THE EUROPEAN REFRIGERATION CRAFTSMANarea-eur.be/sites/default/files/2016-05/MGfinal.pdf · 2016. 5....

THE EUROPEANREFRIGERATION CRAFTSMAN

CONCEPT REPORTFEBRUARI ’04

This project is carried out with the support of the European Community

Locatie:Keukenst raat 753512 NE Utrechtwww.monitorgroep.nl

Communicatie:T 030 - 288 75 58F 030 – 289 25 41 E [email protected]

Administratie:Postbank 6086250KvK Utrecht 30170730BTW NL8095 75 176 B01

The survey for the Refrigeration Craftsman is carried out by the MonitorGroep on behalf of AREA. The project is supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme of the European Committee, Directorate – General for Education & Culture, Vocational Training. The following organisations have participated in this project: More information is available at: The survey is performed by:

Mr. R. Berckmans Mr. J. Reijmers Air conditioning and Refrigeration European Association. Beau Site Première avenue, 88 B - 1330 Rixensart Belgium www.area-eu.be

MonitorGroep

the Netherlands drs. A.P. Veldhoen

J. Obelink T. de Laat

www.monitorgroep.nl [email protected]

© Copyright AREA. It is not allowed to copy, reproduce or multiply any part of this publication without written permission of the authors.

The Refrigeration Craftsman 1

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. SUMMARY 4 2. INTRODUCTION 5

2.1 Objectives 5

2.2 Project team and participating organisations 5

2.3 Method 6 3. SURVEY AND METHODOLOGY 7

3.1 Questionnaire 7

3.2 Translation 8

3.3 Workshop 1 8

3.4 Sample 9

3.5 Data collection 10 4. RESPONSE 12

4.1 General 12

4.2 Response per country 12 5. GENERAL RESULTS 13

5.1 Companies 13

5.2 Background of the respondents 14

5.3 Education and training 14

5.4 Job description 15

5.5 Work content 17

5.6 Refrigerants, tools, equipment 18

5.7 Additions 19


6. JOB PROFILES 20

6.1 Analysis of job profiles 20

6.2 Workshop 2: presentation of the concept profiles 20

6.3 Profile A: Commercial AC Technician 22

6.4 Profile B: Service technician 23

6.5 Profile C: Installation technician 24

6.6 Specialist profile D: 25

6.7 Specialist profile E: 26 7. EUROPEAN PROFILE 27

7.1 Introduction 27

7.2 Common activities 27 8. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 31

Appendix 1: Information leaflet for the survey Appendix 2: Introduction letter companies Appendix 3: Introduction letter respondents Appendix 4: Tables and graphs total Appendix 5A: Tables and graphs profile A Appendix 5B: Tables and graphs profile B Appendix 5C: Tables and graphs profile C


1. SUMMARY

AREA is the European Association of National Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Contractor Associations. The industry of refrigeration and air conditioning installation

needs engineers with the right training and education and practical experience. A good

vocational education is based on the work in practice.

This survey is performed to determine the actual job profiles of refrigeration craftsmen

in daily practice and define the competencies that are general and essential for good

performance in the sector.

In total 355 people working in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning sector in 7

European countries participated in the survey. A questionnaire was developed

containing 19 questions about the company and the experience of the jobholder, and

328 questions about the vocational activities divided into 17 subjects.

A majority of the participants ticked over half of all activities of the list. This means

that the survey revealed well enough what the common professional activities are

across the different jobs and across all countries. Each of the 17 main subjects is to a

certain extent performed in each country.

The survey results show that there are three main job profiles: A. Commercial AC

Technician B. Service technician and C. Installation technician. These profiles are

present in each of the participating countries. Besides these main job profiles, the

survey showed that there are three other job profiles that are more or less specialists

in a non-core subject, such as ‘customer work’ or ‘consultation’. These are not

selected as relevant for a primary educational programme.

165 of the activities of the questionnaire are selected as common for the main job

profiles. These activities form the base of general European job profiles and are used

to elaborate and determine the key competencies of the Refrigeration Craftsman in

Europe and the educational minimum qualification.


2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 Objectives

One of the objectives of AREA is to promote a uniform level of education, training and

qualifications throughout Europe. The industry needs engineers with the right training

and education and practical experience. A good vocational education is based on the

work in practice. This work differs per country, per company and even per person.

AREA has started this international survey to research all vocational activities and

skills of refrigeration and air conditioning craftsmen. The survey is intended to reveal

commonalities and relevant differences between craftsmen from different companies

and countries. The results will be used as the basis for developing a “portfolio” of

competences for the refrigeration craftsman. This portfolio gives a description of all

the necessary basic competences and skills needed to work in the field of refrigeration

with good craftsmanship. This portfolio is intended to become the AREA standard for

the refrigeration craftsman and will consist of several competence levels. The portfolio

will be the basement of an AREA interactive website that will be developed in the

following phase. The portfolio will be used to develop/amend education programmes

and to favour trans national mobility programmes. It will constitute a standard of

reference for the vocational education institutions and the refrigeration and air

conditioning industry throughout Europe.

