005 - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Bob Berninger

Robert Berninger (Bob) is the Director of Plant Operations, Energy, and Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is responsible for nearly four million square feet of facility space in New York City. He oversees managers and supervisors who support a staff total of approximately 90 employees. He was named the 2016 Energy Manager of the Year by the Association of Energy Engineers and honored as 2008 Corporate Energy Management of the year by the New York chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers.

His recognitions are well deserved for the $23million dollars saved in energy for the vast amount of projects completed during the past 10-years. However, as impressive as those numbers are, I asked Bob to be a guest for a different reason. Bob encourages his staff to continue their education! For years operators were kept in the dark and were never allowed to be involved in the decision making process. Bob depends on his team to provide feedback on what they believe will or will not work. He wants everyone to understand the common efficiency goals, accountability and for all operators to have a voice.

In our interview Bob discusses the top three projects he focused on to obtain the most energy savings. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear how he and his team did it.