Design Engineer and avid puzzle solver, Jon Bridle, P.Eng., is a member of our Young Professionals Group and graduate of University of British Columbia. In his current role, Jon does design work under a senior Engineer of Record and does a bit of project coordination while mentoring other Engineers in Training.
Jon is a laid-back person so he has had to adapt for his role here at Binnie. He says:
“One challenge I’ve had is understanding the balance between my nature versus what I have to do to progress and excel in my role here at Binnie. I am a pretty laid-back person; I prefer life at a slower pace. Through school and my time as an EIT, I have learned how to accelerate my work and meet timelines required, but it’s definitely something I keep working at.”
The arrows are the percentage of change in elevation across the surface in the direction of the arrow.
At UBC, Jon specialized in stormwater, water flow, and hydro-dynamics, which led to him working on land development projects at a smaller engineering firm. His early projects required a lot of calculations, but Jon was up to the task given his previous course work.
At Binnie, Jon reviews architect plans, site surveys, city design requirements, and geotechnical information. Jon also determines rainfall amounts, sanitary sewer loading, and reviews water service requirements. With all this information in mind, Jon then sizes pipes and determines what elevations will be required to prevent flooding, allow vehicles to drive/park safely, and stop other objects, like wheelchairs, from rolling away.”
One of his other goals as a Design Engineer is to ensure water runs away from buildings towards catch basins that drain the storm water from the sites. This is all done while taking into consideration the roads, sidewalks, and curbs, so the surface is smooth for drivers. Sometimes a grader is needed to smooth the ground and meet those required elevations.
Jon describes his work as:
“A giant 3D puzzle where I have to make the parking lot and driving aisles tie into the existing road without being too steep while allowing for the pipes to still fit underneath.”
Thankfully, Jon loves puzzles and that’s what motivates him the most. He absolutely enjoys the challenge of finding a solution. He mentioned that the best part of 2019’s Binnie Christmas Party was the giant 3D puzzles.
In his own way, Jon gets to complete and work on life-size 3D puzzles everyday as a Design Engineer here at Binnie.