Earthquakes not only pose a significant threat to life safety, but also to economics. They can severely damage equipment, buildings, and infrastructure, as well as disrupt production. When you’re operating a business in an area with seismic hazards, advance planning will improve the likelihood that your business will still be able to operate with functional systems in place. 

Planning for business operations after earthquakes can be challenging, but seismic mitigation planning has been proven to be an effective tool for business management.

How Earthquakes Impact Your Business

Earthquakes don’t come with a warning, which means that unless businesses are prepared for seismic activity, business owners don’t have time to plan. As such, businesses must have a plan and proper preparations in place if the business is somewhere prone to earthquakes. Some of the ways earthquakes can impact businesses are as follows.

Employee And Customer Safety Concerns

Paramount to how earthquakes impact businesses are the life safety concerns. Earthquakes can result in injuries or even fatalities. Operations can be shut down while safety and security are assessed. Damage to homes and infrastructure can make it challenging for people to get to work. 

Physical Damage

Earthquakes can result in building damage, equipment damage, and infrastructure damage. The ground shaking can cause buildings to be severely damaged, as well as damage equipment and inventory. It can also rupture and damage critical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, disrupting transportation and access to facilities. Earthquakes can also break water lines, leading to water damage.

Utility Disruption

Earthquakes can also cause issues like power outages from knocking out power lines and electrical systems. They can rupture gas lines, which can cause fires and explosions and long-term disruptions to how your business runs. Telecommunication infrastructure can also be damaged or overloaded, leading to issues in business communication and internet access.

Supply Chain Disruption

Another way earthquakes prevent businesses from running normally is through problems like material shortages, supplier disruptions, and transportation disruptions, as from damaged roads, ports, and warehouses.

Economic Impact

Earthquakes can lead to extended periods of business downtime and lost revenue, as well as increased repair and insurance costs, as from damage assessments and insurance claims. 

Long-Term Recovery

Earthquakes can have lasting psychological impacts on people and communities, leading to uncertainty and difficulty resuming normal business operations. Reconstruction can take a significant amount of time and resources, potentially leading to longer economic recovery for some businesses.

Avoid Nonstructural Damage With Seismic Anchorage And Bracing

Business owners must consider the potential impact of earthquakes and related hazards and plan accordingly in order to make a successful and speedy recovery easier. It makes sense to take practiced steps to protect their employees, operations, and assets from seismic damage. Businesses can temporarily lose the ability to generate income after a seismic event.

While most people think of infrastructure and structural damage when they think of the aftermath of an earthquake, the damage unrestrained non-structural systems can wreak should not be overlooked. Nonstructural systems are often overlooked or inadequately managed compared to the structural elements of a building.

However, damage to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as process equipment, computer equipment, and the like can all result in prolonged facility downtime following a seismic event. Fires, flooding, hazardous material leakage, process equipment damage, and more can result from unrestrained nonstructural systems.

By mitigating nonstructural hazards now, businesses can protect their employees from injury, prevent property damage, and resume operations more quickly after a seismic event. Seismic bracing secures nonstructural systems, resisting horizontal shaking and swaying. Seismic braces resist the seismic load nonstructural systems experience during earthquakes through bracing them to structural components of a building. 

Enhancing Business Operationality With Seismic Engineering

VIE provides comprehensive seismic engineering services throughout the United States. We work with Connectors for Construction (CFC) in order to provide our clients with turn-key solutions, including complete design and supply of all bracing components. 

Businesses across the United States rely on VIE’s 40+ years of experience for seismic bracing design that fulfills all code requirements and helps keep businesses running after an earthquake.

To learn more about our seismic bracing design or the other seismic engineering services we provide, contact us today. 

Earthquakes pose significant challenges to the structural integrity of buildings. Seismic bracing is one way to mitigate the damage seismic events can cause, as is utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) in structural design for smooth integration of various building systems. 

Through coordination of seismic bracing within BIM models, it is possible to construct earthquake-resistant structures that prioritize life-safety and mitigate losses in a seismic event.

About BIM

Building Information Modeling is a project management method for construction that centralizes all information related to the design, construction, and maintenance of a structure. When applied to seismic design, it enables integration of seismic requirements from the early stages of the project. 

Basically, BIM is a 3D digital blueprint, a guidebook to the various design elements of a building. The virtual model can be completed with all elements you would find in a real building, from walls to windows to plumbing systems to seismic restraints, and more. It also contains information about each element, such as the materials elements are made of, how much they cost, and plans to install and build it. 

This enables everyone involved in building design to collaborate efficiently. 

About Seismic Bracing

When seismic events occur, damage can be caused by unrestrained non-structural components, like mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Seismic restraints are engineered to maintain the stability of these systems even when the ground shakes. This mitigates costly damages, improves life safety, and helps maintain system operationality after seismic events.

Engineers can also work with BIM models to locate specific installation spots and prepare models free of unforeseen costs. This allows for more seamless coordination between all consultations and the highest level of accuracy, but is more expensive upfront.

Coordination of Seismic Bracing Within BIM Models

Leveraging BIM models streamlines the modelling process by enabling challenges to be tackled head-on and innovative solutions to be created to conquer space constraints and manage the project effectively.  