2.2 Project team and participating organisations

National sector organisations from the following countries participated in this survey:

Country Organisations

France SNEFCCA

Germany VDKF, BIV, NKF

Hungary HKVSZ/HRACA

Netherlands SKO, Kenteq

Spain ANEFRYC / ETPC

Sweden KYL

United Kingdom FETA-BRA, RACG-HVCA

The project is coordinated by AREA, the European Association of National Refrigeration

and Air Conditioning Contractor Associations. The survey is part of the Leonardo da


Vinci project “The refrigeration Craftsman” which is supported by the European

Commission.

2.3 Method

To reach the objectives, a choice is made for a quantitative survey method, with a

stratified random sample of respondents. For the survey a criterion was set on 50

participants in each country.

Using a detailed list of activities offers the possibility to work out a package of skills

and competencies for different job profiles. Development of the job profiles is done by

a combination of expert knowledge and statistical analysis.

The diagram below shows the different steps. This method is described in ASTER

(Euroform project 918021/NL8/13) and used before in surveys for the EC. In the

Netherlands this method was used in 1995 for the refrigeration industry. Parts of this

survey have been used in this project.

Orientation Sector

Selection Jobs

List of Activities

©© MonitorGroepMonitorGroep

Method for developing Method for developing jobprofilesjobprofiles

Circumst.,Respons-

abilitiesTrends

Data-collection Coordination

Dataanalysis

JobProfiles

Comparingprofiles

Circumst., Respons-abilities

Matchingbackground

Conceptreport

Presentation,information

Actionplanfollow-up

Finalreport

Workshopwith

experts

11

22

33

44

Samplestrategy

Reproductionquestionnaire

Instruction data collection

55

Website

Data-entry


3. SURVEY AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Questionnaire

A questionnaire was set up containing the following chapters:

Chapter Theme Questions

A Information about the company 7 (number of employees, service, specialisations)

B Information about respondent and the job

12 (age, experience, training, certificates)

C Activities and equipment/tools 328 divided in 17 subjects (blocks)

D Additions Open

The main part of the questionnaire consists of the list of activities. Parts A and B were

used to check if the sample was representative of the population and to describe the

profiles.

Filling in the questionnaire took about 45 minutes in average. Considering the length

of the questionnaire and the availability of internet in the target group, it was decided

to work with a paper-based questionnaire only. On request, a PDF-version was

available.

The activities are divided in 17 subjects (blocks). If a complete block is not relevant

for a respondent, it can be indicated at the top, as showed in the figure below.

HOW OFTEN? 11 INSTALLATION OF REGRIGERATION TECHNIQUE

No, go to block 12 Yes, please fill in this block N

ever

Mon

thly

Wee

kly

Dai

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1 I fit a semi hermetic compressor.........................

2 I fit an oil separator .............................................

Never (0)= Never or seldom; the activity is not a part of your regular job

Monthly (1)= Once or a few times per month, but not every week

Weekly (2)= Once or a few times per week, but not every day

Daily (3)= Every day, once or a few times.


The 17 subjects with activities are as follows:

3.2 Tran

A basic ver

the backgro

organisatio

native spea

into an Exc

questions a

3.3 Work

The transla

was then d

on June 23

participants

The Refriger

01 PROJECT INTAKE

02 CUSTOMER ACQUISITION

03 PROJECT PREPARATION/ DRAFT DOCUMENTATION

04 PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS & GUIDELINES

05 COÖRDINATION

06 TECHNICAL CONSULTATION

07 PROJECT PREPARATION

08 PRE-ASSEMBLY OF THE REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

09 ELECTROTECHNICAL PRE-ASSEMBLY

10 INSTALLATION OF NON- REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY

11 INSTALLATION OF REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY

12 INSTALLATION/CONTROL OF ELECTRICAL AND

ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

13 COMMISSIONING

14 CONTROLS AND FAULT ANALYSIS

15 REPORTS, CHECKS AND TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATION

16 REFRIGERANTS

17 ASSISTANCE, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

slation

sion of the questionnaire was set up in Dutch and German. The part with

und questions was also translated into English by an external translation

n. Each country has taken care of the translation into its own language by

kers with knowledge of the industry. Each list of activities was then put

el-database with different languages, combined with the background

nd produced into a PDF-version.

shop 1

tions of the questionnaire were sent out to the participants. This version

iscussed during a special workshop that was held in Konstanz, in Germany, rd, 2003. Goal of this workshop was to have an agreement of all

on the definitions used and of the content of the questionnaire. During the

ation Craftsman 8

workshop discussions were held on differences between countries in operational

processes. Modifications to the questionnaire to which everybody agreed, were made

on location. After the workshop the new version was sent to everyone for a final

check.

