INNOVATION September-October 2015

A December 2010 windstorm swept hundreds of logs onto Highway 16 in Tlell, Haida Gwaii. PHOTO: BC MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE.

airports, and electrical transmission grids and distribution networks. As of August 2015, the Protocol has been applied to more than 45 vulnerability assessments across Canada. International projects have been completed for two infrastructures, in Honduras and Costa Rica. The process can be applied to any type or complexity of infrastructure. It is scalable for use in small (e.g., District of Shelburne, Nova Scotia; population approximately 3,000) and large (Metro Toronto, Ontario; population approximately 6 million) municipalities, as well as to small to large individual infrastructures and infrastructure systems across Canada. The complete list of assessments can be found at www.engineerscanada.ca/ pievc. The Protocol uses the same principles used in risk-assessment applications for other industries and business areas—for example, for business or health—and aligns with ISO 31000:2009, Risk Management: Principles and Guidelines. 2 It provides a profile of high, medium and low risks to infrastructure from climate impacts at a screening level. Neither comprehensive nor complete data are required to complete an assessment. However, the inter-disciplinary team running an assessment must address data gaps in order to define the nature and consequence of climate impacts that damage or destroy infrastructure or impede its service to the community it serves. Climate scientists on the assessment team determine probability scores for exceeding climate parameter thresholds that will cause excessive disruption, damage, or destruction of infrastructure components.

Experience with the Protocol has shown that screening-level risk assessment of infrastructure climate risks produces cost-effective and timely evidence of vulnerability at costs affordable to large and small communities. The Protocol produces a range of recommendations to address the highest risks and to improve climate resilience. If more information is needed, for example, results may advise more data be collected or a more targeted and quantitative engineering analysis be undertaken. If the assessment identifies specific risks, recommendations may suggest that operations and maintenance policies and procedures be adjusted or infrastructure improvements requiring additional cost information be designed and implemented. a certification program for engineers that recognizes their additional knowledge in planning, designing, and managing resilient infrastructure assets and components in the face of extreme weather. The certification’s goal is to help engineers acquire additional knowledge and competencies to apply a systems approach to threats on infrastructure services to maintain their safe operations over their period of service. The certification will help to increase confidence of infrastructure owners and Infrastructure Resilience Certification for Engineers Engineers Canada is designing

2. www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso31000.htm

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