460 Building Boiler Talent: Fundamentals, Online Training, and Better Partnerships with Eric Johnson
Release Date: 01/23/2026
485 Questions from the Nation Around the World with Trace Blackmore, CWT
Scaling UP! H2O
Ten questions from water professionals around the world become a practical decision-making session with Trace Blackmore, CWT. Drawing on earlier Scaling UP! H2O conversations, Trace explains how to evaluate treatment changes, use emerging tools responsibly, begin water reuse projects, strengthen teams, and continue growing professionally. Evaluate the Entire System A proposed treatment change should be evaluated by more than its purchase price. When comparing chlorine dioxide with traditional chlorine, Trace recommends examining biocide consumption, chemical storage,...
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484 Risk, Resilience, and Water Security with Dr. Newsha Ajami
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial operations depend on water of a predictable quantity and quality, yet many organizations still treat that reliability as a given. joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine water security as a business continuity issue and resilience as the ability to withstand pressure, maintain operations, and recover quickly when systems fail. Connecting Risk, Resilience, and Recovery For industrial water users, water security means maintaining access to the quantity and quality required to operate without interruption. That reliability depends on...
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483 From Process Engineer to Process Architect: Alicia Butler‑Pierre on Making Work Flow
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water professionals understand flow, pressure, heat exchange, wastewater, boilers, condensers, and process control. Alicia Butler-Pierre brings that same engineering logic into business systems, showing how work, information, decisions, and people move through an organization. Alicia, CEO of Equilibria, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to connect process engineering, operations management, Lean Six Sigma, dashboards, professional training, and business infrastructure. Her message is clear: whether you are moving water through a pipeline or work through a company, the question remains the...
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482 Preserving Our Industry’s Story – Paul Petersen and the Industrial Water Exhibit
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water treatment has always supported industry, but much of that story remains invisible to the public. Paul Petersen wants to change that by helping establish an industrial water treatment presence at the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Paul Petersen, former president and CEO of Trident Technologies and current leader of the Industrial Water Task Group, joins Trace Blackmore to explain why preserving the industry’s history matters. His vision is not simply a static display of old equipment. Instead, the goal is to...
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481 From Waterfalls to SOPs: Building Better Utilities with Kalpna Solanki
Scaling UP! H2O
Water utility work depends on more than technical knowledge. It depends on clear procedures, current documents, practical training, and performance conversations that reflect what operators actually do in the field. In Episode 481, Trace Blackmore, CWT, welcomes back , President and CEO at , for a practical conversation on building stronger utilities through standard operating procedures, competencies, and performance evaluations. Kalpna shares how outdated SOPs, disconnected training tools, and top-down documentation can create risk, confusion, and missed...
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480 From Engineering Numbers to People, Power, and Policy with Sherine El‑Wattar
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water professionals work with chemistry, equipment, permits, and performance targets every day. Yet every gallon also moves through a framework of policy decisions: who can withdraw water, how it may be used, what quality must be returned, and whose needs are considered when systems are designed. , a science network officer supporting the Working Group II Technical Support Unit, brings an engineering foundation and a human-centered perspective to those questions. Her work focuses on climate impacts, adaptation, vulnerability, and risk while helping...
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479 Water Treatment: The Next Generation - Hustle Culture Meets Emotional Literacy with Tiffany Wentz‑Root
Scaling UP! H2O
In today’s episode of Scaling UP! H2O, host Trace Blackmore sits down with workplace resilience expert and U.S. Marine veteran to decode how different generations show up in the industrial water treatment industry. From the Silent Generation’s post‑war loyalties through Baby Boomers’ commitment to long hours, Gen X’s distrust of corporate loyalty, Millennials’ desire for purpose and feedback, and Gen Z’s demand for emotional literacy, the conversation illustrates how each cohort was shaped by historical and technological upheaval. The discussion reframes “hustle...
