by Rebecca Walker — February 3, 2010—VFA, Inc., a leading provider of end-to-end solutions for facilities capital planning and spend management, has introduced a Seismic Assessment solution to provide organizations with a cost-effective, flexible approach to mitigate seismic risks.
Identifying the vulnerability of a facility to seismic activity is critical; yet many facility professionals charged with addressing the vulnerabilities and consequences of seismic activity do not have a defined methodology to collect and analyze seismic-related data. VFA’s Seismic Assessment Service helps organizations identify seismic-related components within their facilities using an industry-accepted methodology based on proven guidelines published by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP).
With this critical data captured in VFA.facility, VFA’s award-winning capital planning and management software, organizations are then empowered to make the best strategic decisions to improve the overall seismic performance of their buildings, says the company.
VFA’s Seismic Assessment solution collects and analyzes seismic risk-related data on both the structural and nonstructural components of a building. When facility professionals capture seismic-related risk data, there is a tendency to focus on the structural aspects of a building-those that resist gravity, earthquake, wind and other types of loads. While this is important, non-structural components are often associated with the greatest level of damage and need to be incorporated with the same level of priority. Risks of seismic damage include life safety, property loss and the possibility that a facility may not be able to carry out its mission.
For more information, see the Web site.
