.720 way through your associate's degree? No. I went 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:30.699 to work for one of my first educational programs. 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:34.000 I taught myself how to use authoring software 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.920 to create some e -learning programs for a supplier. 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:41.279 And I am not gifted in that area, but it needed 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.399 to be done. And I was the only one. So I did. 00:07:44.860 --> 00:07:47.660 And the supplier came to me. They did cabinets 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:51.579 and kitchens. And they came to me after I produced 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:54.279 the first one, which was on swimming pools. And 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:57.079 they said, Paul, we need you to create an e -learning 00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:00.939 course for our salespeople. I said, OK. Sounds 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:04.439 interesting. Is it reading, you know, designs 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.920 or sales or whatever? And I said, no, a simple 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.439 one. Really, really easy. We need them to learn 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:18.720 how to read a ruler. OK, hold on. What? Did I 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.100 miss something? Yeah, the same look. And they 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:24.379 said, yeah, we're having too many cabinet doors, 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:28.459 fronts, faces, and drawers being returned because 00:08:28.459 --> 00:08:33.559 they meant three -eighths instead of three -quarters. 00:08:33.659 --> 00:08:35.720 And they need to know the difference between 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.220 the two of them because the drawers aren't fitting 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.620 in the holes that are cut in fabrication. Shouldn't 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:46.279 laugh. And literally I turned back to him and 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:48.200 I said, wait a second. You're talking about salespeople 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.460 who are in charge of millions of dollars in sales 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:55.940 for your company. And you hired them without 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:59.700 verifying that they can read fractions? Yeah. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.840 And then the next thing is, wait, you're coming 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.940 to a guy who is, I plunge toilets for a living. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.340 This is like a side gig. Yeah. And you want me 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:12.639 to teach them? Yeah. How much commission do I 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.019 get for every correct measurement that I do? 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:19.460 Let's put some factors in this thing. Measure 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:23.440 this. But it is. And I agree with you that when 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:27.100 we start an educational program of any type, 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:31.980 we have to start at ground zero. Yeah. I don't 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:37.179 know. what ground zero is or identifying it, 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:40.000 because at some point it becomes too elementary. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.320 Yeah, you can't stay there too long either. Yeah, 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:44.620 so, you know, the running joke of what's the 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:46.279 difference between a Phillips and a flathead 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.799 screwdriver? One's a plus, one's a minus, and 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:54.860 you move on. And those foundational skills, I 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:57.320 believe, and I completely agree with you, it 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:02.759 has to start from a point of almost... when you're 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.299 later on in your career, almost absurdity. Yeah. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.080 For what do you mean you don't understand? Exactly. 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:15.080 And the next piece is we have to be very, very 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:18.100 careful to do a learner's assessment. Yeah. Because 00:10:18.100 --> 00:10:24.279 we can't assume almost anything. Yep. I was trying 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.360 to teach a couple of years ago, and this same 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:31.879 incidence has been repeated three times. I had 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.100 a student come up to me. We were teaching fan 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:38.620 motors and how to determine which direction the 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:41.220 blade is going to turn to where you got the yellow 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:44.059 and the purple wire coming out old capacitor 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:47.860 motor and you flip it around. And the way that 00:10:47.860 --> 00:10:50.679 you look is with the rod in your nose and it's 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:54.259 counterclockwise or clockwise. And after we finished 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:58.340 that section, a guy came up to me and he says, 00:10:58.419 --> 00:11:02.639 Paul, you talked about. Clockwise and counterclockwise. 