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Press Kit for News Release on USRC Launch
Background and Quotes from Prominent Professionals plus pdf Press Kit
The USRC rating system provides information on safety,
damage and recovery of buildings in earthquakes and eventually in other natural
hazards. This
first of its kind performance rating is based on decades of earthquake
engineering research and observations of earthquake damage. The
USRC audits ratings to assure consistent results and prevent manipulation. With
the
USRC rating system, architects, owners,
tenants, buyers and sellers, lenders, insurers and policy makers can finally
get reliable and consistent information about a building’s expected performance
during an earthquake and get a competitive edge in the market place.
·
Value
- Because it includes information not only on building
safety but damage (repair cost), and recovery (time to regain function) as
well.
·
Consistency
- Because USRC certified engineers perform a USRC rating
and national standards are used to evaluate the building..
· Credibility - Because
rating submissions are subject to a technical review by USRC certified
reviewers.
A Building Rating System is a Key Part of Corporate and
Community Based Resilience Plans
·
Why is resilience important - Owners, architects, tenants,
brokers, buyers, lenders, and insurers need to know how safe their buildings
are, what will need to be repaired, and how to plan for long term mitigation to
reduce losses and down time. This is the information the USRC Rating System is
designed to provide.
·
Resilience is a measure of how quickly a
community/city/region recovers from failures – see Mayor Garcetti’s report on
Resilience by Design for Los Angeles City.
·
Resilience is Different to
Sustainability - LEED certified buildings in Hurricane Sandy were designed to have
lower impacts on the environment but not for the environment to have lower
impacts on them.
Who Will Use the Rating System?
Owners, Architects, Governments and Institutions, Buyers, Lenders,
Insurers and Tenants all benefit by knowing about the performance of buildings in
earthquakes. Consequences like, safety, damage (cost of repairs) and recovery (the
time required to basic functions) , provide important decision making
information.
Owners can decide whether additional measures should be incorporated into
their design to improve the safety and damage performance of their buildings. They
will have the information needed to plan for recovery and improve the value of
buildings to occupants who require higher performance.
Architects can incorporate resilience ratings into the overall performance criteria
for buildings and help their clients understand and balance various program
elements with resilience and sustainability goals and costs.
Tenants can decide if
building safety and recovery time meet their needs. They can use rating
information to plan how to protect employees and business operations in
earthquakes.
Governments and Institutions can use USRC ratings to identify
buildings that meet their safety standards and would allow them to deliver
critical services following earthquakes. They can make long-term
strategic plans for reducing reconstruction costs and recovery time following a
major disaster.
Lenders, Insurers, Buyers and Real Estate Brokers will use USRC ratings to make informed
real estate transactions associated with lending decisions and defining
insurance products. Building value and insurance premiums could reflect anticipated
losses.
Quotes from Prominent Professionals
follows:
Lucile Jones Seismologist with the US Geological Survey and former Science
Advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. - jones@usgs.gov
Across the Nation, people are making
significant financial decisions about buildings often without adequate
information about the vulnerability of those buildings to earthquakes. The USRC
Rating System is credible, consistent and transparent and would make a better
foundation for those critical decisions.
Chris D Poland Consulting
Engineer, NIST Disaster Resilience Fellow, Member,
National Academy of Engineers - cpoland@cdpce.com
The USRC is poised to fill one of the key missing links needed to
create Disaster Resilient Communities. The USRC rating system will provide
transparent information on the level of safety and functionality from each
rated building; information that reliable mitigation and recovery plans can be
based on.
Los
Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s November 2014 Report “Resilience by Design” . Contact
Marissa Aho - LA City Resilience Officer - marissa.aho@lacity.orgm
As Mayor, I have no greater responsibility
than the public safety of Los Angeles. And here in our city, it’s not a
question of if the so-called “Big One” will hit. It’s a matter of when. So we
cannot afford to be complacent. The known risks – to life, property and our
overall economy – are too great. This report recommends a voluntary rating system
to encourage building owners to invest in the resilience of their buildings so
that they not only stay standing after an earthquake, but so that they also
remain functional.”
Greg
Michaud - Chairman of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and Head of
Real Estate Finance, Voya Investment Management - Greg.Michaud@voya.com
Seismic
due diligence is very important to the commercial lending and real estate
industries. Many in the commercial real estate industry consider the current
state of PML reporting to be fractured: lacking consistency, credibility, and
professional licensing verification. Just as the accountants created the PCAOB
(Public Company Audit Oversight Board) to provide credibility to their members
audit reports, I am encouraged that the structural engineering profession is
finding ways, such as the USRC, to provide consistency, audit procedures and a
revocable certification to those who prepare this critical piece of
transactional due diligence”
David A. Friedman, SE, Senior
Principal, Emeritus CEO & Chair of the Board - Forell / Elsesser Engineers, - daf@forell.com
I believe in the importance of
the US Resiliency Council to provide a long-needed tool for educating the
public in understanding and appreciating seismic safety and resiliency in the
buildings where we live, work and play.
Thomas Tobin, Tobin and Associates, Public
Policy Expertise LTTobin@aol.com
The
USRC mission is consistent with my personal philosophy, which is based on the
belief that people should be empowered to make informed decisions regarding
earthquake safety and performance. People therefore have a right to understand
risk—the hazards from, and the vulnerability and expected performance of the
buildings they use—and the consequences for their values.
Sorrel
Hanson Senior Engineering Specialist with FM Global - Sorrel.Hanson@fmglobal.com
I have observed clients worldwide
take on substantial risk due to misconceptions about their buildings’ expected
performance in disasters. I believe that consistent and credible ratings are
critical to dispel myths and support effective resilience efforts.
Michael Bade Associate Vice Chancellor - Capital
Programs at the University of California San Francisco - michael.bade@ucsf.edu
I support the mission and goals of the USRC because I believe it
is of great importance to achieve greater public understanding of the nuances
of building and infrastructure resiliency in the face of the threat of natural
disasters such as earthquakes, storms, and fires. I believe that a more nuanced
rating system or systems would aid in achieving this goal.
Dr. Sharyl Rabinovici, Disaster Policy Consultant - sjmr12@yahoo.com
We hope that people come to rely
on USRC ratings when they buy a building in the same way that people now rely
on 5-star safety ratings when they buy a car. It's a different, more
market-based approach than having the government mandate that certain owners do
a retrofit.
Download :
Press Release Package.pdf