People Spotlight: Meet Gordon Geoffrey

Gordon Geoffrey started in the industry in 1979 as a technologist with a diploma in Civil Engineering. He designed land development projects in the winter and was the on-site inspector in the summer. After working for six years, he went to university and completed his engineering degree. Since then, he transitioned to an office role as a designer and project manager of water resources and conveyance projects for public institutions and private industry. Over the years, this expanded into team management and then into department management.   

His current role is Discipline Lead, Civil Engineering in the Calgary water department. In this role, he works as a technical design manager for utilities and site civil works on a wide variety of projects including roads and highways, light rail transit, water and wastewater treatment plants and pipelines. He leads design teams and interacts directly with other discipline project teams to ensure the project meets the clients’ needs. Additionally, he is responsible for the overall quality control for work output from the water department, serving as a senior reviewer and Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) responsible member. 

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry. 

As a kid, I had a big sandbox where I created intricate roadways with bridges and tunnels. After trying a few other career types after high school — and not enjoying them — I ended up going back to my childhood fun space: designing and building civil infrastructure.  

What is your favorite AECOM project that you’ve worked on and why?

My favourite project is the North Calgary Water Servicing Study for the City of Calgary, Canada where I was a technical design manager. We considered innovative methods to convey a high flow rate of potable water into north Calgary, which would reduce reliance on a single, older, large diameter water transmission line. The original proposed route had significant issues including high pumping heads and power costs, very high transient pressures and a very large public impact to over 10 kilometers of roadway.

Through a very intensive alignment review process, we identified a route that used deep tunnelling to remove the engineering and operational obstacles by removing the requirement for pumping and routing half the alignment away from roadways. Using net present value analysis, we clearly proved that, while very expensive, the tunnelling route would end up saving hundreds of millions of dollars over a 60-year period. This project allowed me freedom to think and work outside the box, reviewing concepts and ideas collaboratively with our client and then generating a design. 

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. 

Most of my engineering work has been focused on serving as a trusted advisor to improve the quality of life for communities — enhancing mobility, decreasing chance and impact of flooding, improving resiliency and reliability of basic water and sanitary systems, reducing environmental impacts, and reducing installation, operations and maintenance costs of the local civil infrastructure. These are some of the ways I have positively impacted the communities I have worked in. 

Share a piece of career advice. 

Never stop learning. Always look for opportunities to expand your knowledge horizon.  

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