The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
0:00.0
0:05.7
nation I am so pleased to let you know
that the rising tide mastermind is a
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0:12.0
success we have completely filled two
groups since we started the rising tide
0:12.0
0:17.6
mastermind in early January now you
might be wondering what a mastermind is
0:17.6
0:23.8
and simply put a mastermind is where
people get together to try to make each
0:23.8
0:30.0
other more successful we encourage each
other to get better and to keep the
0:30.0
0:35.3
commitments needed to help each other
get there so if this sounds like
0:35.3
0:42.2
something that you need I urge you to
find out more about the rising tide
0:42.2
0:48.1
mastermind you can do that by going to
0:48.1
0:53.8
mastermind to see if this group is right
for you
1:02.2
1:06.7
welcome to Scaling UP! the podcast where
we’re Scaling UP! on knowledge so we
1:06.7
1:11.7
don’t Scale UP! our systems
hello Scaling UP! nation Trace Blackmore
1:11.7
1:20.8
here your host for Scaling UP! h2o and
nation what is going on we just had the
1:20.8
1:28.7
new year and now one month is now we are
112th down for the year and we ended
1:28.7
1:34.3
last year and started this new year with
taking account with what we did the
1:34.3
1:40.4
previous year and what our goals are
going to be this next year well I hope
1:40.4
1:47.5
you did that and you are now one month
down on achieving those goals and I
1:47.5
1:51.7
heard from several people when I did
those episodes that they were very
1:51.7
1:57.4
thankful that I did that type of episode
because so many of us know that we need
1:57.4
2:02.4
to improve each and every year but we
don’t know how to do that so setting up
2:02.4
2:07.1
some smart goals like we talked about
during the last episode of the year in
2:07.1
2:13.0
the first episode of the year now people
know how to plan with that the issue I
2:13.0
2:19.1
think we have is people don’t know how
to execute well since we’re one month
2:19.1
2:24.3
down if you have not started you now
have eleven months to get those goals
2:24.3
2:28.3
started so one of the books that I
recommend it on those episodes that I
2:28.3
2:34.6
just mentioned was the 12-week year now
on those episodes I mistakenly called it
2:34.6
2:39.1
the 13 week year and that’s because
that’s how I actually used the planning
2:39.1
2:44.7
method if you multiply 13 times 4 you
actually get 52 and that’s what makes
2:44.7
2:50.5
sense to me but it’s called the 12-week
year and that’s a book that is by Brian
2:50.5
2:58.1
Moran and he did a great job of helping
all of us figure out how we’re going to
2:58.1
3:05.5
execute in a 12-week period and to put
metrics on that so we know if we’re on
3:05.5
3:10.1
track or off track so if you haven’t
gotten a copy of that book I think it’s
3:10.1
3:13.7
a great book to read it is on audible
you can go to Scaling UP!
3:13.7
3:18.8
h2o comm for its
12 week year and since I misspoke it’s
3:18.8
3:27.2
also on their 4/13 week year and you can
get that book so before I announce our
3:27.2
3:31.8
guest I want to talk about a few things
that are going on in the water treatment
3:31.8
3:37.2
community the first one is actually
happening this very week and as this
3:37.2
3:44.1
episode airs I am in Tampa Florida and I
am at the business owners meeting that
3:44.1
3:49.3
the association of water technologies is
putting on so if you’re wondering what
3:49.3
3:54.9
is going on here at the business owners
meeting the AWT has put on certain
3:54.9
4:00.2
topics to help business owners become
more successful the other thing that’s
4:00.2
4:05.3
happening here is a lot of networking
folks you know it is lonely in the water
4:05.3
4:10.4
treatment industry well let me tell you
it is even more lonely when you own a
4:10.4
4:14.5
water treatment business so owners
getting together to talk to each other
4:14.5
4:20.3
definitely helps us find out ways to
solve things because now we’ve got more
4:20.3
4:25.3
friends to do so and that’s really what
the benefit of the association of Water
4:25.3
4:31.6
Technologies has been to me I’ve been
able to find lifelong friendships within
4:31.6
4:36.8
the Association because we had a
commonality we do the exact same thing
4:36.8
4:42.1
and it is so cool when you can talk
about certain issues that you are having
4:42.1
4:47.5
to somebody that understands because
they’re having those same issues so just
4:47.5
4:54.1
so many reasons to join associations
another event that is coming up very
4:54.1
5:00.2
quickly is the aw T’s technical training
now we do that twice a year we’re
5:00.2
5:05.0
getting ready to do it just at the end
of this month February 26 through 29th
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5:11.8
in Seattle Washington and then again in
Cleveland March 18th through 21st now
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5:18.2
this is my favorite time of year
because I love being part of the people
5:18.2
5:24.2
that put on this training it’s a great
honor to be able to work with all these
5:24.2
5:29.4
great water treatment Jedi and
I get to meet so many people from this
5:29.4
5:34.5
training and it’s people like you that
listen to this show and you let me know
5:34.5
5:38.8
that you really enjoy the show things
you might not like about the show things
5:38.8
5:43.0
you want me to change things you want me
to add people you want me to interview
5:43.0
5:48.1
topics you want me to talk about so it’s
just my favorite time of year now if
5:48.1
5:52.1
you’re wondering what goes on during
this technical training we actually have
5:52.1
5:58.0
three different classes going on
simultaneously so the first one is the
5:58.0
6:02.5
fundamentals and applications class and
what that is that’s for individuals that
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6:08.2
have been in the industry for about
three years or less or people that train
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6:14.9
those individuals or people that are in
water treatment and have never attended
6:14.9
6:18.9
the fundamentals and applications class
now I know that sounds weird but here’s
6:18.9
6:23.9
what we’ve done as trainers there’s only
so much time that we have with everybody
6:23.9
6:28.4
in the audience so we had to say we’re
going to teach up to a certain point in
6:28.4
6:32.8
fundamentals and applications and then
we’re going to start that the technical
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6:38.9
training so if you have not been to a
technical training in a long time I
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6:42.8
actually advise that you do take the
fundamentals and applications class and
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6:48.9
then come the next session take the
technical training class and read
6:48.9
6:54.4
Hutchinson just came on a couple of
weeks ago he said he did this and he got
6:54.4
6:59.0
so much more out of the technical
training so let me tell you about the
6:59.0
7:02.7
technical training so the core class
that we have so that’s three years plus
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7:06.6
this is for people that have been in the
industry and they’re getting ready to
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7:13.0
take their CWT examination now keep in
mind it does not teach the examination
7:13.0
7:19.5
but it does bring you up to a common
level where people that would be of the
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7:24.9
stature to take the CWT examination
should be and then there’s also a
7:24.9
7:30.5
wastewater class that’s going on with
that and if you come in a day early you
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7:36.5
can do a sales training class or you can
do a reverse osmosis class there’s just
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7:42.8
so much going on here so if you have
not signed up for this I hope that you
7:42.8
7:48.1
are rethinking that because you hear how
amazing it is you can go to the
7:48.1
7:52.9
association of water technologies
website at a WTO org find out more
7:52.9
7:59.7
information and sign up there now if you
do come please let me know that you
7:59.7
8:02.4
listen to the show and let me know what
you think let me know what you want to
8:02.4
8:06.6
hear and I will definitely try to oblige
you with that
8:06.6
8:10.3
now since we are on the topic of the
association of water technologies the
8:10.3
8:14.7
convention the annual convention and
Expo is going to be September 30th
8:14.7
8:21.0
through October 3rd in Louisville
Kentucky so lots of great things there
8:21.0
8:24.6
of course I’ll be there
many of you will be there I always get
8:24.6
8:29.5
so many show ideas during the convention
time so it’s early in the year mark your
8:29.5
8:35.4
calendars for these events and while you
have your calendars out you might want
8:35.4
8:41.0
to consider marking down November 8th
and 12th now that’s the International
8:41.0
8:47.7
Water Conference and that is another
group like the AWT but it serves a more
8:47.7
8:53.2
larger industry now that’s going to be
in San Antonio Texas this year they go
8:53.2
8:58.9
through a rotating model so every year
they rotate to another city of 3 cities
8:58.9
9:04.7
and this year they’re going to be in San
Antonio Texas now I will be interviewing
9:04.7
9:10.3
two of the key individuals of the
International Water conference on next
9:10.3
9:13.6
week’s show I know I talked a lot about
the association of Water Technologies
9:13.6
9:20.5
but there’s so many associations out
there that deal with the same type of
9:20.5
9:25.0
industries that we of the Scaling UP!