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:07.620 What do you mean by that? Yeah. And I said, and 00:11:07.620 --> 00:11:11.659 I held up my watch, analog watch, and I said, 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:13.740 this is the direction the hand goes over. He 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:15.919 held up his digital watch. He didn't know what 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:19.580 a moving mechanical hand was. No, no idea. Right. 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:24.480 So I think we definitely need to start with foundational. 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:27.240 Yeah. And we can't make an assumption as where 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:30.740 that starting place is. So as educators, we have 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:38.039 to be soft and use humor and make it a safe place 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:41.620 in the classroom so questions like that can be 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:48.779 asked. I think the challenge is also complicated 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:54.659 by just the environment we are in. And your audience. 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:57.149 Yeah. Because you don't know what it is. And 00:11:57.149 --> 00:12:02.289 the technological changes are coming so fast 00:12:02.289 --> 00:12:06.289 now. Yep. I attended a session this morning on 00:12:06.289 --> 00:12:10.309 inverter technology. And I know the word. Yeah. 00:12:10.470 --> 00:12:14.009 And I think I could fumble my way through a definition 00:12:14.009 --> 00:12:17.230 until attending this session. Right. And the 00:12:17.230 --> 00:12:19.830 more and more I thought about it, the buildings 00:12:19.830 --> 00:12:22.190 that I'm working on, the technicians that I'm 00:12:22.190 --> 00:12:25.929 training right now today. Are not working on 00:12:25.929 --> 00:12:29.309 anything inverter. Yeah. So from a prioritization 00:12:29.309 --> 00:12:34.649 standpoint, that's a topic that it. Now, I'm 00:12:34.649 --> 00:12:36.509 going to say it's not even on my radar. It's 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:39.470 outside the realm of my radar. But I'm aware 00:12:39.470 --> 00:12:42.929 that it could jump onto my radar. Should my management 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:46.769 company come up with a next next. Yeah. With 00:12:46.769 --> 00:12:51.830 a product. Yes. That's on there. So I think. 00:12:52.409 --> 00:12:54.649 I kind of think the answer is something along 00:12:54.649 --> 00:12:58.289 that line. You started almost absurdly foundational, 00:12:58.730 --> 00:13:01.590 absurdly simple and continually build skills. 00:13:02.309 --> 00:13:06.350 The challenge is, is that continually build piece 00:13:06.350 --> 00:13:11.210 of how long does it take to get from simple to 00:13:11.210 --> 00:13:14.470 complex and how many steps is it going to take? 00:13:14.629 --> 00:13:19.889 And from an educational standpoint. What's my 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:22.789 responsibility as the educator to provide and 00:13:22.789 --> 00:13:27.549 what is the student's responsibility to pull? 00:13:27.850 --> 00:13:34.049 Yeah. Absolutely. And that I think is the answer 00:13:34.049 --> 00:13:37.149 I've come to. Is that anywhere reasonable? No, 00:13:37.149 --> 00:13:40.769 you're right. So I approach it in two different 00:13:40.769 --> 00:13:42.809 perspectives. And so the two things that have 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:46.049 worked very, very successful for me, it depends 00:13:46.049 --> 00:13:50.990 on. Am I teaching someone from ground zero or 00:13:50.990 --> 00:13:54.169 I'm teaching someone who has existing education 00:13:54.169 --> 00:13:58.669 in this particular sector? So what I did is particularly 00:13:58.669 --> 00:14:01.529 if I was working with a company, like let's just 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.370 say I was doing an interview for a company that 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:06.830 was I was doing dealer onboarding. Right. And 00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:10.529 so I'm introducing a new brand of equipment to 00:14:10.529 --> 00:14:13.029 a company's installation and service department. 