483 From Process Engineer to Process Architect: Alicia Butler‑Pierre on Making Work Flow
Release Date: 07/03/2026
493 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 1
Scaling UP! H2O
Strong professional associations do more than provide programs and credentials. They create an environment where members can exchange knowledge, build trusted relationships, and prepare their businesses for what comes next. As the Association of Water Technologies enters a new operational chapter, Executive Director explains how AWT is strengthening that environment without losing the culture that makes it distinctive. From the Arts to Association Leadership Before entering association management, Matt built a career behind the scenes in theater. His...
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491 Environmental Microbiology and Legionella: Managing Building Water Risks with Dr. Rajiv Sahay
Scaling UP! H2O
Reliable Legionella results begin long before a sample reaches the laboratory. of explains how building conditions, field collection practices, and laboratory methods influence the quality—and usefulness—of the data water professionals receive. Building Water Conditions Shape the Risk Modern buildings rely heavily on controlled mechanical systems, yet water can remain an overlooked part of the indoor environment. Stagnation, low flow, dead legs, temperature, pH, disinfectant residuals, corrosion, and accumulated organic material can all influence biofilm development and microbial...
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490 From Plans to Prevention: Water Management Insights with Dr. Abe Cullom
Scaling UP! H2O
A water management plan protects people only when the facility uses it to guide decisions. Dr. Abe Cullom, Director of Water Safety & Management at Pace Analytical, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine why Legionella programs break down—and how testing, communication, and consistent implementation can strengthen them. Implementation Is the Bottleneck Five decades after Legionella was identified, researchers understand much more about the organism, its ecology, the conditions that support its growth, and the interventions available to control it. However, Dr....
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489 Copper-Silver Ionization Technology and Legionella Control with Tory Schira
Scaling UP! H2O
Copper-silver ionization offers building operators a persistent approach to Legionella control—one designed to carry an active disinfectant residual throughout complex plumbing infrastructure. LiquiTech CEO Tory Schira explains how the technology works, what operating data matters, and why successful implementation requires more than installing equipment. How Copper-Silver Ionization Works Copper and silver ions are introduced through a flow chamber containing sacrificial electrodes. A controlled electrical charge releases the positively...
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488 Managing Legionella with confidence: A Conversation with Patsy Root
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our goal is not zero Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Our goal is zero cases.” – Patsy Root Legionella risk becomes harder to manage when building teams treat every detection as equivalent—or collect samples without first deciding what a positive result will trigger. , Senior Manager of Government Affairs at , explains how a clear water management program can replace uncertainty with defined responsibilities, routine monitoring, and proportionate action. Focus Testing on the Organism of Concern Patsy distinguishes between the broader...
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487 The 60‑Minute CFO: Tracy Bech on Making Business Finance Less Scary
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our gross profit margin is truly the battle we have to win in order to win all of the downstream wars.” - Tracy Bech Financial statements become useful when leaders can translate the numbers into decisions. , founder and author of , explains how business owners, managers, salespeople, and field professionals can develop financial fluency without becoming accountants. Turn Financial Data into a Meaningful Scorecard Tracy teaches finance through stories and relationships rather than isolated numbers. Revenue alone does not reveal whether a company is...
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486 Meter Optimization: Air in the water with Anthony Giudice
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Water meters register the volume passing through them, but what happens when that volume contains both water and entrained air? Anthony Giudice, president of AquaFlow, explains how turbulent flow can influence meter readings and how AquaFlow’s calibrated valve is designed to help meters reflect what he describes as true water consumption. Why Flow Conditions Matter at the Meter Anthony connects entrained air to the pressure required to move municipal water and the turbulence created as water travels through piping, changes...
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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
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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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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 same—how can the process flow more seamlessly?
From Process Engineer to Process Architect
Alicia shares how her chemical engineering background shaped the way she sees organizations. Early in her career, she worked around wastewater, boilers, condensers, and heat exchangers, but she also saw a gap between technical operations and business decision-making.
That gap eventually led her to business school, entrepreneurship, and the founding of Equilibria. What began as a professional organizing company became an operations management consulting firm focused on processes, systems, Lean Six Sigma, and business infrastructure.
For water professionals, this conversation offers a practical reminder: technical improvements often fail to gain support when they are explained only in technical language. Alicia challenges listeners to connect process improvements to business outcomes that accounting, leadership, and customers can understand.
Dashboards, Dollars, and the Cost of Poor Quality
Trace and Alicia discuss a familiar challenge in water treatment: a team may know that a technical improvement will raise efficiency or reduce risk, but accounting may only see the capital expense. Alicia’s advice is to show the linkage.
Dashboards can help different functions see cause and effect. When technical investments are connected to revenue, profitability, customer demand, and operating efficiency, decision-makers can better understand the true value of the work.
Alicia also introduces the Lean Six Sigma concept of cost of poor quality. Instead of presenting improvement work as another expense, she encourages professionals to frame it as an investment and show what inaction could cost in dollars and cents.
Lean Six Sigma, Training, and Podcast Education
Alicia explains Lean and Six Sigma in clear operational terms. Lean focuses on reducing waste and improving work from a customer-centered perspective. Six Sigma uses statistics and data analysis to reduce defects and errors as close to zero as possible.
The conversation also moves into professional education. Alicia describes her podcast training portal, her partnership with the Project Management Institute, and how podcast episodes can support professional development units when paired with quizzes, approval processes, and a structured learning management system.
For a technical field built on continuing education, this opens an important question: how can trusted podcast content become part of a more formal learning pathway?
Scaling Knowledge Across Borders
Alicia’s work has expanded through teaching, online training, micro-courses, podcasting, and international business development. She describes podcasting as a door that gave her access to the world and helped her see the global need for professional education.
Her path from process engineer to process architect reinforces a lesson water professionals know well: good systems do not happen by accident. They are designed, tested, improved, and translated into language others can act on.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Connect with Alicia Butler-Pierre
Email: apierre@eqbsystems.com
Website: Equilibria | Lean Six Sigma, Project Management Training via Podcasts
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciabutlerpierre/
Equilibria, Inc.: Overview | LinkedIn
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
131 The One About Standard Operating Procedures
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is the pressure of a system measured relative to the surrounding atmospheric pressure. In other words, it is the pressure of a system above atmospheric pressure.
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.
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