My Green Job: Mechanical Engineer

Brian Tysoe isn’t your stereotypical engineer, focused on designing complex, high-tech fixes to the world’s growing list of challenges. The Toronto-based Energy Manager at ONxpress Operations Inc. (OOI) — the incoming Operations & Maintenance service provider for the Greater Golden Horseshoe’s GO Transit rail network and UP Express — is all about finding simple solutions to solve complex problems. After volunteering with Engineers Without Borders to develop a solar water distiller in Central Asia in his undergrad, studying hydrogen fuel cells during his Masters, and working as an energy consultant for private and public sector clients, Tysoe now has his focus on making the Greater Golden Horseshoe region’s rail operations and maintenance as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. It’s Tysoe’s job to make operations cleaner and more efficient. 

Conor Mihell: How did you first get interested in the environment? 

Brian Tysoe: I was a kid from Toronto and I got into canoe tripping in Algonquin Park with some buddies as a teenager. Starting out, we didn’t really know what we were doing. We were too ambitious with our routes and we’d pull into camp late and set up our tents in the dark. But we figured it out and I developed a love and appreciation for the outdoors. Near the end of high school I got a summer job working at the Portage Store on Canoe Lake. I was guiding trips, doing rental canoe deliveries, and outfitting. I started going on solo wilderness canoe trips on my days off. It was cool but also sometimes sketchy. I remember being in the middle of a lake when it was extremely windy and choppy, with this feeling that I can’t stop paddling right now because that would be it — and, by the way, no one even knows where I am. It was stressful, but invigorating. It gave me a really healthy respect for the environment.

CM: I love canoe trips as well and I know those feelings — but it never led me to become an engineer. How did you end up going in that direction?

BT: Engineering was a pragmatic choice. I also had a part-time job during the school year at a full-serve gas station. The place was old-school with mechanics’ bays. I got into cars and working with my hands. I realized that I’m good at math and I’m mechanically minded, so I decided to go into mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto. 

CM: When did you make a connection between mechanical engineering and sustainability? 

BT: The program involved a co-op term where you worked for a year between your third and fourth years. I worked at Hydrogenics, a fuel-cell research and development company. It was hands-on, I learned a ton and worked with a lot of interesting people. From there, I did a Master’s in mechanical engineering studying fuel cells in detail.

CM: Why didn’t you stick with fuel cells?

BT: After my Master’s I received a job offer from Ballard Power Systems in Vancouver and I seriously considered it. But ultimately I decided against it. I thought, how much more do I want to specialize in hydrogen fuel cells?

CM: It seems like the world has been waiting for fuel cells for quite a while now. What are the biggest challenges?

BT: It's the chicken and the egg. You need the fuelling stations and infrastructure, but you need customers to justify building the infrastructure. Who wants to go first? That’s the fundamental problem: a pivot needs to happen. But it is finally starting to happen. I was in Germany this Spring and got to ride on a hydrogen fuel cell train that is currently in revenue service. It was very exciting to see, all these years later.

CM: Okay, so how did you move into a career in energy efficiency? 

BT: Even working in fuel cells, we always knew it was about sustainability and energy efficiency. In my next job, efficiency became the point of emphasis. I started working for a small company called Energy@Work that works with property managers and helps them improve the energy efficiency of their building portfolio. They had some big clients including Great West Life and Cadillac Fairview — mostly looking at conservation in Class A office buildings. Whereas in fuel cells the focus was on energy supply, this represented a shift for me towards energy conservation, and it’s been my focus ever since. It was a lightbulb moment for me, realizing there are two directions: one is supply, how to produce energy that’s clean and efficient; and two is how to use less energy in the first place. I was only there for a few months, but it made a big impression on me. I started looking at lighting, HVAC, electrical systems and more efficient technology. That parlayed into my next job with the MCW Group of Companies, where I worked for 15 years, leading their Energy Modelling and Sustainability Services division.

CM: What’s energy modelling?

