In-Person Training of FEMA E-74,
Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage – A Practical Guide,
in conjunction with the EERI 69th Annual Meeting

Tuesday, March 7, 2017 8:00am - 12:00pm Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront 1401 SW Naito Parkway Portland, OR 97201

Cost: $35 (covers A/V and venue fees)

Purpose. Failure of nonstructural components—which include all components that are not part of the structural system, such as architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as furniture, fixtures, equipment, and contents—has accounted for the majority of earthquake damage in several recent U.S. earthquakes. In many cases, businesses, schools, hospitals, and other organizations had to spend excessive time and dollars for clean-up and repair due to nonstructural failures, thus impeding continued operations and rapid recovery. Nonstructural component failures can impede safe evacuation, delay rescue, and cause additional hazards such as fire following an earthquake. The purpose of this course is to describe, in simple terms, the sources and types of nonstructural earthquake damage, as well as effective methods and guidance for reducing the potential risks of injury and property loss from future earthquakes.

Intended Audience. The intended audience for this training includes building owners, facility managers, maintenance personnel, store or office managers, corporate or agency department heads, business proprietors, risk managers, and safety personnel. Design professionals, especially those that do not have experience with seismic protection of nonstructural components, might also benefit from this training.

Recommended Pre-requisite. Prior to the training, it is recommended that participants view a 30-minute independent study training, IS-325, Earthquake Basics: Science, Risk, and Mitigation. The IS-325 training provides basic information on earthquakes, its impacts, and general mitigation techniques. The training may be accessed here.

Contact. Questions about this training may be directed to Veronica Cedillos (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; phone: 650-595-1542).

• To register for the FEMA E-74 training ONLY, click here.
• To register for the FEMA E-74 training AND the EERI 69th Annual Meeting, click here.

Handouts. Each participant of this training will receive an electronic copy of FEMA E-74, Reducing the Risks of Nonstructural Earthquake Damage – A Practical Guide. For additional copies, participants may request CD-ROM from the FEMA warehouse free of charge by calling 1-800-480-2520 or via email and refer to FEMA E-74. Expedited and international orders for the FEMA E-74 document on CD-ROM may be made through the ATC Online Store by clicking here.

About NETAP. Instructor services and expenses for this training are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program (NETAP), which is a mechanism for delivering direct assistance to the public to increase their knowledge and ability to analyze their risk, make a plan, and take actions aimed at reducing their earthquake risk and supporting overall community resilience. NETAP serves as a critical resource that local, State, Territory, and other organizations can utilize to acquire earthquake mitigation training and technical assistance in support of community earthquake risk reduction and resilience activities. For more information about NETAP please visit the FEMA website by clicking here.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC) and the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers are pleased to announce the immediate availability of The ATC-SEI 2015 Proceedings, Conference on Improving the Seismic Performance of Existing Buildings and Other Structures.

This second conference on Improving the Seismic Performance of Existing Buildings and Other Structures was organized by the Applied Technology Council and the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and held in December 10-12, 2015 in San Francisco, California.

The conference program was structured to provide a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of new information on the seismic evaluation and seismic rehabilitation of existing buildings and other structures, including case studies, new discoveries, innovative use of new technologies and materials, nonstructural component anchorage and bracing, implementation issues, needed improvements to existing standards and methods, and socio-economic issues. 

The Conference Proceedings contain an indexed .pdf version of a majority of the papers and poster presentations given at the Conference. The ATC-SEI Conference Proceedings is available in electronic format only, and the CD-ROM can be obtained from the Applied Technology Council, 201 Redwood Shores Parkway, Suite 240, Redwood City, California 94065 (phone, 650-595-1542; fax, 650-593-2320) or the ATC Online Store.  Price:  $100.00 per CD-ROM (plus shipping and sales tax).

The Applied Technology Council (ATC), in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is seeking proposals from U.S. engineering firms to conduct trial evaluations of older concrete frame structures using the methodology described in the ATC-78-3 Report, Seismic Evaluation of Older Concrete Frame Buildings for Collapse Potential (ATC, 2015), which was developed with FEMA funding.  Trial evaluations are being sponsored by FEMA to test the clarity and usability of the methodology, assess the level of effort required to implement, and determine if calibration is necessary. 

A complete description of the scope of services to be performed, required qualifications, submittal requirements, subcontract terms, selection criteria, selection process, and schedule are provided in the Request for Proposals (FEMA), available on the ATC website (www.atcouncil.org).  The report can be downloaded from the ATC website here.  The closing date for the submission of proposals is October 30, 2015.

The methodology described in the ATC-78-3 report is under ongoing development, and expansion of the methodology to address concrete wall systems is currently underway.  This solicitation is the second in a series of planned trial evaluation programs intended to inform future versions of the methodology.  The following additional solicitations can be expected: 

• A future Request for Proposals funded by the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), to be announced approximately one year from now, that will solicit the involvement of Southern California engineers to conduct a trial evaluation of the methodology for concrete wall buildings located in California.

Response and/or participation in one Trial Evaluation Program will not preclude response and/or participation in future programs.

More information about the ATC-78 Project Series is available here.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC), with assistance from Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), has developed a website that provides a way for users to easily obtain an ASCE 7 site-specific ground snow load. A site can be selected by directly entering the GPS coordinates or the mailing address into the input window of the website. If needed, a map of the United States can be used to find the GPS coordinates of a particular site.

This website overcomes the challenges in using the snow load map that is printed in ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. These challenges include insufficient spatial resolution of the map to determine some site-specific ground snow loads and the lack of reference cities or towns on the map.

On the ATC Ground Snow Loads website, users can obtain loads from the ground snow load map printed in ASCE 7-95 through ASCE 7-10 (1995, 1998, 2002, 2005, and 2010). Ground snow load is used with the equations provided in ASCE 7 to determine design snow loads for buildings and other structures.

The ground snow load site is now available for use free of charge at snowload.atcouncil.org. The site also provides a link to the windspeed website where ASCE 7 site-specific wind speeds can be obtained. Users are encouraged to provide ATC with feedback so that enhancements can be planned.

The Applied Technology Council (ATC) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation established in 1973 through the efforts of the Structural Engineers Association of California. ATC's mission is to develop and promote state-of-the-art, user-friendly engineering resources and applications for use in mitigating the effects of natural and other hazards on the built environment. ATC also identifies and encourages needed research and develops consensus opinions on structural engineering issues in a nonproprietary format. ATC thereby fulfills a unique role in funded information transfer. The ATC website and online bookstore is located at www.ATCouncil.org. For more information about the ATC Ground Snow Load website, contact ATC via phone at (650) 595-1542 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Founded in 1956, the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) serves manufacturers and suppliers as it works to promote the metal building systems industry. Its membership represents more than $2.4 billion in annual sales and accounts for approximately 52% of the total non-residential low-rise construction market in the United States. The association provides a wealth of technical information on its website, www.mbma.com, for anyone who works with or is interested in metal building systems, and publishes numerous technical manuals and design guides.

Click here to download the ATC Ground Snow Load Website flyer.