What You'll Learn

• What benchmarking data is available in measureQuick and how to access it
• How to evaluate company-level metrics: average Vitals Score, pass/fail rates by subsystem, and test-in vs. test-out improvement
• How ACCA Quality Installation (QI) integration works and how measureQuick data feeds QI compliance
• How your company compares to industry data from 115,706+ quality-filtered cooling tests
• How to use benchmarking data for technician coaching and skill development
• What manager dashboard features are available and how to interpret them

What You'll Need

• Device: Computer with internet access for cloud.measurequick.com, or iPad/tablet with measureQuick
• Account: measureQuick Premier subscription with Company Administrator or Manager role
• Data: At least 30-50 completed projects in the cloud for meaningful company-level analysis
• Knowledge: Understanding of the HVAC Vitals Score (J3) and how Test In / Test Out works (G11)
• Time: 15 minutes to read

What Benchmarking Means in measureQuick

In measureQuick, "benchmarking" has two related meanings.

System-level benchmarking is the process of commissioning a new or existing system, documenting its known-good performance, and saving that snapshot to the cloud as a baseline for future comparison. Jim Bergmann calls this "really the most powerful feature of measureQuick because it baselines your company so everybody knows exactly how a piece of equipment is supposed to operate." When any technician from your company returns to that system, the benchmark provides the reference point. Deviations from benchmark indicate that something has changed.

Company-level benchmarking is the aggregation of all your company's test data into metrics that reveal patterns: which subsystems fail most often, which technicians produce the best results, and how your company compares to the broader industry. This is what this article covers.

Both forms of benchmarking depend on consistent, measurement-based testing. The more projects your team completes with proper Test In and Test Out data, the more useful your benchmarking data becomes.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Access Company-Level Data

Company benchmarking data is available through the measureQuick Cloud dashboard:

1. Log in to cloud.measurequick.com with an Administrator or Manager account.
2. Navigate to the Projects section to see all company projects.
3. Use the Analytics or Dashboard view (if available on your subscription tier) for aggregated metrics.

The cloud dashboard aggregates data across all technicians in your company. Individual technician data is accessible by filtering by user. See Searching & Filtering Projects for detailed filtering instructions.

Cloud dashboard home showing company summary metrics and project analytics

Step 2: Evaluate Average Vitals Scores

The Vitals Score is the simplest company-level benchmark. Track these metrics:

Company average Vitals Score - the mean score across all completed tests with valid Vitals Scores. This is your overall quality indicator.

Vitals Score by test type - separate averages for cooling, heating, and combustion tests. Your company may excel at one test type and struggle with another.

Vitals Score trend over time - is your average score improving, stable, or declining? Plot monthly averages to spot trends.

Industry comparison from V12 data:

If your company average falls below the 82-point non-benchmarking average, that signals a systemic opportunity to improve diagnostic and repair practices. Companies that consistently benchmark their installations and return visits achieve scores 10 points higher on average.

Step 3: Review Pass/Fail Rates by Subsystem

Beyond the aggregate score, look at which specific subsystems are failing across your company's projects:

Key subsystem failure rates from the V12 database (115,706 quality-filtered cooling tests):

Compare your company's pass/fail rates to these industry figures:

• Your charge failure rate is significantly above 56.0%? Your technicians may need additional training on refrigerant charge procedures, or your service area may have equipment conditions that produce more failures (age, installation quality).
• Your charge failure rate is well below 56.0%? Your team is likely catching and correcting charge issues effectively, or you may be serving newer/higher-quality equipment.
• Your TESP failure rate tracks the industry 70%+? This is common. The question is whether your technicians are identifying the source of the restriction (filter, coil, or ductwork) and recommending the correct fix. See Component Pressure Drops.

Company dashboard showing subsystem pass/fail rates compared to industry benchmarks

Step 4: Measure Test-In vs. Test-Out Improvement

The most direct measure of your team's effectiveness is how much systems improve between Test In and Test Out.