nation are dealing with I want to make
9:25.0
9:29.9
sure I’m bringing those resources to you
so I’ll be talking to Jim Sommerfeld and
9:29.9
9:36.2
J Harwood now Jim is the general chair
and Jay is the technical chair so these
9:36.2
9:41.0
guys are pretty high up in the
organization and I just sat down with
9:41.0
9:47.1
them and I asked them all the questions
I had and I thought you would have about
9:47.1
9:52.3
the International Water Conference so
you can learn about other organizations
9:52.3
9:56.5
so that’s going to be next
we can speaking of the IWC they are now
9:56.5
10:02.9
accepting abstracts for papers now if
you’ve never presented at IWC it is a
10:02.9
10:07.1
lot different from most places now we’re
going to talk about what that is next
10:07.1
10:12.6
week but if you go to my show notes page
you can see there will be a link there
10:12.6
10:18.2
that will take you directly to their
call for papers and the deadline for
10:18.2
10:23.3
that is March 6 so if you’re thinking
about speaking at the IWC you definitely
10:23.3
10:28.8
want to get that in before March 6 I’ve
been getting a lot of calls about the
10:28.8
10:33.8
rising tide mastermind of course you’ve
heard I’ve been doing ads in the front
10:33.8
10:38.3
and the back of each and every show I am
so excited that the rising tide
10:38.3
10:46.0
mastermind is a success we have filled
up two groups so two groups have been
10:46.0
10:51.7
filled up and we are now starting the
waiting list for the next group so if
10:51.7
10:56.9
you think the rising tide mastermind is
something that is right for you or you
10:56.9
10:59.6
at least want to learn more go to
10:59.6
11:05.3
to
find out more to see if this is right
11:05.3
11:08.6
for you and one of the things we’re
doing in the mastermind is we are
11:08.6
11:13.1
reading the very book that I talked
about during the top of the show the
11:13.1
11:18.8
12-week year but what we’re doing there
is we’re taking a deep dive within that
11:18.8
11:25.1
book figuring out how to use it with our
day-to-day to actually get things done
11:25.1
11:30.4
and make traction on the goals that
we’ve set for each other the other thing
11:30.4
11:35.4
we’re doing is we’re holding each other
accountable for those goals so each and
11:35.4
11:41.4
every week people know that we are going
to be expecting each other to make
11:41.4
11:47.0
traction to make headway on what they
said that they were going to do as Tim
11:47.0
11:50.8
mentioned in the mastermind show we did
last year
11:50.8
11:55.8
some people might listen to that and
think that sounds awful however it might
11:55.8
12:00.7
be the very nudge you need to become
more successful so once again that’s
12:00.7
12:06.6
https://scalinguph2o.com/mastermind and before I introduce my
12:06.6
12:11.4
guests I want a min
one more thing on episodes 120 and 121
12:11.4
12:15.8
now those were the episodes with dr.
Janet Stout of special pathogens
12:15.8
12:20.0
laboratory and we talked about all
things Legionella we talked about
12:20.0
12:24.9
ashtrays 188 we talked about the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid memorandum and
12:24.9
12:31.4
that has sparked so many questions
within the Scaling UP! nation so nation
12:31.4
12:38.2
here is my ask for you I think a Scaling UP! pinks and blues episode is in order
12:38.2
12:43.5
to answer all these questions but I want
to get some more questions so for those
12:43.5
12:46.8
of you that have already called in and
asked me questions specific to
12:46.8
12:51.6
Legionella thank you so much if you have
not done that and you have a question
12:51.6
12:56.3
please let me know what that is you’ve
got two ways to do that you go to
12:56.3
13:02.5
Scaling UP! h2o com and you can look for
the pop up button on the right side of
13:02.5
13:06.9
the screen click on that and leave me a
voicemail I may go ahead and play your
13:06.9
13:11.7
voice on the show if you do that or you
can just go to this show ideas page and
13:11.7
13:17.0
just type me a message there either way
I need your questions because I want to
13:17.0
13:22.4
use the water treaters perspective and
make sure that the people that are
13:22.4
13:27.8
interfacing directly with the customers
the people that are responsible for
13:27.8
13:32.4
these plans you know exactly what you
need to know and I know you have
13:32.4
13:37.1
questions so let me know what they are I
will get answers to those questions so
13:37.1
13:43.9
you have the knowledge you need to talk
to your customers so we can lead them
13:43.9
13:50.5
down the correct path of reducing
legionellosis in our communities nation
13:50.5
13:57.4
our guest today is Justin Ranger CWT and
I met Justin at the association of Water
13:57.4
14:00.8
Technologies
we worked on several training projects
14:00.8
14:06.8
together we became friends because of
working on those projects plus we saw
14:06.8
14:10.8
each other at technical trainings and
different events and he’s also a member
14:10.8
14:17.1
of the rising tide mastermind and if
you’ve ever met Justin you know that he
14:17.1
14:24.5
dons the best mustache in all of water
he’s got a handlebar mustache and I
14:24.5
14:27.3
couldn’t do something like that I
definitely couldn’t pull that look off
14:27.3
14:33.8
but he does and he has come on today’s
show to share all about being a water
14:33.8
14:36.5
treat
we all get in this industry a different
14:36.5
14:40.8
way and we all experience this industry
in a different way and I truly believe
14:40.8
14:46.7
that we can learn from each other’s
experiences so please help me welcome
14:46.7
14:53.8
Justin Ranger CWT my lab partner today
is certified water technologist Justin
14:53.8
14:59.8
Ranger of ch2o how are you today sir
I’m doing great Trace thanks for having
14:59.8
15:03.4
me on yes thanks so much for coming on
the show and if I might say I think you
15:03.4
15:07.4
have the best mustache and water
treatment oh thanks yeah I’m sure
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15:11.7
there’s some other good ones out there
but yeah enjoy having it so and for all
15:11.7
15:14.0
those out there in the Scaling UP! nation
you don’t have to go to the show notes
15:14.0
15:20.0
page so you can cast your vote on that
as well that’s good so let’s introduce
15:20.0
15:23.9
yourself to the Scaling UP! audience so
they know who they’re talking to so tell
15:23.9
15:27.9
us a little bit about yourself
yeah well as you pointed out live in
15:27.9
15:33.1
Boise Idaho married for going on ten
years now which is just absolutely
15:33.1
15:37.6
astonishing how quickly that goes by
yeah my wife has low standards too so
15:37.6
15:43.3
it’s it’s it’s great we can find women
like that yeah yeah I know she’s my wife
15:43.3
15:48.0
she’s very patient she’s a great woman
yeah we’ve got two kids they’re seven
15:48.0
15:53.5
and five son and daughter which they’re
just an absolute blast always exploring
15:53.5
15:57.2
and discovery in the world we bought a
house few years back that we’ve been
15:57.2
16:02.6
renovating and Boise is just a fantastic
place to live there’s been a lot of
16:02.6
16:06.9
people moving here so the joke lately
has been to tell everybody that the town
16:06.9
16:12.9
has a terrible stench and we’ll all the
floors through the streets exactly so
16:12.9
16:16.1
obviously there was some point in your
life where you said something was
16:16.1
16:21.6
missing I’ve got to get into water
treatment tell us about that yes I think
16:21.6
16:25.4
it’s pretty interesting I you know I
didn’t realize that I’m not related to
16:25.4
16:30.6
anybody in the water treatment industry
so listening to the podcasts hearing all
16:30.6
16:34.2
the stories of people that had fathers
that were in the industry or something
16:34.2
16:37.8
of that nature
is kind of fascinating to me I suppose
16:37.8
16:41.3
I’m in the other camp I kind of fell
into it by accident I didn’t know that
16:41.3
16:47.3
it was a thing that existed I was in
college and I was studying chemistry and
16:47.3
16:52.9
material science engineering and had a
friend who worked for a local company
16:52.9
16:58.0
that company had a separate division
that did kind of preventive maintenance
16:58.0
17:04.2
for HVAC system so changing filters
cleaning coils and changing the belts
17:04.2
17:07.6
that kind of thing so they were looking
for a college kid to work at night and
17:07.6
17:12.8
change belts and filters and I had some
mechanical aptitude and was a
17:12.8
17:17.0
responsible individual so said you’d be
a great fit yeah and then after the
17:17.0
17:22.1
owner found out I had some experience
with chemistry he kind of added me on to
17:22.1
17:26.4
the water treatment side and I started
doing just basic service tech work you
17:26.4
17:30.5
know going out and pulling samples and
running tests on equipment and from
17:30.5
17:34.1
there it’s just gonna grown into a
career it’s been 11 years now that I’ve
17:34.1
17:38.7
been doing it now what was the thing
that happened that just made you say
17:38.7
17:42.7
yeah this is something I can do I want
