About Our Company: Chorley + Bisset Mechanical & Electrical Consulting Engineering

OUR COMPANY

About Us

Chorley + Bisset Ltd. is a mechanical and electrical consulting engineering company. Our company was established in London, ON, in 1973 by George Chorley and John Bisset. We have provided services for thousands of institutional, academic, industrial, and commercial building projects. For over 45 years, we have worked hard to build our reputation for developing innovative and practical solutions to building system issues. We aim to deliver professional engineering services that efficiently meet our Clients' technical requirements and high expectations for quality and value.

Our Ottawa Office

Our first project in Ottawa, the Steacie Superlab at Carleton University, was completed in 2007. The $3 million laboratory upgrade was the beginning of our professional relationship with the university, which has since grown to include a variety of new builds and renovation projects. In 2015, we opened an office in Ottawa to serve Carleton University and seek other work in the capital region. We are looking forward to further expanding the office.

Our Team

Our current staff size is 40. We have 13 registered Professional Engineers on staff, including 5 Designated Consulting Engineers. Seven of our senior staff are LEED Accredited Professionals. This high ratio of professionals to staff translates into the delivery of a particularly professional service to our clients. John Bisset remains active in the firm, mainly involved in special projects. Everyone on our management team is actively involved in engineering. We believe ownership is strongly linked to the quality of our engineering services. A cornerstone of our ownership structure is the ongoing process of senior management succession, ensuring that the company’s quality and culture have a broad base within the shareholder group. Ownership of Chorley + Bisset is currently distributed among more than a dozen shareholders, all of which are employees of the company.

Derek Vakaras

President

Mechanical Engineer
P. Eng., LEED AP BD+C, PMP
Designated Consulting Engineer

Derek has 24 years of consulting engineering experience with Chorley + Bisset. Derek has a strong interest in sustainable design, and was the mechanical engineer for many of the region’s first LEED building projects. He has expertise with mechanical system concept development, energy usage, and design and construction practices as applied to education, healthcare, and laboratory facilities.

Dennis Dawe

Principal, Past President

Mechanical Engineer
P. Eng., LEED AP
Designated Consulting Engineer

Dennis has 32 years of consulting experience, the last 27 years with Chorley + Bisset. He has expertise with mechanical system concept development, energy usage, and design and construction practices as applied to healthcare, assembly, laboratory, and education facilities. Dennis' experience with Carleton University and Western University has given him specialized knowledge of the design of systems for academic institutions.

Andrew Piatek

Vice-President

Mechanical Engineer
P. Eng., LEED AP

Andrew has 32 years of consulting experience with Chorley + Bisset. Andrew’s background is in industrial, chemical, and process engineering. He specializes in work involving piping system design and flow analysis. He has been the senior mechanical engineer for many major academic and healthcare institutions, as well as industrial and commercial projects.

Robert Gordon

Principal

Electrical Engineer
P. Eng. LEED AP, BD+C, RCDD
Designated Consulting Engineer

Bob has 30 years of consulting engineering experience with Chorley + Bisset. He began his career as a licensed electrician and later obtained an Electrical Engineering degree. Bob was responsible for a wide variety of Construction and Design/Build projects before joining Chorley + Bisset, giving him a valuable and unique perspective on the design process. Bob has been the Principal responsible for many large and complex institutional projects.

Michael Myatt

Vice-President

Electrical Engineer
P. Eng. LEED AP
Designated Consulting Engineer

Mike has 20 years of consulting experience with Chorley + Bisset. Mike’s design experience includes all aspects of power and lighting design, structured cabling system design, fire alarm systems and communication systems design. Mike has been the senior electrical engineer for a wide range of projects including academic, institutional, healthcare, and electrical infrastructure upgrades.