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Hayes University

Education... the buzzword for the new millennium. For most people we automatically think of college or technical training schools when we hear the word education. Hayes Mechanical has introduced a new concept to the word education, mixing business and education to form a highly innovative way of passing on pertinent information to the operating or building engineer.

Beginning in 1918 as a small neighborhood shop, Dan Hayes established his company name in the pressure vessel field. Surviving the Depression and world wars, Hayes Mechanical flourished. Enjoying many years of success, Dan began to look towards retirement. While many traditionally male-dominated fields had seen an influx of female workers over the years, the mechanical fields had been slow to follow. With three daughters in his footsteps, Dan looked to his eldest son-in-law to carry on the tradition. Having an employment history with Pullman, John T. Mooney started at the bottom and worked his way up the proverbial ladder. He learned all he could, and eventually bought the business from Mr. Hayes. And while the Hayes name died with the passing of the grandfather, it was decided to keep it as part of the company in order to carry on the tradition. Now, with its third generation of family members at the helm, Hayes Mechanical has shown that keeping up with changes in technological advancements can only mean one thing for any size company ? success.

Rick Mooney, the grandson of Dan Hayes, began working full-time at Hayes after graduating from college. He had worked his way up the organizational ladder by working at the family business through high school and college. In 1980, Rick & JD Mooney purchased the company from their father.

Rick began increasing business by taking the little jobs that big companies wouldn't do. He soon found that the business seemed to run on a seasonal cycle, and breaking that cycle would be necessary. He obtained power houses and utility companies as clients, enabling Hayes Mechanical to work year round. This expansion actually served a two-fold purpose. In addition to creating a year-round business, it also helped their boilermakers obtain better job skills. By doing so, they raised their level of expertise, and the Hayes name continued to grow at a rapid pace.

Following in the family tradition, John D. Mooney became an integral part of the company. Soon he began to take notice of a particular phenomenon occurring on jobsites. While called to make repairs in their particular field, there was always a possibility that something else would break while they were there. That meant calling in a contractor specializing in that field to make the needed repairs. It also meant lost time and money to Hayes Mechanical. This being an unacceptable practice to their standards, Richard began another company expansion, this time into the mechanical field. Hayes became a full-service company, offering expertise in such areas as boilers, burners, air conditioning, piping, electrical, plumbing, and the energy/power fields. With the ability to compete in all markets, they now could offer a complete line of comprehensive services with the most modern technology available, including design/build installations, service contracts, system repairs, and testing maintenance programs.

Over time it became apparent to the Mooneys that Hayes was being called to repair many jobs that other companies had originally been contracted for. There had to be some way to inform building engineers not only what a good job should look like, but what a good preventive maintenance program could do for them. Hayes University was the result.

The idea for Hayes University began to develop during a conversation between Rich Goulet, Sales Manager, Commercial Division, and Russ Reynolds, Vice President of the Commercial Division. It was a well-known fact to all engineers that the better the preventive maintenance program, the fewer emergency situations. So Hayes Mechanical decided that in exchange for their customer loyalty, Hayes instructors would show building engineers what a good job was from the start, what engineers should look for, and how to be proactive in their approach. Rich explained that there are actually five stages to the development of maintenance management. According to an article he had from Engineer's Digest, those stages are as follows:

• Stage 1 ? Run to failure. This reactive approach to maintenance runs equipment until it breaks, then tries to fix it as cheaply as possible. In the long-run, it wastes 30+ percent of a companies maintenance resources and drastically reduces company productivity.
• Stage 2 ? Breakdown Maintenance. This reactive approach to maintenance leaves a company in a little better position to repair or rebuild equipment should failure occur. Management knows that a preventive maintenance program could help, but just doesn't have the budget to accomplish this. They realize that productivity is costing them and know it must be corrected.
• Stage 3 ? Preventive Maintenance. This preventive stance has the company using inspections and routine maintenance to keep equipment functioning. While they realize that a total PM program would benefit them, they are not quite ready to implement one.
• Stage 4 ? Predictive Maintenance. Committed to quality maintenance as a routine part of their daily operations, the company monitors equipment, anticipates problems and works to solve them. Maintenance resource waste has dropped to 5-10% at this point.
• Stage 5 ? Total Productive Maintenance. Quality and reliability of equipment have been maximized, contributing to the company's bottom line. Wasted resources have been dropped to less than 5%. Hayes wanted to let building management teams, as well as building engineers, know that while functioning in stages 1 through 4 can be short term solutions, in the long term it is costing them more money by running inefficient operations.

Located on their property at 2160 N. Ashland, Chicago, Hayes has constructed a fully functional boiler room. With systems donated by York, Johnson Controls, Porter Pipe, and various other companies, Hayes instructors provide students with hands-on experience. As students progress through the training session, they first encounter a hot water storage system. Here, various components such as relief valves, temperature gauges, drain valves, and a non-ASME certified domestic water tank are labeled, indicating each part of the system. In some cases the parts are intentionally put together wrong to indicate potential equipment failure situations. Training manuals provided to each student indicate the part labeled and its actual function on the piece of equipment. Possible causes and consequences of equipment failure are indicated where applicable.

From here the student is introduced to a fully functional hot water heater and boiler system. Again, all parts are labeled, accompanied by the manual indicating how and why they are used and consequences of improper usage. Hands-on training received by the student allows them to see the proper maintenance of the boiler. In addition to the working boiler, Hayes has also provided an identical boiler cut in half to demonstrate the results of improper maintenance. A variable speed pump and air handling unit are in working order to demonstrate the results of speeding up or slowing down the speed of the unit and the impact it might have on pressure gauges, valves, and related pieces. A fully functional Johnson Controls Metasys System provides direct digital control (DDC) training to the students and how it relates to existing boiler room equipment. Continuing on, students are introduced to steam traps and a condensate system as well as a cast iron boiler and the piping involved. They also have an opportunity to see the many causes, and sometimes dramatic results, of equipment failure that Hayes Mechanical has collected over the years, displayed throughout the classroom.

"We want them to learn by seeing, not just sitting in a classroom and reading," said Rich. "It is important for them to experience first-hand what a good job looks like". To that, JD added, "We want people to know that the training area is a boiler room first and classroom second. Not a showroom". Hoping to expand in the near future, air conditioning is slated for the next step.

It is the Hayes University mission to let engineers and building managers alike know that proper maintenance doesn't cost, it pays. A good preventive maintenance program can reduce repair/replace costs by 60% or more; it can extend equipment life up to 50% longer; and, it can reduce utility costs. "Sure some companies are cheaper. But if they are not thorough, it's going to cost you more in the long term," relayed Rich. "It is our goal that the engineer become better than he is now. To show building managers and owners the internal workings of all these systems. That way, when we tell them what they need and why, they'll understand", added JD.

Hayes Mechanical not only believes in teaching people how to be proactive, they follow a proactive course themselves. The company has set their operation up to be divided into three geographical locations ? the Loop to Evanston, Evanston west and north, and the suburbs south and west. All company trucks are taken home with service personnel each night. This saves energy in travel to and from the office each morning to pick up service tickets. In addition, each service employee has a fax machine installed in his or her home. The previous night, company dispatch will fax a service route to be followed the next day. In an effort to save time and money, most technicians are assigned to an area located as close as possible to their residence. The company is presently divided into three divisions: Industrial ? under the leadership of Terry Ancel; Operations and Maintenance ? under the leadership of Jim Hirsch; and, Commercial Division ? under the leadership of Russ Reynolds, which includes the Service and Construction departments.

The business staff includes a dedicated complement of long-time support personnel. They include accounting and back office staff as well as designers and project managers. Each department handles its own basic area of expertise. So while you are talking to a service representative, she may turn you over to the department that is going to do the best job for you.

Chief Engineers have heard it time and again. "Get the lowest price. I have a budget to keep." "You want to go for training? They cut our budget by 12%! Where am I going to get the money?" Right or wrong, it's all in the name of cost savings. Hayes University is here to provide you with hands-on training in how doing it right the first time, and maintaining it properly over the life of the equipment will ultimately save the owner more than he or she was worried about spending in the first place. Let Hayes show you why "The lowest price is not always the lowest cost!"

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