to do this ya know that’s that’s a great
17:42.7
17:48.3
question for a long time I was in just
that service tech position with a local
17:48.3
17:53.0
company and it it was a great company
the owner was a really great guy had a
17:53.0
17:55.5
great heart
I really just never thought of it
17:55.5
18:00.7
anything more than a job you know just
kind of clock in clock out not think
18:00.7
18:05.3
about it anymore after work yeah and
then he ended up deciding he wanted to
18:05.3
18:11.1
do something different and so he ended
up selling two ch2oh and I kind of went
18:11.1
18:15.6
along with that business transaction and
it was at that point that my mind was
18:15.6
18:20.8
really opened up at how expansive and
diverse the water treatment field and
18:20.8
18:24.4
industry is and how much knowledge there
is available and it was really at that
18:24.4
18:29.5
point that I decided to make it a career
to go after getting my CWT and become
18:29.5
18:33.8
the best water treat her that I’m able
to be I love it I love it so you
18:33.8
18:38.1
mentioned the magic word CWT you know
your listener to the show I’m a huge
18:38.1
18:41.9
proponent of people getting their
certified water technologist you have
18:41.9
18:46.9
yours congratulations but I’m going to
help the Scaling UP! nation through you
18:46.9
18:51.2
because I want them to know the
that you went through one to say you
18:51.2
18:56.2
know what I really need to go after this
certification and then to what you did
18:56.2
18:59.8
because you were successful in getting
it yeah so I I think it’s a great thing
18:59.8
19:04.5
to do obviously as other people on the
show have said it it does distinguish
19:04.5
19:08.9
you in the industry yeah I think it’s
good for your self-confidence you know
19:08.9
19:13.8
it does reaffirm that you do know what
you do know I think one of the dangers
19:13.8
19:19.4
of being new or a novice in any field is
that you don’t necessarily know the
19:19.4
19:24.2
limits of your knowledge so you may
think that you know more than you
19:24.2
19:30.0
actually do but just the rigors of
studying for the exam and it exposes you
19:30.0
19:34.3
to so many different aspects of water
treatment like wastewater and potable
19:34.3
19:39.3
water and some of the more niche fields
besides just boilers loops and towers
19:39.3
19:42.7
then I think that it gives you a real
sense of where you sit within the
19:42.7
19:46.5
industry so that way you can be
confident when you do answer a question
19:46.5
19:50.6
for a customer that yeah this this is in
line with industry standards and best
19:50.6
19:54.4
practices I’m not just making it up or
it’s not just my opinion on the matter
19:54.4
19:58.0
and then when you do run into something
that that maybe you’re less familiar
19:58.0
20:02.7
with you have a point of reference to
say well you know I I know that I’m not
20:02.7
20:06.5
an expert on that but I know where
resources are I know some individuals
20:06.5
20:11.0
that I can talk to to find the correct
answer and I think that that that’s a
20:11.0
20:15.3
great thing was there a significant
event where you said you know what I
20:15.3
20:20.5
need to go get my CWT no I don’t think
there was any specific thing that
20:20.5
20:25.2
happened our company culture
you know Tony McNamara’s been he’s our
20:25.2
20:30.7
president he’s been involved with the
AWT in the past and I don’t know what
20:30.7
20:35.7
his current involvement is he’s a pretty
busy guy but I he’s a big proponent of
20:35.7
20:41.2
continuing education and having guys
study for and take the CWT exam so I
20:41.2
20:44.7
think that when I came to work for the
company there was kind of an initial
20:44.7
20:50.7
challenge you know that I should take
the time and effort to study up and take
20:50.7
20:54.9
the exam so I think that was probably
the the thing that kind of directed me
20:54.9
21:00.4
towards it now have you noticed any
difference with how people relate to you
21:00.4
21:04.4
either in other
water treatment companies or how
21:04.4
21:08.2
customers relate to you because you do
have those initials after your name yeah
21:08.2
21:13.1
well I think again I take myself more
seriously than I did you know in the
21:13.1
21:17.9
first year or two that I was doing the
job more versatile responsibilities and
21:17.9
21:22.6
so I think with that when you really
take the time to find the correct
21:22.6
21:27.1
answers to two problems just the other
week I went into a construction trailer
21:27.1
21:32.9
for a large new construction project and
the head engineer was you know the only
21:32.9
21:37.6
guy working during the lunch hour when I
walked in and so I handed to my card and
21:37.6
21:41.0
we were exchanging some information to
get it so I could get looped in on that
21:41.0
21:45.9
project and so he grabbed my car Denis
goes certified water I was like a
21:45.9
21:50.9
technologist so I think that you know
just having that designation after your
21:50.9
21:55.2
name when you’re working with other
professionals shows again your
21:55.2
21:58.9
commitment to the industry your
dedication to wanting to learn and that
21:58.9
22:04.3
you’ve really put in the time and effort
to do those things and so so yeah I do
22:04.3
22:08.8
think that customers probably respect me
and listen to me a little bit more and I
22:08.8
22:13.2
don’t mean that is like a an ego stroke
or anything like that but they just know
22:13.2
22:17.8
that if I’m gonna make a recommendation
for their system that it is going to be
22:17.8
22:21.7
in line with best practices and industry
standards it’s gonna keep their systems
22:21.7
22:26.8
running efficiently and provide the best
long-term results for operations and
22:26.8
22:32.3
those kinds of things yeah absolutely
and I wanted to ask you here in Georgia
22:32.3
22:35.7
we’re seeing more and more
specifications where people are saying
22:35.7
22:40.2
if you’re gonna work on my system you
are somebody very close to this project
22:40.2
22:44.0
has to have that certified water
technologist designation are you seeing
22:44.0
22:47.7
that as well you know I’m not but you
know I think that that’s one of the
22:47.7
22:53.0
competitive advantages in your market so
I’ve begun to circulate some of that
22:53.0
22:58.1
material that the AWT provides for the
benefits of hiring the CWT to some of
22:58.1
23:02.7
the mechanical contractors and building
owners and engineers in town to just say
23:02.7
23:07.0
hey look if you really want to ensure
that you’re gonna have a qualified
23:07.0
23:11.5
company in town working on your your
systems this could be a good standard to
23:11.5
23:15.9
incorporate into your requirements I
wouldn’t doubt if you
23:15.9
23:20.3
start seeing that sometime in the near
future I know more and more marketplaces
23:20.3
23:26.7
are starting to adopt language like that
especially with ASHRAE 188 and how New
23:26.7
23:32.0
York has adopted that I think it’s just
a matter of time when customers and
23:32.0
23:35.9
people that own the equipment that we
are working on are just gonna say ok we
23:35.9
23:40.7
need some sort of peace of mind to know
that the person we’ve hired has some
23:40.7
23:45.4
sort of other vetting process and it
seems like the world has accepted CWT
23:45.4
23:49.8
for that meting process yeah and I think
that’s great you know I get asked a lot
23:49.8
23:54.0
oh did you did you go to college for
water treatment well no there’s no
23:54.0
23:58.6
quote-unquote water treatment college
degree to get you know I studied fields
23:58.6
24:03.3
that were related and relevant but yeah
I think that as you know I guess what
24:03.3
24:07.0
I’ve realized and this is my perception
anyway is that the industry is
24:07.0
24:12.6
relatively new in terms of you know the
last 150 years or so and so I think that
24:12.6
24:17.0
people are gonna want to see more of
those professional credentials when
24:17.0
24:20.4
they’re selecting or hiring water
treaters or water treatment companies I
24:20.4
24:25.7
did want to ask you about your material
science degree I have a material science
24:25.7
24:31.7
engineer that works with me and he has
books that just explain how corrosion
24:31.7
24:35.8
takes place and were we in the water
treatment industry you know talk about
24:35.8
24:39.6
maybe a quarter of a chapter of what’s
in those books he just has this
24:39.6
24:43.8
incredible understanding because that’s
what he went to school for and because
24:43.8
24:49.1
of that he’s done very well as a water
treatment professional do you find the
24:49.1
24:53.7
same thing with you yeah well I’ll
clarify – I didn’t actually finish
24:53.7
24:58.0
college with a material science degree I
changed my major a few times so I
24:58.0
25:01.8
started with chemistry and math and then
I changed schools and the chemistry
25:01.8
25:04.7
credits didn’t transfers and then I was
just math for a while and then I was
25:04.7
25:08.8
math and material science engineering
and so I took three or four courses I
25:08.8
25:14.0
believe it was in that field and yeah I