The second part of the workshop consisted of a presentation of the guidelines for data

collection (see 3.4 and 3.5).

3.4 Sample

At the start of the project it was decided to set a target for each participating country

to collect 50 valid questionnaires. The group of respondents had to be a random

sample of craftsmen in the country. The companies in which the respondents work

should be randomly selected. In total 350 questionnaires were planned to be returned.

During the project a first workshop was held, where guidelines about the sample were

described. The criteria for selecting a potential respondent are given below:

Criteria for selecting companies

•

•

•

•

•

Average companies, not the best.

Average, not the most willing.

Random variety in:

Region

Type of company (AC, refrigeration)

Type of installation (small, large)

Target group

“Technicians, mechanics, engineers who perform cold

engineering activities for 80% of their time and work on

stationary installations.”

The following criteria should be randomly divided:

•

•

•

•

•

•

Age

Experience

Work on industrial installations

Work on commercial installations

Work on small and large installations

Work on refrigeration or air conditioning


3.5 Data collection

The method of collecting the data was free for each country. In most cases the data

collection was done through a two-step mail out. Two concept introduction letters

were made and given to the participating countries, one for the companies and one for

the respondents. It was advised to register every telephone call (both response and

non-response) and to keep a sample registration. The organisations were also advised

to send out at least twice the number of questionnaires needed, to add a postage free

return envelope and to call back to the respondent. The following guidelines were

presented and discussed at the workshop in June 2003 in Konstanz:

Guidelines data collection

• Reproduce questionnaires (>100)

• Collect addresses (source)

• Seek for possibilities of publicity in specialists magazines

(press release)

• Send introduction letter to the manager of the company

• Call personally by telephone

• Register name (address) of engineer, mechanic

• Send letter with questionnaire

• Call back within two weeks and check for status

• Register returning date of questionnaire

• Scan questionnaire visually and check for validity (errors,

skipped pages)

• Correct sample-cell if necessary

• Translate answers open questions in keywords

• Send final pack to MonitorGroep

In Germany some headmasters of vocational schools were asked to make contacts

with companies in the region and ask for the names of experienced engineers and

mechanics. In Hungary each selected craftsman was called and recalled by telephone.

France used a selected panel of companies and sent out the questionnaires by mail,

followed by a telephone recall. In the UK a mix of companies was selected from

contractors and air conditioning companies (both sales or engineering). First the

introduction letter was mailed; later on the questionnaires were mailed and followed

up with a reminder. In Spain a selection was made from 180 organisations, members

of the sector organisation. Both telephone and e-mail were used for the invitation.


Sweden invited 200 members of the sector organisation. Finally in the Netherlands it

was chosen to address engineers and mechanics directly. An article was put in a

specialists magazine and people were personally invited to participate by returning a

postcard. Respondents were offered a reward for their participation.


4. RESPONSE

4.1 General

In total 355 questionnaires were collected in the period from June to October 2003.

This is a very good result especially when taking into account the extreme heat in the

summer (and hence a busy time in the air conditioning en refrigeration industry) and

the length of the questionnaire, which is much longer than ordinary surveys.

The quality of the response was very high: it was visible that each respondent had

seriously looked over each block. On average the respondents selected 180 out of 328

activities as relevant for their job. Questions such as age and gender showed a

response of 100%, where other surveys sometimes have an item response of 75-95%.

The respondents vary in age from 17-65 years. On average they are 38 years old and

are working in the sector for 16 years.

4.2 Response per country

Country Number of questionnaires

France 65

Germany 52

Hungary 52

Netherlands 60

Spain 56

Sweden 21

United Kingdom 49

Due to specific circumstances Sweden had to start later with data collection and was

not able to collect the required number of questionnaires.

Although there are some differences, the quality of the response per country is

comparable. The average number of ‘ticked’ activities lies between 150 in one country

and 220 in another. The average age lies between 30 and 44.


5. GENERAL RESULTS

5.1 Companies

Respondents come from companies who are members of the national associations and

are relatively large companies: the average number of employees is over 240. If

corrected for a few very large companies (over 500 employees), this number gets

down to 83. The graph below shows that almost half of the companies are companies

with less than 25 people.

2. How many people work in your company?

101-500 people21%

>500 people4%

Unknown2% 1-5 people

10%

6-10 people16%

51-100 people10%

11-25 people21%26-50 people

16%

The average company has about 4 locations. The average location has about 40

people of whom 18 are involved with operational refrigerating engineering activities.

Most companies work nationally, as the graph below show.

4. What is the work area of your location?

National70%

International25%

Not applicable/no answer

5%


Most companies offer multiple kinds of services: 87% of all companies offer

installation, repair and maintenance and 64% of all companies even offer all kinds of

services (including sales and design).

Comfort air conditioning is the most frequently mentioned specialisation.

6a. What refrigerating engineering specialisations are there in your company/location?

