At Rheem, a century-old legacy manufacturer and trusted partner for residential and commercial innovations, our strategy is built on six core pillars: (1) standardizing our quality system across the business, (2) certifying critical processes to deliver consistency, (3) upskilling our talent for empowerment, (4) managing risk throughout the supply chain, (5) creating robust change management for products and processes, and (6) developing and simplifying key metrics. These pillars are designed to drive consistency and measurable results, ensuring every unit leaving our facilities contributes to our customers’ success.

The Technological Horizon: AI and Predictive Service

Looking ahead to 2026, the biggest trend impacting quality planning, control, and improvement is the use of artificial intelligence and business intelligence data. This technology is not just an add-on; it’s providing powerful insights across every aspect of the business, from the way we design our products to how our units operate in the field.

Artificial intelligence can bring information to light earlier, enabling us to prevent manufacturing errors. More importantly for the contractor, AI offers a dramatic shift from reactive service to proactive performance. The data allows us to gain insights into buying behaviors, consumer interests, and real-world product performance.

Soon, contractors will be able to predict failures before they occur and, consequently, provide a higher level of service to their homeowner customers. This technological leap allows the HVACR professional to elevate their offering, transforming service from an emergency fix into preventative, reliable maintenance.

Voice of the Customer Drives Design

While technology points to the future, the foundation of quality remains focused on the customer. One of the things we pride ourselves on at Rheem is our early prioritization of Voice of Customer events to understand where we are winning with our designs and where opportunities for improvement exist. This direct feedback is immediately translated into measurable design requirements that guide every stage of the development process.

Crucially, our focus extends beyond the product itself to the entire service experience. We know that a contractor’s time is valuable, especially during peak season. Therefore, we actively focus on improving the time to service our units, including the time required to diagnose, repair, and provide rapid customer service. Based on this feedback, we are continuously improving our apps and adding new functionality and features with every upgrade.

Furthermore, we are applying lean principles through systems like the Rheem Production System (RPS). This process helps reduce lead times for our customers, which also reduces the inventory our contractors need to carry to cover ebbs and flows in their business.

The ‘Ability to See’ Reliability and Sustainability

Quality must produce results that last. The definition of reliability is fundamentally quality over time – robust designs that perform throughout their intended life.

The greatest opportunity for most companies today is what I call the “ability to see” when a change has occurred and to address that output or trend at the earliest point possible. Ideally, this occurs during the product development process to ensure robust designs.

When we deploy robust quality initiatives, we produce more reliable products and strengthen sustainability. These initiatives reduce waste in our processes, empower our teams, and ensure products perform reliably throughout their intended lifespan. As a result, we use fewer materials and less environmental resources, and we improve product lifespans, reducing the carbon footprint.

A Commitment to Continuous Improvement

At its heart, quality is a team sport. Every function of the business impacts quality, and as leaders, we must build trust with all our business partners to achieve our objectives. We must take ownership of internal, customer, and supplier issues, involving the right people at the right time to resolve issues early and at the root.

For HVACR contractors and business owners looking to embrace operational excellence, the blueprint is straightforward:

1. Identify: Think about the functions of your business that touch the customer directly – from scheduling a service call to processing payments.
2. Measure: Determine how to measure success in that function and track that metric monthly.
3. Strategize: For high-impact functions with low performance, work with your team to identify how the business can perform better. Implement the idea and assess its impact.
4. Repeat: Do it again and again. Start small and build on the momentum the team gains from seeing progress.

If you do not know where to start, ask the customers. Business owners should make it a priority to capture both solicited and unsolicited feedback. Start small and continue to grow this customer-focused mindset in every employee. By embracing this continuous improvement journey today, we ensure the HVACR industry’s success tomorrow.