think it’s incredibly helpful
25:14.0
25:18.7
understanding the way materials work
understanding manufacturing processes
25:18.7
25:23.6
that’s one of the things that I see as a
common problem in the industry is just
25:23.6
25:28.2
material selection or material
compatibility either with feeding
25:28.2
25:31.9
concentrated chemical
like what we do or just the way that
25:31.9
25:34.9
systems are designed if they would have
selected a different material they
25:34.9
25:38.4
wouldn’t have to worry about corrosion
rates or the corrosion rates would be
25:38.4
25:42.0
much lower than you know just picking
carbon steel or something of that nature
25:42.0
25:45.4
you know so yeah I think it’s a great
background to enter into the water
25:45.4
25:48.8
treatment industry with the material
science degree and one of the things
25:48.8
25:52.6
that I’ve considered is going back and
getting a masters in that field I ended
25:52.6
25:57.0
up graduating just with a philosophy
degree because I changed my major a
25:57.0
26:01.4
couple of times it was going to take six
years to finish the undergrad material
26:01.4
26:05.0
science degree and so when I spoke to
the chair she said you know what instead
26:05.0
26:08.2
of doing six years to end up with a
bachelor’s why don’t you just finish
26:08.2
26:12.4
your bachelor’s in math come back and do
the master’s program so you’ll have the
26:12.4
26:16.3
same amount of school and you’ll be an
advanced degree but honestly by the time
26:16.3
26:20.2
I graduated college I was pretty burnt
out on school and ready to get married
26:20.2
26:25.9
and so that was the plan I got my
bachelor’s degree and said you know I
26:25.9
26:29.6
think that’s just good enough for now
well you’re a fellow water treat and I
26:29.6
26:33.1
know we all do similar things but
describe your day to day for the
26:33.1
26:38.6
Scaling UP! nation if you don’t mind yeah
so the role that I have is a dual role
26:38.6
26:44.0
of sales and service so in my territory
I’m responsible for both and I really
26:44.0
26:49.1
enjoy that I enjoy both aspects of the
industry in terms of going out and
26:49.1
26:54.6
winning new business and working with
clients and the customer facing being on
26:54.6
26:58.0
the project development side of projects
and that kind of thing their project
26:58.0
27:02.2
planning side I should say and then the
other side is the the more technical
27:02.2
27:06.5
side the actual service where you’re
going out into the field and performing
27:06.5
27:11.3
the water analysis and then inspecting
equipment and looking over problems or
27:11.3
27:16.7
issues that may be arising or weird
problems that customers bring to you you
27:16.7
27:19.7
know once they find out you know a
little bit they think that you can solve
27:19.7
27:24.5
every every problem that might be water
related yeah and so that includes you
27:24.5
27:28.8
know sometimes installing chemical pumps
or going out and rebuilding them or
27:28.8
27:32.8
calibrating controllers and that kind of
stuff as well so it’s a pretty
27:32.8
27:37.1
all-encompassing role for me well you
mentioned weird stuff that customers
27:37.1
27:42.1
bring to you I’m curious what’s the
weirdest oh I don’t know it’s I was in a
27:42.1
27:45.4
food processing plant
one time and they were having some
27:45.4
27:50.9
corrosion to some stainless steel and
said they wanted me to come in and look
27:50.9
27:55.3
at the corrosion and it it really wasn’t
a water treatment related product
27:55.3
27:59.8
because water didn’t interact with those
surfaces it turned out that it was the
27:59.8
28:04.5
cleaning company was using an
incompatible product with stainless
28:04.5
28:09.1
steel and that’s what was causing the
corrosion so it was an interesting thing
28:09.1
28:12.4
to take some time and go look at their
equipment and do a little bit of
28:12.4
28:16.8
research and get back to him but yeah I
did I guess I would consider that one of
28:16.8
28:20.5
those odd things that comes up from time
to time yeah I can’t remember have I
28:20.5
28:26.5
told the don’t hurt my baby story on the
show I know I’ve told it at AWT millions
28:26.5
28:30.5
of times I I certainly don’t recall that
story I’d love to hear it one of my
28:30.5
28:36.0
favorite weird stories and we as water
treaters just see some weird stuff out
28:36.0
28:39.8
there and this was when I was relatively
new into the water treatment industry
28:39.8
28:43.5
and I was still working with my dad we
had picked up a school system and we
28:43.5
28:47.3
were going around to survey and I was
with one of the engineers that was
28:47.3
28:49.9
assigned to the water treatment there
that was back when they actually had
28:49.9
28:54.7
people that would do stuff like that and
he got a call where he had to drop me
28:54.7
28:59.0
off at one school and go to service a
call at another one and he put me with
28:59.0
29:03.9
the janitor and the janitor was not
happy to see me at all I don’t know what
29:03.9
29:08.5
was going on and we kind of entered in
the back of the school where the
29:08.5
29:13.3
playground was and went to go see the
mechanical room and when I was
29:13.3
29:17.1
introducing myself to the janitor I
introduced myself and he said so you’re
29:17.1
29:20.1
the chemical guy and yeah that’s that
that’s one of the things they call us
29:20.1
29:24.7
and he said well don’t you hurt my
babies and didn’t really know what to do
29:24.7
29:29.4
with that and I just ignored it so we
were we were looking at everything and I
29:29.4
29:33.1
was taking notes and figuring out what
type of equipment they had there what we
29:33.1
29:35.7
were going to have to bring in and then
I asked to go see the cooling tower
29:35.7
29:40.0
which was on the roof and it was one of
those ladder deals that you’ve got to
29:40.0
29:44.9
climb up and then open the hatch on the
on the roof so he went ahead of me and
29:44.9
29:47.8
opened the hatch and he was on the roof
and I came out
29:47.8
29:52.3
and the cooling tower was behind some
baffles so it would look nice around the
29:52.3
29:56.5
area and keep some stuff out of it and I
asked him I said you know the the
29:56.5
30:01.1
cooling tower I assumes over here and
we’re walking to it and kind of gave me
30:01.1
30:07.4
a real short reply yeah and I was asking
questions about the cooling tower and he
30:07.4
30:11.3
said again I don’t want you to hurt my
babies and I said sir that’s the second
30:11.3
30:14.9
time you’ve said that to me do you are
you worried I’m gonna spray like bleach
30:14.9
30:18.6
or something on the playground or on the
kids what are you saying when you say
30:18.6
30:23.9
that right then he opens the cooling
tower door and he goes no my babies and
30:23.9
30:28.3
they’re about 19 inch koi fish swimming
around in the basin of that glowing
30:28.3
30:31.6
Tower
I looked at him and I said sir your
30:31.6
30:36.8
baby’s got to go and we were not friends
from that day yeah that’s amazing I’ve
30:36.8
30:41.2
seen trees and cattails and things like
that growing in cooling towers but never
30:41.2
30:47.9
fish they were doing very well and that
was probably a testament to why we got
30:47.9
30:52.4
the business from the previous vendor
right so yeah I don’t know if I told
30:52.4
30:56.8
that on the air or not but there you go
and that’s one of my favorite one so if
30:56.8
31:00.3
you come to a class that I teach you got
you got to listen through that again cuz
31:00.3
31:04.4
that’s one of the one of the ones that I
tell you and I were speaking earlier and
31:04.4
31:10.2
you’re you go out and you see something
and you say you know maybe the water
31:10.2
31:13.7
trader shouldn’t be doing that or maybe
the water trader should think a little
31:13.7
31:19.4
bit more about safety before they do
that so with that I thought you could
31:19.4
31:22.9
talk a little bit about some of the
things that you’ve seen and then how the
31:22.9
31:27.3
water treaty really should be thinking
about safety a little more often yeah no
31:27.3
31:31.6
I think that’s a great topic yeah so
we’re where I live the state of Idaho
31:31.6
31:37.3
used to have a boiler inspection and
training program which is understand a
31:37.3
31:41.6
lot of other states have I know that my
colleagues in Oregon and Washington they
31:41.6
31:46.1
have something somewhere to that there
but NIDA Howe the legislature made that
31:46.1
31:50.5
program to funked about ten years ago
they did away with it and so well that’s
31:50.5
31:54.4
kind of resulted in is a lot of
customers you know it’s been about 10
31:54.4
31:59.2
years now that don’t really have any
background or training and operating you
31:59.2
32:04.8
know boilers specifically but coin
as well and so just kind of resulted in
32:04.8
32:09.2
some kind of bizarre and weird
situations developing you know the
32:09.2
32:13.8
customers rely on the vendors a lot for
training you know obviously whenever I
32:13.8
32:17.3
go into an account I try to be real
thorough on you know the water treatment
32:17.3
32:21.9
program how it works how to control it
