Almost from the start of my HVAC career, I have made it a standard practice to create checklists, use checklists, and continuously improve upon them over the years. Long before I was introduced to quality control (QC) and continuous QC initiatives, checklists have been among my most valuable of business tools. When I did have the opportunity to participate in QC training and then sit on two QC steering committees, I came to the realization that I had been providing a level of QC all along to my job assignments — long before I could even spell QC.
I initially created my first checklist, a drawing things-to-do list, when I was an entry-level draftsperson — back when one actually drafted using No. 2 and No. 4 mechanical pencils and long before CAD (I won’t insult your intelligence by spelling out the acronym). My reasons for creating this list were as follows: