ATC Call for Consultants to Serve as Trial Users for Post-Earthquake Guidelines

(Interest Form Due Date: February 8, 2023)

The Applied Technology Council (ATC), in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is seeking licensed U.S. civil and structural engineers from a range of experience levels to serve as trial users for the forthcoming Guidelines for Post-Earthquake Assessment, Repair, and Retrofit of Buildings. Currently in the later stages of development under the FEMA-funded ATC-145 project, these guidelines are intended to serve as the state-of-the-art standard in post-earthquake repair decision-making once released to the wider structural engineering community. The overall framework is applicable across all structural materials, but parameters are only available for reinforced concrete structures at this time.

Trial studies are designed to improve the clarity and usability of the methodology and confirm the consistency and reasonableness of the results. Trial users will provide feedback that improves the future effectiveness of the Guidelines and be provided with an early look at this forthcoming document.

Trial users will be selected to represent a range of experience levels, including those with and without direct experience in post-earthquake assessment, evaluation, and repair. Engineers from all levels of experience are encouraged to submit an interest form, provided that the minimum requirements are met.

Trial users will also be selected to represent a range of geographical locations of engineering practice. Engineers from all U.S. states and territories are encouraged to submit an interest form, provided that the minimum requirements are met.

Benefits for selected individuals include:
• $5000 lump sum honorarium,
• Travel expenses covered to attend an in-person workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area,
• Training on the forthcoming Guidelines by the authors,
• Opportunity to provide feedback that will improve the future effectiveness of the Guidelines, and
• Acknowledgement in the final ATC-145 Guidelines report.

Minimum Requirements: Individuals must meet these minimum requirements to be eligible:
• Licensed civil or structural engineer practicing and residing in a U.S. state or territory
• Familiarity with ASCE 41 provisions for reinforced concrete
• Training in ATC-20 safety assessment procedures
• Commitment to providing constructive feedback by the deadlines provided
• Availability to conduct the work in the March to May 2023 timeframe

Scope of Services: Individuals selected to serve as trial users will be required to:
• Attend a half-day online training session (March 2023),
• Read the draft Guidelines in full; implement the methodology on post-earthquake scenarios*; document results using a template provided to the trial user by the report authors (March to May 2023),
• Participate in a daylong workshop to share results and feedback with the project team and other trial users (May 2023), and
• Complete a feedback form to provide suggestions to improve the methodology and report (May 2023).

*Post-earthquake scenarios will be provided to the trial users by the report authors. Provided scenarios will include any analysis results necessary to implement the methodology. Building modelling and detailed structural analysis are outside the scope of the trial user.

Expressing Interest: Trial users will be selected as individuals, rather than as teams of engineers or engineering firms. The interest form should be submitted by the individual interested in serving as a trial user.

To express interest in serving as a trial user, submit this interest form. The interest form will close on February 8, 2023 at 11:59PM PT.

Contact: For questions about this opportunity, including those about eligibility, contact Associate Director of Projects This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Applied Technology Council.