Engineering with Creativity and Curiosity: Colin Tait on Intelligent Design and Getting Things Done

With nearly three years in his current role at Republic, Colin shares his journey into engineering, driven by a lifelong fascination with design and creativity. He highlights the continuous learning and creative problem-solving that his role entails, particularly in designing efficient mechanical systems. Colin also highlights key qualities for successful engineers, such as curiosity, the willingness to learn, and balancing perfectionism with progress.

Q: Can you please introduce yourself and what you do at Republic?

CT: I’m Colin Tait. I’m the  Mechanical Engineering Principal at Republic. I lead our Mechanical team and some of my work includes pre-design studies, building condition assessments, mechanical system design, contract administration, energy modelling, and mechanical commissioning.

Q: How did you find yourself in engineering?

CT: Engineering has always interested me from a young age. I just wanted to design things and come up with cool machines. There was this commercial from when I was younger, I think it was an engineering commercial, people were testing and blowing things up, and for some reason, I always thought that was cool.

Q: What do you like about your role at Republic?

CT: I like to learn. Every day is new and different, and while some tasks might become repetitive, as with any job, there’s still so much to learn each day. You go down the rabbit hole of learning new things.

Q: What types of projects do you like working on?

CT: We mostly work on commercial and institutional projects like plumbing, fire protection, and HVAC. Like many Mechanical Engineers in the industry, I like to work on the HVAC systems because there’s more flexibility and creativity. Whereas plumbing and fire protection are more prescriptive. I like having the opportunity to flex my creativity.

Q: I think people don’t often make the correlation between Mechanical Engineering and creativity; can you talk about the creative aspect of the job?

CT: You can get creative with how you incorporate things. When designing a mechanical system, it can conflict with the architecture, or it’s visible and creates noise, in that sense there can be bad ways to incorporate a mechanical system. You must think creatively, can you hide the system? If you do your job well, no one knows it’s there and it’s just in the background, people can be comfortable in the building knowing it’s working as intended, and that’s how I define a job well done.

Today, there’s a focus on climate change and how to create the most efficient mechanical systems, which requires creativity. It requires mixing the aesthetic piece, constructability, and high energy efficiency together with the added layer of thermal comfort. It’s trying to get all these pieces to fit into the design, because some of them tend to be at odds with each other.

Q: I’m hearing that creativity is important. What else makes a successful engineer?

CT: Being curious is a big piece. Looking at something new and figuring out how it works, I think that’s where most engineers come from, the innate curiosity about how mechanisms work.

You can’t know everything in the industry, and there will always be new code, new design aspects, a new piece of equipment you haven’t dealt with before. As consultants, we’re always viewed as experts but at the start of the project, you may not be the expert right away, but you must become an expert. Again, going down that rabbit hole of learning, reading new literature, white papers, and everything you can find to have a better understanding of it. But you also need to balance this with meeting deadlines.

There’s a phrase “perfection is the enemy of progress”. You need to do things well and do them properly but at the same time, there’s also a benefit to knowing when to say, “this is good enough”, knowing that it’s going to work and it’s going to work well. If you chase perfection, you’ll never get anything done.

Q: What is it like working with you and the engineering team?

CT: We are collaborative, but each team member has flexibility and autonomy. I provide operational guidance and mentorship, and people on the team have projects that they’re leading day-to-day. I am there as a support, if people have questions about something they haven’t worked on, I’m happy to go over it with them. I’m also happy being another set of eyes and giving my opinions and feedback.

Q: What characteristics do you look for in someone who joins the team?

CT: Someone who is independent and responsible. We are professionals at Republic, and while we’re there to support each other, we’re also accountable for our tasks. The ability to manage your work and maintain a certain level of independence is important; take the ball and run with it.

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Do you share the same passion for creativity, are curious by nature, and willing to learn? Join Colin and Republic’s Engineering team.

Learn more about the Career Opportunity here.