HH Angus wishes you all the best of health and happiness for the holiday season and the year to come. While 2020 has been anything but normal, it is with confidence and optimism that we look forward to a brighter and healthier 2021.
This is such a busy time of year - why not relax for a few minutes with our Quarantine Holiday Match Game Challenge and keep your mind sharp!
What’s your favourite thing about working at HH Angus?
I like the diverse projects and diverse clients. I enjoy the work. It is satisfying to see things get built. I enjoy the travel aspect – working all over the place, different clients, different things.
Where do you travel for work?
So far, I’ve traveled around North America.
How do you personally contribute to design and construction?
I am the Lead Electrical Engineer on a number of projects, responsible for design, project management, and delivery of our design to our clients. We are often the prime consultant on projects, the head consultant. We retain an architect or a structural engineer directly, or select them on behalf of the client. In those cases, the client retains them but we manage overall the process. We also manage the procurement of equipment and services for the client.
How has working here helped you grow in your career?
It was the first job I had out of school, so I’ve grown quite a bit in my career.
“I've enjoyed diverse opportunities being able to work on multiple projects, with multiple clients, with multiple diverse models.”
Why did you want to become an engineer?
I was interested in technology and, I thought it would be interesting to have a career at that field.
What project are you most proud of?
I really felt good about the Sunnybrook High Voltage Emergency Project. That was one I designed and was the Electrical Lead. It was a project where we took a completely functional hospital and rebuilt their emergency power plant without compromising emergency power to the hospital the bew plant was built within the footprint of the exisiting plant. It was a very challenging project, which involved multiple phases of construction.
What are some of the things about the company that you really like?
I like the dedication over the years to the library collection. I thought that was pretty great. Some of the people who work in Records Management have a background in library science. The company has been dedicated to the knowledge behind engineering we have books from 20s. It speaks to the longevity of the company. Over the years, people have accumulated technical standards, books, journals and things pertinent to older systems and technologies. A lot of places don’t have a comparable knowledge base.
When you started with the company, did you have a time when a senior staff member helped you along?
When I started, they used to pair the new grads with an inspector and send them to construction projects. I spent probably 2 to 3 weeks doing that. You got to see the practical aspects of construction which puts a lot of things in perspective when you are designing. For me, that had a lasting impact. Additionally, I was fortunate that I had some projects that went into construction when I started. They had already been designed and I was tasked with looking after the contract administration. Seeing other people’s designs, how they were being built, some of the issues that come up, was very useful.
What inspires you?
Family, friends and doing good work.
What trends or technologies on the horizon excite you most?
I always tell younger staff, one of the best things ever invented was the digital camera. It may not seem all that great now because it is so prevalent. Also PDFs. When I started, the majority of submittals were paper. We would receive paper submittals, we would do our reviews, we would staple our reviews to them and courier it out. You’d do a large project with a wealth of information, and you would no longer have it at your fingertips because it was all on paper, which is now stored off site. But, nowadays, it’s all PDFs. You can keep a copy and everything is readily available. Same with digital cameras. Somebody can go to site and take photos of what they are working on. You’ll always have that reference to go back to later: “oh, this is what I did on the last job. Maybe it didn’t go exactly as planned – let’s do it a bit differently this time”. Today, the technology gives you accessibility that you didn’t have in the past.
What skills or traits helped you advance in your career from the new grad stage?
I always believed in making the product you are selling better in order to be more competitive. Have diverse experience. Obviously, getting licenses and certifications speak to a broader experience and broader knowledge base. When you are selling services, you want to make sure the clients understand they are paying for experience, for somebody who does this for a living. They don’t have people on staff to do the work, so they are hiring us.
What’s your favourite thing about working at HH Angus?
I enjoy my role as a contributor to BIM standards and workflow development. A large part of my job role is to develop new BIM workflows and provide specialized training and support to our staff. It is rewarding to have the flexibility to work on many different BIM initiatives and have the support of management to implement these new workflows company-wide and ensure they are successful.
How do you contribute to design and construction here at the company?
I coach members of our BIM team and operations staff on many different aspects of Revit and BIM to help improve efficiencies to produce construction drawings using BIM software. This includes building parametric Revit family content, advice on how to handle scan-to-BIM projects, and working together to find the best solutions for challenges in Revit.
How has working at HH Angus helped you grow your career?
HH Angus supports professional development. I am encouraged to participate in industry conferences and training programs to grow and learn new skills, and achieve professional designations. Management on the BIM team recognizes our strengths and weaknesses as individuals, and we work together to grow as a team so we can provide the best service to our clients.
