Classic - Refrigerant Tracking

EPA rules require contractors to track usage and recovery of refrigerant. Tracking data needs to be reportable by companies on demand.

Further EPA rules require large refrigerant capacity equipment (>50lbs) must have their leak rate tracked. Those with a leak rate over a specifically defined threshold, depending upon the type of equipment, must have follow up inspections performed after repair.

Successware allows you to:

Identify which types of equipment contain refrigerant.
Identify for equipment listed on a customer’s account, the type of refrigerant it contains as well as the unit’s refrigerant capacity in pounds and ounces.
Record the adding of refrigerant to a piece of equipment.
Record the recovery of refrigerant from a piece of equipment.
Track transactions against usage and recovery cylinders for specific types of refrigerant.
Track the leak rate of refrigerant from pieces of equipment and schedule required follow ups for units which are leaking at a rate higher than allowed by the EPA.
Report on all usage and recovery of refrigerant by customer, technician, type of refrigerant and more.

Glossary:

Refrigerant - Fluid used on cooling systems. Most common varieties are R-22 and R410A.
Cylinder - Storage device for refrigerant. Separate cylinders are used for refrigerant that will be added to systems and for the recovery of refrigerant from existing systems.
Usage - Putting refrigerant into a system. This is measured in pounds.
Recovery - Removal of refrigerant from a system. This recovered refrigerant cannot be reused and is sold to companies who reprocess it.
Capacity - Amount of refrigerant a system or piece of equipment will hold in pounds.
Leak rate - the amount of refrigerant which needs to be replaced in a system over a period of 12 months due to leakage.
Tare Weight - weight of cylinder itself, its empty weight.
Full Weight - Total weight of the cylinder (Tare + Content Weight).

Required Setup

In order to begin using Refrigerant Tracking there are two Reference Book updates that you must make.

Refrigerant Type Reference Book

A new Reference Book has been added which allows you to list the different types of refrigerant that your company will be using on service and installation jobs as well as recovering from systems that are taken out of service.

The Refrigerant Type Reference Book can be found by going to the REFERENCE LIBRARY (Main Menu -> Setup) and then selecting the Equipment Group.

The new reference book will be pre-populated with 8 most common types of refrigerant used. The description identifies the common color of the cylinder for the type. You can add new refrigerant types or edit those already in the list as needed.

Equipment Type Reference Book

Also under Equipment in the REFERENCE LIBRARY you will find the Standard Equipment Reference Book. This book lists all of the different types of equipment that you can associate with customer service locations.

A column has been added to this table which allows you to indicate which types of equipment that you track “Uses Refrigerant”. In order to record refrigerant information for a piece of equipment, it must be a type of equipment marked as “Uses Refrigerant”.

You can edit your existing list of Standard Equipment types and add an “X” in the UsesRefrigerant column. Any existing equipment with that Equipment Type will now allow for you to record their initial refrigerant information (type, capacity) and allow tracking of usage and recovery against it.

Updating Equipment with Refrigerant Information

If you are adding new equipment to a customer’s service location or are going to record usage or recovery of refrigerant from an existing piece of equipment, you will need to add refrigerant detail to the piece of equipment.

To do so:
1. Open the customer’s service location and then press F6 to open the EQUIPMENT form.
In order to add refrigerant information, the Equipment Type used must be one that has been marked as “Uses Refrigerant”.
2. Once you have added the piece of equipment and saved it, or have opened an existing piece of equipment, click the REFRIGERANT TRACKING tab at the bottom of the form.

3. To add refrigerant information for the piece of equipment, click the checkbox field near the top of the tab. This will open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING AND FOLLOW UP form for this piece of equipment. You can also click on the refrigerant icon () to open the form/
4. From the Type of Refrigerant dropdown, identify the type of refrigerant currently in the unit.
5. From the manufacturer’s documentation for the equipment, enter the Listed Capacity of the unit in pounds and ounces.

6. Next, enter the Total Charge of the unit. This may be the same as the Listed Capacity, but in situations where you may have long line sets, the Total Charge may be greater than the Listed Capacity.

For larger pieces of equipment (those with a refrigerant capacity greater than 50 lbs), the EPA requires the tracking of Leak Rate for the unit (the amount of refrigerant that you need to add to a unit over a period of time compared to the unit’s Total Charge). Use the Leak Rate dropdown to tell Successware to track this number as a Rolling Average or Annualized. The default selection is Rolling Average and that is what we recommend that you use.