testing and parameters that they should
32:21.9
32:26.3
be looking for and that kind of thing
but yeah the the customers rely heavily
32:26.3
32:30.6
on the vendors and so I’ve just seen
some weird things over my years where
32:30.6
32:35.9
you know I’ve seen someone who owns a
boiler weld on the pressure vessel
32:35.9
32:40.2
itself like oh that nipple is leaking on
the side of the boiler we’ll just weld
32:40.2
32:42.8
it to the shelf so it stops leaking why
not
32:42.8
32:47.0
yeah I’ve seen pressure relief valves
with plugs in them because they were
32:47.0
32:51.9
leaking by instead of just replacing
them or having some scheduled to replace
32:51.9
32:55.7
them so those things you know those are
really serious and dangerous
32:55.7
33:00.1
circumstances so I think with regard to
safety it’s good to know what those
33:00.1
33:03.8
standards are as the water treatment
professional so that if you ever walk
33:03.8
33:08.0
into a boiler room and you see a
pressure relief valve with a plug in it
33:08.0
33:11.4
you know you can sound the alarm as it
we’re you know go get the appropriate
33:11.4
33:15.9
plant personnel to say look this is not
right this is dangerous as the potential
33:15.9
33:20.8
to to really endanger people’s life and
limb so I think that that’s good the
33:20.8
33:25.0
other thing that I’ve seen over the
years is just and I know Jay farmer he
33:25.0
33:29.7
talks about this in his section on
liability during the technical training
33:29.7
33:34.3
yeah Jay farmer he’s definitely the
godfather of water treatment safety for
33:34.3
33:39.5
the community yeah so you obviously I’m
no expert like he is he would be
33:39.5
33:43.2
fantastic to get on the show and go over
those things in more detail but I
33:43.2
33:46.5
remember him telling some stories and
I’ve seen some similar things where
33:46.5
33:51.9
contractors are trying to you know quote
unquote do the customer a favor by may
33:51.9
33:56.7
be installing the boiler skimmer
blowdown piping or you know I’ve had
33:56.7
34:00.8
customers asked me to install da tanks
for them it’s like no no I I don’t do
34:00.8
34:06.5
that well you know or you’re on the
phone troubleshooting you know some
34:06.5
34:08.8
problem and they’re right well while
you’re there why don’t you just lean
34:08.8
34:11.0
over and pull that fuse out of that
panel
34:11.0
34:17.3
me no I’m not I’m not going to do that
Pfizer so yeah so I guess with that is
34:17.3
34:21.4
you know knowing the limitations and
liabilities of what your company is a
34:21.4
34:24.9
water treatment company does the risks
and liabilities they’re willing to take
34:24.9
34:29.6
on you know for us we don’t do
mechanical work we’re not gonna pipe a
34:29.6
34:34.4
skimmer blow down or change fuses in a
compressor panel or anything like that
34:34.4
34:39.6
and then just being aware of the general
safety guidelines OSHA recommendations
34:39.6
34:43.4
with regard to you know personal
protective equipment glasses and gloves
34:43.4
34:48.0
hearing protection you know if you’re
doing a boiler inspection that requires
34:48.0
34:51.7
being on top of the boiler you probably
should have some fall protection
34:51.7
34:56.9
obviously confined space entry is a
topic that’s deeper than what we can go
34:56.9
35:00.6
into now but you shouldn’t be getting
into confined spaces without the
35:00.6
35:05.4
appropriate program and safety equipment
and personnel in place to do that safe
35:05.4
35:09.3
and controlled manner so yeah those are
some of the things that kind of had in
35:09.3
35:12.8
mind with that yes so nobody ever plans
to get hurt
35:12.8
35:16.7
and you’ve done something a hundred
times and it’s that hundred and first
35:16.7
35:22.1
time where something happens I’m gonna
call Mark Lewis out for a second he was
35:22.1
35:26.4
inspecting a boiler that was opened up
and he had been on top of this boiler
35:26.4
35:30.4
dozens of times well it just so happened
that this was the time that the ladder
35:30.4
35:34.5
slipped and he fell off and luckily he
didn’t get hurt but they had to report
35:34.5
35:39.9
that as an incident and then they ended
up putting some safety equipment there
35:39.9
35:43.1
where he didn’t kneel ladder anymore the
next time he inspected it they now had a
35:43.1
35:49.2
catwalk up there and in a fixed ladder
so you know you never know when those
35:49.2
35:52.8
things are gonna happen and in that
story he was doing everything right he
35:52.8
35:57.3
had a somebody holding the ladder for
him and he wasn’t really overreaching
35:57.3
36:01.7
for some reason the ladder just gave way
and he went down that’s the thing I
36:01.7
36:06.1
remember one of an incident you know
it’s kind of embarrassing now but early
36:06.1
36:09.4
on in my career I just you know could
have received some more training and
36:09.4
36:16.2
just didn’t know I was at a customers
facility small boiler and needed to
36:16.2
36:20.7
replace a stainless steel check valve
that injected the chemical into the
36:20.7
36:24.4
boiler feed line and so I just went over
and turned the
36:24.4
36:28.4
pumping to the off position and went
over to the boiler and closed the
36:28.4
36:33.4
isolation valve and started to unscrew
the check valve and I forget I walked
36:33.4
36:37.3
away from it for a second the valve
wasn’t all the way I’m screwed but in
36:37.3
36:42.0
the meantime one of the plant operators
had walked in the door and walked around
36:42.0
36:46.2
and saw that the feed pump hand off auto
switch was in the off position said oh
36:46.2
36:51.0
that should be an auto and flipped it on
in you know hot da water started
36:51.0
36:55.6
spraying out of the loose pipe fitting
and fortunately nobody got hurt and
36:55.6
37:00.5
nothing was damaged but that’s just a
situation that they really opened my
37:00.5
37:04.6
eyes like wow there’s real potential for
people to to be injured and you know
37:04.6
37:08.9
obviously in that situation the plant
personnel should have been notified to
37:08.9
37:11.4
the work that was going on and the
equipment should have been locked out
37:11.4
37:15.4
and tagged out properly so from that
incident is that now something that you
37:15.4
37:21.3
do is use lockout tagout yeah so that’s
that’s right is always working with the
37:21.3
37:25.7
operators and then following lockout
tagout procedures you know the whole
37:25.7
37:29.8
idea behind that is removing the
potential energy from a system so that
37:29.8
37:32.7
way you’re not injured especially when
you’re in a plant where there’s multiple
37:32.7
37:36.9
people working out or working in that
area and Justin I gotta say I’m really
37:36.9
37:41.5
surprised at the number of water
treaters that don’t carry lockout tags
37:41.5
37:46.3
and the hasp with them so they can
actually lock out a power source I was
37:46.3
37:51.1
with somebody and they were working on a
controller and the controller was
37:51.1
37:56.2
actually energized in the other room and
the only way that you could disconnect
37:56.2
38:01.7
it was to you know flip the the breaker
that it was on and they flipped the
38:01.7
38:07.7
breaker and their hands were inside this
controller and they were hoping nobody
38:07.7
38:12.3
would flip that breaker back and that’s
a that’s a little bit too much faith
38:12.3
38:17.9
that I want to have it be very easy just
to you know go ahead and isolate that to
38:17.9
38:22.8
notify people with that lockout tagout
system that hey something’s going on and
38:22.8
38:26.9
if you flip this if there’s a potential
that you might hurt somebody so those
38:26.9
38:30.0
things are cheap carry those with you
and and another thing I think we were
38:30.0
38:35.3
talking about this earlier I’m surprised
how many people don’t realize that they
38:35.3
38:40.1
have to conform
the plan of that customer when they’re
38:40.1
38:44.2
on their site so if you and I work for
the same company and we had our training
38:44.2
38:48.3
within our water treatment company that
doesn’t help we also have to be trained
38:48.3
38:53.4
on that specific site and a lot of
people don’t realize that yeah yeah no
38:53.4
38:57.9
that’s right one there’s a big
difference between customers you know
38:57.9
39:02.6
you might be working at a small
schoolhouse where their training program
39:02.6
39:07.8
is probably pretty minimal they may not
have a formal lockout/tagout program
39:07.8
39:11.7
even though they should all the way up
you know the heavy industry where
39:11.7
39:17.0
they’re gonna have really strict safety
protocol probably exceed the OSHA
39:17.0
39:21.3
standards and they’re gonna have a
written plan that you can join in and
39:21.3
39:25.3
get trained on and be a part of and so I
think it’s good for us to just be
39:25.3
39:29.0
educated on all those things to know
when the responsibility falls with us
39:29.0
39:33.6
when it falls with the customer and then
we can help be a catalyst say you know
39:33.6
39:37.1
mr. customer if you weren’t aware you
should have a written lockout tagout
39:37.1
39:40.8
program for this equipment and we should
get all the operators trained on it so