36%

68%

77%

57%

65%

43%

48%

15%

4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

White goods consumer refrigeration (mobile airconditioners)

Commercial refrigeration (shops, refrigerationequipment)

Comfort air conditioning (home/office >15ºC)

Heat pumps

Industrial refrigeration (large-scale storage, coldstores)

Process industry (e.g. chemical)

Industrial air conditioning (ripening/growth process>15ºC)

Transport refrigeration

Not applicable/no answer

5.2 Background of the respondents

Most participants are in the age-category 25-45 years, with an average of 38 years.

Only 13% of the respondents are younger than 25, half of them are between 33 and

49 years old. The engineers & mechanics have 16 years of experience in the sector

and about 10 years in their current job. Three out of 355 people are women.

5.3 Education and training

A majority of the respondents followed a full time or part time education in

refrigeration. Of those who did not, the majority followed a general technical

education, in many cases combined with one or more courses in refrigeration

technology.

To be able to work towards a uniform system for environmental certification of the

refrigeration craftsmen, a question was asked if the respondent has an environmental


certificate or diploma. The graph below shows that a majority of the participants do

have such a certificate.

19. Do you have an environmental diploma/certificate for Air Conditioning/Refrigeration engineer?

Not applicable/no

answer1%

Don't know5%

No40%

Yes54%

This result needs to be explained: a certification is not available in every country.

Hungary and the Netherlands have clear regulations for this and hence almost 90% of

all craftsmen there have a certificate. In other countries such as France and Germany

less than 30% have a certificate, because there is no regulation for a personal

certificate.

5.4 Job description

The people in the survey work with about 8 colleagues with the same job. Half of the

people are in charge of more than one person, with an average of 6. Most people work

with both small and large installations.

In the questionnaire people were asked to indicate their time schedule in global areas

of refrigeration activities. In the graph below the average percentages of time are

given. It must be taken into account that this is the overall indication of all people.

Most people tend to have 2 main areas (20% or more of their time) and 3 secondary

areas (less than 20% of their time).


15. What percentage of your time do you devote to:

17%

9%

12%

14%

12%

6%

3%

1%

2%

9%

1%

5%

6%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Building new installations

Setting up on existing installations

Clearance of faults

Repair

Inspection & maintenance

Technical management

Electrical engineering

Installation engineering heating

Other installation engineering

Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing

Customer work (offers, sales, etc.)

The 355 respondents use over 200 different job names in the survey. Of course this

has to do with language differences. However, in a single country not more than 16

people mentioned the same job name. Especially the usage of words as ‘engineer’,

‘technician’ and ‘monteur’ are mixed in an irregular way. Below is a table with

commonly used names (Hungarian and Swedish names were translated).

Job name Frequency Country

Kälteanlagenbauer 16 Germany

Service Engineer 9 UK

Servicemonteur 8 Netherlands

Mecanico Frigorista 8 Spain

Mechanic (Klimascerelô) 5 Hungary

Monteur Frigoriste 5 France

Responsable service apres vent 5 France

Servicetechnicus 5 Netherlands

Refrigeration Mechanics (Kylmontör) 5 Sweden

To give an impression of the variety of other job names, we give the following list:

Technicien, Technicien Depanneur Frigorist, Monteur Depanneur, Monteur Depanneur

Frigoriste, All-round montagemonteur, Chef Mechanics, Chef Mechanics Service

Manager, Chief Technician, Kältemonteur, Kältetechniker, Project engineer, Project


Leader, Project coordinator, Projectleider, Refrigeration Mechanics, Refrigeration

Service Technician, Refrigeration Technician, Senior Refrigeration Engineer, Servicio

tecnico, mantenimiento e instalacion, Mecanico frigorida y puesta frigorificos.

5.5 Work content

The main part of the questionnaire consists of a detailed list of activities and tools

divided into 17 subjects. Respondents were asked to indicate if they do an activity and

if so, with what frequency. Each activity was scored on a 4-point scale from 0 (never)

to 3 (daily).

On average the respondents selected 180 out of 328 activities as relevant for their

work. Every activity from the list was done by at least 5% of the participants. In the

tables below the top 5 and bottom 5 of all activities are given.

Top 5

Question % Doing

14.01 I speak to the customer about the problems with the

refrigeration system

87%

14.04 I decide whether to replace components 86%

13.05 I charge the refrigeration system with refrigerant 84%

06.06 I inform the customer of the method of operation of

the refrigeration system

83%

13.06 I check the refrigerant charge 83%

Bottom 5

Question % Doing

11.48 I fit an anemometer 14%

11.53 I install a water softening system 13%

08.06 I work with steel pipe, size large DN 80 12%

08.07 I weld steel pipes 11%

11.07 I fit a turbo compressor 6%


An interesting result from the survey is that 2 activities that are related to

communication are in the top 5. This confirms a trend that is already incorporated in

some educational programmes, namely that non-technical engineering activities are

getting more and more important in the education.

