001 - Meet the Host

Welcome to the first episode of “Annmarie’s Breaking Ground”. First of all thank you for listening. I want to let you know what you can expect in the upcoming episodes, briefly introduce myself, and let you know why people in this industry is so important to me.

This podcast is for you if are in the building industry and would like to learn about best practices, new products, and ways to optimize your building efficiency. You’ll hear what some pioneering CEO’s and leading executives are doing to improve their bottom line in an effort to train and retain their staff. You’ll hear how some have recreated themselves in our growing age of technology to stay relevant and you’ll also hear about how certain products, services and innovations are affecting our industry.

To give a little background on me, I am a consulting engineer from New York City and the owner of Enhanced Building Solutions, a company that’s committed to transforming the culture of the building industry through training and development. I’ve worked in many industries including residential, commercial, educational, healthcare and even in the maritime industry for a short period of time. As a passionate consultant around operators staying relevant in our industry, I’ve seen it first hand that inspiring a desire to learn, is the most effective training, companies can offer their employees.

I’ll tell you why this subject and industry is so important to me; my dad was an HVAC technician that installed air conditioners in NYC back in the 1980’s. He had my sister and I as his two little helpers. At 6 years old I learned how to use tools and was fascinated by air conditioning and refrigeration. In High School I studied Architecture but all of my professors said Annmarie, you need to be an engineer. After my dad passed away, at the early age of 41, I decided to go to the college that promised more than just a degree, I went to SUNY Maritime College, the hidden treasure located in the Bronx underneath the Throgs Neck Bridge. In 1998 new technologies had just started to emerge. Even with my degree in Plant Facilities Engineering and United States Coast Guard Third assistant engineers license, I remember feeling lost and afraid to ask for help when I was expected to know about a new piece of equipment. I was briefly instructed on it, and received piece mail information on it (more so because now that I look back on it, I don’t think they knew much about it). There were no manuals. Figuring it out is what made us special. I remember making a mistake and almost damaged some major equipment because of this lack of training and direction. Fast-forward 18 years I witnessed new buildings with expensive latest and greatest equipment having to be replaced in less than two years because of the same lack of instruction. I heard everyone blame the operators and remember what it was like for me. As the owner, I took a look at how the operators were being trained and made it my responsibility to do what was necessary to prepare them. I saw how effective providing building specific training was and wanted to share this training concept with a larger audience. In a predominantly male industry, I was always embarrassed to ask for help especially when surrounded by the, “you are expected to know this stuff” attitude. I know how intimidating it was for me when I first started 18 years ago and because I still see it today; I wanted to do something.

Owners and operators need to take responsibility and make this industry inviting to a younger generation. I saw it first hand where operators were discouraged from asking questions and voicing their opinion both by upper management and more so by their peers. As a result, operators have become complacent and not motivated to perform at their best. Some industries require unions to provide foundational knowledge, which they do. However, innovation and technology is growing so fast that it’s difficult to keep up with it. Specific training is required and necessary. We have information accessible at our fingertips but with no structure in place every desire to be proactive will result in a reactive industry. It will only get worse unless we act now.

My passion is to motivate operators in the building industry to perform at their highest potential; my methods inspire learning, encourage team building and produce energy saving results. I want to encourage more people to work in our industry. My goal it to empower staff to take responsibility, encourage leadership, and help get focused on the day-to-day operations. If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to contact me at www.ebs.nyc be sure to subscribe and don’t forget to share this with your friends.