Ministry of Education Renews Partnership on Seismic Mitigation with APEGBC and UBC

VANCOUVER—APEGBC, the University of British Columbia and the Ministry of Education are pleased to announce the renewal of a $3.15 million contract that will see the extension of their collaborative work on the School Seismic Mitigation Program for a further three years from April 2014 through to March 2017.
 
This work will include the release of a third edition of the updated Seismic Retrofit Guidelines, and an upgrade of an accompanying web-based seismic analyzer tool which allows engineering professionals to instantly generate seismic resistance criteria for specific types of construction. This will be based on ongoing research, improved analysis, and findings from retrofit work done to date on school buildings.
 
In 2004, the Ministry of Education engaged APEGBC, with support from the University of British Columbia Civil Engineering Department, to assist with the implementation of a seismic upgrade program for BC schools. This has resulted in the development of seismic assessment tools and guidelines for the performance-based seismic retrofit of BC school buildings. The methodology implemented in these Seismic Retrofit Guidelines permits engineers to make informed, refined and cost-effective decisions in the assessment and retrofit design of seismically deficient school buildings in order to meet life safety standards. 
 
This ground-breaking work has been recognized with awards from the national and provincial chapters of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies, as well as the Society for Civil Engineering.  It is also being utilized by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Israeli government as a planning model.
 
Founded in 1920, APEGBC is the regulatory and licensing body for the professions of engineering and geoscience and is charged with protecting the public interest.  With over 29,000 members, APEGBC is one of the largest professional associations in BC and maintains high academic, experience and professional practice standards.  APEGBC members deliver real world solutions to meet the technological and social challenges of the 21^st century. 

More information can be obtained by contacting:

Megan Archibald
APEGBC Media Relations
Ph: 604-412-4883
Email:  [email protected]