BT: Energy modelling is estimating how much energy a building will use. A homeowner can do this with a simple spreadsheet, say by plotting heating fuel usage against weather data, finding a correlation between the two and using that to come up with a formula to predict next year’s usage. We did basic, back-of-the-envelope stuff like that at MCW. But more often we would get a lot more detailed, looking at all the data at our disposal, including drawings, specification and equipment cut sheets, building three-dimensional models in software, adding walls and insulation, considering thermal bridging or gaps in insulation in the walls, looking at lighting, HVAC, controls, operations, occupancy — all to come up with forecasts of how buildings would perform. We’d come up with comparisons for new buildings — say a condo — comparing the different heating systems (heat pump, fan coil, ground source heat pump) and looking at how they stack up based on costs, energy consumption, peak demand, and greenhouse gas emissions.

At MCW I looked at buildings’ mechanical and electrical systems, for all different building types, including condos, hospitals, and schools. I also worked on a lot of big transit projects around Toronto, like the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, the Finch West LRT, the Ontario Line, and the GO Expansion program. I realized at a certain point that those were the projects I enjoyed the most — and it made me want to jump over to ONxpress to work with the GO Expansion program full time. After spending 15 years in consulting, juggling multiple clients, I wanted to focus on one project and one client and see what I could do. 

CM: We hear a lot about how rail in Canada lags behind other countries, especially in Europe. Why are you so excited about this opportunity?

BT: European countries like Switzerland and Germany have very mature passenger rail networks compared to Canada. The GO Expansion program will go a long way to address that. The GO Transit rail network has always been essentially a commuter system, focused on bringing passengers into the city in the morning and back out to the suburbs in the evening. Certain routes are based around single-track lines where trains can’t even go both ways at the same time. It’s hard to imagine, for example, living in Toronto, taking the train to Hamilton for dinner, and coming home the same night. Nobody does that. The system is not set up for it. With the GO Expansion program we will see all-day, two-way service with much shorter headways throughout the network, transforming it from a commuter system to a European-style regional express rail system. This will allow people to move around the region in a much more organic manner.

CM: Where do you fit in with making the system more efficient?

BT: I head up the Energy & Sustainability Department within ONxpress Operations Inc. (OOI), which will assume the operations and maintenance of the GO Transit rail network and UP Express services for the next 23 years, starting in January 2025. My team is responsible for finding efficiencies to save energy and driving continual improvement. This includes diesel for the legacy fleet and electricity for the future electric fleet; as well as electricity, natural gas, and propane for fixed assets such as maintenance facilities, signaling bungalows, snow clearing devices, etc. I’m also plugged in with the electrification team and vehicle procurement to ensure efficiency of the future electric system. The idea is to identify tools and technologies to save energy and then work with operations and maintenance staff to implement them. In my career I’ve seen so many buildings with all this high-tech equipment to save energy that nobody actually used because it’s too complicated. It’s about using what you have, getting the most of it, and being creative.

CM: Reflecting back, what are some tips you would offer a younger version of yourself?

BT: Take your time to develop your basic, concrete skills, and don’t rush to get promoted. You can’t go backwards once you’re in a senior position. If you don’t have the foundation it’s a pretty slippery slope. Take your time at each stage and get experience as a junior engineer. If you want to focus on sustainability look at a particular industry, such as construction or transportation—pick one and learn about it and develop your skills there. If you focus on buildings, learn about how they work. Not just the sustainability side of things, but everything: how they get designed and the process of constructing and operating a building over time. Dive in and learn the basics. This gives you credibility, which you can leverage to improve sustainability from the inside. 

CM: I hope you’re still getting out on canoe trips—for your own sustainability. 

BT: I don’t do enough of it, that’s for sure. We have three girls, ages eight, 12 and 14, and they’re all busy with sports. But we got out on a trip in Algonquin Park last summer and we all loved it. I need to get back out there soon. Hopefully we’ll go again next summer.

Want to read about more hard-working environment heroes? Check out Sarah Grant, a Certified Energy Advisor.