39:40.8
39:44.6
that way no one gets hurt and that’s a
huge resource and most water treaters
39:44.6
39:48.6
aren’t going to do that so if that
customer can find one that is they’re
39:48.6
39:52.6
probably going to keep them on for
awhile well I think that’s exactly right
39:52.6
39:57.4
I think that’s that’s the next level
besides just being a really good water
39:57.4
40:02.2
treater knowing your trade well and
doing the right things in terms of
40:02.2
40:06.5
protecting the equipment – being a
professional and being a real asset to
40:06.5
40:11.7
the customer in every aspect being the
vendor that’s on site and certainly that
40:11.7
40:17.7
includes safety I I saw a video on
LinkedIn the other day it it was amazing
40:17.7
40:22.2
it was a construction site there’s a two
or three story opening on the side of a
40:22.2
40:27.0
building with a crane and a forklift and
it was like a grade all forklift on the
40:27.0
40:30.7
ground in the crane and then it was just
like a normal sized forklift that they
40:30.7
40:34.2
were either trying to get into the hole
or pulling out of the hole to put it on
40:34.2
40:38.6
the ground and at any rate they
certainly didn’t secure it properly and
40:38.6
40:43.1
all the chains broke and the forklift
that they were putting into her pulling
40:43.1
40:46.2
out of the building ended up falling all
the way to the ground and they’re just
40:46.2
40:50.5
like wow these are these are really
serious situations and
40:50.5
40:53.9
we want to make sure that we’re not
jeopardizing our own lives or anybody
40:53.9
40:57.1
else’s by anything we’re doing when
we’re on a construction site or
40:57.1
41:01.7
customers location yeah and I think you
make a great point a lot of times the
41:01.7
41:06.1
customer doesn’t really think what could
happen if you do this they’re just
41:06.1
41:09.7
thinking I need it done you’re there
you’re willing to do it and then the
41:09.7
41:13.5
water treater will think well I’m not
thinking about what could happen if I do
41:13.5
41:17.0
this I just want to make the customer
happy if something simple that I can do
41:17.0
41:22.8
but I think if we can take a second to
step back and ask ourselves okay you
41:22.8
41:27.1
know can we potentially get hurt or hurt
somebody else or some equipment with
41:27.1
41:32.2
this we might think a little bit more
about what we need to do or maybe in the
41:32.2
41:37.4
case not do when a customer asks us to
do something yeah no I think that’s I
41:37.4
41:40.6
think that’s exactly right and I think
that that’s the right position you know
41:40.6
41:44.7
if if a customer is asking you to do
something that’s not within OSHA
41:44.7
41:48.6
guidelines or against them or something
that’s just inherently not safe to be
41:48.6
41:51.5
able to say no let’s let’s think about
this maybe there’s a better way to go
41:51.5
41:55.4
about this rather than just feeling that
you have to comply because it was the
41:55.4
42:00.3
customer’s request yeah and I would also
say that if you’re listening to this and
42:00.3
42:05.0
you can’t remember the last time you had
a safety conversation within your
42:05.0
42:09.4
company that maybe that’s something good
that can come from this conversation you
42:09.4
42:13.2
know go to the people that you’re in
charge of or the people that are in
42:13.2
42:17.1
charge of you and ask them you know
maybe this is something that we should
42:17.1
42:21.2
do and maybe give them some suggestions
from what we were just talking about
42:21.2
42:25.9
yeah I think that’s a great idea I know
that you know when I first started the
42:25.9
42:30.7
industry I didn’t have any safety
training didn’t have glasses or even
42:30.7
42:34.3
just gloves with me when I would go out
to do my service work and I remember
42:34.3
42:38.6
priming a pump one time and you know it
was kind of leaking around the fittings
42:38.6
42:41.3
as I was trying to get the tubing
snugged up and that kind of thing and
42:41.3
42:45.6
looking down and my hands are starting
to turn orange oh that’s probably not
42:45.6
42:49.6
good running to the bathroom trying to
wash it off and then the next day just a
42:49.6
42:54.4
layer of skin peeling off my hands and
you know that was just a really poor
42:54.4
42:58.7
situation to be in you know I didn’t
take the time to read the SDS sheets or
42:58.7
43:01.6
to know what chemicals I was working
with in hindsight it was glutaraldehyde
43:01.6
43:05.8
but you know I just shouldn’t have been
and in that situation from the company’s
43:05.8
43:09.8
perspective either you know they should
have provided some training at that time
43:09.8
43:14.4
so yeah I think it’s good just for all
of us to take that as personal
43:14.4
43:18.1
responsibility you know those SDS sheets
are out there and available for our
43:18.1
43:22.3
protection almost all of them say to
wear a minimum of safety glasses at you
43:22.3
43:25.8
know when I go to work I put my glasses
on when I get in my truck and I take
43:25.8
43:29.4
them off when I pull into my driveway at
the end of the day because some of that
43:29.4
43:32.8
damage is irreversible and at the end of
the day it’s it’s your own body that
43:32.8
43:37.5
you’re trying to protect you know
nobody’s going to be able to give you
43:37.5
43:41.3
your eyes back if you make a poor
decision or you’re not informed about
43:41.3
43:44.9
the dangers of a situation you’re
absolutely right and again nobody plans
43:44.9
43:49.2
to get hurt and it happens in an instant
I’m always surprised when I see people
43:49.2
43:54.4
that just refuse to wear hearing
protection and I’ve been fairly diligent
43:54.4
44:00.7
with that in my career but my dad wasn’t
and he was losing parts of his hearing
44:00.7
44:05.0
especially in the high range because of
all the chiller wine that he was exposed
44:05.0
44:10.6
to during his career so there’s just no
reason for that take a moment use proper
44:10.6
44:14.7
hearing protection and you’ll be able to
hear for the rest of your life which I’m
44:14.7
44:18.8
sure everybody wants to do ya know
that’s I think that’s fantastic it’s
44:18.8
44:22.0
just easy to do you know you had no idea
when we started this interview that we
44:22.0
44:27.5
were gonna be saving lives today did you
yes well I certainly hope so hopefully
44:27.5
44:31.3
nobody’s in that dangerous of a
situation but like you said nobody plans
44:31.3
44:34.8
for it when they leave their house well
I think this was a great conversation
44:34.8
44:40.1
and I hope that people in the Scaling UP!
nation will just take a second and think
44:40.1
44:44.6
how can I make sure that I can keep
myself and others safe and should this
44:44.6
44:48.9
be something that I can do and if I can
do it how can I do it so no one’s gonna
44:48.9
44:54.1
get hurt so with that said I’m curious
you’re out there your service and day to
44:54.1
44:59.0
day you’re running into different issues
day to day what’s the most common issue
44:59.0
45:02.7
that you face what do you see over and
over again and then how do you overcome
45:02.7
45:06.8
it one of the most common things I see
especially going out to get new
45:06.8
45:12.0
customers and it’s kind of related it’s
just really poor operator training you
45:12.0
45:17.5
know operators that aren’t familiar with
really how their equipment functions
45:17.5
45:21.2
aren’t really that familiar with water
treatment or water treatment programs
45:21.2
45:24.5
how they’re designed to work the
benefits that they offer you know
45:24.5
45:28.3
unfortunately trace there’s some
unscrupulous individuals that are in the
45:28.3
45:32.8
industry that may not be as concerned
with the customer’s well-being as they
45:32.8
45:37.2
should be they may not take that effort
to really work with people and to train
45:37.2
45:41.9
them or they might just be concerned
with the sales at the end of the day so
45:41.9
45:45.8
I think it’s our job to really as you’ve
said before raise that bar and set a
45:45.8
45:50.1
high standard within the industry and to
educate people and make sure that
45:50.1
45:54.3
they’re well informed yeah it’s been my
experience that most water treaters do
45:54.3
45:59.7
that and they’re just a few out there
that aren’t scrupulous as you put it but
45:59.7
46:03.0
that’s the exception of not the rule or
at least that’s how I choose to look at
46:03.0
46:07.1
that because I I’m very fond of our
water treatment brothers and sisters out
46:07.1
46:12.6
there so if you are one of those people
please stop ruining our industry no I
46:12.6
46:17.2
think you’re absolutely right I think
that by and far the the majority of the
46:17.2
46:20.6
companies that are out there and the
individuals that are working are working
46:20.6
46:24.5
hard and trying to do the right thing
there’s just a few individuals and they
46:24.5
46:28.5
can give a bad name I don’t know how
many times I’ve walked into a building
46:28.5
46:32.6
in McCall – snake oil salesmen and then
a few months later you know great
46:32.6
46:36.6
friends with the the individuals and
