Our industry is fortunate to have a wide array of technologies to offer our customers. However, for technicians who do not specialize in one segment of the trade, it can be quite difficult to be proficient in all of these technologies. For example, a technician who works on a commercial ice machine one day and an ultra-low-temperature cascade refrigeration system the next day may be challenged on diagnosing a problem with either system. Or, worse, a technician may work on a CO2 supermarket refrigeration system one day and an oil-fired boiler the next. It is definitely a challenge to be good at troubleshooting or maintaining both of these systems.
So, how do you become proficient at servicing and maintaining this wide array of system designs and technologies? I think one important key is not stressing about memorizing everything but becoming extremely proficient at finding the information when you need it. We have a great tool at our disposal — the internet — and, as technicians, we need to learn how to use it well. The internet and the smart devices we use to access it are great, and we need to rely on them for getting the correct information when we need it.