How to choose the right earthquake engineer for your seismic strengthening project

A commercial building owner’s journey to seismic strengthening his building…

Roger Collins owned a commercial building that needed to be assessed and possibly seismic strengthened following the Christchurch earthquakes and subsequent regulation changes. He knew that from July 2017, property owners had to act if a building was considered earthquake-prone (less than 34% of the New Building Standard). His property was a 1960s building just off Auckland’s Great North Road. It had 800 square meters of warehousing on the ground floor, plus 16 carparks. The second story was office space with 26 staff.

“We faced a situation where a report from one earthquake engineer assessed the building at risk and recommended longitudinal seismic strengthening with mesh to the long wall and concrete spraying at a very high cost. We didn't like the sound of that and consulted another earthquake engineer who we thought was conversant with the earthquake regulations and had some experience, although this was limited. He offered an alternative, with steel cross bracing in the roof to limit lateral movement at under half the estimated cost. Faced with two divergent opinions from two engineers we had a dilemma. In hindsight, with the experience we had we would ask an earthquake engineer the following questions for any future project”.

7 important questions to ask when choosing an earthquake engineer to work with

Are you familiar with the earthquake regulations without reference to them?
Have you designed any seismic strengthening projects to comply with the regulations?
Is your experience heritage, low rise or high rise?
Do you have experience with contractors who have carried out such work and can recommend them?
Can you provide references from previous clients?
Can you ensure design and supervision is carried out by someone senior with relevant experience?
Is the Council familiar with your previous work?

We wish we had spoken with Dr John

“For our business, the solution provided must fulfil earthquake requirements but also be an economical answer. Our past experience not only appeared to provide an incorrect solution, but one that was more than twice the price of the alternative We wish we had known back then of Dr. John Jing’s expertise and knowledge, which would have provided us with a solution we could have had confidence in”.

Assessing a building’s NBS

What is an ISA (also known as IEP)?

An ISA is an Initial Seismic Assessment. It compares a building’s percentage of structural earthquake strength relative to the New Building Standard. However, it is earthquake engineering guesswork with no science behind it. It is essentially a visual inspection or a drawing review.

What is a DSA?

The DSA is a Detailed Seismic Assessment. Unlike an ISA, Tino Seismic’s DSA is based on science. It includes a detailed computer earthquake simulation model and analysis of a building based on mathematics, physics and available test data to quantify the %NBS ratings of structural elements. It enables us to determine exactly when, where and how structural elements fail during an earthquake. A DSA is essential for any seismic strengthening project.

Tino Seismic proprietary methods

Tino Seismic has assessed and seismic strengthened more than 800 heritage and commercial buildings across New Zealand and has developed proprietary methods and expertise unmatched by other earthquake engineers. As John explains: “For example, most earthquake engineers will make an old structure redundant in their DSA and seismic design. But we’ll use the structure in situ to its own advantage by allowing it to hinge or rock to dissipate energy and reduce earthquake loads. This results in a much higher earthquake rating while retaining as-built conditions. It also means less seismic strengthening work to upgrade the building. Our work often leads to significant benefits and cost savings for clients other earthquake engineers can’t achieve because they don’t have our proprietary methods”.

Get the 3 key benefits of using Tino Seismic

When you engage with Tino Seismic, we promise the following:

A true rating: You’ll get the most accurate or true seismic ratings based on science. This often means better or higher ratings compared to assessments by other engineers.

Cost and time savings: We’ll help you make significant cost and time savings on unnecessary seismic strengthening works. It is possible the whole building doesn’t need seismic strengthening. We’ll identify the parts that do and the parts that don’t.

Minimal disruption: Our seismic strengthening solution will mean avoided or minimized disruption to building occupants, as well as preserving a building’s appearance and heritage value during and after construction.