Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of Engineering Systems in Wellington Hospitals A Case Study

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Seismic Assessment and Retrofit of Engineering
Systems in Wellington Hospitals- A Case Study

• SR Uma
• Andrew King

Graeme Beattie
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Hospitals and other medical facilities

• Critical facilities
• Provide public safety and security
• Emergency response
• Expected performance levels
• Life safety under DBE
• Operational Continuity under moderate earthquakes

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Damage causing functional discontinuity
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USA- Nisqually Earthquake, February 2001
(Magnitude 6.7 Hypocentral depth 52 km)

• Failure of
• operating theatre equipment
• suspended ceilings and lighting components

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New Zealand - Gisborne Earthquake, Dec 2007
(Magnitude 6.6, Hypocentral Depth 40km)
lt 50 of Design earthquake
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Seismicity in Wellington

• Wellington Fault Magnitude 7.6
• Runs across the city
• Potential risk to buildings, infrastructure,
  critical facilities
• Government seismic safety policy
• Focus is on earthquake prone buildings (including
  hospitals)
• Not yet any specific law to ensure operational
  continuity in critical facilities

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GNS
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Motivation for the study
Operational Continuity A Challenge

• Objectives
• Investigations on current status of Essential
  engineering services in existing hospitals
• Understanding of current practices in new
  hospital constructions
• Opinions on implementation of OSHPD framework in
  New Zealand

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Californian Path

• OSHPD framework
• Detailed (demanding) approval process
• to verify and approve plans, design, construction
  and installation
• Approved testing agencies for products
• Dynamic shake-table testing of equipment
• Highly structured organisation

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Hospital Survey Wellington Region

• Three hospitals
• 1 new and 2 old hospitals
• Engineering systems
• Floor mounted equipments
• Suspended components
• Communication and data handling units

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Floor mounted components
Air Handling Units
Fixing on Timber Floor Wood blocking E 74
Type 17 Screws
Coach Screws
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Air Handling Units
Frame Fixings through a Steel Roof
Appears to be sound
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Boiler
Appears to be adequate after retrofit with larger
anchor and greater lever arm
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Resilient mounted components
Air Compressor
Refrigeration plant
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Resilient mounted components
Air Handling Unit on Springs Pegs keep springs
located horizontally but no uplift restraint
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Oxygen Storage
SR Uma
ATC-SEI Conference, 9-11 December, 2009
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Bulk storage of Oxygen
Diffuser base connection
Oxygen Tank
Diffuser
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Data Communication System
Unrestrained / unsupported components
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Suspended components

• Only vertical hangers and lateral restraints
• Longitudinal restraints missing
• Short vertical hangers with lateral restraints

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Emergency power generator
Snubbers provided for transverse restraint but
inadequate restraints in longitudinal direction
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Comments

• Old hospitals Outdated seismic restraints,
  equipments
• Recently built hospitals Greater engineering
  input

New Hospitals
Old Hospitals
SR Uma
ATC-SEI Conference, 9-11 December, 2009
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Still need attention..
SR Uma
ATC-SEI Conference, 9-11 December, 2009
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Milestones towards resilience

• Exclusive design standards for engineering
  systems
• Sound framework for effective coordination
  between different roles
• Product qualifications
• Clear definition of performance requirements

SR Uma
ATC-SEI Conference, 9-11 December, 2009
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NZS 42192009 Seismic performance of
engineering systems in buildings

• Based on NZS 1170.52004 loading standards
• Design provisions for different types of
  restraints
• Seismic performance qualification of components
• Proprietary products (NZ / Overseas made)
• Verification by Testing / Calculations
• No definitive specifications of acceptance
  criteria

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Present framework for building services
PS Product Statement

Product certification
Testing/Calculations Precedent of use Approval
from local authority
From similar seismic regions/ performance
requirement
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Achievements of Milestones
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Way forward to be resilient..

• Possible improvement in existing practice with
  new hospitals
• Follow up procedures to become structured
• Adequate fee structure to do checking
• For existing/old hospitals
• Initiatives from district health board
  authorities to Department of Health Board
• Clear specification of performance requirements
• Product certification
• but is still a grey area..

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Authors opinions
Yes.. Getting there..

• NZS 4219 standard - up to date and simple to
  use
• Greater cooperation - services engineers and
  structural engineers
• Greater accountability placed on the building
  contractor
• Product certification by testing a long way
  to go.. (unresolved issues!)

• OSHPD system in New Zealand
• Too expensive to administer and to implement for
  a small country.

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Thank you
Acknowledgements Foundation for research,
science and technology Construction and
maintenance department of hospitals surveyed