00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:16.429 The very first thing that I do, they're anticipating 00:14:16.429 --> 00:14:18.730 I'm coming there to teach them about this very 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:21.990 specific product and technology. And in fact, 00:14:22.009 --> 00:14:23.850 the very first thing that I do is I administer 00:14:23.850 --> 00:14:28.730 a 100 -question baseline assessment that has 00:14:28.730 --> 00:14:33.610 questions going from the most simplest of things 00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:36.769 like tape measure measurements all the way up 00:14:36.769 --> 00:14:39.950 to questions that I can't answer, that I've sourced 00:14:39.950 --> 00:14:42.730 from engineering. And so I do a 100 -question 00:14:42.730 --> 00:14:46.889 assessment. And I start administering that. And 00:14:46.889 --> 00:14:49.970 out of that, what you find is not what the people 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:55.210 know. It's the things that they need assistance 00:14:55.210 --> 00:14:59.470 on. And then as long as the majority of the things 00:14:59.470 --> 00:15:03.820 are falling into one sector, then I can. assume 00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:05.860 that that should be the next thing that i'm teaching 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:09.500 in my class so this is you're an outside instructor 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:14.200 going into a contractor and testing these contractor 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:19.000 employees yes and okay my question this is where 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:21.000 it gets challenging because you're going into 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.360 somebody else's business yeah with their employees 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:29.740 oh yeah how do you get around the business problem 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:33.269 the true business problem of You're handing out 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:36.409 an evaluation. It's not a pass fail test. And 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:40.090 as a matter of fact, the more accurate and the 00:15:40.090 --> 00:15:43.409 less intimidating for the student it is, the 00:15:43.409 --> 00:15:46.029 better, more accurate the results are that lead 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:50.169 to a better program. The challenge, though, is 00:15:50.169 --> 00:15:56.250 how do you handle the employer who is going to 00:15:56.250 --> 00:16:02.080 come back and want to use that? As a performance 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.299 tool, a performance evaluation tool. Yep. How 00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:11.019 do you handle that? Boy, I upset a handful of 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:13.320 experienced technicians along the way because 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:17.559 I actually encourage it. Oh, using the assessment. 00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:19.799 Using the assessment as a performance management 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:22.950 tool. As a performance and evaluation. Wow. And 00:16:22.950 --> 00:16:26.450 so I take a pretty hard stance on it, on that 00:16:26.450 --> 00:16:29.889 perspective, because in that assessment, I do 00:16:29.889 --> 00:16:33.049 learn what needs to be taught. And I also learn 00:16:33.049 --> 00:16:35.350 who doesn't know what they were already supposed 00:16:35.350 --> 00:16:37.190 to know because they told the employer they did. 00:16:37.990 --> 00:16:40.509 And it's a difficult place to be. There's a lot 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:41.929 of people that don't like me at that minute. 00:16:41.970 --> 00:16:45.279 But then I turn around and go, OK. What we're 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:47.620 actually doing here is we're looking at, because 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:49.159 you'll get the ones that there's no way this 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:51.500 is impossible to pass. And it's exactly like 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:53.759 you say it. You come back and go, there's actually 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:58.240 no passing on this. It's not a you failed or 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:02.019 you passed. This is what training do we need 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:05.480 the most to get to the next level? And the most 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:10.099 common deficiency in our entire group is this 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:15.329 electrical schematic reading. And so now everyone 00:17:15.329 --> 00:17:19.769 is getting electrical schematic training. But 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:23.690 there were some technicians that really struggled 00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:26.730 on the entire thing. And that's because I know 00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:28.809 that they just started. So they're going to go 00:17:28.809 --> 00:17:30.829 over and they're going to do an EPA 608 or they're 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:33.490 going to do a very, very fundamental class. And 00:17:33.490 --> 00:17:36.950 so then I look at catering the training to the 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:40.789 deficiency of what we have. And it takes. It 00:17:40.789 --> 00:17:42.730 takes a couple of times of doing that. But the 00:17:42.730 --> 00:17:45.910 beauty of doing that repetitive is this. After 00:17:45.910 --> 00:17:48.470 they whine for a little while, you can go, okay, 00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:51.029 now we're going to compare yours to the average 00:17:51.029 --> 00:17:53.450 for everyone that's taken these tests. And they're 00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:54.230 going to look at it and they're going to go, 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:57.130 oh. everybody filled electrical wiring didn't 00:17:57.130 --> 00:18:00.329 they and like yes they did and that's why we're 00:18:00.329 --> 00:18:05.210 going to start right here this is a vault this 00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:08.170 is going to start with that yes yeah that makes 