Innovation May-June 2023

These webinars, and other professional practice-related webinars, are provided at egbc.ca/Events .

UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE WEBINARS egbc.ca/Events

P rofessional P ractice G uidelines : L andslide A ssessments in B ritish C olumbia : Tuesday, June 20, 2023. egbc.ca/Events/Events/2023/23JUNLGZ

FREQUENT PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE INQUIRIES How do I become a volunteer to assist in recovery efforts following a disaster? Engineers and geoscientists are key members of post disaster recovery teams that investigate the impact of natural disasters and assess the stability of community infrastructure following the event. In BC, teams were most recently mobilized following the 2022 wildfires and the 2021 atmospheric river. As part of its larger Post Disaster Building Assessment initiatives, BC Housing wants to increase the number of people qualified to conduct Rapid Damage Assessments in BC. Rapid Damage Assessments are disaster-agnostic and can be done following any extreme event (e.g., flood, earthquake, windstorm). Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants who are interested in supporting relief efforts in BC are encouraged to take the Rapid Damage Assessment training and put themselves on BC Housing’s Building Assessor Registry so they are ready to be called on following future disasters. BC Housing hosts a Post Disaster Building Assessment advisory group that provides feedback and creates training and resources for BC communities. This group includes local government officials, professional engineers, architects, provincial ministries, building assessors, Indigenous communities, and many others. Post Disaster Building Assessments enable communities responding to extreme events to assess the safety of buildings more rapidly, which allows people to remain in or return to their homes and businesses as soon as possible. This reduces the impact of such events, helping communities recover more quickly, and reduces the impact on emergency and social service resources.

Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants with experience with buildings or construction, and those who are interested in supporting relief efforts, can join this initiative by completing the Rapid Damage Assessment Training ( bchousing.org/About/SES/Post-Disaster-Building-Assessments ). There are no pre-requisites to take the training; however, experience with buildings or building systems will help volunteers learn the skills needed to identify unsafe conditions in wood frame, masonry, and concrete structures caused by floods, earthquakes, or windstorms. Following the training, qualified volunteers can self-register with the BC Housing Building Assessors Registry to respond to local emergencies. For additional information, please contact: SES@BCHousing.org.

Build the future on a solid foundation with help from our IP lawyers .

Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP patentable.com

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