Annualized method - calculates leak rate over past 365 days or last date refrigerant was added; whichever is shorter.
Rolling Average method - uses pounds of refrigerant added in past 365 days OR Date of last Successful verification test whichever is less.

7. Click OK when you are done.

Cylinder Management

Adding a New Cylinder

In order to track the usage or recovery of refrigerant you must create a cylinder for each type of refrigerant you will be recovering and for each type of refrigerant you will be adding to systems. When entering a cylinder into the system you will be required to enter the weight of the cylinder empty (it’s tare weight), the weight of the cylinder full and the current weight of the cylinder.

Using this information, the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER will be able to show you the current weight of the cylinder as a percentage of its capacity.

To Add a Cylinder

1. Open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER. It can be found in the Main Menu under the Customer Service group.

2. In the CYLINDERS view, right click in the grid and select New Cylinder.

In the REFRIGERANT TRACKING DATA ENTRY form, the New Cylinder option will be selected.
3. Enter the Cylinder number- This could be the serial number on the cylinder or any other unique value you choose to identify the cylinder.
4. Use the Type of Refrigerant dropdown to identify type contained in the cylinder
5. Use the Purpose of Cylinder dropdown to identify if the cylinder will be used for recovery or usage.
6. Enter the empty weight of the cylinder in the Tare Weight dropdown.
7. In the Full Weight field, enter the total weight of the cylinder when full; contents plus the weight of the empty container.
8. Enter any Notes you wish regarding the cylinder
Next you will enter the current weight of the cylinder. If this is an empty cylinder that will be used for recovery, the new weight would be the same as the empty cylinder weight you entered earlier. However, if the cylinder has been used, weigh the cylinder and enter it in the New Weight fields in a pound/ounces format.

9. Click Save when you are finished.
10. If you need to add another cylinder at this time, choose the New button, if not, click Close.
Your active Cylinders and their current content status will appear in the CYLINDERS view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER.

Marking a Cylinder as Out of Service and/or Returned

Once a usage cylinder is empty or a cylinder used for recovery is full you will no longer want it to appear as available to select for further transactions.

To Remove a Cylinder from Service

1. From the CYLINDER view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER, right click on the cylinder and select Out-Of-Service.

Check marking the Out-of-Service checkbox will have the effect of de-activating the cylinder and you will not be able to post any new transactions against it.
2. If you are not returning the cylinder but merely disposing of it (such as an empty usage cylinder), you can just click OK.
3. If you are returning the cylinder to a vendor for disposal, as in the case of a full recovery cylinder, checkmark “returned” as well.
4. Enter the Date the cylinder was returned
5. Choose the Vendor to whom it was returned
6. Click OK.
Marking the cylinder out-of-service and/or returned will become part of the reportable transaction history of the cylinder.

Cylinder View Filters

You can use the indicators at the top of the Cylinder view to limit the displayed cylinders to those that are active or “Available” to use, those that have been marked as “Out-of-Service” and separately, those that have been taken out-of-service and returned to a vendor using the “Returned” filter.

Recording Refrigerant Usage and Recovery

The recording of usage of refrigerant in and recovery of refrigerant from pieces of equipment can be recorded in four places.

The Equipment Form- by selecting the equipment modified and clicking the “+” button on the Refrigerant Tracking Tab. This method involves the most manual selection of information.
The Job Form- Select the Refrigerant Icon and then select Usage or Recovery.
The Invoice Form- Above the item grid, select “Refrg” and then select Usage or Recovery. Once the invoice is posted this button will no longer be available, but you can still enter the information from the Job Form.
The Refrigerant Tracking Manager- Right click on the Cylinder against which you are recording the transaction and select “Enter Usage/Recovery”. You will need to know the Job Number when creating the transaction from here.

In all cases, recording usage or recovery will require:

Identification of the Cylinder used for recovery or usage
A Job number
A technician
A piece of equipment to be selected
The amount of refrigerant used or recovered- This can be recorded by identifying the new weight of the cylinder used (Successware will then calculate the amount used or recovered) or by entering the weight of used or recovered refrigerant in pounds and ounces.

