Convert your customers to preventative maintenance

With regular maintenance your customers can save money

RAC licensed technicians, as qualified professionals, have an opportunity to make customers aware of:

  • why they carry out their work in a certain way.
  • why it is inherently beneficial to the customer.
  • why it is necessary, from an environmental and legal perspective, to employ a licensed technician who can properly maintain and repair equipment.
Not only does leaking equipment directly emit environmentally harmful gasses to the atmosphere, equipment runs less efficiently and this causes indirect emissions through greater electricity use. For the equipment owner, this lowered efficiency and loss of refrigerant can have a financial impact on repairs and the life expectancy of the system, in addition to the cost of reducing the leaking refrigerant.

It makes good business sense for equipment owners to maintain their equipment. For one case in South Australia, ongoing leaking of a major piece of refrigeration equipment resulted in the facility having to close its doors while the system was replaced, losing them business and income for several months. This cost the owner far more than if they had appropriately maintained the equipment from day one.

Failing to repair leaking equipment and topping up is illegal

Some technicians may feel pressured to perform temporary fixes, particularly on large pieces of equipment. However, as a RAC licensed technician, if you are going to work on a piece of equipment, you have an obligation under the conditions of your permit to ensure that leaking equipment is tested and repaired before reintroducing refrigerant to the system. Under the stationary and the automotive refrigerant handling codes of practice topping up equipment without first testing for leaks and repairing the equipment is not allowed.

Not repairing a leaking system and topping it up with refrigerant is discharging a scheduled substance which is an offence under section 45B of the Ozone Act. It can result in a civil penalty of $63,000 for an individual and $315,000 for a business and, in some circumstances, can result in a criminal conviction. It’s also possible that an equipment owner, knowingly emitting refrigerant by failing to repair the system, could be found to be committing an offence under section 45B.

For owners, consider replacing old equipment rather than continually repairing it. With such rapid improvements to technology over the last 10-15 years, this could turn out to be a great opportunity to improve the efficiency of their operation and save them money, despite the initial outlay. With some alternative refrigerants, it also reduces the impact on the environment significantly.

Back to newsletter