In the graph below the average scores are given on the 17 subjects for all craftsmen

in the survey. The numbers of the subjects are at the horizontal axis.

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

er ..

...

Mon

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....

Wee

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.....

Dai

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01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17INTAKE DRAW COORD PREP EL-PRÉ INST COMMIS CHECK TOOLS ACQ INSTR T-CONS PRÉ-ASSEM NON-REF EL-COMP CONTR REFRS

The global picture of the work content is that commissioning, controls and fault

analysis and reports and technical administration are the most frequent tasks of a

refrigeration craftsman.

5.6 Refrigerants, tools, equipment

In block 16 in the questionnaire, 4 different kinds of refrigerants were listed. The table

below shows the results (% of people using the refrigerant) of this block. This block is

mentioned separately to indicate the differences in usage.

Question % Doing

I work on refrigeration systems with chemical refrigerants such as R134a, R407C, R404A, and R507

86%

I work on refrigeration systems with the refrigerant NH3 (ammonia, R717)

22%

I work on refrigeration systems with the refrigerant Isobutan (R600a) or Propane (R290)

12%

I work on refrigeration systems with the refrigerant CO2 (carbon dioxide, R744)

5%


The last block in the questionnaire consisted of a list of 29 tools. The table below gives

the top 5 of this block. It shows that tools are used very frequently, meaning that a

toolkit is a basic part of the work of the refrigeration craftsman.

Tools, Top 5

Question % Doing

17.09 I use a refrigerant cylinder 87%

17.22 I use the installation instructions of the component

manufacturer

86%

17.05 I use a nitrogen cylinder 85%

17.08 I use a temperature recording device 85%

17.13 I use an electronic leak detection device 84%

5.7 Additions

At the end of the questionnaire, the participants were asked to mention any activities

relevant for their work that were not in the questionnaire. About 30% of the

respondents mentioned one or more areas, mainly referring to the top 3:

•

•

•

Management

Communication

Training


6. JOB PROFILES

6.1 Analysis of job profiles

The basis of the work content of each person is the detailed score pattern on all

activities. However, in order to find similarities and differences in actual profiles it is

better to perform an analysis on the global areas of activities. To do so, for each

person the average scores are calculated on each of the 17 subjects, resulting in a

matrix of 17 chapter scores. With this data matrix, a statistical analysis was

performed, called a K-means analysis (see a.o. Späth 1980; in this analysis z-scores

were used and the squared Euclidean distance). This is a clustering technique resulting

in groups of people with resembling score patterns, and hence with resembling job

profiles.

The process was started from 8 groups to 2 groups, with the first 344 respondents

(returned before the deadline of the data collection). At the transition from 6 to 7 the

analysis separated a single person. In practice this often indicates the upper bound of

the analysis. The results of the 7 groups were analysed and discussed with experts. If

a group (profile) was not fully recognized, additional background information was

analyzed. For instance, if a profile was thought of as a management profile, this was

checked by analyzing the results on the question ‘How many people are you in charge

of?’. The 11 questionnaires that were returned after the deadline were added later and

categorized in one of the 7 groups based on the same distance measure.

6.2 Workshop 2: presentation of the concept profiles

The intermediate results of 7 groups were presented at the second workshop on

October 23rd in Brussels, and the partners were asked if they recognized the profiles.

The following conclusions were drawn:

There are 2 outliers that are removed from further analysis.

There is one group of 57 people that have an exceptional profile: a relatively low score

on tools and equipment and high scores on project preparation and coordination. This

is probably not a profile of a craftsman, and more of an entrepreneur or project

manager. Since operational refrigeration work is only a small part of his job, this

group is labelled as “not the core of the survey”, and separated. This group is referred

to as group F.


Five groups, varying in size from 25 to 102 people are analysed further.

Of these five groups, three (A, B and C) are recognized as the main operational job

profiles in the sector. Profiles D and E are recognized as operational specialists, or

operational-managerial.

Profiles A, B and C are defined as the main profiles and are described in this report.

Profiles D and E are secondary profiles and are described in summary.

There are no country-specific profiles. All countries are present in all profiles with at

least one person. The graph below shows the overall results of the clustering process

Main operational profiles specialists / managerial

Profile A

(N=58)

Profile B

(N=102)

Profile C

(N=79)

Profile D

(N=32)

Profile E

(N=25)

Non-oper.

(N=57)

Outliers

(N=2)

Total

(N=355)

The table below show the number of respondents per combination of country and

profile.

Profile

Country A B C D E F Total

ES 11 15 10 1 11 8 56

FR 6 23 9 6 7 13 64

GE 22 3 16 5 1 4 51

HU 4 11 11 14 4 8 52

NL 8 30 11 1 10 60

SW 3 6 3 2 1 6 21

UK 4 14 19 3 1 8 49

Total 58 102 79 32 25 57 353


6.3 Profile A: Commercial AC Technician

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

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...

