About Harms Engineering, Inc.

Professional Engineering & Design Serving the Tri-Cities, South Central Washington, & the Pacific Northwest

Established in 1980 in Pasco, Washington Harms Engineering is your premier engineering company, advancing the disciplines of Civil, Structural, Water, and Forensic (failure) Analysis. We have extensive knowledge of the Tri-Cities community, South Central Washington, and the Pacific Northwest Regions. Our key to effective engineering is our accomplished engineering and design team’s combined experience in municipal and private consulting. We have developed working relationships with local cities and counties, contributing to the successful completion of projects.

New Ownership, Same Values

In 2013, without missing a beat, Harms Engineering’s ownership changed from the founders, Len and Ruth Harms, to Christine Batayola. We gained accreditation as a woman-owned small business as well. Christy is committed to the growth and efficacy of the company. She has 25 years of engineering knowledge and experience in civil and water engineering and in failure analysis.

Christy continues to operate Harms Engineering with the solid core values it was established upon:

  • Accuracy & Clarity

  • Passion for Solving Problems

  • People are More Important than Projects

  • Learning & Teaching

  • Seeking the Truth & Telling the Truth

Innovative Engineering Solutions Helping Our Clients Achieve Their Goals

At Harms Engineering, we value our clients and allow their unique engineering needs to determine the template by which our product/service is created. Each client’s project is as important as the next and worthy of our best engineering product. Harms Engineering will innovate designs, analyze problems, assess alternatives and produce the required documentation to achieve your goals.

"I have worked with Christine, and the Harms crew, for years and dozens of projects. Christine, and crew, always provide exceptional service and the highest quality Civil Engineering".

Eric Armstrong

Architect

Harms Engineering Founders 37 Years of Service & Growth

Len Harms came to eastern Washington from the Midwest to attend Walla Walla University’s School of Engineering. He had met Ruth, an English major, in Massachusetts, where they attended school together and soon married.

The couple arrived in the Mid-Columbia “on a typical spring day in March. In the middle of a dust storm,” said Ruth Harms. Len Harms obtained his engineering degree in 1970, but jobs were scarce. “Engineers were a dime a dozen, and it was very challenging to find work,” Len Harms said.

He got an offer from the City of Pasco and later became City Engineer for the City of Kennewick. But Harms always yearned for independence, and in 1980, he started doing some engineering work out of his home. Eventually, he and Ruth moved the business to 1632 W Sylvester in Pasco.

Within the coming years, the civil engineering firm had grown to eight employees, providing structural engineering, water treatment and water systems designs, civil site and subdivision design, and forensic engineering.

They enjoyed serving Clients staying true to their founding Core Values. “People are more important than projects,” the Harms’ said. Their passion has been for solving problems, and to seek the truth and the truth, with accuracy and clarity.

The firm’s focus to provide reliable engineering and consulting with an appreciation for their customers, helped Harms to successfully grow the business. A highlight for the corporation was in 2010, when HEI was named “Small Business of the Year” receiving the Gold Award by Mid-Columbia Small Business Awards.

At the end of 2017, Harms Engineering, Inc. founders Len and Ruth Harms celebrated their retirement from the corporation they started in 1980. “Cheers to 37 years” was the event theme modeled after “Cheers,” Len’s popular valediction used on his emails.

Harms Engineering today is a civil engineering consulting firm that provides structural engineering, water treatment and water systems designs, civil site and subdivision design, and forensic investigation. The new owner Christy Batayola, P.E., bought the firm in 2013 and has followed through with the Harms standard of excellence, providing engineering services in Tri-Cities and surrounding regions.