Why did you want to work at HH Angus?
When I applied for my job in 2016 I was looking for a company that could provide stability, flexibility, and professional growth. Since then, HH Angus has provided the resources and support to help me exceed my career goals. I have presented at industry conferences, become an expert with new technologies and achieved my professional designations as an Autodesk Certified Professional and CanBIM Professional Level 2.
“The sense of community here is really awesome. It really feels like the company cares about you, supports you and helps you grow professionally. ”
What are some of the projects that you are most proud to be involved in at HH Angus?
I am most proud of our scan-to-BIM services. We have completed several scan-to-BIM projects such as Toronto Western Hospital’s Powerhouse Redevelopment. For this project, we scanned the 17,000 sf powerhouse and created a Revit model from the point cloud data to be used for refurbishing and replacing mechanical and electrical systems to improve reliability. This includes the hospital’s central steam, chilled water and emergency power systems servicing the operating rooms and general campus.
Another project that stands out was providing our scan-to-BIM services to a confidential client where we scanned the existing infrastructure of their data centre using the Faro laser scanner. Using the point cloud data and BIM software, we provided a LOD300 Revit model of all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, architectural and structural infrastructure. The client used our deliverables for 3D coordination of their switchgear replacement project and, since then, they have relied on our services for multiple projects.
What attracted you to HH Angus, coming out of school?
I researched many other companies, and what stood out about HH Angus is that it has been in business for so long – over one hundred years – so it has to be doing a lot of things right. And I did notice by researching and talking to people that the company is very innovative and forward thinking and this is something that I wanted to be associated with. I wanted a stable and rewarding career so that I can be here for a long time, and that’s what I've found.
Is what you are doing at HH Angus what you expected to be doing when you graduated?
I didn’t know what to expect, but I expected to be working with Revit. My role today is not what I initially thought about because I graduated from an Interior Design-focused program where I learned Revit, and then I worked on a few MEP projects in school. I got my foot in the door with the foundational skills I learned in college, and then grew into my role as BIM Coordinator with the support of my BIM team.
What are some of the things that you like about HH Angus aside from the technical aspects of your work?
The sense of community here is really awesome. It really feels like the company cares about you, supports you and helps you grow professionally. Our BIM Team has staff across the country and we work to maintain a closeness with each other over video calls and having fun together with virtual team-building activities like 'Family Feud'. HH Angus respects my work/life balance and enables me to have flexible working hours, especially with half-day Fridays year-round. The remote working aspect of my relocation from the Toronto to Montreal went so smoothly that some folks didn’t even know I had moved provinces.
“Having a mentor helped me learn what everyone’s role was and who to talk to for different kinds of project work. ”
What has been your proudest moment here?
It was when I taught a conference class on Reality Capture. I worked very hard for many months to develop the presentation, a 14-page handout, and on the spotlight project for Toronto Western Hospital. A lot of hard work went into that, and it was really rewarding to present it to an international audience of industry professionals and to share my knowledge. This led to a customer success story with Matterport and another presentation at Autodesk University.
Did you benefit from HH Angus' mentorship program?
HH Angus’ mentorship program is very beneficial - having a mentor helped me learn what everyone’s role is and who to talk to for different kinds of project work. This helped me build relationships with a diverse group in the company and to learn from their advice so that, in my role now, I can help others looking for advice.
What inspires you?
It is very encouraging to see colleagues build their skills with Revit and BIM software. As someone who creates and delivers in-house training programs for BIM software, it’s inspiring to see our staff succeed after leaning something new and taking initiative to build upon those foundational skills.
What aspects of your work you enjoy the most / least?
I enjoy training people so much. Developing the training courses, trying to make it interesting for all types of people with different personalities and especially different learning styles – that’s a big challenge in developing a training course that many people will take part in. So, I try to make my training courses fun; we get a lot of good feedback and that’s what I love the most.
Do you have any secret talents?
I like riding my motorcycle in the countryside. That’s my favourite weekend hobby, and would be my everyday hobby but I have to work.
What skills or traits have helped you the most to advance in your career?
I would say it’s knowing when I don’t know something and asking questions, researching, being willing to learn. I did graduate from an Interior Design program in college, so engineering was new to me as I was starting out. It’s essential to ask questions and gain a good understanding of the task at hand to do a good job. Talking to people and learning from their experiences is invaluable, especially since technology is evolving very quickly and there is always a new workflow to master.
If someone were to ask you if they should apply to HH Angus, what would you tell them?
Absolutely yes! It’s a fabulous place to work. The management cares about you, your work is interesting and everyday there is something new happening.