Libsyn Directory

460 Building Boiler Talent: Fundamentals, Online Training, and Better Partnerships with Eric Johnson

Release Date: 01/23/2026

463 Mapping the Future of Water Innovation with Paul O’Callaghan

Scaling UP! H2O

“If you say something over and over often and enough, it becomes true because perception is reality.” has built a career at the intersection of water science, wastewater realities, and the practical question every operator and executive eventually faces; what actually moves innovation from idea to adoption. As Founder and CEO of, Paul explains how his team helps decision-makers put capital to work more efficiently in water by reducing uncertainty and separating signal from noise. He describes patterns he’s watched repeat across water entrepreneurs, pilots, and...

462 From Lab Chemist to Field Mentor: Water, Culture, and Representation

Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial water work rewards people who can move between precision and practicality. brings both. She started as a lab chemist, then transitioned into field service with , where much of her work supports healthcare facilities and high-accountability programs. Lab habits that protect your tools and your data Katie describes the first surprise of field work: a central plant is “very dirty,” and the job demands good technique without chasing lab-level perfection. She shares a couple of simple practices that prevent expensive problems. Use proper lab wipes on...

461 Corrosion, Lead, and Algae: New Tools for Old Water Problems

Scaling UP! H2O

Corrosion rarely announces itself as a “big water problem.” It shows up as leaching at the tap, residual loss in the field, premature equipment replacement, and the slow, expensive erosion of decision-quality. (CEO) and (chemist/Chief Science Officer) of lay out a system-wide view of corrosion control—starting with what changed in Flint from a technical standpoint and moving into why many utilities still struggle to meet expectations when standards and risk assumptions shift. System-wide corrosion control starts with chemistry...

460 Building Boiler Talent: Fundamentals, Online Training, and Better Partnerships with Eric Johnson

Scaling UP! H2O

Boilers 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 , Founder and CEO of , explains why boiler expertise is becoming harder to replace. He points to the shrinking pipeline of boiler-trained technicians—historically strengthened by Navy steam...

459 From Wastewater to Resource: Water Reuse with Dr. Veronika Zhiteneva

Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial water professionals are increasingly pulled into conversations about scarcity, resilience, and “where the next gallon comes from.” , CEO and Co-founder of frames water reuse as an implementation challenge more than a technology gap—and explains where the practical starting points are when the scope feels overwhelming. Moving reuse forward when the technology already exists Waterloop Solutions was founded to accelerate implementation: clarifying end-use quality, identifying post-treatment needs on the back end of...

458 Hiring Olympics and High-Performance Culture with J.D. Roth

Scaling UP! H2O

"Stay curious. And you only have one reputation. Guard it with your life." Hiring for judgment, not just rehearsed confidence Industrial water treatment is full of decisions made with incomplete data—on sites, with customers, and inside the business. (Managing Director and Co-owner of ) builds his hiring around that reality. His aim is straightforward: protect the team and the culture by selecting people who can think, collaborate, and lead under pressure. JD frames the organization as a group of people choosing to work toward a common goal: building a better future for...

457 2026: A New Year with New Intentions

Scaling UP! H2O

Trace Blackmore opens 2026 with a practical reset: how to plan with urgency, sharpen the fundamentals that make troubleshooting easier, and use the tools around this podcast to keep your development moving all year. The 12-Week Year: urgency you can use Annual goals often feel “far away” until December forces focus. The 12-week year flips that dynamic by treating each quarter like a year—creating urgency sooner and giving you four chances to reset and improve. Trace walks through the structure: start with a vision (he uses a three-year example), then choose 3–5 tactical...

456 The 12 Days of Scaling UP! H2O 2025

Scaling UP! H2O

A year-end recap is more than a highlight reel—it’s a practical reset. In this New Year episode, Trace Blackmore walks through 2025 using a “12 Days of the Scaling Up Nation” format, tying together performance, community growth, listener engagement, and the sponsor support that keeps the podcast and its companion tools available at no cost. Year-end by the numbers Trace explains how he used to track every stat closely—and how that shifted into an unhealthy measure of self-worth—so the team now uses numbers as feedback, not validation. He notes the...

455 Mentors, Mindset, and the CWT: Owning Your Water Career with Nella Fergusson

Scaling UP! H2O

“So one thing I never do is try to start giving remediation or advice before I truly have understood and diagnosed the problem.” Mentorship and certifications don’t replace experience—but they can accelerate it when paired with the right mindset and a disciplined approach to learning. (District Manager, Southern California, ), lays out what “growing up” in industrial water treatment actually looks like: repeated exposure to real problems, strong diagnostic habits, and a willingness to keep learning long after year one. Learning that keeps...

454 Water Recycling, Innovation, and Industry Wisdom with Dr. Kelle Zeiher

Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial cooling is one of the biggest levers industrial facilities can pull on water use—and it’s getting harder to ignore as data centers and other high-heat operations grow. Returning guest (Project Manager at ) breaks down what water reuse looks like when you move past slogans and into the realities of pretreatment, concentrate management, footprint, and cost. Cooling water reuse: the scale of the opportunity Dr. Zeiher reframes “drought” beyond rainfall, emphasizing aquifer recharge and the limits of focusing only on household restrictions. She...

More Episodes

Boilers 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