{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"449 Michael Bourgeois on AWT Partnerships and Professional Growth","description":" Get stuck in \u2013 Michael Bourgeois, CWT How do standards get written in ways that working water treaters can actually meet? In this conversation, AWT Past President, current Related Trade Organization (RTO) Committee Chair, and Chemco Products Company Operations Manager, Michael Bourgeois CWT, explains how AWT\u2019s liaisons collaborate with peer organizations, so guidance reflects field reality\u2014operations, risk, and achievable compliance.  From Field Bags to Board Rooms: Why RTOs Matter  Bourgeois outlines the purpose of AWT\u2019s RTO structure: volunteer liaisons track and influence work at groups whose missions overlap with industrial water\u2014CTI, ABMA, ASHRAE, AWWA, ASHE, and others. The aim is simple and practical: make sure member voices are heard so guidance advances health outcomes (e.g., Legionella control) and day-to-day feasibility for service providers and suppliers.  Turning Reaction into Proaction  Historically, the industry learned about new rules after they landed. Bourgeois details how AWT is shifting to co-authoring cooling-water guidelines with CTI and re-engaging ABMA, so boiler-water limits and methods reflect current technologies and operations. The model: clarify shared goals, contribute content expertise, and formalize collaboration so members get usable documents at member pricing.  Concrete Moves: Boiler Water, Healthcare, and More  Examples include AWT\u2019s role on ABMA\u2019s Boiler Expo steering committee (with a focused water-treatment training block) and early conversations with ASHE on pathogen control in building and healthcare water systems. He describes how liaisons feed updates into a formal committee cadence, so the AWT Board and members see progress\u2014not just headlines.  When working professionals help write the playbook, outcomes improve clients, operators, and public health\u2014and members stop \u201creacting\u201d to standards they had no hand in shaping.  Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below.   Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!     Timestamps   00:02:28 - Trace Blackmore shares his AWT excitement & community shout-outs  00:05:16 - Water You Know with James McDonald  00:06:44 - The magic of the Scaling Up buttons (why & how to use them)  00:20:25 - North Metal Quarterly Magazine (Grab physical copy by visiting Booth 212)  00:27:00 - Interview starts: Mike Bourgeois (Chemco; AWT Past President; RTO Chair)  00:33:58 - What is the RTO Committee and why it exists  00:36:31 - The 10 formal collaborators + 4\u20136 informal  00:36:43 - AWWA\/ASDWA (Joe Hannigan); Premise plumbing link  00:38:19 - ASHE (healthcare engineering) early wins (Reid Hutchinson)  00:38:47 - ABMA (boilers) momentum (Steve Jobin) + Women of Boilers  00:40:28 - CTI (Mike); CDC (Patsy Root); WEF (Brian Liotta)  00:40:46 - AMPP (formerly NACE) (Jay Farmerie); WQA (Chuck Hamrick)  00:41:19 - ASHRAE (Bill Pearson) & the impact on Std 188  00:45:26 - Principle: Be proactive so standards are achievable for members  00:47:34 - Boiler Expo: half-day on water treatment (economics, pretreatment, failures, regs)  00:50:56 - Where to learn about RTO work  00:54:19 - Volunteers needed: attributes of great liaisons  00:58:48 - Breakthrough: ABMA boiler water guideline refresh (toward ASME alignment)  01:01:02 - Potential collaboration with ASHE on pathogen control guidance  01:01:39 - What Mike\u2019s most excited to see at the Broadmoor  01:02:22 - Mike\u2019s session: new OSHA walk-around rules  01:02:51 - Theme of the conversation: \u201cGet stuck in\u201d (join committees)    Quotes  \u201cThe button is magic\u2014it breaks the ice for you and starts real conversations.\u201d  \u201cTalk to every single booth. A year from now, you\u2019ll remember exactly who can help.\u201d   \u201cRTO stands for Related Trade Organization\u2014our way to shape the standards that shape us.\u201d   \u201cWhy write a standard no one can achieve? AWT\u2019s role is to make it achievable.\u201d   \u201cIf you want to help AWT, get stuck in. Volunteer. It pays back 10 to 100-fold.\u201d   \u201cAWT\u2019s RTO liaisons keep members\u2019 interests represented before rules and guidelines are finalized\u2014so they\u2019re practical and achievable.\u201d  \u201cLook for committees aligned with your strengths.\u201d    Connect with Michael Bourgeois Email: mbourgeois@chemcoprod.com   Website: Home | Chemco Products Company  LinkedIn: Michael Bourgeois, CWT | LinkedIn  https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/chemco-products-company\/     Guest Resources Mentioned   ABMA\u2019s Boiler Water Quality Requirements and Associated Steam Quality for Industrial\/Commercial and Institutional Boilers  Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.) Hardcover \u2013 April 21, 2005 by Ayn Rand  AWT Committee  AWT Get Involved  Cancer Ward: A Novel (FSG Classics) Paperback \u2013 April 14, 2015 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Author)  Cooling Technology Institute (CTI)  Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less Hardcover \u2013 by Alex Epstein   Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design Paperback \u2013 Illustrated, June 22, 2010 by Stephen C. Meyer  WTG-126: The Use of Non-Oxidizing Biocides in Cooling Water Systems    Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned  380 The WOW Effect: Women Leading Transformation in the Water Industry  447 Unlocking Team Potential with Culture Index with Randi Fargen  ASHE\u2019s \u201cWater Management in Health Care Facilities: Complying with ASHRAE Standard 188\u201d  ASPE\u2019s Engineering Methodologies to Reduce the Risk of Legionella in Premise Plumbing Systems  ASSE 12080 Training & Certification, Get certified to the ASSE\/IAPMO\/ANSI 12080 Standard: Professional Qualifications Standard for Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel  AWT (Association of Water Technologies)   AWT\u2019s Legionella 2019: A Position Statement and Guidance Document  North Metal & Chemical Co Quarterly Magazine Issue 3 -page 8 for Trace Blackmore Story  Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses  Start with Why Simon Sinek - TedTalk  Submit a Show Idea  The 6 Types of Working Genius  The Rising Tide Mastermind    Water You Know with James Questions: What do you call the physical property of matter that is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree?    2025 Events for Water Professionals  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we\u2019ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.    ","author_name":"Scaling UP! H2O","author_url":"http:\/\/scalinguph2o.com","html":"