Get stuck in – Michael Bourgeois, CWT

How do standards get written in ways that working water treaters can actually meet? In this conversation, AWT Past President, current Related Trade Organization (RTO) Committee Chair, and Chemco Products Company Operations Manager, Michael Bourgeois CWT, explains how AWT's liaisons collaborate with peer organizations, so guidance reflects field reality—operations, risk, and achievable compliance.

From Field Bags to Board Rooms: Why RTOs Matter

Bourgeois outlines the purpose of AWT's RTO structure: volunteer liaisons track and influence work at groups whose missions overlap with industrial water—CTI, ABMA, ASHRAE, AWWA, ASHE, and others. The aim is simple and practical: make sure member voices are heard so guidance advances health outcomes (e.g., Legionella control) and day-to-day feasibility for service providers and suppliers.

Turning Reaction into Proaction

Historically, the industry learned about new rules after they landed. Bourgeois details how AWT is shifting to co-authoring cooling-water guidelines with CTI and re-engaging ABMA, so boiler-water limits and methods reflect current technologies and operations. The model: clarify shared goals, contribute content expertise, and formalize collaboration so members get usable documents at member pricing.

Concrete Moves: Boiler Water, Healthcare, and More

Examples include AWT's role on ABMA's Boiler Expo steering committee (with a focused water-treatment training block) and early conversations with ASHE on pathogen control in building and healthcare water systems. He describes how liaisons feed updates into a formal committee cadence, so the AWT Board and members see progress—not just headlines.

When working professionals help write the playbook, outcomes improve clients, operators, and public health—and members stop "reacting" to standards they had no hand in shaping.

Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below.

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Timestamps

00:02:28 - Trace Blackmore shares his AWT excitement & community shout-outs

00:05:16 - Water You Know with James McDonald

00:06:44 - The magic of the Scaling Up buttons (why & how to use them)

00:20:25 - North Metal Quarterly Magazine (Grab physical copy by visiting Booth 212)

00:27:00 - Interview starts: Mike Bourgeois (Chemco; AWT Past President; RTO Chair)

00:33:58 - What is the RTO Committee and why it exists

00:36:31 - The 10 formal collaborators + 4–6 informal

00:36:43 - AWWA/ASDWA (Joe Hannigan); Premise plumbing link

00:38:19 - ASHE (healthcare engineering) early wins (Reid Hutchinson)

00:38:47 - ABMA (boilers) momentum (Steve Jobin) + Women of Boilers

00:40:28 - CTI (Mike); CDC (Patsy Root); WEF (Brian Liotta)

00:40:46 - AMPP (formerly NACE) (Jay Farmerie); WQA (Chuck Hamrick)

00:41:19 - ASHRAE (Bill Pearson) & the impact on Std 188

00:45:26 - Principle: Be proactive so standards are achievable for members

00:47:34 - Boiler Expo: half-day on water treatment (economics, pretreatment, failures, regs)

00:50:56 - Where to learn about RTO work

00:54:19 - Volunteers needed: attributes of great liaisons

00:58:48 - Breakthrough: ABMA boiler water guideline refresh (toward ASME alignment)

01:01:02 - Potential collaboration with ASHE on pathogen control guidance

01:01:39 - What Mike's most excited to see at the Broadmoor

01:02:22 - Mike's session: new OSHA walk-around rules

01:02:51 - Theme of the conversation: "Get stuck in" (join committees)

Quotes

"The button is magic—it breaks the ice for you and starts real conversations."

"Talk to every single booth. A year from now, you'll remember exactly who can help."

"RTO stands for Related Trade Organization—our way to shape the standards that shape us."

"Why write a standard no one can achieve? AWT's role is to make it achievable."

"If you want to help AWT, get stuck in. Volunteer. It pays back 10 to 100-fold."

"AWT's RTO liaisons keep members' interests represented before rules and guidelines are finalized—so they're practical and achievable."

"Look for committees aligned with your strengths."

Connect with Michael Bourgeois

Email: [email protected]

Website: Home | Chemco Products Company

LinkedIn: Michael Bourgeois, CWT | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/chemco-products-company/

Guest Resources Mentioned

ABMA's Boiler Water Quality Requirements and Associated Steam Quality for Industrial/Commercial and Institutional Boilers

Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed.) Hardcover – April 21, 2005 by Ayn Rand

AWT Committee

AWT Get Involved

Cancer Ward: A Novel (FSG Classics) Paperback – April 14, 2015 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Author)

Cooling Technology Institute (CTI)

Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less Hardcover – by Alex Epstein

Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design Paperback – Illustrated, June 22, 2010 by Stephen C. Meyer

WTG-126: The Use of Non-Oxidizing Biocides in Cooling Water Systems

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

380 The WOW Effect: Women Leading Transformation in the Water Industry

447 Unlocking Team Potential with Culture Index with Randi Fargen

ASHE's "Water Management in Health Care Facilities: Complying with ASHRAE Standard 188"

ASPE's Engineering Methodologies to Reduce the Risk of Legionella in Premise Plumbing Systems

ASSE 12080 Training & Certification, Get certified to the ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI 12080 Standard: Professional Qualifications Standard for Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

AWT's Legionella 2019: A Position Statement and Guidance Document

North Metal & Chemical Co Quarterly Magazine Issue 3 -page 8 for Trace Blackmore Story

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Start with Why Simon Sinek - TedTalk

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The 6 Types of Working Genius

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Water You Know with James

Questions: What do you call the physical property of matter that is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.