MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) recently conducted a survey of the industry — members and non-members — to gauge their level of awareness about HRAI. Distributed to over 12,000 industry personnel, the survey was intended to create a benchmark of current awareness levels, so that HRAI can track improvements over time as a result of a planned awareness campaign.

While the data resulting from the survey have not been fully analyzed, some preliminary results are encouraging. For the most part, the data suggest that there is a high level of awareness about HRAI within the industry, not only for members but also non-members.

Survey respondents were asked to spell out what the acronym “HRAI” stands for. Approximately 98.4 percent of responding members were able to state exactly what HRAI means, though 9.5 percent of members got one word wrong. Only 1.6 percent did not know at all or had no response. Among non-members, 77.2 percent got the name right; while another 9.3 percent got it more-or-less right and only 13.5 percent did not know or got the name wrong. While the fact that members get what HRAI stands for is not surprising, the very high recognition level among non-members is a bit of a surprise.

Interestingly, almost 31 percent of non-members that responded to the survey believed that they are members. This result is consistent with anecdotal evidence from the field that suggests that many contractors across the country believe that having taken a course from HRAI or being in the rebates program administered by HRAI makes them a member.

When asked “How familiar would you say you are with the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI)?”, members scored higher, with 50 percent saying “very” and 48 percent saying “somewhat.” Among non-members, 10 percent responded “very,” 65 percent responded “somewhat,” and 25 percent responded “not at all.”

Respondents were also asked to score how closely they associate certain programs and services with HRAI (from one to five, with five being the strongest). For members, the top five products/services connected with HRAI were: technical training for the HVAC industry (average score 4.42); representation on codes and standards committees (4.35); representing members on industry issues of concern (4.33); the CMX-CIPHEX tradeshow (4.20); and keeping the industry informed about developments and issues (4.05).

For non-members responding to the same question, the ranking of top items was: technical training for the HVAC industry (average score 3.12); the CMX-CIPHEX tradeshow (3.00); setting standards for the industry (2.85); representation on codes and standards committees (2.80); and representing members on industry issues of concern (2.75);

A great deal of information from the survey remains to be analyzed. In order to understand how opinions and awareness levels vary within the industry, results will be tabulated by age of respondent, size and type of company, region, and other variables. Additional results will be factored into the communications work of the marketing committee going forward.

For more information, contact Martin Luymes at mluymes@hrai.ca.

Publication date: 7/9/2012