00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:11.470 sense though that is that is in today's environment 00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:18.609 which is set up so rapidly yeah for our for employees 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:22.559 which is fascinating to me on one hand Our employers 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.420 and the business culture we're in are expecting 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:28.960 rapid change, rapid improvement. You know, here's 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.640 this e -learning class. Before you knew nothing 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:33.660 about electrical. Now you're a master. Go do 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:37.299 it. Two hours of training. Go. Be on your way 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:40.619 and God bless. Exactly. And yet the flip side 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:44.240 is a program like that, which is a really neat, 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:48.759 simple idea. I've heard it applied to other industries. 00:18:51.549 --> 00:18:54.349 The challenge, I guess, is we're not dealing 00:18:54.349 --> 00:19:00.869 with urgency, complicated issues. And by that, 00:19:00.910 --> 00:19:05.029 I mean when a pipe breaks, the solution is fairly 00:19:05.029 --> 00:19:07.930 simple. Find the valve and turn it off. And then 00:19:07.930 --> 00:19:10.450 there's always the option of hiring a contractor 00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:16.130 to get it done. So the urgency is reduced because 00:19:16.130 --> 00:19:19.250 we can solve it by paying for the solution outside. 00:19:20.670 --> 00:19:23.430 What that tells me is on the backside for our 00:19:23.430 --> 00:19:27.170 employees, we can train them over time. Yeah, 00:19:27.170 --> 00:19:29.970 on that specific application. Yes, by exposure, 00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:37.549 by controlled challenges. Some by even allowing 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:41.809 learning opportunities for mistakes. Yep. So 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:46.390 it's also interesting that for students, I've 00:19:46.390 --> 00:19:49.710 got to imagine that it becomes an incentive. 00:19:50.410 --> 00:19:54.049 of last time we took this test i missed the electrical 00:19:54.049 --> 00:19:56.849 section yeah here we are three months later and 00:19:56.849 --> 00:19:59.450 now i'm three quarters the way i knew the answer 00:19:59.450 --> 00:20:02.009 to three quarters of those questions yeah so 00:20:02.009 --> 00:20:08.089 you have proof of progress yep so that is that 00:20:08.089 --> 00:20:10.630 is really neat yeah and you want to fire up a 00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:14.150 young technician oh man yes you show them what 00:20:14.150 --> 00:20:17.299 they can do. You show them the things that they 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.160 need to learn to be successful. Now you've given 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.119 them a path. Yes. Especially if you can incorporate 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:25.980 with that some really cool tools, gadgets, and 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:27.720 gizmos. You're your little thing along the way. 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:31.420 That's exactly right. So that is how I typically 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:35.519 approach an established environment, an established 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.259 learning environment where it's a contractor, 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:41.240 whether it is a department, a maintenance department. 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:46.319 So an established working department. If I'm 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:48.980 looking at a program from ground zero or like 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:52.000 an apprenticeship program, then I follow things 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.339 that are very accepted within the industry, a 00:20:55.339 --> 00:20:59.519 very rudimentary introductory into the refrigeration 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:06.359 cycle, into electrical, into refrigerants. But 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:10.500 along the way, at every step, on every type of 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:12.970 training, We're following that with an industry 00:21:12.970 --> 00:21:17.690 accepted certification. Okay. So it becomes a 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:23.549 tiered training. And proven concrete levels. 00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:28.269 Yeah. So that you know you have to prove to our 00:21:28.269 --> 00:21:34.140 point earlier of. finite progress. It's not just 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:36.799 a, well, I feel like you're doing better. I feel 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:39.559 like you know more. No, I can prove you know 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:42.359 more. Let me show you the numbers. The question 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:44.779 for you though, and I know you may be a little 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:48.079 bit biased. At what point in that educational 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:53.240 program do you introduce refrigerant into the 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:57.980 progress? And I ask this question because in 00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:00.640 the apartment industry, you know, that Section 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:06.220 608 certification is held up as the, you are 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:08.940 the everything. Yep. Because you have that certification 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:12.700 when we know it doesn't teach how to do anything. 