How to calculate improvement:

For each project with both Test In and Test Out:

• Compare the Test In Vitals Score to the Test Out Vitals Score
• Count how many failing subsystems were corrected
• Calculate the average score improvement across all projects

What to look for:

• Average improvement of 15+ points: Your team is finding significant issues and fixing them effectively.
• Average improvement under 5 points: Either the systems are arriving in good condition (not much to fix), or the team is not fully addressing the issues found.
• Projects with no improvement: Investigate these individually. Was the issue something the technician could not fix on the first visit (e.g., ductwork needing remediation)? Or did the technician not address all the findings?

Important caveat from the data methodology: Do not compare aggregate Test In scores to aggregate Test Out scores across different projects. This produces misleading results due to Simpson's paradox (different companies, conditions, and equipment mix in each group). Always compare paired tests within the same project.

Step 5: ACCA QI Integration

measureQuick supports ACCA Quality Installation (QI) compliance through its measurement and reporting capabilities:

What ACCA QI requires:

• Verification of Equipment Selection (VES) - correct equipment for the load
• Verification of System Performance (VSP) - measured performance meets design specifications
• Energy Star certification eligibility when applicable

How measureQuick feeds QI:

• The system profile and diagnostic data document that the installation meets design specifications.
• The Vitals Report provides the measurement evidence required for VSP documentation.
• Companies with Premier subscriptions can generate ACCA QI certificates (VEO, VSP, Energy Star) directly from measureQuick.
• All measurement data is stored in the cloud, creating a permanent record of compliance.

For companies pursuing QI certification or using QI as a competitive differentiator, measureQuick provides the measurement infrastructure and documentation trail. Non-members can access QI certificates at $20 per certificate; ACCA members at $15 per certificate.

[Visual Reference] The ACCA QI certificate generation screen shows VEO, VSP, and Energy Star certificate options with a preview of the completed project documentation, company branding, and measurement evidence.

Step 6: Technician Coaching with Benchmarking Data

Benchmarking data transforms technician coaching from subjective feedback into data-driven development:

Identifying coaching opportunities:

1. Filter projects by technician in the cloud dashboard.
2. Compare each technician's average Vitals Score to the company average.
3. Look at subsystem-level failure rates by technician. A tech with a high charge failure rate may need refrigerant charge training. A tech with high TESP failures may not be addressing airflow issues.
4. Review Test In to Test Out improvement rates. A tech who consistently achieves large improvements is identifying and resolving issues effectively.

Coaching examples from customer interviews:

• Aaron Gregg (Service Manager, Jacob's Ladder Heating and Cooling) uses measureQuick's diagnostic flags as a real-time coaching tool: "It's just like having the senior tech right there beside you telling you why your superheat is too high." Remote streaming allows supervisors to observe a technician's readings in real time without being on site.

• Mike Cotto (Field Supervisor, Freedom Heating and Cooling) uses the Vitals Score improvement as a coaching metric: "I went from a C plus to an A plus just off of airflow." When a technician sees that a single correction (airflow adjustment) moved the score from C to A, the lesson is concrete and memorable.

• Chad Simpson (Owner, Simpson Salute, ~100 employees) uses company-wide benchmarking to drive standardization. His company reduced callbacks from 4% to under 2% after implementing measurement-based diagnostics on every call. The benchmarking data proved which practices produced better outcomes.

What to track per technician:

Step 7: Manager Dashboard Features

The measureQuick Cloud dashboard provides several views for managers:

• Project list with filtering - all company projects, filterable by technician, date, test type, and status
• Company-level metrics - aggregate scores and pass/fail rates across the team
• Individual technician view - filtered view of a single technician's projects and metrics
• Historical tracking - performance trends over time for the company or individual technicians
• Equipment history - all projects performed on a specific piece of equipment across all technicians

For companies with CRM integrations (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro), project data flows both directions. Projects started from dispatched jobs inherit customer data, and completed reports push back to the CRM. This creates a unified view of customer interactions across both platforms.

