Author: Cieana Detloff, Reporting for Empowering Pumps

The shock I felt this past August when I first learned that William C. Livoti was retiring has subsided now that I know he is not really leaving the Pump Industry! With so many highly-knowledgeable pump people ‘aging’ out of the workforce, the pumping industry finds itself asking some serious questions: As our most experienced people retire and our knowledge-base is further reduced, do owners and end users know how to design efficient pumping systems? Should it really be their responsibility to know this ‘stuff’? Owners and end users typically rely on engineering firms to design efficient pumping systems, but are owners confident that engineering firms really know system efficiency?

This is why Livoti, who has over 30 years of experience in the pump industry designing, field testing, repairing, and troubleshooting pumping systems, has decided to remain involved in the pumping industry. “This is a passion for me,” declares Livoti. “I can’t leave yet because the industry has lost too much knowledge and there is still so much to teach the industry about System Efficiency. The reality is this – while manufacturers are focusing on individual components (pumps, motors, etc.) and working to meet efficiency standards dictated by the U.S. Department of Energy, the focus on how these components work together in a SYSTEM is being sidelined.”

For this reason, Livoti will continue working with the Hydraulic Institute as a Technical Trainer and is also an active Consultant on staff with JKMuir, an environmental engineering and energy consulting firm specializing in pump and system efficiency.

“I am on a mission to empower pump system owners, end users, and design engineers, to help them learn how their systems should be operating,” explains Livoti. “Owners have to pay for their pumping systems as long as they are operating, and inefficient systems waste energy and cost them so much money! Consulting through JKMuir and working as an HI Trainer enables me to educate people who can then work to get their systems operating where they need to be.”

Mr. Livoti will be publishing a series of articles in the coming weeks that will teach industry professionals how to write pump system specifications and how to qualify engineering firms – two very important issues that come up when shifting the focus back to system efficiency. “I have to get up on my soapbox and get the message out,” shouts Livoti. “Focus on the SYSTEM!!!”

On behalf of Empowering Pumps, we are glad you are still pushing the pump industry in the right direction and are honored to provide a platform for you to Educate and Empower people.