they have a much better understanding of
46:36.6
46:40.5
their water treatment program that’s
been the biggest issue for me as well
46:40.5
46:45.6
I’ve got to overcome somebody’s
conception of what water treaters are
46:45.6
46:50.4
who water treaters are when I’m out
trying to get new business and I’ve got
46:50.4
46:54.7
to get over that hurdle before they even
start listening to me so I hear you man
46:54.7
46:59.3
yeah well and I found that that
sometimes those those older guys that
46:59.3
47:04.5
are really cranky you know I had a new
client one time that every time I’d go
47:04.5
47:08.7
down to do service he would just curse
me upside up one side and down the other
47:08.7
47:13.0
and just tell me how terrible of a human
being I was for peddling water treatment
47:13.0
47:18.6
products and you know over time I think
that he saw that I was actually
47:18.6
47:23.4
providing a genuine beneficial service
and I wasn’t trying to sell him things
47:23.4
47:27.7
that he didn’t need or anything of that
nature he ended up becoming a great
47:27.7
47:32.2
friend and what I learned from that will
that sometimes those guys that are
47:32.2
47:36.0
really standoffish and cranky maybe
they’ve been burned or had some bad
47:36.0
47:39.7
history or something in the past but
they usually know what they want and
47:39.7
47:43.0
they’re looking for and so if you’re
able to provide good products and good
47:43.0
47:47.8
services you’re able to win them over
and have a lifelong friend and customer
47:47.8
47:51.9
after that I think it’s good to really
take the effort to do that and not shy
47:51.9
47:56.3
away from it great advice there are a
lot of new people that listen to this
47:56.3
48:00.7
show they’ve just gotten into water
treatment any advice that you can give
48:00.7
48:03.7
them as they’re trying to learn how to
be the best water treat are out there
48:03.7
48:10.6
well I think the the AWT is a fantastic
organization so really takes the time to
48:10.6
48:14.4
use the resources that they put out
there for education you know the
48:14.4
48:19.3
technical training seminars are
fantastic the online modules and save
48:19.3
48:22.5
their safety training on the AWT website
I guess we could mention that since
48:22.5
48:26.5
we’re talking about it earlier as well
the analyst is a fantastic publication
48:26.5
48:31.5
there’s lots of really good technical
information and case studies and things
48:31.5
48:36.8
like that in there and so I’d really
encourage them to read to you know watch
48:36.8
48:41.5
videos to get put out on YouTube and
there’s really own their education don’t
48:41.5
48:45.3
wait for somebody else to quote-unquote
teach you or show you how to do it but
48:45.3
48:48.8
take the initiative to to go out and
find the information for yourself as
48:48.8
48:54.1
well and to own own your education and
own your career I gotta tell you I love
48:54.1
48:58.4
that you’ve got to be responsible for
you getting better for you learning more
48:58.4
49:02.3
and if you’re waiting for somebody else
to bring that to you it may never happen
49:02.3
49:05.9
that that’s some of the best advice I
think I’ve ever heard for new people
49:05.9
49:10.5
yeah I mean there’s a lot of really
fantastic people in industry and a lot
49:10.5
49:14.4
of great mentors but you know I’d
venture to say that a lot of them have
49:14.4
49:17.5
probably risen to the top of the
industry because they owned it
49:17.5
49:20.9
themselves they didn’t wait to be shown
that they they took that initiative
49:20.9
49:26.3
again that is great advice so I always
give people the opportunity the the one
49:26.3
49:31.0
thing question so somebody’s just
joining into the Scaling UP! h2o podcast
49:31.0
49:35.5
right now and they just hear one thing
that we’re talking about what do you
49:35.5
49:39.0
want that one thing to be I guess I
don’t want to sound redundant but I
49:39.0
49:43.6
guess it would be that that application
that responsibility and in
49:43.6
49:48.2
and that’s you know traces you vest
other people on the podcast if they
49:48.2
49:52.1
would go back in time and and maybe I’m
cutting off your questions sooner than I
49:52.1
49:54.8
should but yeah I’m actually getting
ready to ask that so
49:54.8
49:58.6
don’t steal my thunder on that one yeah
sorry but ya know if you go back in time
49:58.6
50:04.0
and and tell yourself that at the
beginning one lesson that they should
50:04.0
50:07.4
learn and that’s that’s what I would
have told myself is you know don’t sit
50:07.4
50:14.0
idle just in a job for five years but to
really start learning and growing from
50:14.0
50:18.5
the first day that like I said before
there’s so much knowledge and
50:18.5
50:22.3
information in this industry there’s so
many different types of equipment and
50:22.3
50:26.2
manufacturers and designs they should
really take the time to learn all the
50:26.2
50:32.4
details of the chemistry and the
equipment and become you know the next
50:32.4
50:36.7
industry expert so that’s that’s what
I’d hope to be by the end of my long
50:36.7
50:39.2
career
you know it sounds like you have a lot
50:39.2
50:44.0
of fun in your job is that safe to say
oh I do I absolutely love it maybe I
50:44.0
50:49.8
shouldn’t admit this on the air but I
had a day off last week and I was home
50:49.8
50:54.2
with my wife and about halfway through
the day as like man I really miss being
50:54.2
50:59.1
at work and it wasn’t that I wasn’t
enjoying my time with my family we were
50:59.1
51:04.1
we were having a lot of fun we’d gone to
a museum but I’d really missed going out
51:04.1
51:07.8
and seeing customers and doing the
testing and looking at equipment and all
51:07.8
51:11.4
the things that I typically do in a day
I’d I really do enjoy it I think it’s a
51:11.4
51:15.1
blast yeah make sure your wife doesn’t
listen to this part of the interview
51:15.1
51:19.7
yeah just fast-forward but I got to say
that’s how this job should be and that’s
51:19.7
51:24.1
how I look at this job I absolutely love
being a water treat or I’m proud of it
51:24.1
51:28.1
I’ve got a podcast about it if you’re
out there and you don’t have that
51:28.1
51:33.4
feeling it exists so I hope the Scaling UP! nation would ask themselves do I
51:33.4
51:37.7
have that feeling and how can I get that
feeling and if there’s no way for you to
51:37.7
51:41.4
get that feeling make room for somebody
that can have that feeling because I
51:41.4
51:47.9
can’t think of a better job out there
yeah I absolutely agree there’s so much
51:47.9
51:52.5
diversity in the customers we see I
enjoy not sitting at a desk all day it’s
51:52.5
51:56.4
nice to have some desk time but to have
some windshield time and go out and see
51:56.4
52:00.1
different
sure’s and yeah it’s there’s so much
52:00.1
52:03.8
variety and yet I think it’s for me the
perfect job well you’ve already entered
52:03.8
52:08.1
into our lightning round questions so
you’ve answered the first one that I
52:08.1
52:12.8
asked so and I was that was a great
answer by the way I really appreciate
52:12.8
52:15.6
you doing that even though it might have
been a little bit early but no one’s
52:15.6
52:19.7
keeping score it’s alright so but people
do want to know what you’re reading so
52:19.7
52:24.0
what are the last few books you’ve read
oh man so I’m I’m always reading
52:24.0
52:30.4
multiple books I recently finished the
seven Habits and trace that was thanks
52:30.4
52:34.6
to your recommendation I love that you
learned about that on the show and
52:34.6
52:37.9
decided to read it from the show I did
yeah and in fact it was the first
52:37.9
52:43.0
audible book that I did I’ve always been
a you know a paper guy and you know what
52:43.0
52:47.4
I I do drive so much I should really
take this time to turn my vehicle into a
52:47.4
52:53.0
classroom and it was a great experience
the book was fantastic and using audible
52:53.0
52:56.9
it’s been great I love that thanks for
sharing that yeah we have so much
52:56.9
53:03.0
windshield time and I gotta be honest in
the beginning of my career I wasted that
53:03.0
53:07.8
and I would I knew all the popular songs
that were on the radio but that really
53:07.8
53:12.1
didn’t help me with my career and now
with smartphones and all the apps that
53:12.1
53:16.7
are available out there there’s no
reason and I love how you put it that we
53:16.7
53:19.9
can’t turn our cars into a mobile
classroom yeah
53:19.9
53:23.8
no that’s that’s absolutely right so
yeah and obviously this podcast is a
53:23.8
53:27.6
part of this I listen to all depa so
it’s a thanks for doing it it’s it’s a
53:27.6
53:31.9
good resource but yeah back to the
question yeah so seven Habits was the
53:31.9
53:37.7
one I think most recently finished I’m
reading a Dante’s Divine Comedy that’s a
53:37.7
53:42.6
one of the Great Western epics yeah and
then the other audiobook I just started
53:42.6
53:47.7
was twelve rules of / life it’s a by
Jordan Peterson he’s a clinical
53:47.7
53:54.1
psychologist and kind of his take on the
nature of human seems the best way to
53:54.1
53:58.0