To Record Usage or Recovery Transactions

1. Open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING DATA ENTRY form from one of the above listed methods
2. Be sure the correct action, Usage or Recovery is selected.
3. Select the Cylinder against which you are recording the transaction. The Cylinder you select must be related to the type of refrigerant the equipment you select uses.
4. When opening the form from a Job or Invoice, the Job Number and Technician name will be auto filled. If the Service Location has only one piece of equipment that Uses Refrigerant, it will be preselected as well, otherwise you will need to select the piece of equipment from the dropdown.

5. Next, enter the amount of refrigerant used or recovered. You can do this by either entering the “New Weight” of the cylinder after the transaction in pounds and ounces or by selecting “Used” from the dropdown and entering the amount used or recovered in pounds and ounces.

In both cases, Successware will recalculate the current weight of the selected cylinder.

6. Enter any notes for the transaction in the Notes for Weight Change field if necessary and then click OK when you are done.

The transaction will now appear in the Refrigerant Tracking tab of the Equipment form for the selected piece of equipment.

Making Cylinder Weight Corrections

There may be times when the weight of a cylinder used for recovery or usage does not match the displayed weight in the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER. Ideally all transactions related to the cylinder should be entered into Successware. Before making a correction to the cylinder’s weight you should make all reasonable efforts to review the transactions recorded against the cylinder and identify and then record the missing transactions.
If the missing transactions cannot be identified, you can make a correction to the cylinder.

To Make a Cylinder Correction

1. Open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER and double click on the cylinder you need to correct.
2. Select the Cylinder Correction option at the top of the screen.

3. Enter a description of why you are making the weight change in the “Notes for Weight Change” field.
You will be able to correct the weight of the cylinder in three ways; enter a new weight, increase the weight or decrease the weight.
4. Select the option you will use from the dropdown below current weight.

5. Enter the new weight or the pounds and ounces you wish to increase or decrease the weight by.
6. Enter the Transaction Date
7. Click Save

The correction will be visible as part of the transaction history against the cylinder.

Tracking Leak Rate for Larger Equipment

When servicing pieces of equipment that are charged with 50 more pounds of refrigerant, the EPA has established rules that identify the threshold percent a system can leak before requiring follow up testing. The trigger leak rate is different depending upon the type of equipment (Industrial process refrigeration, comfort cooling, etc). Successware tracks the leak rate for all pieces of equipment which you service and record refrigerant activity. Leak rate is tracked by comparing the “Total Charge” of a unit to refrigerant added to that unit during the course of the year.
The LEAK RATE View of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER can then be used to identify pieces of equipment with a refrigerant capacity you specify as well as a leak rate you can also specify. Using this information, you can identify pieces of equipment that require a follow up and allow you to create a follow up reminder.

To View Leak Rate Information

1. Open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER and click the Leak Rate indicator at the top of the form.

By default, the last 12 months will be analyzed. If needed you can use the custom date indicator and enter a date from which you wish to look back from.
2. The default Leak Rate percentage searched is 10%. You can use the Leak Rate >=% field to enter the Leak Rate percentage you are searching for.
3. By default, equipment is displayed using the leak rate calculation method you associated with the piece of equipment. You can use the Calc Method dropdown to limit the results to only one or the other method.
4. The current minimum capacity of a system requiring leak rate tracking is 50lbs. If you wish to set a different minimum value enter it in the Capacity >=lbs field
5. Click Apply
The list of equipment that meets the leak rate criteria that you have entered is displayed.

Note: Leak Rate can also be viewed for any single piece of equipment by opening the Service Location, opening the EQUIPMENT form (F6), selecting the piece of equipment and then clicking the REFRIGERANT TRACKING tab at the bottom of the form. Clicking the Leak Information tab will display current leak rate information for the selected piece of equipment.

Leak Rate Work Flow

If you are working with equipment that requires leak rate tracking, there is a workflow that you will follow:
1. Go out and work on a system that meets requirements of leak rate tracking.
2. Find leak and repair leak
3. In Successware record refrigerant usage. This entry of refrigerant usage will allow you to determine if leak rate is over the allowed threshold.
4. If verification test was not done at time of repair, schedule a Follow Up Verification test
5. On successful completion of the test go to the piece of equipment on the customer’s location record and edit the refrigerant tracking information to include the date of LAST SUCCESSFUL FOLLOW UP VERIFICATION TEST. (This will control the calculations for tracking leak rate on this equipment moving forward).