Mon

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....

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.....

Dai

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This profile is a combination of commissioning and installation. It follows the pattern of

the overall European averages, but it is broader. The number of activities and subjects

ticked by this group is 30% above the overall average.

Craftsmen with this profile are working in smaller companies and the companies are

more specialized in consumer refrigeration and comfort air conditioning. Although the

age and experience of people in this group are average, they have had more

education than average, both technical and specific for the refrigeration. The global

timetable is given in the graph below.


14%

12%

17%

12%

3%

3%

1%

1%

8%

1%

5%

2%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%



Clearance of faults

Repair






Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing



6.4 Profile B: Service technician

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

er ..

...

Mon

thly

....

Wee

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.....

Dai

ly


This profile is clearly that of a service engineer. The expertise lies especially in

controls and fault analysis and reporting. This profile contains quite some activities on

checking and replacing components. Consulting the customer is also one of his main

areas. It is a more ‘narrow’ profile than the others.

Craftsmen with this profile are working in somewhat bigger companies and have twice

as many colleagues with the same job than the average. In this profile people are less

managerial than others. The global time table below shows that two third of the time

is spent on inspection, faults and repair.


7%

8%

23%

24%

21%

2%

4%

0%

2%

8%

0%

0%

1%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%



Clearance of faults

Repair






Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing



6.5 Profile C: Installation technician

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

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...

Mon

thly

....

Wee

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.....

Dai

ly


Compared to the other profiles, this profile has higher scores on pre-assembly.

Although commissioning has a high score, compared to others this is somewhat lower,

and this profile is characterised more by setting up new installations.

Craftsmen with this profile are working in smaller companies with about 6 colleagues

with the same job. The timetable confirms that this profile devotes 40% of its time to

building and setting up. Furthermore it shows another typical result, namely that this

profile devotes more time to air-conditioning than any others.


29%

10%

9%

10%

9%

6%

4%

1%

2%

15%

1%

2%

2%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%



Clearance of faults

Repair






Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing



6.6 Specialist profile D:

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

er ..

...

Mon

thly

....

Wee

kly

.....

Dai

ly


The most typical aspect of this profile is that the scores on subjects 1-7 are above

average. This means that in this job profile people have a clear accent on the start of

a project, such as intake and customer acquisition. The profile considers all aspects of

the refrigeration, it is broader than average (25% more activities), it is operational

with additional tasks on (project) management.

People is this profile are older and more experienced than average. They devote more

time than others to managing and customer work.


16%

8%

9%

15%

7%

16%

1%

0%

1%

6%

0%

11%

11%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%



Clearance of faults

Repair






Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing



6.7 Specialist profile E:

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

Nev

er ..

...

Mon

thly

....

Wee

kly

.....

Dai

ly


Of all profiles, this is the most all round job profile. People with this profile ticked 55%

more activities from the list than others. The general pattern follows that of the

European average, but on a higher level, especially on pré-assembly of electro

technical components.

People in this profile are older and more experienced (equally as profile D). They are

in charge of 7 people and only have two colleagues with the same job.


21%

11%

12%

11%

8%

12%

4%

0%

1%

7%

1%

4%

8%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%



Clearance of faults

Repair






Air conditioning

Metal processing

Managing



7. EUROPEAN PROFILE

7.1 Introduction

In order to come to a uniform level of education and qualifications throughout the

countries in Europe, it is necessary to define the common aspects of the different job

profiles that were described in the previous chapter. To do so, it was decided to select

the three main profiles as the basis. These profiles were compared on their scores on

all activities.

Activities that are carried out by at least two third of the people in each of the three

profiles were selected. Besides this, activities were selected by experts from Germany

and the Netherlands. Criteria for this additional selection were that an activity ‘refers

to basic skills' or 'are of major importance in relation to competencies or regulations’.

As an example, the activity ‘I use a log-ph diagram’ scored 66% or more only in

profile A, and about 40% in B and C. Nevertheless, this activity refers to a crucial

competency and it was decided to select this activity to the common activities and

basic for the educational programme.

7.2 Common activities

In the tables below, the common activities are listed, sorted by the subject they were

derived from. In total 165 activities and tools were selected out of 328. As a follow up

to this project, the list of activities will be transformed to definitions of basic skills and

competencies of the refrigeration craftsman.

