Mechanical R&D for ocean aquaculture
During an eight-month UVic mechanical engineering co-op with AgriMarine, I contributed to early-stage R&D for a commercial-scale floating closed-containment aquaculture system.
The work took place in a real marine context, where equipment had to be considered around water, biofouling, large composite structures, site access, maintenance, and the practical realities of operating in the ocean.
Designing around a 30-metre floating tank
The main system was a large floating fiberglass tank used for closed-containment fish farming. The tank was roughly 30 metres in diameter and held about 3,000 cubic metres of water.
My work supported practical engineering questions around how equipment would be built, tested, maintained, and improved at that scale.
Testing a cleaner for underwater tank walls
One major task was developing prototype equipment to clean the inside wall of the tank. Biofouling on the tank wall could affect fish health, water movement, drag, and maintenance effort, so the system needed a practical way to remove growth from the submerged surface.
The concept used high-pressure water jets and a spinning disk to help the cleaner stay against the curved tank wall while it moved through the water. I worked on alpha and beta prototype development, testing, and design refinement.
The testing process challenged the original assumptions about how the cleaner was working. Some of the cleaning effect appeared to come from contact and rubbing rather than only from the water jets, which meant the design theory had to be corrected before the prototype could be improved.
Improving the design after the test changed the theory
The next version focused on making the cleaner safer, easier to assemble, and more controlled in how it contacted the tank wall. That included simplifying parts of the assembly, improving the way the device interacted with the surface, and thinking through how the design could eventually become more repeatable and less dependent on manual handling.
I also explored a future semi-autonomous cleaning concept that used the circular flow inside the tank. The idea was to take advantage of the constant water movement, a tether, a spar, and a sail-like element so the cleaner could move around the tank in a more controlled way.
Redesigning the oxygen diffuser for lower-cost manufacture
A second piece of work involved redesigning an oxygen diffuser component. The existing approach relied on a more expensive machined stainless component.
I redesigned it as a waterjet-cut assembly using acetal and stainless plates, with the goal of reducing material and machining cost while keeping the function practical. Based on the estimates available at the time, the redesigned assembly reduced the expected material and machining cost by roughly 58 percent.
Modelling the site and learning from fabrication
Beyond the individual prototypes, I also built SolidWorks models of the site and equipment to help communicate and coordinate the system. That included modelling the tank, barges, bathymetry, pilings, mooring elements, and related equipment layout.
I was also partly involved in early thinking for a newer 30-metre tank and how manufacturing or transport decisions could reduce the cost and complexity of getting large composite structures to site. The co-op also exposed me to composite marine construction through work connected with Blackline Marine and the Quadrant Marine Institute.
Teach a man to fish
This early-career work connected design theory to testing, manufacturing, cost, and environment. A mechanical idea changes once it has to operate in water, be built by real fabricators, be maintained by real people, and survive the constraints of ocean aquaculture.
I still approach design that way: test the assumption, watch what the prototype does, and let the next version respond to reality instead of defending the first theory.
Industrial infrastructure project management at Harmac
My role at Harmac Pacific started early in my career and expanded my project management experience in an industrial operating environment. The work was different from commercial renovation work: the scale was larger, the consequences of downtime were higher, the stakeholders were broader, and the field conditions were often less forgiving.
The main thread was practical industrial coordination. I worked with operations, maintenance, trades, contractors, utilities, residents, property owners, environmental stakeholders, and regulatory agencies while helping move mechanical and infrastructure projects from planning into execution.
Pipeline replacement through difficult terrain
One of the major projects was part of Harmac’s water supply pipeline replacement. The work involved replacing roughly 1,200 metres of 52-inch creosote-soaked wooden stave pipe with 48-inch HDPE pipe. My role focused on managing and coordinating difficult stages of the work where the pipe route, access, environment, and existing structures made the work more complicated than a straightforward pipe replacement.
A key challenge was that sections of the old wooden pipe were on trestles over environmentally sensitive areas. Access was limited, the old material required care, and the project had to protect both the surrounding environment and the remaining support structures while keeping the replacement work moving.
Helicopter removal and trestle protection
For one difficult stage, the old pipe sections had to be removed from a trestle where conventional access was limited. I helped coordinate the removal strategy, including the use of a helicopter lift to remove old pipe sections from the site.
The new HDPE pipe also had to be pulled through a route where the trestle needed protection from excessive loading. Rather than defaulting to a more complex equipment approach, I helped develop a method using a sacrificial cable and a secondary restraint cable. The sacrificial cable provided a controlled weak link, while the restraint cable helped protect the trestle if the pulling force became too high.
That approach allowed the work to proceed without installing a torque-limited winch onto an excavator, reducing complexity while still giving the team a practical safeguard for the structure.
Simplifying another stage with culverts
On another stage of the pipeline work, I reviewed the constraints around existing trestles and HDPE pipe flexibility. Based on that review, I suggested removing unnecessary trestles and replacing the approach with culverts where appropriate.
That kind of decision was less dramatic than a helicopter lift, but it reflected the same pattern: understand the real constraint, check whether the assumed construction method is actually necessary, and look for a simpler path that still satisfies the project needs.
Chlorine dioxide mixer replacement
I also supported replacement of an aging chlorine dioxide mixer in a harsh pulp-mill chemical environment. The work involved materials and details that had to suit the service conditions, including titanium valves, 317L stainless steel, fiberglass components, and Derakane epoxy vinyl ester resin.
That project required coordination across safety, maintenance, operations, materials, procurement, contractors, and installation planning. In that environment, the design and material choices mattered because the equipment had to survive chemical exposure and fit into an operating industrial system.
Drawings, procurement, and contractor coordination
My work also included preparing RFQs and RFPs, using weighted criteria for contractor selection, and producing technical information needed by fabricators and contractors. I designed machinery bases and lifting equipment in SolidWorks and produced manufacturing, assembly, layout, foundation, and lifting drawings.
Those drawings were not just documentation. They were part of the handoff between engineering intent, fabrication, installation, safety planning, and field execution. In an industrial environment, unclear drawings or incomplete scope can quickly turn into shutdown risk, contractor confusion, or unsafe work conditions.
An early-career lift
This work came early in my career, but the systems and consequences were large. It put me in the middle of operating industrial infrastructure, environmental constraints, old structures, contractor decisions, hazardous-service equipment, and shutdown pressure.
The pattern still shows up in my later work: understand the system, verify the field condition, involve the right people, and find the practical path that lets the work move forward safely.
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