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:16.880 So the apprenticeship program that I put together, 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:22.299 I use that as bait. Okay. Oh, the 608 as bait. 00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:26.099 The 608 is your bait. Okay. So the 608 gets introduced 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:30.119 as the very first course. Really? Very, very 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:33.019 first course, but not the complete 608 program. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.680 I don't go through universal. I go through type 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:39.079 one and type two. Okay. All right. But they're 00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:43.160 not testing. So you introduced the content first. 00:22:44.140 --> 00:22:47.400 The concept. The concept of refrigeration and 00:22:47.400 --> 00:22:50.839 carrying heat and movement. Answering questions 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:54.819 along the way. So the first two weeks, that's 00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:57.700 what you get to see. You get to see that our 00:22:57.700 --> 00:23:00.440 industry is based around refrigerants and regulations. 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:03.819 And then later we're going to explore what they 00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:06.599 do and how they do it. Because in that first 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.400 couple of weeks, either they're in or they're 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.569 out. And I like that because it also defines 00:23:12.569 --> 00:23:17.049 the why. Yes. From a technical level, why do 00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:19.170 we have all the fan motors and relays and sensors 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:23.309 and switches and buttons? And why do I need to 00:23:23.309 --> 00:23:30.519 study electrical so much? And this flashy. of 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.099 refrigerant and being able to do that and meet 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:37.220 that level is actually a minor part in the repair 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:42.440 scheme of things. But I like that. It's thinking 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:46.779 about it a little bit backwards. The programs 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:49.299 that I've done, we introduce it, it's out there, 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:54.640 but it's in the future. Because maintenance technicians 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:58.599 have got to get... all of the other stuff right 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:02.000 before I want them going to grab a jug. Absolutely. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:07.259 So the thinking is that the training progression 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:10.519 reinforces that. That's exactly right. So you 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:12.519 tell them right up front, this is what you're 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:15.160 going to learn. This is a learning outcome of 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:18.480 this course. And at the end of this, you are 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.819 going to need to be comfortable with this information 00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:22.720 that we're going to work on these first two weeks. 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.660 Because at the end of this course, we're going 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:27.700 to dive really deep into it. And you're going 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:32.160 to be required to pass a universal in this course. 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:36.859 The goal is your universal. It'll be fine if 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:40.700 you just get your type two. Right. But what we're 00:24:40.700 --> 00:24:42.119 going to do is we're going to focus on getting 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:45.039 you the highest achievement we can out of this 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:49.039 program. It's okay if you don't get it, but that's 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.859 what we're going to do. And so now we're going 00:24:50.859 --> 00:24:52.980 to start here at these fundamentals, and I want 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:55.079 you to be thinking about these as we go through 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:58.700 all of our refrigeration training. So I start 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:01.490 out with a very, very, very basic of 608. They 00:25:01.490 --> 00:25:03.670 get their study manual, and they keep that through 00:25:03.670 --> 00:25:07.269 the entire course. So they can read it the one 00:25:07.269 --> 00:25:09.910 time that is needed to memorize all the information 00:25:09.910 --> 00:25:11.990 that's in there, right? That's exactly right. 