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478 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 2)
Scaling UP! H2O
Power plant water and steam chemistry does not fail in isolation. A mistaken unit, an unused analyzer, an overdesigned pretreatment system, or a misunderstood condensate return problem can ripple across equipment, permits, production, and safety. In this Part 2 conversation with of and Buecker Associates, Trace Blackmore continues a practical discussion on the details that shape industrial water decisions. Brad shares field stories from combined cycle plants, package boilers, wastewater permitting, membrane systems, and decades of technical writing. When Small Errors Become Expensive...
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477 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 1)
Scaling UP! H2O
Power plant water and steam chemistry is not a background task. It affects safety, reliability, metallurgy, production, and the decisions plant teams make under pressure. In Part 1 of this conversation, Trace Blackmore, CWT, welcomes Bradley Buecker of SAMCO Technologies and Buecker Associates to examine what happens when familiar assumptions go unchallenged. Safety Comes First in High-Energy Systems Bradley begins with the lesson that has shaped decades of his work: safety. Power and industrial systems involve heat, flow, moving equipment, chemicals, confined spaces, lockout/tagout...
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476 Positive Communication, Temperaments, and the WOW Effect with Paule Genest
Scaling UP! H2O
Communication shapes how teams learn, respond, correct, and build trust. Trace Blackmore, CWT welcomes returning guest Director, Sales and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Water and Energy TGWT / The Tannin Guys for a conversation on positive communication, temperaments, the WOW Effect, and how water professionals can use words with more clarity and care. Communication With a Positive Impact Paule reframes positive communication as communication with a positive impact. The goal is not fake positivity or polished language....
info_outlineBoilers can feel intimidating the first time you step into a boiler room—the heat, the noise, the pressure gauge, and the weight of knowing that mistakes can be costly. Trace Blackmore opens with a reminder that boilers deserve respect, not fear—and that learning fundamentals is how you replace mystique with clarity.
The talent gap behind the boiler room door 
Eric Johnson, Founder and CEO of Boilearn, explains why boiler expertise is becoming harder to replace. He points to the shrinking pipeline of boiler-trained technicians—historically strengthened by Navy steam training—and why companies can’t rely on “tribal knowledge” and informal shadowing alone to develop the next generation.
Training that scales past the 2–3 day class
Eric shares what pushed him to build Boilearn: technicians and operators need structured, repeatable competency systems—not just scattered classes and a “shotgun approach” to on-the-job training. He lays out why fundamentals can be taught effectively online when it’s done well, and why travel-heavy training models often spend a large share of the budget on logistics instead of learning.
Troubleshooting that starts with fundamentals
Troubleshooting is where boiler work can feel like a mystery—until you understand fundamentals and sequence of operations. Eric explains how technicians can isolate problems faster by knowing what should be moving (or not moving), testing one theory at a time, and using electrical diagrams as a practical roadmap when formal sequence documentation isn’t available.
Better partnerships between boiler techs and water treaters
The conversation closes with practical steps that reduce friction and finger-pointing: take photos during inspections, package observations clearly in service reports, communicate directly when possible, and over-communicate inspection schedules so the water treater can prepare the program before the boiler is opened.
Listen to the full conversation above. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
02:20 - Trace Blackmore sets the stage on boiler fear vs. Respect, learning boilers from a Navy-Trained mentor
09:20 - Words of Water with James
10:50 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals
14:20 - Interview with Eric Johnson of Boilearn
16:30 – Eric's Path: HVAC school – Boiler Service Tech – Founder
19:10 – What Boilearn Does
22:10 – The lost “lifeline” problem
33:20 – Electrical Troubleshooting
44:20 – Coordinating Boiler Openings and Inspections
Quotes
“I’ve learned that boilers are something you definitely need to respect, but definitely not fear.”
“There’s a career behind boilers. There’s a career behind water treatment and not enough people talk about it.”
Connect with Eric Johnson 
Email: eric.johnson@boilearn.com
Website: Boilearn I The Foundation of Boiler Training
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericjohnson2020/
Guest Resources Mentioned
Boiler operator roles and skills
Boiler start‑up and maintenance
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
AWT Technical Training Seminars
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is water lost from a cooling tower as liquid droplets are entrained in the exhaust air.
2026 Events for Water Professionals
Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we’ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.