Video Walkthrough

• YouTube: (6:40). Jim Bergmann's definitive walkthrough of system benchmarking. "This is really the most powerful feature of measureQuick because it baselines your company so everybody knows exactly how a piece of equipment is supposed to operate." Covers saving benchmarks to cloud, retrieving them on return visits, and how benchmarked targets lock in for all technicians

• YouTube: (371 views, 7:52). Discusses how measurement data supports training and quality control across teams

• YouTube: (876 views, 1:30). A contractor shares their real-world benchmarking results and how they track improvement over time

• YouTube: (66,533 views, 72 min). Comprehensive walkthrough including benchmarking, cloud features, and project management

Tips & Common Issues

How many projects do I need for meaningful benchmarks?

For company-level metrics, 30-50 completed projects of the same test type provide a reasonable baseline. For technician-level comparison, at least 20 projects per technician gives you enough data to identify patterns. Fewer than that and individual outlier projects can skew the averages.

Our company average is below the industry average

This is common for companies early in their measureQuick adoption. Two patterns typically explain it:

1. Technicians are still learning to use the probes and workflows correctly. Incorrect probe placement or incomplete measurements produce lower scores. Training and practice resolve this.
2. The company's service area has older equipment stock. Older systems in regions with deferred maintenance will produce lower scores regardless of technician skill. Use the age-adjusted score for a fairer comparison.

Track the trend over 3-6 months. If scores are improving, the team is developing. If scores plateau, identify the specific subsystems causing the most failures and target training there.

Do not compare scores across different test types

A gas furnace Vitals Score uses different subsystems than a cooling Vitals Score. A company that does 80% furnace work and 20% cooling cannot compare its overall average to a company that does 80% cooling. Compare cooling to cooling, heating to heating.

Benchmarking drives revenue

Multiple contractors report that benchmarking creates revenue opportunities:

• Tom Grochmal (educator): "At the end, it produces a report that serves as a baseline for future maintenance and repair, and gives assurance to the owner that the system was set up properly, with the measurements to prove it."
• Systems that degrade from benchmark on a return visit create a documented, measurable need for service. The benchmark data makes the case for the customer without the technician needing to "sell."
• Companies that benchmark new installs report fewer callbacks because issues are caught and resolved during the commissioning process.

Callback reduction as a benchmark metric

The most-cited ROI metric across customer interviews is callback reduction. Benchmark your callback rate before and after adopting measurement-based diagnostics:

• Chad Simpson (Simpson Salute): 4% callbacks down to under 2%
• DR Richardson: "90% of our callbacks were airflow related. Static pressure was getting overlooked."
• Aaron Gregg (Jacob's Ladder): "Fewer callbacks from overcharged systems"

If your company tracks callback rates in your CRM, correlate those rates with the adoption timeline of measureQuick-based diagnostics. The reduction, when it comes, is a concrete financial metric that justifies the investment in probes, subscriptions, and training time.

Industry context for specific metrics

From the V12 database:

• Heat pump market share reached 47.0% of residential HVAC in full-year 2025. If your company's project mix is below that, you may be underrepresenting the heat pump segment.
• R-410A remains dominant at 152K tests. R-454B is at 6K and growing. R-22 persists at 19K (legacy systems). Your refrigerant mix tells you about your service area's equipment age.
• Piston charge failure at 56.0% means more than half of piston-metering systems in the industry are improperly charged. If your company's rate is lower, you are outperforming the industry on refrigerant management.

Related Articles

Prerequisites (complete these first):

• HVAC Vitals Score - Understanding the score that benchmarking aggregates
• Save Test In / Save Test Out - How paired tests create the data for benchmarking

Follow-up articles (next steps after this one):

• Dashboard Analytics - KPI tracking and detailed team performance dashboards
• Vitals in Customer Conversation - Presenting benchmarking results to customers
• Business ROI of Diagnostics - Translating benchmarking improvements into financial metrics

Related in the same domain:

• Report Generation - Generating the reports that document benchmarked performance
• Adding Corrective Actions - Documenting the work behind score improvements
• Searching & Filtering Projects - Finding projects for benchmarking analysis

Need Help?

If you have questions about benchmarking data, company metrics, or interpreting your results:

• Check the Related Articles section above
• Contact measureQuick support: support@measurequick.com