INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZER:
Brian Garrett
A career in civil engineering
was always in the cards for
this PDCA member
By Lisa Kopochinski
TRAILBLAZER
Omelchenko / Shutterstock.com
Brian Garrett was destined to become a civil engineer. He
says that from a young age, he has always enjoyed building
things and figuring out how things work.
“After I took a few introductory civil engineering classes during
my first year in college, I knew it was a career that I would
enjoy,” he said.
Originally from Pleasant Grove, Utah, Garrett attended
Brigham Young University and graduated with a master’s degree in
civil engineering in 2002.
“I was able to participate in research with Dr. Kyle Rollins on
driven piles,” he said. “One of my first jobs as a civil engineer was
also performing dynamic pile testing on driven piles. I performed
dynamic pile testing and pile installation inspection on projects
within the Intermountain West area.”
Early in his career, Garrett was also positively influenced by
many engineers and clients, but especially by Per Danfors, John
Wallace, Fred Stromness and Erik Hendriksen.
“These gentlemen provided opportunities for me to be involved
in this industry, and I have been successful by following their examples
of hard work, commitment to their clients and enjoying what
they do,” he said.
Fast forward to today. As vice president and principal engineer
at Gerhart Cole – a consulting engineering firm located in Draper,
Utah that provides geotechnical engineering services for public
and private clients in a broad range of market sectors solutions –
Garrett works closely with several of the engineers in the office to
provide the design and testing of earth shoring systems and deep
foundations.
Established in 1998, Gerhart Cole’s active technical involvement
of its principals in projects provides its clients with access to
nearly a century of collective diverse geotechnical experience.
“Many of our clients are either general contractors or specialty
piling and shoring contractors, several of which are members of
PDCA,” said Garrett. “I have enjoyed being part of their team to
come up with solutions to often challenging problems. I have also
enjoyed seeing the growth and success of Gerhart Cole. I really
enjoy the people I work with and our success has been the result of
the hard work and technical abilities of our staff.”
Gerhart Cole’s experience is extensive and includes the following:
geotechnical field services, analyses, and construction quality
assurance dams (earth, rock-fill, and roller compacted concrete),
located primarily in the Western United States; project management,
field studies and geotechnical design of interstate highways
(including embankments, retaining walls, and bridge foundations);
geotechnical design and testing of deep foundation projects, design
services for earth shoring projects and managing geotechnical engi-
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