TECHNICAL CONSULTATION

I inform the customer of the method of operation of the refrigeration system I advise the customer whether a new system, or repair of components, is required

PROJECT PREPARATION

I fill in the log book

PRE-ASSEMBLY OF THE REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

I work with copper pipe I perform hard soldering (copper) I create flared joints I create flanged joints


ELECTROTECHNICAL PRE-ASSEMBLY

I install electrical equipment I install a switch box I wire a switch box

INSTALLATION OF NON- REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY

I insulate the pipeline I install split systems

INSTALLATION OF REFRIGERATION TECHNOLOGY

I read the plans and operating instructions for the compressors I fit a semi-hermetic compressor I fit a fully-hermetic compressor I fit a piston compressor I fit a scroll compressor I fit a manometer I install a suction and pressure cut-off valve I fit an anaconda into the pipeline I fit an oil separator I install an air-cooled condenser I install a lamellar evaporator I install an oil differential pressure switch I fit a thermostat I fit a pressure control I fit a start controller I fit a condenser pressure controller I fit an evaporation pressure controller I install a thermostatic expansion valve I install a fluid distributor I install a water control valve I fit a solenoid valve I install a filter dryer I install a suction filter I fit an oil filter I fit a burn-out filter I fit an inspection glass I fit a return valve/flap trap I install flexible piping I install a liquid receiver I fit a plate heat exchanger I install a pump I install a liquid chiller

INSTALLATION/CONTROL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

I connect a single-phase motor I connect a three-phase motor I install electrical components in the refrigeration system I check the electrical motor I check the wiring I check the electrical safety according to the national regulations I check the switch boxes I check the signal lamps I measure the current passage of the electrical cables I measure the voltages of the electrical components I check the A.C. motor


COMMISSIONING

I perform a pressure test I evacuate the refrigeration system I perform a vacuum test I weigh the refrigerant container I charge the refrigeration system with refrigerant I check the refrigerant charge I switch the motors on/phase sequence control I adjust the thermostat and the pressure control I adjust the valve settings I perform a reference value/actual value comparison I check the refrigeration system for seal-tightness I draw off the refrigerant I draw off the oil I fill a recovery cylinder with the refrigerant I fill authorized containers with the drawn-off oil

CONTROLS AND FAULT ANALYSIS

I speak to the customer about the problems with the refrigeration system I check the log book I record the technical data I decide whether to replace components I decide whether to repair components I use an electronic leak detection device to check the system I check the refrigerant charge I test the leak detection devices I check pressure safety I check temperature safety I check power consumption I check the floating ring seal I check the oil tray heating I check the suction filter I check the oil level I measure the liquid temperatures (On/Off) of the refrigerant I check the air temperatures (On/Off) of an evaporator/air-cooler I check the liquid level I check the evaporation temperature I check safety devices I check the status of the shaft seal I check the current consumption of the fan motor I check the phase sequence of the fan motor I check the voltage at the fan motor I check the bearing of the fan motor I check the defrost system I check the thermostatic expansion valve I check the water flow through the heat exchanger I check the water tubes of the heat exchanger for dirt I check for corrosion I check the quality of the insulation I measure the water temperatures (On/Off) of a water-cooled condenser I measure the air temperatures (On/Off) of an air-cooled condenser I measure the refrigerant inlet temperature to the condenser I measure the refrigerant liquid temperature at the end of the condenser I determine the degree of sub cooling I check the condenser pressure control I check for noises/vibration I check whether there is air in the refrigeration system I check that there is no air present on the water side of the condenser I check the water control valve I clean the air-cooled condenser I check the air-cooled condenser for dirt I check a hand valve I test the oil I check the solenoid I check the filter dryer


CONTROLS AND FAULT ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)

I check the return valve I measure the discharge pressure I measure the suction pressure I measure the oil pressure I measure the thermal protection I measure the operational voltages I check temperature control I check the frost protection system I check the pump-down circuit I look in the inspection glass for vapour bubbles I check the colour of the humidity indicator I check the manometer I check the pressure control I check the thermostat I check the vacuum pump I check the heat exchanger I check the plate heat exchanger I check the air distribution in the cold room I check the start controller I check the refrigerant pressure control

REPORTS, CHECKS AND TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATION

I report on a customer complaint I fill out a work time sheet I fill out a service report for the customer I fill in the log book /I create a certificate I fill in the test report

REFRIGERANTS

I work on refrigeration systems with chemical refrigerants such as R134a, R407C, R404A, and R507 I check whether the refrigeration system has been set up in accordance with environmental regulations I check whether the safety regulations covering refrigeration systems with HCFC/HFC are being followed

ASSISTANCE, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

I use a manometer set I use a recovery set I use a Torr gauge I use scales for weighing refrigerant I use a nitrogen cylinder I use a nitrogen pressure regulating device I use a acid test kit to check an oil sample I use a temperature recording device I use a refrigerant cylinder I use Oxy/Acetylene cylinders I use brazing equipment I use an electronic leak detection device I use leak indicator spray I use a multimeter I use product information from wholesalers I use the installation instructions of the component manufacturer I use the manufacturer's information on fault location/repair I use a log-ph diagram I use the h/x diagram I am aware of environmental regulations


8. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

1. The response to the survey was high. Considering the hot summer and the length

of the questionnaire, it was successful and shows the high involvement with the

sector.

2. The questionnaire covers all areas and skills in the refrigeration sector. All activities

in the questionnaire were ticked. Respondents had limited additions to the

questionnaires, mainly in areas of management and training.

