INNOVATION March-April 2016

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of Vancouver, and other stakeholders to develop a framework to guide the participation of engineers in damage assessments. These assessments will be critical in terms of protecting the immediate safety of the public, as well as enabling expedient resumption of building occupancy where it is safe to do so. Under the BC Earthquake Immediate Response Plan , BC Housing is tasked with establishing and leading the Building Damage Assessment Branch at the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre. To that end, BC Housing is preparing a disaster assessment program for buildings, which will provide government and organisations with an integrated format to prioritise, coordinate and optimise safety and damage assessments of buildings following an earthquake. SEABC and APEGBC are seeking to

formalise and clarify the role of professional engineers in this program. Stay tuned for information/training sessions and the launch of a roster of engineers interested to participate in damage assessments. Andrew Seeton, P.Eng., is a Senior Structural Engineer at Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers. He has more than 10 years of experience in the structural and seismic design of commercial, residential, and institutional buildings. Seeton volunteers as a director of the Structural Engineers Association of BC (SEABC) and chairs SEABC’s Post- Earthquake Response Committee.

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Understanding How Building Materials Affect Infrastructure Life I write this article from the financial capital of India (Mumbai), where I was asked to give a keynote and co-chair a full-day workshop on Sustainable and Efficient Buildings in Smart Cities.

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This workshop was organised by the India–Canada IMPACTS (India–Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) Centres of Excellence. While at the workshop, I have learned from various prominent speakers that both Canada and India share certain common issues related to infrastructure. Several examples have been provided that prove that some infrastructure—including bridges, roads, buildings, etc.— is not meeting its design life. In regions such as BC, where risk exists for significant earthquake events, this is a serious concern. Buildings and other infrastructure that do not meet their design life and, in fact, may be deteriorating prematurely are at greater risk for damage—and for more significant damage—in the event of a major earthquake. One of the key issues related to determining safe remaining life of existing structures is the lack of understanding about the durability of materials that are being developed at a very rapid pace. Several new materials marketed as “green” or “sustainable” perform

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