So… You Think Coil Quality is an Easy Task?
Coils are an unusual piece of equipment and often very misunderstood by most of the HVAC Industry. At USA Coil & Air, we take quality control seriously from the time we receive an inquiry until the manufactured coil has been installed.
USA Coil & Air is primarily in the replacement and fast-ship business. For us, Rule #1 is the “clock is running” when the problem or request takes place. It’s not when you finally provide your quote to a customer or go to the job site to review the replacement coil. That’s why USA Coil is constantly working to maintain the industry’s best turnaround time for replacement coils. We have independent representatives that understand the clock is running on every situation and emergency.
Our Quality Management System for our entire company pinpoints coil sales and manufacturing. There are 400 plus pages to this QMS, that detail how much we value the products we ship. We have 13 major departments working together to fabricate your coil. Imagine how intricate and coordinated they all need to be to fabricate a quantity of 5 large 8-row chilled water coils and ship in only 3 working days. We do it and never sacrifice quality in any way.
Our testing is #1 in the HVAC industry. We have changed and revamped the testing of our coils over 50 times during the last 25 years to maximize improvement. The test tank is ultra-important, because it’s the last line of defense for leaks in joints. Test tank supervisors continually monitor the production coming down the line and clearly mark any joint that may not be up to the quality or appearance that is required by our QMS. Test tanks also need to be cleaned and drained often, because there are many oils and byproducts from brazing that can contaminate the water over time.
Crating is as important as any other area in the coil manufacturing line. Most coil manufacturers ship their coils inside an air handler, packaged unit, or as an integral part of a condensing unit or air-cooled packaged chiller. They may skimp on the materials and provide crates that are not top quality, thinking you will file a claim, and it isn’t technically their fault if there’s damage.
These fragile, easy to damage coils, must be shipped in a crate. We are never satisfied with our crating and are always modifying to make them even better. We understand that the coil replacement business requires that coils arrive undamaged, as they are usually an emergency. We can’t guarantee there won’t be damage by the transportation company or improper unloading by the consignee, but we have reviewed every possible area of a crate to give it the best chance to arrive undamaged. USA Coil & Air is #1 in crating, and we know that our superior crating is an important reason why we have so many repeat customers.
When a coil is out of the tank and being readied to be crated is when we start our “Quality Investigation” review. This is our last line to make sure that the quality, adherence to dimensions, and the overall appearance of the product meets our high-quality standards. We don’t want a less than quality coil, or one that does not have the correct dimensions, to reach the field. There’s a cost to this final review, but our records show that 3% of coils need to be modified to meet this final review standard. This is a win-win for both our customer and USA Coil & Air.
USA Coil & Air has the same QMS for fan coils, air handlers, and all products we manufacture. It’s an integral part of who we are and why we maintain excellent customer relationships. We’ve been in business for over 5 decades and continually work to exceed our own expectations. Take advantage of our knowledge and experience, we’re here to solve your problems, not create new ones.