3. There are three main job profiles of craftsmen in the refrigeration sector in Europe:

A. Commercial Technician Air Conditioning

B. Service Technician Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

C. Installation Technician Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

4. The results indicate that we can speak of European job profiles. There are no

country-specific job profiles and all job profiles are present in all countries. However,

some profiles do have a relatively large number of people from a specific country,

indicating that there are some differences between the countries.

5. Where job content seems to be independent of the country in which the

refrigeration craftsman works, the regulations about environmental certification are

very different. In one country 90% (Hungary, Netherlands) of all craftsmen have a

specific certificate, where in other countries such as France and Germany less than

30% has such a certificate, simply because there is no regulation there for a personal

certificate.

6. 165 activities were selected as the common activities for all job profiles in Europe.

These activities form the basis for a uniform level of education and qualifications

throughout the countries in Europe.

7. A job name is only a limited indication of a job profile. Uniform job names were

hardly encountered in the survey. In order to develop European qualifications, it is

advised to introduce common job names based on the profiles in the survey and that

are recognized in daily practice. The possibility of mixing common words such as

‘technician’ and ‘engineer’ should be avoided. These names can be introduced (with a

table for different languages) as the AREA-standards.


8. The sample in the survey was limited in size and not proportional to possible

dependent parameters (such as country or sub-sector). This means that it is allowed

to draw qualitative conclusions, but one has to be very careful to generalize the

quantitative results.

9. In this survey the current situation in the job profiles is measured. Now that this

basis has been developed, it is advised to monitor developments in the job profiles

and monitor trends in the profession in order to provide an adequate education for the

sector.


Appendix 1: Information leaflet for the survey


Appendix 2: Introduction letter for the companies

Dear ___,

The industry of refrigeration and air conditioning installation needs engineers with the

right training and education and practical experience. AREA, the European federation

for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning wants to organise this on a European level. For

this, we ask for your contribution to promote our sector to become one of the best

qualified industries in Europe.

AREA will perform a survey in 7 countries in Europe. In the survey the actual job

profile of the refrigerating craftsman will be researched. The results will form the basis

of the vocational education and training of new engineers: they will learn what

engineers really do in their daily work.

In the coming weeks, somebody from ___ will contact you and ask if you have one

engineer available who can fill in a questionnaire about his daily work. It will take

about 1 of his time. After completion of the questionnaire, each participant will be

rewarded with a nice present.

To make a good overview of the occupational profiles, 50 engineers in each country

will be asked to participate in a survey. They will be selected from small, middle and

larger companies. We are looking for engineers who are working on small or large

installations.

AREA and ____ would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation. More

information is available on the AREA website: www.area-eur.be. You can find more

information about the research, certification and education for the refrigeration and air

conditioning industry. The results of the survey will be available as of December 2003.

Kind regards,

__________


Appendix 3: Introduction letter for the engineers

Subject: Survey Refrigeration Craftsmen Europe

Dear colleague,

Thank you for participating in the survey on your profession as a refrigerating craftsman. We are happy that you and other colleagues in Europe are willing to take some time and help us to research the content of your jobs. With this information we can make the right education and guarantee that we will have good qualified engineers in the refrigeration sector in Europe, now and in the coming years. Why this survey? A good vocational education is based on the work in practice. But the work is different per country, per company and even per person. That is why we ask different craftsmen from different companies en countries to inform us about their work. What is the survey about? The questions are about your job, your experience and your company. It is not an examination, you are asked to indicate honestly what you really do in your job. What is done with the information? The information about your job is used to match job profiles in Europe. Similarities and differences are used to develop additional training programs. Furthermore, new craftsman can compare their personal profile with the results from the survey and see on which subject they need additional experience. Is it anonymous? Yes. Nobody in your company or any other organisation sees your personal information. All data are processed by a research company, the MonitorGroep, which follows the European laws for privacy and the European guidelines for market research (Esomar). What organisation is AREA? AREA is the European Federation for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. It represents enterprises responsible for the design, installation, maintenance and repair of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. Where can I find more information? Now and in the coming years there will be information on the internet, on the AREA-website: www.area-eur.be. You can find more information about the research, certification and education. The results will be available as of December 2003. With this letter you will find the questionnaire and an envelope for returning it, free of postage. All questionnaires have to be returned before ____. We thank you for your contribution to the survey. It is important for the quality of our profession and the education of all colleagues in Europe. If you have any questions, please contact ___. <Optional: To receive the reward of € ___,- please fill in the registration card. Your questionnaire has a random number, which is only used to check the status of return. Please mention this number and your correct bank account on your card.>

n Craf

____________

Kind regards,

The Refrigeratio

Tell a colleague If you know other colleagues who want to participate in this survey, don’t hesitate to inform them. A contact form for participation is available on the AREA-website. Participation is dependant of statistical criteria and is checked by the contact person in your country.

tsman 35

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