At Prudent Engineering, our people are the driving force behind every successful project. We recently sat down with Siddharth Chelladurai, P.E. (NY, MI), to learn more about his professional journey, technical expertise, and perspective on the future of infrastructure engineering. In this Q&A, Siddharth shares insights on problem-solving in complex environments, the importance of collaboration across disciplines, and what motivates him to deliver impactful solutions that strengthen the communities we serve.

1. How long have you been with Prudent?

I have been with Prudent since 2019, 7 years

2. What do you enjoy most about working at Prudent?

I love the people here; everyone was really kind, welcoming, and raised my expectations of how a workplace should be. In terms of work, I enjoy the variety of roles I fill, and it makes me see the bigger picture by helping me understand all the different aspects of a project.

3. What does your role involve on a typical project?

It varies on a project basis. For example, in a Bridge Inspection contract, I would be a Team Leader who visits different bridges and performs a condition inspection, and prepares a report based on the findings to inform the bridge owner regarding the serviceability of the structure.

In a Load Rating contract, I would be a Load Rating Engineer who performs a capacity demand analysis to evaluate the structural adequacy of the bridges based on field inspection findings.

In a project that requires certain structures to be analyzed for stability, we use software to model the structures and analyze them under different loading scenarios, cross-check the analysis with Mathcad and Excel sheets we have developed to verify the software output, and prepare a report on the findings and recommendations to give to the client.

4. From your experience, what are some of the most common challenges you see on infrastructure projects?

I think that there is a gap between designing a structure in the office and constructing it in the field.

 I also feel that most people lose their creative side after years of following codes and guidelines. 

5. How do you approach a project when key information, like plans or documentation, is missing?

Initially when we get to know that key information is missing, we would ask the client for the documentation. If they do not have the required information, we would inform them that we would move forward by making assumptions based on past data and engineering judgement to move things forward. In case we get the information from the clients later, we would revise the numbers and resubmit the report or plans.

6. How important is coordination between design, survey, and field teams on projects like these?

While working with different groups coordination and communication become key components to completing the project on time. When important information is missing and a team decides to move forward with assumptions, it is important to make other teams aware of the process so they can have room for changes in the future.

7. Have you worked on structures where documentation was limited or access was a challenge? How did you approach it?

I have worked on several projects with limited information, and the approach depends on what the client is willing to do in the situation. Some clients ask us to proceed with assumptions until they get the information to us and some clients would ask us to wait for the information. Uncertainty in information can be solved by calculated engineering judgement and assumptions based on past data.