6. Depending upon follow up test requirement based on type and size of equipment, create a Leak Rate Follow Up Reminder.
7. Create, schedule and perform follow up test.
8. Record usage of refrigerant if necessary.
9. Record results of follow up.
10. Schedule next follow up if necessary.

Setting Leak Rate Follow Ups

Systems greater than 50Lbs of refrigerant, that have a leak rate greater than the EPA allowed limits require you to repair the lead and perform a verification test. You are then required to perform a follow up verification test to assure the repair performed has stopped the leak. The number and frequency of Follow up tests is dependent on the type of equipment.

To assist in the tracking of these follow ups you can create them as Leak Rate Follow Up Reminders. You can then record the results of these follow ups.

The creation of the Follow up is performed from the LEAK RATE view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER.
1. Open the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER
2. Go to the LEAK RATE view
3. Filter the equipment listed as needed
4. Right click on the equipment requiring follow up and select Tracking Followup
5. Select the Follow Up tab
6. Click Add

7. Enter the date by which you must perform the follow up inspection on the equipment.
8. Enter any notes in the Additional Notes field.
9. Click OK
The follow up due will now be available in the FOLLOW UPS view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER where you can create the job

Managing Follow Ups

The REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER allows you to view completed and incomplete follow ups, create jobs required for follow up and update the status of the follow ups from the FOLLOWUP view.

To Do so:
From the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER, go to the FOLLOWUP view:

By default, you will see all follow ups due from today’s date forward that have not been completed.
You can use the date range filter as well as the job number and Location ID filters to limit the results further.
You can use the Completed filter to see follow ups that have already been performed.
To create a job for the service location associated with the follow up, right click on the follow up and select New Job. Finish completing the job information and run the job as you normally would.

Marking a Follow Up as Complete

1. To mark a follow up as complete you must open the FOLLOWUP form.

You can do so from the FOLLOWUP view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER by right clicking on the follow up and selecting Tracking Followup.
Or,
From the job you created, in the JOB form, select the Refrigerant Icon and select Refrigerant Followup.

2. Go to the Follow Up Tab
3. Select the follow up you are marking as complete and click Edit
4. Checkmark that the Followup is complete and enter the Date it was completed.
5. Use the Job Number dropdown to select the job on which you performed the inspection.
6. Update the notes with the results of the inspection

7. Click OK

Refrigerant Reporting

Refrigerant Transaction Report

A single report has been created that allows you to handle all of your refrigerant based reporting needs. The REFRIGERANT TRANSACTION REPORT allows you to report on the usage or recovery of refrigerant in a time frame, and by using its filters and grouping options view the report based upon:

Specific Cylinder number
Type of refrigerant
Technician
Service location Note: To generate a quick report of all transactions for a cylinder, right click on the cylinder in the CYLINDERS view of the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER and select Transactions for Cylinder.

Accessing the Report

The report can be run by:

Opening the REPORT GALLERY and going to the EQUIPMENT group and selecting Refrigerant Transactions.
Right Click from any of the screens in the REFRIGERANT TRACKING MANAGER and selecting Cylinder Transaction Report.

Running the Report

1. From the report screen enter the date range of transactions you wish to report on. If you are reporting on a single cylinder you may want to leave the dates blank if you are planning to report on all transactions.
2. Use the dropdown filters to select an individual cylinder and/or technician.
3. If you are reporting on activity at a specific Service Location, enter the location ID in the Location filter.
4. The Grouping options will allow you to organize and subtotal the data the way you want to see it. Using a Grouping option is also the only way to see transaction totals in the report
5. Click the Grouping option
6. On the left side of the form, double click the data point you wish to use to subtotal the report

7. You can use multiple Grouping options and then use the Up and Down arrows to reorder them if necessary. Click OK when you are done.

8. Run the Report

Leak Rate Report

The REFRIGERANT LEAK RATE Report allows you to report on all pieces of equipment that meet conditions you establish that are leaking at a rate greater than or equal to the limit you enter.
The report can be found in the EQUIPMENT group of the REPORT GALLERY.
1. Enter the date range of transactions
2. If you only want to report on the leak rate for a single location, enter the Location ID in the field otherwise leave it blank.
3. Enter the refrigerant Capacity of equipment you want to consider in the report
4. Identify the Leak Rate limit you want to report. Choose whether you want to use a Rolling Average or Annualized calculation.
5. Add any grouping or sorting options

6. Run the report

Search