live and those kinds of things well I’m
gonna ask you about audible because I
53:58.0
54:02.0
talk about audible all the time you had
never used the service before and now
54:02.0
54:06.4
you’re using it so how is it
transitioning to using a service like
54:06.4
54:09.9
audible where somebody’s reading to you
did it take you all to get into that do
54:09.9
54:13.4
you have any tips for Pete
that are just starting out no I mean for
54:13.4
54:17.6
me it was pretty seamless you know
obviously just download the app and get
54:17.6
54:22.3
the books online the thing that I love
about it is that you can speed the book
54:22.3
54:26.4
up and depending on the narrator you
might be able to go faster than than
54:26.4
54:30.5
others or the content you know how deep
and reflective you need to be about it
54:30.5
54:35.1
but I think you know a great piece of
advice is if you really wanting to like
54:35.1
54:38.1
maybe you’re on a long road trip driving
a couple hours to see a customer or
54:38.1
54:41.6
something you can just gonna be in the
zone listening for a while is speed it
54:41.6
54:44.5
up a little bit faster than what you’re
comfortable with where it’s just a
54:44.5
54:48.3
little bit too fast like maybe two and a
half X listened to that for a minute or
54:48.3
54:53.8
two and then back it down to like 2x and
you’ll be able to listen to it faster
54:53.8
54:58.1
than you might normally feel able to but
it won’t feel so fast that it makes you
54:58.1
55:03.5
feel anxious or that you can’t
understand that’s a great idea I on
55:03.5
55:08.3
higher speeds as well and the piece of
advice that I will give and I don’t know
55:08.3
55:12.4
if you’ve experienced this course I live
in Georgia and people take a while to
55:12.4
55:16.7
say what they’re going to say when
you’re used to that narrator at two
55:16.7
55:21.5
times the regular speed and then you get
somebody that you’re talking to that
55:21.5
55:25.5
their regular speed is one half of
normal speech it’s like you’ve had four
55:25.5
55:29.3
hundred cups of coffee and you just want
to strangle them so be aware of what
55:29.3
55:34.1
you’re doing afterwards I just know that
from my own experiences oh yeah that’s
55:34.1
55:37.1
good
that’s yes I think that’s bright you so
55:37.1
55:41.4
when Hollywood finds out about you and
they make the movie who plays you oh man
55:41.4
55:46.8
you know I’m I don’t watch a lot of TVs
or movie I’m just really bad with
55:46.8
55:51.9
identifying actors and actresses but you
know a show that I did watch that I
55:51.9
55:56.9
really enjoyed was Sherlock Holmes with
Benedict Cumberbatch he’s the guy that
55:56.9
56:00.8
played Khan right honestly I couldn’t
tell ya all right well I’m asking but
56:00.8
56:07.6
yeah I knew that I’m a Star Trek nerd he
played time okay okay yes that tells you
56:07.6
56:11.8
just how bad my pop culture knowledge is
but yeah I just really enjoyed that show
56:11.8
56:16.9
all right well that’s a that’s a good
choice so you now have the ability to
56:16.9
56:22.6
talk to anybody throughout history who
to be with and why GK Chesterton I don’t
56:22.6
56:26.7
know if you’re familiar with with him
I don’t think I am that doesn’t spring
56:26.7
56:32.2
to mind okay yeah so he lived in the
late 1800s Early 1900s I think he died
56:32.2
56:36.6
in 1937
if I remember right and so he was a
56:36.6
56:43.2
contemporary of a lot of the great
English writers and philosophers he was
56:43.2
56:47.4
really good friends with George Bernard
Shaw and he used to debate with Bertrand
56:47.4
56:52.1
Russell and you know TS Eliot it had
mentioned that all of Western literature
56:52.1
56:57.4
owes a great deal to the contributions
that GK Chesterton made he was really a
56:57.4
57:01.2
polymath you know he he was involved in
a lot of different fields from
57:01.2
57:06.6
philosophy history theology literature
poetry and just a prolific writer I
57:06.6
57:11.8
think him in about 25 years he wrote
over a hundred books over 200 short
57:11.8
57:18.2
stories and four thousand essays Wow and
he’s just he was just a really sharp and
57:18.2
57:22.9
bright thinker very quick-witted and
just had a way to be able to explain
57:22.9
57:29.2
complex or complicated things in a very
clear and concise way and I find that
57:29.2
57:33.7
really inspiring well I can tell you
without a doubt nobody has ever chosen
57:33.7
57:39.7
that yes and they may not it’s a total
shame he’s not more well-known yeah I
57:39.7
57:44.9
guess one of the other things that he
did is he’s partially responsible for
57:44.9
57:50.1
Charles Dickens becoming famous he wrote
a biography and that kind of forced him
57:50.1
57:55.6
into popular culture so yeah well Justin
I want to thank you for sharing your
57:55.6
58:00.6
story with a Scaling UP! nation
definitely a lot of tips a lot of ideas
58:00.6
58:04.3
a lot of things that we should be
thinking about as water treaters from
58:04.3
58:08.7
this interview so thanks so much for
coming on the show as the boys retraced
58:08.7
58:15.7
thanks for having me Justin thank you so
much for coming on Scaling UP! h2o as I
58:15.7
58:21.3
mentioned on the top of the show we can
learn so much just having the
58:21.3
58:26.6
conversation about how each of us got
into water treatment and what we do once
58:26.6
58:32.9
we got there Justin you did not let us
down I know all of us have gotten a lot
58:32.9
58:37.2
of information from your interview and I
have to say the fact that we talked
58:37.2
58:40.9
about safety
it’s not the sexiest of topic so it
58:40.9
58:44.8
doesn’t get a lot of press I don’t know
if that’s the right word or not but
58:44.8
58:50.1
we’re not we don’t talk about safety a
lot with each other so I’m so glad you
58:50.1
58:54.1
brought that up you talk about fall
prevention and then protecting ourselves
58:54.1
59:00.2
folks just think how simple it is to put
on some gloves some safety glasses some
59:00.2
59:06.5
earplugs because we now can protect the
things that allow us to do life not just
59:06.5
59:13.3
our job and we can do it repeatedly so
something that I would like to ask you
59:13.3
59:21.2
to do is before you go into a situation
process it before you proceed so what
59:21.2
59:26.0
I’m saying is scan the area don’t just
walk in and think you’re gonna start
59:26.0
59:31.4
what you’re doing just stop where you
are look around and see if there are any
59:31.4
59:36.6
potential issues that you need to
mitigate your risk for then you can do
59:36.6
59:41.2
that and you can safely perform the task
and hopefully you can even eliminate a
59:41.2
59:46.7
potential accident before you have to
experience it so just take a second not
59:46.7
59:50.5
a long time but before you walk in and
proceed with what you’re going to do
59:50.5
59:55.3
just stop for a second scan the area and
see is there anything that you can do
59:55.3
1:00:02.0
slightly different to help keep yourself
a little bit safer remember to keep
1:00:02.0
1:00:05.9
those questions coming I’m specifically
looking for Legionella questions but I
1:00:05.9
1:00:11.9
will take any question folks you have
the ability to make this show your own
1:00:11.9
1:00:18.0
personal show so what do you want to
know out there send me a message send me
1:00:18.0
1:00:24.5
a voicemail let me know what that is and
we will get that on the air and if you
1:00:24.5
1:00:28.8
do have some Legionella specific
questions let me know that too
1:00:28.8
1:00:33.0
and I am in the process of putting
together a special pinks and blues
1:00:33.0
1:00:38.4
episode to answer all of the questions
that the Scaling UP! nation has on
1:00:38.4
1:00:44.1
Legionella remember next week we’re
going to be talking to two of the heads
1:00:44.1
1:00:48.9
of the international water conference so
you won’t want to miss that I try to ask
1:00:48.9
1:00:51.6
them everything I thought you would want
to know
1:00:51.6
1:00:56.0
everything I had a question about so
you’re gonna learn so much about the
1:00:56.0
1:01:00.9
International Water Conference in the
meantime I hope you have a great week
1:01:00.9
1:01:12.9
and I’ll talk to you next week if only I
had a secret weapon to help me become
1:01:12.9
1:01:19.5
more successful when was the last time
you thought that well nation I might
1:01:19.5
1:01:26.5
have the answer to that very thought it
is the rising tide mastermind the rising
1:01:26.5
1:01:31.5
tide mastermind is where like-minded
individuals get together for the simple
1:01:31.5
1:01:37.3
fact that we want each other to become
more successful we do that through
1:01:37.3
1:01:42.5
reading books we do that with asking
each other questions we do that with
1:01:42.5
1:01:49.3
bringing issues to each other so we can
each weigh in and give the person with
1:01:49.3
1:01:55.7
the issue information that they may not
have folks this is a group of high
1:01:55.7
1:02:02.6
performers this is a group that will get
you to the next level if you want to
1:02:02.6
1:02:08.9
find out more about the rising tide
mastermind go to Scaling UP! h2o dot com to
1:02:08.9
1:02:13.3
see if this group is right for you