March 26, 2026
Canada Engineering Month Spotlight: Harsh Patel
March is National Engineering Month and we're recognizing some of the engineers who drive innovation and reliability at Koch Fertilizer Canada.
What's your engineering specialty?
My specialty is implementation and control systems — designing, maintaining and improving the measurement and automation systems that keep the plant operating safely and efficiently. This includes working with sensors and analyzers, control valves and actuators and DCS/PLC systems.
How has the engineering field evolved since your career began?
Even in the last couple of years, I’ve seen faster adoption of digital tools, more data integration, better diagnostics and stronger use of analytics for reliability and maintenance planning. There’s also a greater focus on cybersecurity, functional safety and documenting decisions clearly so changes can be sustained over the long term.
"Build a strong foundation in the basics, but also look for hands-on experience through co-ops, internships and site visits, because real systems don’t behave like textbook examples."
What's the most rewarding part of your role?
The most rewarding part is seeing a solution I contributed to make a process safer, more stable or easier for operators to run. Troubleshooting an issue, finding the root cause and then watching the plant perform better because of that change is very fulfilling.
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to pursue an engineering career?
Build a strong foundation in the basics, but also look for hands-on experience through co-ops, internships and site visits, because real systems don’t behave like textbook examples. For instrumentation and controls specifically, learn how to read P&IDs, understand control loops and get comfortable with documentation. Some outside the box advice would be to practice communicating technical ideas clearly, because the best solutions happen when operators, maintenance and engineering are aligned.