Seismic force increases with each level a building has, requiring stronger, more closely spaced seismic restraints, such as on upper floors versus ground floors. BIM models account for building height like these, expand product choices, and limit design changes, since changes can be made in the modeling stage, minimizing longer project delivery times as can result from changes during the developed design phase. 

BIM makes it easier to account for enough room not just for the MEP systems, but also for their seismic restraints, which need to be installed in specific places, which can sometimes conflict with other utilities and structural elements. Potential conflicts or coordination issues can be addressed before construction begins, saving time and reducing costly on-site modifications.. 

VIE’s Expertise Involving Seismic Bracing Within BIM Models

VIE works with design teams, which include engineers and architects for buildings, as well as mechanical and electrical contractors, to coordinate building information modeling (BIM). This information is important, particularly concerning seismic bracing to the BIM model for the entire project. By doing this, seismic bracing can be more efficiently installed and more effectively coordinated with other utilities and structural systems throughout the building.

VIE understands BIM models may be revised and updated as projects progress. VIE works with design teams and contractors to keep BIM models consistent with current design and construction at the site.

Seismic Bracing And Engineering In The United States

VIE is proud to be a seismic engineering firm that clients return to, time and time again. With over 40 years of experience, VIE has proven, innovative methods that withstand seismic activity and promote the life-safety of structures. Whether you are in need of coordination of seismic bracing within BIM models or other seismic engineering services, rely on us to help you make buildings safer, more efficient, and better able to withstand the forces of nature.

Contact us today to learn more about our seismic engineering services and what we can do for you.

Throughout the world, seismic activity presents a major threat to transportation networks, like airports. In our previous blog, Seismic Safety For Airports: Crucial Concerns, Impacts, And Mitigating Risks, we did an overview of some of the key factors involved in airport seismic safety. Here, we’ll go further into how earthquake-resistant design enhances airport safety. Let’s get into it.

Keeping Airports Functional With Earthquake-Resistant Design

Airports are one of the most important transportation networks globally, which means that critical operations, systems, and structures should remain functional following seismic events. Seismic vulnerability increases life-safety issues, and losing performance of airport systems can cause the airport to lose functionality. 

This is also dependent on the vulnerability and importance of the system, as the system(s) damaged may result in halting airport operations. If certain systems are damaged, they may not affect the operationality of the airport, such as non-vital supplies and storage facilities. Others may not affect aircraft, but can affect everyday airport operations, such as security systems and piping supplies. The most crucial systems to airport operations are the ones needed for aircraft to safely land and takeoff. 

Earthquake-resistant designs can be implemented in order to reduce the vulnerability of airports to seismic events. 

How Earthquake-Resistant Design Helps

Some of the ways in which earthquake-design enhances seismic safety are as follows.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Terminals, control towers, and runways and taxiways are vital parts of airport operations. Damage to these structures can lead to serious disruptions. Earthquake-resistant design prevents issues like fallen non-structural systems through the use of measures like seismic bracing, which causes these systems to be able to move with ground-shaking, rather than being shaken loose and wrecking havoc.

Minimizing Life-Safety Risks

Life-safety is the highest priority for airports, especially during a seismic event. Earthquake-resistant design reduces risks to passengers and staff by enhancing the resilience of structural and non-structural systems to shaking. This prevents issues like blocked evacuation routes which can impair the safety to human life. 

Operational Continuity

A major concern for earthquakes during and after a seismic event is the ability to continue operations. Earthquake-resistant design allows for critical services to be resumed quickly and effectively after an earthquake, and enables non-structural systems, such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, to remain functional. 

Improving Long-Term Resilience

Seismic safety for airports doesn’t just address imminent risks, but supports the long-term safety of the airport. Earthquake-resistant designs reduce the need for costly repairs or rebuilding after an earthquake, contributing to operational resilience. 

Future-Proofing

Seismic building codes are constantly being updated as more is learned about earthquake risks and how better to mitigate them. Future-proofing earthquake-resistant design makes it easier to retrofit or upgrade them as new standards are developed. 

Real-World Example Of Proven Earthquake-Resistant Design for Airports 

VIE has been continuously working on the Salt Lake City International Airport for 7 years to enhance its seismic safety. Our work has proven earthquake performance from the 2020 Magna earthquake. Since nothing failed during the earthquake, the airport put a plaque up demonstrating its proven capabilities.  

VIE successfully designed for all different complexities and conditions involved in seismic activity. Even during that period, our bracing experienced an earthquake – and performed as needed. 

VIE is currently working on Phase 4, the final phase, after successfully completing prior phases.

If you would like to learn more about our work on the Salt Lake City International Airport, feel free to check out our project page here: Salt Lake City International Airport, for some more details. If you have an airport project in need of seismic engineering, you may also contact us if you would like more in-depth knowledge of the type of work we can do and have done for airports. 

Expert Seismic Engineering Services In The United States

VIE has over 40 years of experience in the seismic engineering realm. VIE stands for Value Innovative Engineering, and that’s exactly what we provide to our clients. We either meet or exceed the code requirements of client projects with innovative techniques that substantially reduce the number and size of seismic braces needed through advanced concepts.

We take pride in being a seismic engineering firm that clients come back to, time and again. To learn more about our seismic engineering services and what we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.