00:25:12.309 --> 00:25:15.150 If you're listening, no, that's a joke. That 00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:16.930 doesn't work. It's just a study guide. It's just 00:25:16.930 --> 00:25:21.269 a piece. It's like the highlights. It definitely 00:25:21.269 --> 00:25:24.170 is. So I start there, and then I actually move 00:25:24.170 --> 00:25:30.329 into a what is air. Very fundamental. what is 00:25:30.329 --> 00:25:32.490 the things around us and then i'll start moving 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:35.130 into the chemical then i'll start moving into 00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:38.069 the refrigeration and actually refrigerants comes 00:25:38.069 --> 00:25:42.329 after refrigeration so i would teach the refrigeration 00:25:42.329 --> 00:25:45.789 cycle first that makes sense and then go into 00:25:45.789 --> 00:25:47.950 what are refrigerants so that i can help them 00:25:47.950 --> 00:25:51.769 understand that these refrigerants it could be 00:25:51.769 --> 00:25:57.230 any of them because all of them do the thing 00:25:57.230 --> 00:26:00.109 that happened before. So literally think of putting 00:26:00.109 --> 00:26:02.430 your training together as your sequence of operation. 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:05.369 Yeah, that makes perfect sense. That way you 00:26:05.369 --> 00:26:08.730 keep the most complicated piece of which number 00:26:08.730 --> 00:26:10.910 refrigerant is this and why does it have a four 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:13.349 in front of it as opposed to just two numbers. 00:26:13.730 --> 00:26:16.950 All of that complication gets stayed out till 00:26:16.950 --> 00:26:21.679 later because you are building that why. Telling 00:26:21.679 --> 00:26:24.900 why do we need to know this next thing? It's 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:27.240 because of this. Now, we're not going to worry 00:26:27.240 --> 00:26:29.019 about this. We need to learn the next thing. 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:31.099 Oh, and by the way, now that we're learning this 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:33.859 next thing, this next thing is the why. We need 00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:36.579 to learn the next thing. So it's almost like 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:40.900 you introduce it and then build up. Exactly. 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:44.619 And then by getting all the way to the end of 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:48.579 it, you've solved that first piece, that first 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:53.009 why. Yeah. It's kind of like. Throwing a joke 00:26:53.009 --> 00:26:56.849 out or a riddle out and going, at the end, you're 00:26:56.849 --> 00:26:59.529 going to solve it. Right. To where you will have 00:26:59.529 --> 00:27:01.430 the answer. You will have this answer. And then 00:27:01.430 --> 00:27:08.609 never talk about it again. That's some fun training. 00:27:09.190 --> 00:27:11.829 So I approach them differently. Definitely. And 00:27:11.829 --> 00:27:17.369 that makes a lot of sense. The challenge is getting 00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:20.900 the time now. that's that's the challenge part 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:24.440 yeah because it all costs yeah it all costs and 00:27:24.440 --> 00:27:28.480 the longer the longer the period of time is between 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:33.740 knowledge and application the faster the atrophy 00:27:33.740 --> 00:27:37.000 of the knowledge that is gained yeah Man, this 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.619 is a good one. Yeah, I think so, too. Paul Rhodes, 00:27:41.779 --> 00:27:43.720 how can we learn more about everything you're 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:46.660 doing in the industry? The best way to learn 00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:49.859 more about what's going on is two locations. 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:54.119 One is LinkedIn. I'm active on LinkedIn, and 00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:56.359 that is the best place to find out about me and 00:27:56.359 --> 00:28:00.079 what's going on. The second place is actually 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:04.279 my podcast, The Maintenance Mindset. It's a podcast 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:08.359 on the Multifamily Media Network. And all the 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:11.319 episodes are found there and on YouTube. And 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.980 I speak at a lot of conferences around for the 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:18.880 apartment association. And I'm just happy to 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:23.150 continue to learn myself. this conference. And 00:28:23.150 --> 00:28:25.170 if for those of you who are listening, if you 00:28:25.170 --> 00:28:27.509 are interested in coming to one place to learn 00:28:27.509 --> 00:28:30.210 something that you never, ever thought you needed 00:28:30.210 --> 00:28:32.950 to know, this is a great place to come. Thank 00:28:32.950 --> 00:28:36.150 you, sir. All right. I appreciate it. Everybody 00:28:36.150 --> 00:28:38.630 needs to go check out everything Paul's doing 00:28:38.630 --> 00:28:40.630 and spend some time on the Maintenance Mindset 00:28:40.630 --> 00:28:43.450 Podcast. Everybody have a great day. We'll see 00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:43.569 you.